Enviualize a little sound engineer inside the Compressor who can move at near the speed of light.

He is looking at two VU meters and has his hands on two Volume Faders.

One VU meter shows him your signal level at the Input and the other meter shows him that level at the Output.

When you set the Attack control, you are telling the tiny sound engineer who moves at near the speed of light at what point on that Input meter you want him to adjust the fader. In other words, should he start turning the signal level up or down to suit what he's reading a bit sooner, or a bit later as regards the VU meter reading.

The little guy is also monitoring the Output VU meter, turning the other fader up or down to suit where you have set the Threshold control.

So, if your guitar note is dying out, the little guy can make it seem to last longer at the same volume level by simply moving the output fader higher as the signal dies out. Voila, you have increased your Sustain of each note.

Lighter settings can be used as a Limiter, to better control overall volume levels, say, when chord comping.

Ideally, in the Guitar signal chain, the Compressor pedal should be the FIRST effect/accessory in the chain, right after the pickup and patchcord.


--Mac

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