Keeley Compressor Pro
Keeley Compressor Pro. The stomp-box sized compressor/limiter is
made in Oklahoma, USA and engineered to be an indispensable tool for
your musical endeavors. It is in no way limited to be used with only
guitar. It has been designed to work as a studio compressor accepting
any range of inputs and a frequency response and noise level matching
the finest compressors made.
Introduction of Features
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Compression LED Display – 7 Segment LED display for fast and
accurate metering of compression and gain reduction. Gain Reduction
Levels of -1dB to -20dB are indicated.
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Threshold LED Indicator – Bi-Color LED to indicate when compression is initiated and released.
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Exact RMS Analysis (ERA) – Senses the true RMS value of the input program material such as your guitar, bass or drum machine.
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Hard/Soft Knee Compression – Hard Compression for limiting or adding
sustain, soft knee or Komfort Kompression for gentle compression,
keeping performances lively and natural sounding without potential phase
issues in parallel, or blending style compression.
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Auto Mode – Program dependent Attack and Release times. Set to Auto
ON for worry-free performance and automatic Attack and Release times.
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True-Bypass – No tone or signal loss when OFF
General Compressor Usage
The Keeley Compressor Pro is designed to be used at home or in the
studio for creating full sounding recordings of any instrument. In live
situations, the Compressor Pro can be used to achieve full sounding,
polished performances as well as protect amplifiers and speakers from
overload. The Comp Pro is designed to work with any instrument from
voice and guitar to keyboard, bass, or drums. Use it when creating a
podcast or YouTube videos to maintain professional performance levels.
Use it around the home to create tons of sustain while at low volumes
or low gain settings!
Device Controls
THRESHOLD, RATIO, ATTACK, RELEASE, GAIN, KNEE, & AUTO
THRESHOLD Control and LED
– This is probably the most important control on the Comp Pro. It is
adjusted to determine when the compressor is working or when sound is
being passed through unaffected. The Threshold control is turned down
or CCW until the THRESHOLD LED turns Red as you play your instrument.
When the THRESHOLD LED turns Red the Comp Pro is actively compressing
your signal. If the LED is Green, the Comp Pro is not compressing and
sound is passed through unchanged.
Range of Adjustment is from -50dBu to +10dBu. 2.45mVRMS to 2.45VRMS –
Pro Audio (studio) Levels are +4dBu Consumer Audio Levels are -10dBu.
Passive guitar or bass pickups are typically about -25dBu to 2.5dBu.
RATIO Control
– “the Compression Knob”, Ratio is the amount of compression you set
the Comp Pro for. You can set it from No Compression (1:1) when all of
the way off or CCW. You can set it as high as Infinite Compression
(∞:1) which means that the output level will never increase in output
level no matter how loud the input. This type of setting can be used
for hard-limiting to protect recording or speakers or in some cases for
guitar effects like chicken-pickin’.
ATTACK Control – Attack Times between 0.15ms and 150ms. Controls the time it takes for the Comp Pro to start compressing.
RELEASE Control – Release Times between 0.1s to 3s. Controls the time before the Comp Pro releases or stops compression .
GAIN Control
– This is the output level of the compressor. It does not affect the
compression controls like THRESHOLD, RATIO, ATTACK or RELEASE. It is
for make-up gain if you set for heavy compression gain reduction. +20dB
of boost is possible.
KNEE Switch
– Hard Knee/Soft Knee. Hard Knee Compression follows a hard fast rule:
If THRESHOLD is met, then Compress at this RATIO. Soft Knee is Komfort
Kompression. It’s a way to keep compressed guitar or instrument parts
sounding lively and dynamic, without the “blanket” of compression found
in many types of compressors.
AUTO Switch
– OFF/ON – Set to ON in most cases for automatic setting of Attack and
Release Times. This will sound natural and work in a very large number
of cases. The Comp Pro looks at the input signals like guitar, bass,
vocals or drums and determines the correct attack and release times
depending on what you’re playing and what signal levels are being
detected.
Good Compression Settings
SMOOTHING – Changes in signal level happen when the
singer moves away from the microphone or when a guitar player may not
use perfect technique in controlling their dynamics, i.e. less than
perfect picking hand technique. To smooth changes in dynamics use the
Comp Pro for low to medium compression. Set AUTO Switch to ON. Adjust
the Compression RATIO Control to 2:1 to 4:1 for example. Set the Gain
Reduction LEDS by adjusting the THRESHOLD Control to indicate 3-9 dB of
gain reduction on the 7 Segment LED Bar. Adjust GAIN Control if
needed. Set KNEE Switch to SOFT. Now play slow and steady chord work,
list to how toggling the KNEE switch back and forth Hard/Soft affects
your tone and the attack or punch of the notes as well as the release.
SUSTAIN – To add sustain to guitars or keyboards
start with a higher Compression RATIO setting for example 10:1 to ∞:1,
Set THRESHOLD Control so that THRESHOLD LED turns Red for average level
of your guitar or performance, the LED stays red about half the time.
You can set the KNEE Switch to HARD or SOFT, SOFT may seem more
transparent.
CHICKEN PICKING COMPRESSION – Set RATIO Control to
5:1 to 10:1, a quick RELEASE Time of .5s to 1s. ATTACK Time for quick
attack 10-50ms and THRESHOLD Control set to give you 9-12dB of Gain
Reduction/Compression on the 7-Segment COMPRESSION LED Array. This will
typically give you compression artifacts or effects like a breathing or
pumping sound.
BASS BOOM AND SLAP – For a punchy bass guitar sound
set the Comp Pro for a medium to high Compression RATIO (6:1 to 10:1)
and adjust the THRESHOLD so that the -12dB and sometimes -20dB
COMPRESSION LEDs are lit while playing. Set KNEE to Hard mode. That
will make the bass punchy and slap a bit harder, reducing boominess.
Try Soft KNEE for a a different feel. Set AUTO On.
PREVENT DIGITAL DISTORTION – Set Keeley Compressor Pro as a Hard Limiter
by turning RATIO control all of the way up to Infinity to One
compression ratio. Set KNEE for Hard. By adjusting the final Gain level
to your clipping lights on the digital recorder, you can insure you
won’t ruin recordings or get unwanted distortions.
SPEAKER PROTECT (Concerts, Churches, Sound Systems and P.A.s)
– You can use the compressor as above as a Hard Limiter. If when
playing you hear distortions from your sound reinforcement equipment you
can reduce the THRESHOLD, increase RATIO, and reduce GAIN to achieve
perfect results. This is where it might be nice to use your Keeley
Compressor Pro as the last effect in your signal chain as it can prevent
different effects from getting too loud or being added together to
drastically increase output volume.
NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR KEELEY COMP PRO – The
Compressor Pro makes the perfect booster or driver for your rig! You
can always set the RATIO control for 1:1 compression (otherwise known as
No Compression) and use the GAIN to push your amp, pedals, speakers, or
other guy out of the way! Once you have learned your new Comp Pro
there will never be a reason not to use it.