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Article: Squeezy listening: three idiot-proof compressors.(Bench Tests)(Evaluation)
- Article from:
- Guitar Player
- Article date:
- October 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 New Bay Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If you stop to think about it, the very notion of a compressor -- a device that diminishes the dynamic range of an audio signal -- seems counter-musical. But in the perverse voodoo of psycho-acoustics, the opposite is true: Artfully applied compression can make tracks come to life, sounding not so much squashed as focused and full.
In last month's reviews of some of the latest tube-powered compressors, we noted how such gizmos can lend a touch of analog warmth to today's digital recorders. But we also warned against falling prey to the common guitaristic ailment of tube fetishism. Countless great recordings have passed through the strictly solid-state circuitry ...