Compressor in front?

[halfnote]

I have read over and over that you guys are using an od in front of your rec with the volume pinned and the gain way down. From what I understand this helps the lead voicing by adding mids and harmonics. I use a dynacomp in front to funk up rythym playing on the clean and to add sustain on the gain channels ( of my roadster). Am I missing some much needed tone by not applying an od? Does anyone else use a compressor? Does someone have both that could lay down the differences? I have also noticed that when I play in a three piece, myself, bass, and drums, my rig sounds phenomenal and cuts over the bass with ease. But when another guitar is added to the mix I lose some of that cut and I need to compensate with volume, has anyone else had this issue?

 

[jdurso]

I have read over and over that you guys are using an od in front of your rec with the volume pinned and the gain way down. From what I understand this helps the lead voicing by adding mids and harmonics. I use a dynacomp in front to funk up rythym playing on the clean and to add sustain on the gain channels ( of my roadster). Am I missing some much needed tone by not applying an od? Does anyone else use a compressor? Does someone have both that could lay down the differences? I have also noticed that when I play in a three piece, myself, bass, and drums, my rig sounds phenomenal and cuts over the bass with ease. But when another guitar is added to the mix I lose some of that cut and I need to compensate with volume, has anyone else had this issue?

The OD infront is more about boosting the signal and adding back in some mids (which most ODs tend to do or have an option for). This boost gets your preamp tubes closer to their clipping point which creates the right compression for lead work. A compressor can be used in a similar fashion (as a signal boost) but your also adding a little more color than an OD does because your compressing the signal more. I think the difference between the two can be night and day and actually running them together works really well if your amp is setup on the cleaner side of the spectrum.