I would like to make my guitar sound like the one in the famous strumming riff of the song: Need You Tonight by INXS.
I have found a reference online that describes a band member commenting about their recording techniques, and writing about that they used an UAD 1176 FET compressor to record the riff from the amplifier speakers.
Could anyone suggest a setting for that particular compressor that I should use to get the INXS sound? I know the guitar matters, speaker matters, etc, but I would like to replicate the dynamics of the guitars as authentically as possible. I like the compressor settings on that sound but I am unable to set that "stable" sound without getting unwanted 'artifacts', so to say.
I know the Threshold is a matter of the incoming guitar signal, but I would be interested in suggestions for the Ratio, Release and Attack. Or the steps to listen and set those to get the mentioned sound dynamics.
Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
There are 3 main guitar parts listening the intro. A strum and another with some delay off to the left then the chicken picking funky groove. Which one ?
Buy the track and drag it into you DAW and listen.
It is going to be nigh on impossible to suggest what the attack and release of the comp were with accuracy and a high likelyhood any ITB emulation will differ a little anyway. There must be 6-7 decent emulation of that compressor and they will all sound a little different.
Probably a bit slower attack on the muted picking to allow the rhythmic attacks through. The chords are smooth so might have been a bit faster attack, they don't bit too much and are quite uniform.
What I can say is they sound nicely controlled but there is not a tonne of gain reduction going on to my ears on the chords. The guitars are quite clean sounding. Try something like 2-3dB GR to start with.
Worth noting the attack and release controls work in reverse to other compressors on the 1176. So they are faster reacting the more clockwise they are.
Of great importance is matching the make up gain (same with any compressor) so what you hear is the compression action rather than just a drop in level from the gain reduction. So punch it in and out whilst matching the level by ear with and without compression. Then judge it.
Good luck, it will be fun finding out.
Buy the track and drag it into you DAW and listen.
It is going to be nigh on impossible to suggest what the attack and release of the comp were with accuracy and a high likelyhood any ITB emulation will differ a little anyway. There must be 6-7 decent emulation of that compressor and they will all sound a little different.
Probably a bit slower attack on the muted picking to allow the rhythmic attacks through. The chords are smooth so might have been a bit faster attack, they don't bit too much and are quite uniform.
What I can say is they sound nicely controlled but there is not a tonne of gain reduction going on to my ears on the chords. The guitars are quite clean sounding. Try something like 2-3dB GR to start with.
Worth noting the attack and release controls work in reverse to other compressors on the 1176. So they are faster reacting the more clockwise they are.
Of great importance is matching the make up gain (same with any compressor) so what you hear is the compression action rather than just a drop in level from the gain reduction. So punch it in and out whilst matching the level by ear with and without compression. Then judge it.
Good luck, it will be fun finding out.
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- SafeandSound Mastering
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Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Don't know if you watched this chap but perhaps some more ideas here ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06HEkLN1aBg
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
https://www.mixonline.com/recording/cla ... ght-367581
SSL 4000 desk, so possibly some compression from that, otherwise
"In the ample main room, the guitar amps were baffled and Beers’ bass cabinet put in an airlock. Nicholas double-miked the amps with a FET 47 and a Beyer 201 in an X-Y, “ran them up equal level and put them through an 1176 [limiter], and bingo—that’s all it needed; no EQ.”
So you've got a stereo guitar sound - presumably for all the guitar parts. No mention of the slapback echo, so there may have been other processing the article doesn't mention that was used.
Tim Farriss used JCM800 2203 heads and cabs, which will be important in getting the sound - it's not just the compression.
Definitely single coil guitars. But it could be a Tele, or a G&L ASAT or a Tokai Talbo. Sounds quite Strat-like to me so possibly the Talbo, but not necessarily.
On another forum (Gearspace), David Nicholas, the engineer at Rhinoceros wrote this.
Hi all,
The guitars on all the INXS records I recorded where done the same way.
Tim and Kirk used mainly their Marshal amps and had Roland multi FX pedals, in which they mainly just used for Delays.
I then put a FET 47 and a 57 in a v shape about 4 inches back from the cloth of one good speaker, ( In every quad box there is always one better than the rest.)
Then fed both mics from an SSL grp out into an 1176 strait to tape. which was a Studer A800 Mark 3 there was no EQ on the channels except for a low filter and a bit of 2.5K( maybe +1.5 db Wide Q)
The trick is to get a great sound at the amp then record it as clean as possible though a good limiter and then to tape. I still get the same results though going into Pro Tools, but now I add a Pultec MEQ, pre the 1176 and I compress more than when going to tape.
I must say though that if I get a great guitar sound with this setup and then a crap player plays through it, it will always sound crap.
All great guitar of drum sounds on records come from the players hands and the gear has very little to do with it. Get the sound at the source.. make sure the part is good... then record it cleanly.
I hope that answers your questions.
David
So there may be some tape effect in there as well depending on how hot they recorded.
Any 1176 is going to have a very fast attack. So it's probably the release time that's most important.
Plus the player. You won't sound like Clapton just by using the same equipment and you won't sound just like Tim Farriss just by using the same kit either.
SSL 4000 desk, so possibly some compression from that, otherwise
"In the ample main room, the guitar amps were baffled and Beers’ bass cabinet put in an airlock. Nicholas double-miked the amps with a FET 47 and a Beyer 201 in an X-Y, “ran them up equal level and put them through an 1176 [limiter], and bingo—that’s all it needed; no EQ.”
So you've got a stereo guitar sound - presumably for all the guitar parts. No mention of the slapback echo, so there may have been other processing the article doesn't mention that was used.
Tim Farriss used JCM800 2203 heads and cabs, which will be important in getting the sound - it's not just the compression.
Definitely single coil guitars. But it could be a Tele, or a G&L ASAT or a Tokai Talbo. Sounds quite Strat-like to me so possibly the Talbo, but not necessarily.
On another forum (Gearspace), David Nicholas, the engineer at Rhinoceros wrote this.
Hi all,
The guitars on all the INXS records I recorded where done the same way.
Tim and Kirk used mainly their Marshal amps and had Roland multi FX pedals, in which they mainly just used for Delays.
I then put a FET 47 and a 57 in a v shape about 4 inches back from the cloth of one good speaker, ( In every quad box there is always one better than the rest.)
Then fed both mics from an SSL grp out into an 1176 strait to tape. which was a Studer A800 Mark 3 there was no EQ on the channels except for a low filter and a bit of 2.5K( maybe +1.5 db Wide Q)
The trick is to get a great sound at the amp then record it as clean as possible though a good limiter and then to tape. I still get the same results though going into Pro Tools, but now I add a Pultec MEQ, pre the 1176 and I compress more than when going to tape.
I must say though that if I get a great guitar sound with this setup and then a crap player plays through it, it will always sound crap.
All great guitar of drum sounds on records come from the players hands and the gear has very little to do with it. Get the sound at the source.. make sure the part is good... then record it cleanly.
I hope that answers your questions.
David
So there may be some tape effect in there as well depending on how hot they recorded.
Any 1176 is going to have a very fast attack. So it's probably the release time that's most important.
Plus the player. You won't sound like Clapton just by using the same equipment and you won't sound just like Tim Farriss just by using the same kit either.
Reliably fallible.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
To tell the truth I am mostly interested in the compressor setting for this tone. And it is the strumming at 0:18 I am interested in.
When I read this description that you linked, I assumed it was the 1176 that created those steady dynamics that you can hear on the strumming. The problem is I tried to create such a steady clean sound several times, but I never suceeded to make it this good. There were different problems depending on compressors that I used: the sustain became too long, the transients were lost too much, or the compression was too much, knocking and noise effects of the pick got emphasized. Another common problem is that with well regulated dynamics, the sound becomes too thin. Looses the body.
The good thing about the strumming in the song mentioned is that it is so clean, lacks artifacts yet it is well compressed. What I can achieve myself is either clean sound with body but with rhapsodic compressor behavior, or steady compression with artifacts. Somehow unable the find the balance between these extremes. And the higher you play the fretboard, the more serious this problem gets.
When I read this description that you linked, I assumed it was the 1176 that created those steady dynamics that you can hear on the strumming. The problem is I tried to create such a steady clean sound several times, but I never suceeded to make it this good. There were different problems depending on compressors that I used: the sustain became too long, the transients were lost too much, or the compression was too much, knocking and noise effects of the pick got emphasized. Another common problem is that with well regulated dynamics, the sound becomes too thin. Looses the body.
The good thing about the strumming in the song mentioned is that it is so clean, lacks artifacts yet it is well compressed. What I can achieve myself is either clean sound with body but with rhapsodic compressor behavior, or steady compression with artifacts. Somehow unable the find the balance between these extremes. And the higher you play the fretboard, the more serious this problem gets.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
As David Nicholas said it's all in the fingers, if you can get the voicing, phrasing, strumming pattern and muting just right you're 90% there. Guitars sound like guitars and the sound of a clean Les Paul is closer to the sound of a D18 than it is to any other instrument. We hear the (significant to our ears) differences between the LP and the D18 because we are guitarists but the average listener doesn't, all they hear is a guitar...
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- Sam Spoons
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People often mistake me for a grown-up because of my age.
People often mistake me for a grown-up because of my age.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
The way it's mentioned sounds more like it was used as a "safety" limiter, not a critical part of "the sound".
I have to disagree with that opinion. I'm with Sam, it's (at least!) 90% in the playing. It sounds, to me, like the consistency comes from strumming loudly / strongly. It's far easier to maintain consistent loudness (of strumming) at maximum than it is at any lower level.
BWC
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
This ^^^
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- Sam Spoons
Forum Aficionado - Posts: 22904 Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2003 12:00 am Location: Manchester UK
Still mourning the loss of my 'Jedi Poster" status
People often mistake me for a grown-up because of my age.
People often mistake me for a grown-up because of my age.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Well, of course we don't know exactly what role the limiter played. And me, I don't have any experience in this style that INXS played. But according to my experience with effects, I assume the compressors had a role to create this sound. When you play this funky like strumming, there is a kind of chime in the sound. That comes from hitting the strings heavily. It is a desired, pleasant feature of this kind of guitar sound. But if you play without a compressor, you won't get the same sound when playing. That chime becomes pleasant when it doesn't break the dynamics of your guitar part, but the whole thing stays at the same level. That is how you can maintain a powerful, groovy playing approach, get the chime and still stay consistent with your volume.
What you write about: the loud playing approach that sounds like a compressed sound, it is another possible approach. I agree about that. You can indeed mimic a compressor or a limiter with pushing the hardness of picking to the limits of your guitar, and thus while everything is at max level, the volume will be steady. The only problem is: what guitars to use for this and how to set it to sound like that? I did play guitars where the strings were low, and when you picked it strong, you heard a punch on every note, that is actually the chime I am referring to, and if you played hard, everything was even. But with my guitar I couldn't replicate it. When you start lowering the strings, there is no chime (or punch) up to a point, and when you could get it, actually it will be too low and the string gets muted, and will not have a punch but a dull, unpleasant sound. And you just cannot find that point where it would work. Maybe it also depends on the profile of the frets.
One example for this punchy guitar is this guitar line:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zeosWN ... sp=sharing
The problem is, however that there are guitar parts from certain songs that are not this punchy, yet they have the desired chime and the sound is still steady. I noticed you can get that sound when you play with the compressor and the threshold is low enough: you start hearing a kind of pleasant effect that you hit the strings heavy (there is no punch because the strings are not low), but a pleasant characteristic effect kicks in, and you can even feel it when you play that you you are hitting the strings with various hardness, yet everything is even and that pleasant sound is there when you hit it hardl. Something similar that you can hear in this guitar part:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tbKsn1 ... sp=sharing
In this song the guitar sounds as if it had a distorion effect on, but when you play with the compressor, you can get this exact sound. When you hit the string a bit more powerfully, you get that distorion like effect, that is not a true distorion effect on, but sounds similar as if it was. The only problem, I when I set the compressor to get that sound, artifatcs comes with it. The silent parts get emphasized, noises that don't disturb you normally starts becoming disturbing, and a kind of knocking sound starts appearing at the beginnig of most of the notes. Instead of getting a clean, noiseless sound like in the example, my sound will be full of unwanted noises and artifacts.
That's why I decided to ask about the song of INXS, because their guitar riff is a very famous classic riff with this guitar tone, and I thought it is an open secret how to set it.
What you write about: the loud playing approach that sounds like a compressed sound, it is another possible approach. I agree about that. You can indeed mimic a compressor or a limiter with pushing the hardness of picking to the limits of your guitar, and thus while everything is at max level, the volume will be steady. The only problem is: what guitars to use for this and how to set it to sound like that? I did play guitars where the strings were low, and when you picked it strong, you heard a punch on every note, that is actually the chime I am referring to, and if you played hard, everything was even. But with my guitar I couldn't replicate it. When you start lowering the strings, there is no chime (or punch) up to a point, and when you could get it, actually it will be too low and the string gets muted, and will not have a punch but a dull, unpleasant sound. And you just cannot find that point where it would work. Maybe it also depends on the profile of the frets.
One example for this punchy guitar is this guitar line:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zeosWN ... sp=sharing
The problem is, however that there are guitar parts from certain songs that are not this punchy, yet they have the desired chime and the sound is still steady. I noticed you can get that sound when you play with the compressor and the threshold is low enough: you start hearing a kind of pleasant effect that you hit the strings heavy (there is no punch because the strings are not low), but a pleasant characteristic effect kicks in, and you can even feel it when you play that you you are hitting the strings with various hardness, yet everything is even and that pleasant sound is there when you hit it hardl. Something similar that you can hear in this guitar part:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tbKsn1 ... sp=sharing
In this song the guitar sounds as if it had a distorion effect on, but when you play with the compressor, you can get this exact sound. When you hit the string a bit more powerfully, you get that distorion like effect, that is not a true distorion effect on, but sounds similar as if it was. The only problem, I when I set the compressor to get that sound, artifatcs comes with it. The silent parts get emphasized, noises that don't disturb you normally starts becoming disturbing, and a kind of knocking sound starts appearing at the beginnig of most of the notes. Instead of getting a clean, noiseless sound like in the example, my sound will be full of unwanted noises and artifacts.
That's why I decided to ask about the song of INXS, because their guitar riff is a very famous classic riff with this guitar tone, and I thought it is an open secret how to set it.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Yes, it is an open secret, but it's not compressor settings, it's... practice! 
You keep saying things like, "without a compressor, you won't get the same sound when playing" and "you cannot get that steady sound without compression". Maybe you can't, but don't make assumptions about what I (or anyone else) can or can't do. Just because you can't get that sound without compression doesn't mean that no one can. You frequently say "you" when you mean "I" and that's important, because we're all at different levels of different skills. There are plenty of people out there who have practiced more than I have, and so, can do things that I cannot. I might find a different way to achieve similar results, but that doesn't then mean that they could only have achieved it the same way that I did. Their skills and limitations, and mine, are different. You've now been told by, no less than, three different people (all of whom likely have more experience and have practiced more than you) that it's 90%, or more, in the hands of the player.
I hope you can accept that. If not, then I'm afraid I can't help you any further, and simply wish you the best of luck (and fun!) in your explorations.
You keep saying things like, "without a compressor, you won't get the same sound when playing" and "you cannot get that steady sound without compression". Maybe you can't, but don't make assumptions about what I (or anyone else) can or can't do. Just because you can't get that sound without compression doesn't mean that no one can. You frequently say "you" when you mean "I" and that's important, because we're all at different levels of different skills. There are plenty of people out there who have practiced more than I have, and so, can do things that I cannot. I might find a different way to achieve similar results, but that doesn't then mean that they could only have achieved it the same way that I did. Their skills and limitations, and mine, are different. You've now been told by, no less than, three different people (all of whom likely have more experience and have practiced more than you) that it's 90%, or more, in the hands of the player.
I hope you can accept that. If not, then I'm afraid I can't help you any further, and simply wish you the best of luck (and fun!) in your explorations.
BWC
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
I think the INXS thing is this:
It looks pretty square and on the beat but because the phrase ends on an upbeat that is actually syncopation. The first bar and the second bar could be two different guitars. The chords sound like they may have some chorus or other modulation.
It's a good clean guitar sound and amps do have a bit of compression. It's good to strip things right back. Try the phrase without plugging the guitar in. Then just straight into an amp or amp simulator.
I'm not sure that I would be too bothered about playing as hard as possible. I use an inflexible pick and my maximum volume is slightly south of breaking the strings.
It looks pretty square and on the beat but because the phrase ends on an upbeat that is actually syncopation. The first bar and the second bar could be two different guitars. The chords sound like they may have some chorus or other modulation.
It's a good clean guitar sound and amps do have a bit of compression. It's good to strip things right back. Try the phrase without plugging the guitar in. Then just straight into an amp or amp simulator.
I'm not sure that I would be too bothered about playing as hard as possible. I use an inflexible pick and my maximum volume is slightly south of breaking the strings.
It ain't what you don't know. It's what you know that ain't so.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
I (mostly) use a pretty stiff pick as well, so I wouldn't be trying to break my strings either. 
I do think it sounds like it was strummed forcefully though, which I think is an important part of the "consistency" of the dynamics.
I do think it sounds like it was strummed forcefully though, which I think is an important part of the "consistency" of the dynamics. BWC
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
There's lots of things at play here, and I suspect that the compression settings are one of the least important but have just been used to tighten up the sound of the guitar part as the overall arrangement is very sparse.
Two things I have learned from almost 50 years of writing and recording songs:
1. I don't sound like other guitarists even if I use their gear with exactly the same settings and play the same thing. Depending on what they are playing and how careful I am with my interpretation of it I might get pretty close, but I'll never sound exactly the same.
2. Trying to shoehorn a sound I like from a record into one of my compositions and arrangements rarely works, and if I do management to get something to fit by the time the track has been recorded and mixed the sound I was trying to recreate will be very different from its inspiration. That, IMO is not a bad thing. Most great sounds are a product of both the individual sound and how it works in the overall mix and arrangement. In the context of a different mix and/or arrangement you'll almost definitely need to change the sound.
So to the OP. Don't get hung up on trying to reproduce this guitar sound exactly. Work on your technique to get the strumming a clean and precise as possible and only use the compressor as a final "icing". And be prepared to have to change everything to get a similar idea to work in the context of YOUR song.
Two things I have learned from almost 50 years of writing and recording songs:
1. I don't sound like other guitarists even if I use their gear with exactly the same settings and play the same thing. Depending on what they are playing and how careful I am with my interpretation of it I might get pretty close, but I'll never sound exactly the same.
2. Trying to shoehorn a sound I like from a record into one of my compositions and arrangements rarely works, and if I do management to get something to fit by the time the track has been recorded and mixed the sound I was trying to recreate will be very different from its inspiration. That, IMO is not a bad thing. Most great sounds are a product of both the individual sound and how it works in the overall mix and arrangement. In the context of a different mix and/or arrangement you'll almost definitely need to change the sound.
So to the OP. Don't get hung up on trying to reproduce this guitar sound exactly. Work on your technique to get the strumming a clean and precise as possible and only use the compressor as a final "icing". And be prepared to have to change everything to get a similar idea to work in the context of YOUR song.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Sure. But I would say that the most important thing about the consistency is the consistency.
Last edited by merlyn on Mon Jun 09, 2025 4:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It ain't what you don't know. It's what you know that ain't so.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
And you may find that he used a Boss CS-2 before the amp (Tim apparently mainly used Boss pedals in his rig and the CS-2 would have been the Boss compressor out at that time), but it's simply not mentioned anywhere.
Reliably fallible.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
The two mics on the amp are summed to mono, it’s not XY it’s a V arrangement.
To my ears there is some kind of dynamic interplay between the guitar and the drum machine. The drum machine is compressed and the guitar seems like its compressor is being pumped slightly by it via a key signal.
Also as has been said- it’s largely the player. He is always bang on the pulse and his dynamics are very steady with very clear chord voicings that ring out perfectly even in staccato playing.
To my ears there is some kind of dynamic interplay between the guitar and the drum machine. The drum machine is compressed and the guitar seems like its compressor is being pumped slightly by it via a key signal.
Also as has been said- it’s largely the player. He is always bang on the pulse and his dynamics are very steady with very clear chord voicings that ring out perfectly even in staccato playing.
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- Tomás Mulcahy
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Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Totally. A consistency exercise could be to mute all six strings and strum sixteenth notes in an even rhythm. More difficult than it sounds as upstrokes tend to be weaker than downstrokes.
It ain't what you don't know. It's what you know that ain't so.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Then, once you've got the hang of that, try the same thing, but only strumming the top three, or bottom three strings (with all six still muted), maintaining consistency while increasing precision. 
As for that "last few percent" of the sound:
Might that be some compression applied to the whole mix (in mastering) that you're hearing?
Closest thing is from what you quoted.
So, I suppose, some Boss compression in there is certainly possible. I think merlyn might be right about there being some modulation in there.* So, maybe used for more than just delays?**
*...without having specifically listened for it, just relying on memory.
**...or maybe just from Nicholas' perspective, "chorus, delay, same difference."?
As for that "last few percent" of the sound:
Tomás Mulcahy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 09, 2025 4:48 pm To my ears there is some kind of dynamic interplay between the guitar and the drum machine. The drum machine is compressed and the guitar seems like its compressor is being pumped slightly by it via a key signal.
Might that be some compression applied to the whole mix (in mastering) that you're hearing?
Closest thing is from what you quoted.
So, I suppose, some Boss compression in there is certainly possible. I think merlyn might be right about there being some modulation in there.* So, maybe used for more than just delays?**
*...without having specifically listened for it, just relying on memory.
**...or maybe just from Nicholas' perspective, "chorus, delay, same difference."?
BWC
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
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- Tomás Mulcahy
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Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Sorry guys, this will be long again, but you misunderstood certain things. But it is my fault because I did not tell about every aspect I started this thread.
When I wrote 'you', I referred to people in general.
Anyway, the situation and logic behing this question about the INXS guitar is the following:
1. I need the funky guitar sound. I have never been into funky strumming too much, but based on my experiences on the dynamics of guitar playing, the behavior of strings, and how to get specific sounds, I had a suspicion, that to play funky and get a decent sound, you need the compressor. Maybe it is not needed by all, but I have just typed funky lesson in to Youtube, and voila, the first most important thing that the tutor describes is the compressor setting he uses, and that throughout the lesson, the compressor is always on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXm8MXlrDxc&t=95s
Now I guess, we could do endless debates here about different approaches and techniques, but let us agree that obviously there is a branch that likes using compressor to get that sound, and I also belong to that.
2. Why I raised this question is because I don't want to play funky or INXS, I just need that stable chimey sound. The examples from other musics I linked: those are the songs that I need this sound for, when we play them live. That genre and its playing technique resembels funky to some extent. The strumming is not done on full chords, but part of chords, and it is a chord oriented playing.
3. This made me think that for the samples I linked and for others songs of those artists, some kind of compressor was used to get the stable sound. On some of the songs, you can hear that punchyness, so indeed, it can be the case that they had a low sting neck setting, that provides a kind of "compression" itself, but the interesting is that on other albums of those artists, this punchy guitar is not available, the tone is more soft, jazz like, however the playing technique is the same, but the volume is still as steady as with the punchy guitar. That is quite interesting and makes me think the stable volume comes from the use of compressors and not guitar settings.
4. The only problem is that whenever I use compressors, the artifacts I mentioned appear. I don't understand how the people I mentioned could set it to sound clear yet have no artifacts. That's why I thought I ask about INXS, because that is a funky like strumming as well, so I suspected the compressor was an integral part of the sound. Yet it is a clean sound without artifacts. Maybe I am wrong about that. But you see in the linked funky course, ther compressor is there too, so...
5. You may say that: okay, but it is just my assumption, and the people I refer to were actually professionals, and could play it steady. I have 2 problems with it: first, I worked with some of them, recording tutorials, for example, and I can tell you their guitar doesn't sound that steady when you hear them play live. They can play the tunes from memory by ear, they don't make any mistakes, but the volume is not as rock solid steady as on the records. When they play live, there are more dynamics, way more than on the records. It may not be obvious for the everyday listener, but if your have an ear for it, you can notice. The only problem is that when I asked them, they could not tell why, because they can only play but not engineer things, and have no idea what the engineer did when producing the record. Secondly, there are records where you can actually catch the proof for the compressor, simply because it was set in a way to have the artifact, listen to this for example:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQ4b95 ... sp=sharing
You can hear in the first half of the sample that knock or pop like effect on the transients, that compressors typically do when they kick in strong.
This compressor artifact is not present in case of several records though. Maybe it was just because of the setting of the quitar, but you see you can catch the compressor on some records, so I have a suspicion their engineers did use it. By the way, there was one compressor that behaved very well, and produced a sound that lacks artifacts: my friend had a big Marshall bass amp in the 2000's, among others it had a 1 knob compressor in the chain of the cabinet. We played guitars on it too, and that compressor was very clean, lacked most of the annoying artifacts. The problem is I have no idea what amp it was and how the circuit of that compressor looked like. But all the boutique pedals that I purchased are much more problematic, even the two knob Demeter compressor is not as transparent as that one was. Moreover the Marshall ED-1 pedal compressor was the one that produced very nasty knocking artifacts when I tried it.
When I wrote 'you', I referred to people in general.
Anyway, the situation and logic behing this question about the INXS guitar is the following:
1. I need the funky guitar sound. I have never been into funky strumming too much, but based on my experiences on the dynamics of guitar playing, the behavior of strings, and how to get specific sounds, I had a suspicion, that to play funky and get a decent sound, you need the compressor. Maybe it is not needed by all, but I have just typed funky lesson in to Youtube, and voila, the first most important thing that the tutor describes is the compressor setting he uses, and that throughout the lesson, the compressor is always on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXm8MXlrDxc&t=95s
Now I guess, we could do endless debates here about different approaches and techniques, but let us agree that obviously there is a branch that likes using compressor to get that sound, and I also belong to that.
2. Why I raised this question is because I don't want to play funky or INXS, I just need that stable chimey sound. The examples from other musics I linked: those are the songs that I need this sound for, when we play them live. That genre and its playing technique resembels funky to some extent. The strumming is not done on full chords, but part of chords, and it is a chord oriented playing.
3. This made me think that for the samples I linked and for others songs of those artists, some kind of compressor was used to get the stable sound. On some of the songs, you can hear that punchyness, so indeed, it can be the case that they had a low sting neck setting, that provides a kind of "compression" itself, but the interesting is that on other albums of those artists, this punchy guitar is not available, the tone is more soft, jazz like, however the playing technique is the same, but the volume is still as steady as with the punchy guitar. That is quite interesting and makes me think the stable volume comes from the use of compressors and not guitar settings.
4. The only problem is that whenever I use compressors, the artifacts I mentioned appear. I don't understand how the people I mentioned could set it to sound clear yet have no artifacts. That's why I thought I ask about INXS, because that is a funky like strumming as well, so I suspected the compressor was an integral part of the sound. Yet it is a clean sound without artifacts. Maybe I am wrong about that. But you see in the linked funky course, ther compressor is there too, so...
5. You may say that: okay, but it is just my assumption, and the people I refer to were actually professionals, and could play it steady. I have 2 problems with it: first, I worked with some of them, recording tutorials, for example, and I can tell you their guitar doesn't sound that steady when you hear them play live. They can play the tunes from memory by ear, they don't make any mistakes, but the volume is not as rock solid steady as on the records. When they play live, there are more dynamics, way more than on the records. It may not be obvious for the everyday listener, but if your have an ear for it, you can notice. The only problem is that when I asked them, they could not tell why, because they can only play but not engineer things, and have no idea what the engineer did when producing the record. Secondly, there are records where you can actually catch the proof for the compressor, simply because it was set in a way to have the artifact, listen to this for example:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQ4b95 ... sp=sharing
You can hear in the first half of the sample that knock or pop like effect on the transients, that compressors typically do when they kick in strong.
This compressor artifact is not present in case of several records though. Maybe it was just because of the setting of the quitar, but you see you can catch the compressor on some records, so I have a suspicion their engineers did use it. By the way, there was one compressor that behaved very well, and produced a sound that lacks artifacts: my friend had a big Marshall bass amp in the 2000's, among others it had a 1 knob compressor in the chain of the cabinet. We played guitars on it too, and that compressor was very clean, lacked most of the annoying artifacts. The problem is I have no idea what amp it was and how the circuit of that compressor looked like. But all the boutique pedals that I purchased are much more problematic, even the two knob Demeter compressor is not as transparent as that one was. Moreover the Marshall ED-1 pedal compressor was the one that produced very nasty knocking artifacts when I tried it.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
I'm not sure what form the answer you are looking for would take. Do you want an exact recommendation for guitar, string gauge, action height, exact model of amp, amp settings, exact model of compressor and compressor settings? Because as INXS's engineer said, it depends on how you play. If we just deal with this ...
Are you saying that a low action is punchy? A low action to me limits how hard the guitar can be played as fret buzz will result at some point. Are you suggesting that fret buzz is punchy? Genuine question.
bencuri wrote: ↑Wed Jun 11, 2025 2:32 pm ... On some of the songs, you can hear that punchyness, so indeed, it can be the case that they had a low sting neck setting, that provides a kind of "compression" itself, but the interesting is that on other albums of those artists, this punchy guitar is not available, the tone is more soft, jazz like, however the playing technique is the same, but the volume is still as steady as with the punchy guitar.
Are you saying that a low action is punchy? A low action to me limits how hard the guitar can be played as fret buzz will result at some point. Are you suggesting that fret buzz is punchy? Genuine question.
It ain't what you don't know. It's what you know that ain't so.
Re: Compressor settings for INXS guitar sound
Without sitting with you in person, it's hard to know exacty what issues you are having when you play.
For a low budget, this is the most transparent compressor I've got.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CS6P01M? ... tle_1&th=1
It levels things off but without the very compressed sound you get from some compressors.
But something with a blend control like the XP compressor is similar and allows you to mix the compressed signal with the compressed signal so you get a more level signal but without too much 'squashed' sound coming through.
https://xotic.us/effects/sp-compressor/
I also have the UAFX 1176 pedal, but I think it's faulty as it's very hard to get it to compress in standard 1176 mode using single coils without boosting the signal first.
For a low budget, this is the most transparent compressor I've got.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CS6P01M? ... tle_1&th=1
It levels things off but without the very compressed sound you get from some compressors.
But something with a blend control like the XP compressor is similar and allows you to mix the compressed signal with the compressed signal so you get a more level signal but without too much 'squashed' sound coming through.
https://xotic.us/effects/sp-compressor/
I also have the UAFX 1176 pedal, but I think it's faulty as it's very hard to get it to compress in standard 1176 mode using single coils without boosting the signal first.
Reliably fallible.