Does an anti compression pedal exist?

OldGtrGuy

OldGtrGuy

Well-known member
I'm not even sure that is what I'm looking for but is there anything that can make the response time faster?

I just got the Uber Ultra as some may have seen me nerd out about and yes I love the amp. It is definitely the toughest and meanest amp I have ever laid my hands on. For 90% of the stuff I play it is devastating.

However that other 10% would be me attempting to play fast/technical type of death metal and I just cannot for the life of me dial that in on this amp. It just feels like it responds too slow for that type of playing.

So is there any pedal out there that can be added to give me what I need?

Side note to any Ultra users, are there some magic settings for this? I find the tight switch is just not enough for these types of riffs.
 
I don't know of any pedals specifically that do it but I think what you're looking for exists and is called an "expander."

I usually see them in the form of VST plugins and stuff like that though.
 
OldGtrGuy said:
I'm not even sure that is what I'm looking for but is there anything that can make the response time faster?

I just got the Uber Ultra as some may have seen me nerd out about and yes I love the amp. It is definitely the toughest and meanest amp I have ever laid my hands on. For 90% of the stuff I play it is devastating.

However that other 10% would be me attempting to play fast/technical type of death metal and I just cannot for the life of me dial that in on this amp. It just feels like it responds too slow for that type of playing.

So is there any pedal out there that can be added to give me what I need?

Side note to any Ultra users, are there some magic settings for this? I find the tight switch is just not enough for these types of riffs.
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I built a clone of the Shaffer-Vega Diversity System pre-amp pedal, and it can be dialed in for the mix of compressor/expander.

It uses an NSL-32 Vactrol optical isolator to accomplish this.

$12 circuit board:
https://aionfx.com/project/gale-booster-limiter/

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when I was playing high gainers, the BBE sonic stomp pro was my secret weapon. I really liked it in the loop. But the pro has an added “focus” control which was really nice
 
My first thought for the OP and making the response time faster is "Buy a Wizard". Not sure if it's the tone you need, but that attack...
 
Devin said:
Have you tried just dropping the amp gain a bit and boosting up front with an OD pedal?
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This, or in the cases where amps have preamp gain (most do), crank that and reduce the power-amp gain.

The symptoms you're describing don't sound like you need an expander, which basically allows you to increase the dynamic range of a signal. IOW, quietest to loudest notes have a bigger difference in level.

What you're describing is "latency" and the nearest thing I can think of to it in the non-digital world is amp sag, hence the suggestion to reduce your reliance on that stage of the signal path in this instance by reducing the gain and not making it work so hard.

I also suspect that the reason you thought you might need an "anti-compressor" (expander) is because you heard the characteristic "squashing" of the signal associated with power-amp sag.
 
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Monkey Man said:
This, or in the cases where amps have preamp gain (most do), crank that and reduce the power-amp gain.

The symptoms you're describing don't sound like you need an expander, which basically allows you to increase the dynamic range of a signal. IOW, quietest to loudest notes have a bigger difference in level.

What you're describing is "latency" and the nearest thing I can think of to it in the non-digital world is amp sag, hence the suggestion to reduce your reliance on that stage of the signal path in this instance by reducing the gain and not making it work so hard.

I also suspect that the reason you thought you might need an "anti-compressor" (expander) is because you heard the characteristic "squashing" of the signal associated with power-amp sag.
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Yeah pretty much, it's just the characteristic of the amp which makes it amazing to me for everything else other than insanely fast type of riffs. I guess I'm just going to have to start messing with od's and eqs and see what I can come up with.
 
Like a few have said I don't think you can change the inherent attack of the amp. Personally I think all Bogners kinda have this squish/sag to them and one of the reasons I've never really gotten along with them. And of course the more gain dialed in the more pronounced.

Like @paulyc said try lowering your gain see if that works. Or as @Devin said try lowering the gain and boosting with an OD. Now if you like the amount of gain I'd try what @thegame said, look at your pickups. Find something with a quick attack. To me if you really like the amp that's where I would start.
 
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jabps said:
Like a few have said I don't think you can change the inherent attack of the amp. Personally I think all Bogners kinda have this squish/sag to them and one of the reasons I've never really gotten along with them. And of course the more gain dialed in the more pronounced.

Like @paulyc said try lowering your gain see if that works. Or as @Devin said try lowering the gain and boosting with an OD. Now if you like the amount of gain I'd try what @thegame said, look at your pickups. Find something with a quick attack. To me if you really like the amp that's where I would start.
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Yes, it's the best amp I've ever had. It honestly is ridiculous and I can't see myself replacing it. For what I like I can't imagine anything being better other than a Wizard which I can't buy.

It is just that inherited SAG I suppose. I had the same thoughts when I owned a Rev 2. Killer amp for 90% of what I play but not so great for super fast stuff.

Anyhow I will be messing with these suggestions. I have an EQ being built now, probably going to order the VFE standout/pinball on this current run and also thinking about picking up a Dirty Tree.

My last thing is maybe replacing the EMG with Black Winter if they will fit in the same routing.
 
OldGtrGuy said:
Yes, it's the best amp I've ever had. It honestly is ridiculous and I can't see myself replacing it. For what I like I can't imagine anything being better other than a Wizard which I can't buy.

It is just that inherited SAG I suppose. I had the same thoughts when I owned a Rev 2. Killer amp for 90% of what I play but not so great for super fast stuff.

Anyhow I will be messing with these suggestions. I have an EQ being built now, probably going to order the VFE standout/pinball on this current run and also thinking about picking up a Dirty Tree.

My last thing is maybe replacing the EMG with Black Winter if they will fit in the same routing.
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Hmm, my experience with EMGS, they're pretty tight. Maybe try something non active with the bass rolled off and medium output ala Nazgul or the Full Shred, it's definitely tight.
 
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