OD Pedals that create/generate sustain...(a true neophyte post)

[Stratman76]

At the effects pedal level, is sustain always a byproduct of compression? I've done some research and haven't uncovered anything conclusive... I'm not an audio engineer and do not play one on TV! My guess is that a pedal capable of creating/ generating sustain is compressing the signal to achieve this. True?

If this is at least generally true, wouldn't I be better off pairing a better compressor with a more dynamic OD pedal?

[jhc]

I'm really not sure about the science of this either, and while sustai and compression are linked, I don't know about any statement that includes the word "always". In real life there are several solutions for getting more sustain from a pedal.

Get the dynamic OD pedal of your choice, then get a Barber Tone Press. the Tone Press is a compressor which lets you blend in the uncompressed signal. With the mix set at about 50/50, you get a normal sounding note attack with added sustain at the end. Apparently a Line 6 Dr. Distorto can act as a sustainer independently of the distortion through some sort of digital sample and playback. Can sustain the unison note or add a note an ocatave higher. Sounds like it might be fun, never tried it though.

Alternately, a lot of OD/distortion/fuzz pedals can generate a lot of sustain on their own. Two that have worked for me are the Barber Small Fry (or it's bigger brother the Burn Unit) and the Baja Tech DA MOAF (a Big Muff style fuzz, really any Big Muff can generate a good amount of sustain). There are certainly many others... searches with terms like "violin", "santana" etc.. can find some useful threads.

[Stratman76]

I'm wondering if an OD pedal that generates sustain is compressing the signal to do so.

[harryjmic]

Usually the higher the gain the more compression, it's a good rule of thumb to go by. Some overdrives have compression built into them, while the compression isn't tweakable it is present and adds to the character of the tone. You will read threads from people asking about overdrives with compression and others who are looking for an overdrive that doesn't add compression.

[dancehall]

Originally Posted by Stratman76

I'm wondering if an OD pedal that generates sustain is compressing the signal to so.

Yes. OD inherently compresses the signal, even if there's not significant sustain.

[89strat]

I don't know about the technical details, but I know then when my amp is breaking up or I use a Rat as distortion, running a tube screamer in front of it gives me more sustain than the Tone Press or a dyna comp.

[Axekisser]

Most OD pedals produce distortion by "clipping" the waveform. This in effect is signal limiting. Some OD pedals, by design, clip the waveform more than others and produce a compressed/limited, well sustaining sound.

Multiple stacked pedals, each clipping the waveform a little, can also produce a sustaining effect.

What is happening is that by clipping and limiting the waveform, the device is decreasing the peak signal level in comparison to the average level (limiting or compression) which allows you to increase the overall level. That is why the OD pedals seem compressed and sustaining because that is what you are doing to the signal.

[jaywalker]

goose goose goose.
that's all U need to do.
I use up to 3 ODs at once with a decent comp to give me weeks of sustain, but not neccesarily too much drive (don't forget the noise gate)