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Guitarists often use compression to sustain long notes

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Click here for all Guitar FX basics videos.

Getting to grips with guitar effects can be a complicated business and there are so many different types that it can be difficult to know where to start. This Guitar FX basics series of video lessons is a brief introduction to the most common effects.

This video lesson focuses on compression. It’s easiest to think of compression as an automatic volume control, with the volume being turned down very quickly every time a loud sound occurs. The result is a smaller difference between loud and quiet sounds, making the signal sound ‘compressed’.

Listen to the video below to hear how this sounds.