Re: Creative doldrums and compressors

[Kevin Miller <km15@cornell.edu>]

>> >I tried the Carl Martin compressor at the TC booth, and it was quite 
>nice,
>> >although I was dismayed that it doesn't do the famous Bill Frissel
>> >"squeeze" trick (wherein lowering the volume level on the guitar can
>> >result in the threshold of the compressor causing notes to fade in). 


>Bill Frisell uses a volume pedal to take the attack off of notes.  You
>can do it with a compressor (the TC Sustainer is terrific for it), but
>it doesn't give the same degree of control that a good volume pedal
>does. 

     Frisell has said in interviews that people misunderstand what he was 
doing
with his devices. My impression is that he used the "squeeze" trick 
mentioned
above to fade into the notes, and the volume pedal to extend the notes. 
When
I tried this myself, voila! instant Frisellification, including:

 
> where different notes in the chord
>have different attacks. 

    I get a lot more control over these kinds of attacks with the 
Sustainer and
soft/hard picking (guitar volume backed off) than with volume pedal alone,
but I've practiced the technique a lot ( I don't normally sound like 
Frisell,
 I just love the effect) and I 
may not have the best volume pedal (some Fender jobbie). Of course, for
certain kinds of fade-ins, there's no substitute for a volume pedal. ( 
Have I
used enough parentheses in this paragraph?)

It's possible that I misunderstood what he said he was doing, but now that
Frisell has put aside his gizmos, I guess we're talking history here... 


 Then again, I love just about everything he
>does.  Frisell is one of those rare few who make magic with just about
>every note they play

       Amen, Dave- he's one of a kind.

          Kevin