# How do you use compression with djent?



## Harray 18 (Jan 24, 2008)

songs like oximodus and ntl by bulb sound like theyre using alot of compression and i'd imagine that helps alot towards getting the quack sound on each stroke 

can anyone explain how to compress so that it emphasises the quack?


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## Desecrated (Jan 24, 2008)

Use a limiter.


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## JBroll (Jan 25, 2008)

Fast attack (minimize the time taken for it to set in... as low as you can go with it still sounding 'natural'), high ratio (the ratio is how much the gain is reduced above the threshold... a higher ratio means that the gain is reduced more dramatically, I'll do a FAQ on compression shortly so I won't explain too much here but basically keep raising the ratio until the 'spike' is sufficiently low, but not so low that it sounds absent because that'll result in a 'processed', bizarre sound), release wherever you think sounds best (depending on the part played and the intended effect, it could be anywhere from moderately fast on up, probably closer to moderately fast), and the threshold wherever it catches a lot of the 'djent' spike but doesn't squash too much of the other playing.

Feel free to ask more questions here or in PM if you need details or technical nonsense, this is fairly simple ground so you should be able to get it pretty quickly if you experiment enough and know what questions to ask.

Jeff


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## bulb (Jan 25, 2008)

personally i dont like compression on distorted guitars, unless its a lead guitar i guess, but never on rhythms because it messes with the attack, its really just eq work that makes the tone djenty.


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## jacksonplayer (Jan 25, 2008)

I agree with bulb on this. I used to use compression on distorted rhythms, but it really can turn things into a mess, especially once you've double- or quadruple-tracked the parts.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Jan 25, 2008)

a mess in what ways guys? explain a little


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## Dylan S (Jan 25, 2008)

I am not really experienced in this kind of stuff as much as a lot of people here, but I find a similar thing. A short while ago I recorded a short rhythm idea with my amp (TSL100) and I tried out a different tone - i.e. I significantly reduced the gain on my amp, and then did 4 tracks of rhythm, so the gain sort of stacked up on itself and although seemed weak with just one track, was quite adequate for 4 tracks. After I recorded it, I thought it sounded great, and I naturally moved to compression, but everything I did with a compressor sort of made it sound weaker and less natural, but it still didn't sound how I wanted.

I figured that I should experiment more with mic placement and the actual EQ of my tone, rather than compression, because it was quite close to something I'd like. If I am going to use compression, I try to keep it minimal to make the tone as natural sounding as I can.


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## zimbloth (Jan 25, 2008)

Fuck you 'djent'. I hope you die lonely and forgotten in the bathroom of some bad building in a poor neighborhood, with your hand in Goofy's pants. /George Carlin

Djent is a technique. You could opt to use or not use compression just like you would with literally _anything _else. I personally don't use compression because my attack is tight/clear enough on its own with my rig.


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## bulb (Jan 25, 2008)

pick hard and eq your amp/whatever you use for tones appropriately = djent


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## thadood (Jan 25, 2008)

Mmmhm!

I think compression on high gain guitars is pretty useless. Think of it.. distortion is a clipping of the input. A lot. So, in essence, your guitar's signal is already compressed/limited by the amp, resulting in a fairly level output. 

To see what I mean, try this:
Record a riff with your distortion
Now, record the same riff on your clean channel (volume as close to matching as possible), and look at the wave difference. The volume varies from note to note due to how hard you pick. 

The clean's output will be quite dynamic. And this is why compression is typically used on clean/grit guitar tracks more than full-on distortion =)


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## Dylan S (Jan 25, 2008)

To get more djent, try using slightly lighter strings to what you're used to as well. I always thought "the heavier the string, the more definition" and that's true to a certain extent, but you get a snappier tone with slightly lighter strings.


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## MF_Kitten (Jan 25, 2008)

thinner strings, yeah... also, try moving your palm closer to the bridge pickup when you´re palm muting, like between the bridge and the pickup...

the distortion type should have a lot of high mids pre-distortion.

as for the quacky tone, that´s all in the amp and pre-distortion treatment. lots of high mids, and more highs in front of the distortion does it!


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## thadood (Jan 25, 2008)

AKA tube screamer!


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## JBroll (Jan 26, 2008)

Yeah, you might get a lot out of keeping the TS gain low and the tone high, but I haven't gone for djent as much as you guys.

Oh, and I would completely and totally disagree with Desecrated. A limiter is NOTHING more than a crippled, retarded compressor with its ratio set to infinity:1 - there's no reason to limit yourself like that, it's hard to use transparently and rarely do you need things that extreme. Also, stacking several stages of compression, or adding a clipper or a VERY LIGHT limiter and a compressor in stages, works very well.

I did some work on this before, another page-long rant complete with silly analogies thrown in with technical explanations, in a thread at the Sneap forum, so if you want that or my Tube Screamer FAQ I'll find those links.

Jeff


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jan 26, 2008)

I don't, my djent is all from loose strings hitting the frettboard with a big gnarly attack behind them.


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## Groff (Jan 26, 2008)

thadood said:


> AKA tube screamer!



AKA Instant Djent.

For some reason, most of the time, unless I put my EQ in places I don't necessarily like, as soon as I put my Bloody Murder into the mix it Djents right up. I like using the Tube Screamer because I don't need to change EQ settings on my amp but can still get that awesome pick attack when I lay into it.


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## thadood (Jan 27, 2008)

Yeah, I typically run my TS at around 1/3 tone, with both level and drive set at around 2/3 of the way. With the mods I used on it, it just seems to really come alive wth those settings. I'm not after djent, but I'm after pick attack definition and tightness, which my pedal delivers =)


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## Desecrated (Jan 27, 2008)

JBroll said:


> Yeah, you might get a lot out of keeping the TS gain low and the tone high, but I haven't gone for djent as much as you guys.
> 
> Oh, and I would completely and totally disagree with Desecrated. A limiter is NOTHING more than a crippled, retarded compressor with its ratio set to infinity:1 - there's no reason to limit yourself like that, it's hard to use transparently and rarely do you need things that extreme. Also, stacking several stages of compression, or adding a clipper or a VERY LIGHT limiter and a compressor in stages, works very well.
> 
> ...



A lot of people don't want to use compressor to compress their tone, then you can use a limiter just so you keep your signal in under the 0db when your recording.


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## JBroll (Jan 27, 2008)

And then you're compressing. That's nonsense... you have a gain knob and with high enough resolution you can keep the peaks under 6db, have the average signal around -24db to -30db, and not have to worry about peaks going over. Anyone who told me that they didn't want me compressing their guitar tone because they didn't like the sound and then told me to use a limiter would probably be slapped; using a limiter in place of a properly adjusted compressor makes about as much sense as amputating a limb with a hacksaw because having surgery done is a pain in the ass. Again, a limiter is a crippled and retarded compressor; trying to avoid a compressor by using a limiter makes no sense at all unless you hate having a sound that isn't pumpy and obnoxious...

Jeff


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## Desecrated (Jan 27, 2008)

Jeff where to you place you limiter to get such result. 
I place mine after the amp but before the computer and it affects the tone very very little. it just keeps some of the peaks from clipping.


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## JBroll (Jan 27, 2008)

Yes... it compresses. If you need it so little that you don't notice the changes, you could get the same result with a compressor; if you can't fix it with a compressor a limiter will be a total mess. I don't mean to be insulting, but using a limiter just doesn't make sense when you can get better, more natural-sounding results out of a compressor. Anywhere a limiter goes it's just flattening peaks, instead of tapering them off like a compressor, and it takes very little limiter use anywhere in a chain to make it noticeable. Using a limiter just winds up being the easy way out, and even untrained ears are able to tell when someone has taken that easy way out to any moderate extent because the fatiguing and pumpy sound just gets to them.

Sorry, limiters just remind me of the kind of people who cook two pounds of pasta in barely enough water to cover it, drink Bud Light, and scoop every ounce of mid out of their tone because they don't know better and don't care to learn anything new.

Jeff


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## funknotik (Mar 12, 2013)

bulb said:


> personally i dont like compression on distorted guitars, unless its a lead guitar i guess, but never on rhythms because it messes with the attack, its really just eq work that makes the tone djenty.



Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread. But I'm curious do you really only use eq on your distorted rhythm tracks? There's really no compression whatsoever after its recorded into the daw? P2 is amazing btw thanx n cheers!


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## Ratel (Mar 12, 2013)

holy motherffff necro. -_-


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## Yo_Wattup (Mar 12, 2013)

funknotik said:


> Sorry to resurrect an ancient thread. But I'm curious do you really only use eq on your distorted rhythm tracks? There's really no compression whatsoever after its recorded into the daw? P2 is amazing btw thanx n cheers!



Well that's what he said, yeah... why would there be compression ? Dist guitars are naturally compressed.


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## funknotik (Mar 12, 2013)

Yo_Wattup said:


> Well that's what he said, yeah... why would there be compression ? Dist guitars are naturally compressed.




Lol, troo. I guess it was inconceivable to me after having seen so many people abuse the shit out of compressors on guitar tracks. In fact most people I know who are into guitar based production or otherwise abuse compressors on everything. I always felt it left things sounding squished and lifeless... this thread is my vindication. HA!  Proof you should trust your ears. I'm going to tell those SAE graduates to kiss my ass.


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## aturaya (Mar 12, 2013)

bulb sed it

must be true


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