Dialling in COMPRESSOR & DRIVE Pedals For Ultimate Tone

Showing you how to get some great tones out of any compressor and drive pedals. A few simple tips will help open up your pedal board tones and hopefully show you some new approaches to dialling in tones.
Gear I Used:
Origin Cali Stacked: origineffects.com/product/cal...
Maxon OD808: maxonfx.com/products/reissue-...
Chase Bliss Preamp MK2: www.chasebliss.com/preamp-mkii
Check out my Merch here: www.sleeplessapparel.co.uk
00:00 - Intro
01:48 - The Board
02:35 - Guitar Tone
03:56 - Using Compression
12:27 - Overdrive with Compression
18:24 - Adding Fuzz
22:16 - Using Single Coils
27:15 - Summary
Video edited by John Hollingworth
#rabeaafro #diallingin #pedalboard
⬇️⬇️⬇️ Feel free to read this ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Hey guys, I’m Rabea. Thank you so much for checking out my channel. If you wanna follow me and check out my music, my collaborations with brands or my other social channels, check out the links below!
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[@nickgjenkins]

"John, my editor" sounded like "John Mayer today" and I was like, excuse me? lol

[@simonmodig]

Haha I know me too

[@captainjonty]

I’ll take it 😎

[@MaTTheWish]

Same, consulting John Mayer for some nasty metal tones would be great.

[@therewasascene]

Read it before I heard it made it even funnier

[@kellymckenzie4865]

I heard the same thing hahaha

[@RabeaMassaad]

Thanks for watching guys - have to hold my hands up as a few eagle eyes have pointed out already - I described the use of the Cali compressor wrong. Anti clockwise is actually using only one side. I went off the writing on the pedal and the arrows were pointing from right to left and on the right hand side it’s labelled 1 - so I assumed from right to left was Thru…. I guess I was wrong. The information still stands - as I explained these techniques can be done with any compressor and tube screamer. It was more to illustrate what compression does to a crunch tone. My bad guys.

[@MrNeedlekiller]

Thanks. As a Stacked owner I was going to comment but you beat me to it. Still sounded awesome didn't it?

[@hekakain4108]

I was just about to ask could you demo both sides of the stacked Cali76...and you just did Rab...great demo bud as usual.

[@frankgerrits]

A wise man you are. Powerful you have become. Pass on what you've learned. Always two there are, no more, no less, a master and an apprentice. May the force be with you...

[@theorc9098]

I've been playing over 40 years. Thank you Rabea for these tutorials. Sometimes one's own ears deceive them when it comes to dialling in a sound. This really helps.

[@SkylerMills]

Just do what sounds best to you, you'll find your uniqueness in the "deception " or the "wrong" at the end of the day. People connect with unique art. Happy playing!

[@mkizz4263]

I just turned 60 and when I grow up I want to play just like Rabea!!! lol Thank you for the info Rabea!!!! Rock on Bro!

[@draconds]

Damn, those last two videos have been a blessing on my life. I've recently updated my pedalboard with a new delay and preamp and i've always struggled to balance my delay and reverb together. Thanks for the help, man!

[@michaelgriffin5304]

This is a great series/idea. Going over different tonal properties and stuff like you did with the other Reverb and Delay vid is very useful.

[@2015IeepWranglerJK]

Rabea, you are a pleasure to watch. You are informative and a hell of a guitar player. You make every instruction easy to follow and you have a great ear for tone. Thank you.

[@benspeeds]

I returned to playing and recording guitar recently, after a decade away from it. The game has changed considerably in that time, and I've had to absorb an obscene amount of information in a short time in order to get back into recording. The compression info was particularly helpful for me personally. Loved it! Thanks boss!

[@fgarcia12569]

Has to be one of the greatest vids period. I have a Keeley Compressor plus and really struggled to do anything with it. But after watching this I cranked it together with my Thunderclaw pedal, 60th Anniversary Les Paul, Nano POG and my Mesa Lonestar Classic and wow! Just transformed the sound. Super thick and crunchy. Thank you!! Cheers!!

[@scottkidwellmusic9175]

Thank you, Rabea. I appreciate these dealing in videos. It got me to look at my pedalboard more mindfully and deliberately. Working through a few things after watching this video. Be good to you

[@matiasbaezamusic]

I’ve been using the same chain for years, and Love to see I wasn’t crazy! Super well explained, love it! Cheers.

[@RedbackRecordz]

Thank you once again Rabea! That was a great way to explain the use of these pedals. I have always struggled with compression and your explanation has completely changed my mind and inspired me once again! Cheers mate!! 🤘🤘

[@sublimemymind23]

This is an awesome series! Keep this up, I would love to see more!

[@Orion13622]

I've been going thru my pedalboard and replacing the cheap pedals for the last few months trying to get the "sound" I want, and this helps immensly. Thank you Rabea!

[@paulbellamy2810]

Couldn't be better timed for me. Recently bought a Cali 76 and this video has given me some great ideas to try out.

[@flok2929]

This one riff… when you talk about utilizing fuzz with gain stages… it was the intro riff from your first stereo pedal board overview video… that one riff… I don’t know how many times I played it, trying to get that tone… Not knowing which channel on your Kraken you are on, Thunderclaw or germanium fuzz, TS yes / no… oh man, I know a Magician doesn’t tell anybody his secrets, but damn it… that colossal stereo fuzz tone… I keep on struggling with fuzz, as it tends to get uncontrollable in the low end, your tone is always full and rich, never muddy. Thanks for making great content for so many years!

[@gimmenames9039]

Killer! Compression much overlooked and this really shows the possibilities. Learned a lot. Thx!

[@evanmichael6557]

Finally a perfectly practical video on this topic, thank you!

[@MrJingles021]

I recently moved my compressor after all of my overdrives. I'm using the Walrus Audio Mira, and it is amazing. It's maybe only a little bit noiser than being in the front, but now my dynamics sound way better. I get the clean dynamics, but now the volume is smoothed out and is always heard. I've even been using it after high gain like the Revv G4 and it sounds great.

[@sixstringpaul]

MORE OF THIS PLEASE....Incredibly informative and entertaining... thanks very much

[@bigchrisgulley66]

Bro this is awesome ive just recently started playing with effects besides just distortion and since I first caught you over on Andertons I've really have been slightly confused about how to stack effects and these video's are really answering the questions ive had Thank you Salud!

[@patrickmckay6621]

Awesome ,please continue this "dial in sounds" series!

[@alkyhauler8185]

Bea, I have watched your jams with Ben and Dave probably 100 times lol. Love your work man.

[@leoz96]

I like these videos!! Real world use cases from someone who always has great tone

[@robspellman2783]

Thanks Bea! I have learned so much from you in so many areas over the years..your the best! Hope you get to New England sometime. Would love to see you play live. Be Well!

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Super useful tips, Rabea. I appreciate your perspective. Much respect, Daniel 🤙🏼

[@GypsyVibez]

Sounds killer ! I used to put a compressor first then I watched a video somewhere that made complete sense to me. If cali 76 is a clone of the rack compressor they never ran that before amps in the studio only at the end once i did that and put it right before my time base effects. It is killer, especially with a fuzz before it with the volume roll back and a univide in front!

[@ianmansfield1112]

These clips are hugely useful for me.. thank you 🤜🤛

[@Markpig7]

I've not long been onto compressors (metal background), had some issues with sound level changes when using compressors and switching to different looper patches (rhythm to lead etc). This was a very useful video for me. Cheers

[@ryanagee7027]

Thanks Rabea! Great info that I found very useful. Much appreciated.

[@johnelcanrab2114]

I have cali 76 stacked and thru nob clockwise is two stages of compression together. Fully turned down is just a standard cali 76 mate. (one compressor). Peace ✌️

[@ModulusAmps]

Great Video, got to go pull my compressors out again. Really love your lighting set up!

[@Nghilifa]

Awesome stuff, entertaining and edifying too. Cheers!

[@dethgote9202]

Thank you Rabea, love this series!

[@blue_mountains28]

Super interesting, I love that I can do much of this stuff in the archetype Rebea plug in

[@VictorSalciotti]

Extremely useful info! Now I understand better the Twin Blade Dual Compressor in your Archetype plugin 😅. Thanks man!

[@tierankarb]

your compression videos have greatly improved my tones \m/

[@davroshalfbeard8368]

Definitely considering getting one now cheers. Sounded epic

[@gibs8412]

the cali76 sounds great, I've been using the xotic sp compressor, love that pedal!

[@alexmoonyay]

that's basically the Twin Blade dual compressor in your Neural DSP archetype. luv it!!

[@stephencholette947]

This compliment maybe a bit late but Rabea was the best part of the Andertons videos, and I am beyond happy that he has his own channel... Also, the lack of bad press helps immensely.

[@GaryBeilby]

Such a joy to watch and so inspirational - even though your skills are so wildly beyond me, I don't get the "FFS not even worth trying" that I get when I watch some of the new gen YT artists. I want to buy you an air conditioner. Split systems are quite quiet.

[@flashpadxxx]

Such great content! You should make a series with evey effect ...

[@Ghostman1846]

I went on a long Compression trek through the Soldano Neural DSP plugin. Holy freakin' smokes it unlocks a lot of tones. I had zero idea how to use compression prior to this video. Thank you for showing us the way. Well, crap. Now I have to go out and buy a compressor for my board. :/

[@McJimmie]

This guy can make anything sound amazing!

[@TNNLZ]

Thanks for this - So good! Subbed 🤘

[@FakeGlasses]

Appreciate this video, would love to see the same video about how to go into a fender or vox/matchless amp with single coils to get to the same place.

[@christianpugsley2195]

21:48! Love the Toska riffs appearing in these vids

[@s.w.matteo6679]

The Cali76 stacked is such a wonderful thing.

[@davedavem]

Looking this style of video from you Rabea. Like high gain That Pedal Show episode!

[@TheGhostGuitars]

From the way yer describing the effect of a compresser pedal is that it basically in effect becomes an audio normalizer, either by boosting the weaker sounds and cutting the strong signals, or more likely, in the case of simple compression pedals, just simply cutting the strong signals down to be on par with the weaker sounds.

[@markbarboza1407]

Great video! To the point, and of course with a professional's point of view. Now, back to my board...

[@TheTrafficJamMusic]

You are the Kraftwerk of Distortion… and i salute you. 🫡

[@explorer76]

I‘m most of the time only using my Keeley Comp into my Archer Clean into my crunchy Orange AD30 - and also adding a KMA Fuzzly Bear, so totally same approach 😊.

[@riccardominuto]

The little snippet of Illumo, man... still gives me chills

[@staceysmith967]

Super interesting-never thought of using a compressor like that.

[@TheTrafficJamMusic]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@yoyoyuyu234476]

that was actually very usefull

[@benmugen]

Hello Rabea, always a pleasure to listen about your experience and your playing ! As many guitarist...i would like to know if you're running your Cali compressor before or after the Stone Deaf (Promise i will test and trust my ears for my own rig but it will help me a little) Thanks for your sharing, you're awesome

[@jeremylewis2171]

Rabea you have the best instructional and demo gear videos out there. Your knowledge is our gain brother. I’m able to learn some guitar licks, learn about some new gear, learn how it works, and how to make them all work together. Thanks you man

[@michaelfowler3187]

If anyone has a keeley compressor pro, or the very similar GC2 or Bassist editions, those are among the best things I've found to drive into the front of a pedal (or an amp). Almost any pedal with a volume control can push another pedal in an interesting way - often pushing a overdrive into a distortion, for example, but I rarely find I can get obliterated fuzzy sounds with that method from volume alone - however the keeley limiting compressors have immense gain on tap and can push a drive past distortion and into a fuzzier saturation - you can even find that sag effect if you tweak the threshold and ratio. Can't say enough how awesome those are for crafting the "feel" in an overdrive from your pick attack. Think Jhs PG14, but with a different way of controlling the sag effect. Fulltone OCD into a Wampler Sovereign also gave me good sags. So will a great fuzz.. but hey it's still a tone hack for me.

[@ElShogoso]

My favorite thing about compression for dirty tones is how much sustain you get out of it. With my LP-style guitar I can make a note last for pretty much forever. Really useful for leads.

[@williambattline3420]

I've had the Cali 76 stacked edition for 2 months now and finally I understand how to use it. Thanks! Question, does the compressor before the overdrive effect cleaning up your tone with the guitar volume knob?

[@brianvillage5]

I’m telling you Rabea, get a Moog MF Drive. With the expression pedal and the wide range of gain and volume it has it can go from a fuzz to a blasting overdrive, it does the tubescreamer thing real good and controlling it with the expression pedal it does a dirty wah that’s super cool. It’s definitely the pedal I’ve built my sound on. A unique drive that isn’t too crazy out there with a few tricks up it’s sleeve. Definitely check it out if you never have.

[@SkylerMills]

Wild that the compressor can just hype the amp that much and give you that thickness

[@keith.loves.lasagna]

Bea, thank you so much for this video! Interesting to learn your approach to pedals and tone. I've always admired your music and tone. Really inspiring. I do have a question. Really digging the tones on this vid and your similar vid with delays and reverb. The compressor is great. In the past, I didn't vibe with compressor pedals but heard great things about the Cali76. The steap price tag always turned me away. I think I'm finally gonna give it a chance. Do you ever use the "stacked" feature on your Cali76? I'm debating between the Stacked ver. and the standard (which they call Deluxe, perhaps ironically). Any insight is appreciated!

[@druwk]

I like the deep dives into how Pro’s use their gear. Thank you for the post! That a lot gain at the end of Humbucker/Fuzz section, wow😮 kept wanted you to knock off the guitar volume a couple clicks? With all the gain and compression going, I felt like the signal was redlining the recording a tiny bit? Or, maybe just getting to point of saturation that was uncomfortable? There’s a point where the lack of clarity defeats the purpose. Too much Midrange information can soak up other instruments if it’s too loud, or get buried in the mix. Muddy 😕 Funny enough, a 5e3 Tweed Deluxe can get very close to many of these tones? Perhaps running a compressor in front would accomplish a similar result? …in a more lo-fi, old school sense?

[@calpsych6474]

...and a master of the adjectives too

[@bdunn315]

Thx R

[@godbyone]

Sounds great. To be honest with you

[@davidnoy3964]

Hi Rabea. I've jumped to the Quad Cortex from fractal land. I use the QC with a poweramp and cab. How about a video with this setup and you show how you would tweak to get your QC sounding more like an amp in the room. I e had great results and prefer it to both Fractal units I've had. The captures are pretty dam close , but I always wonder how a pro would tweak it to get more?

[@Bonzvy]

Would you put a compressor first in the chain if you use a pick sensitive drive?

[@gnigognago9770]

FAN-TAS-TIC

[@carlozcoronado2228]

Yaaaasssss

[@saturnskull1242]

a'ight rabbea this's a viewer hopyou doin well

[@davedavem]

Love the full sized headstock on the Music Man. The smaller one doesn't do it for me...

[@Choccka]

....clarity :D

[@worldwarmini3919]

With mix knob at full are you using any compression? Just a boast at this point?

[@bulletproofprs]

What if you don't have the option of blending in the original signal!? 😂 have a JHS compressor

[@nickgjenkins]

So, related to compression, something I've had a really hard time achieving is Nuno Bettencourt's really percussive tone. He Man Woman Hater is a good example. Would compression possibly help achieving that? Or is that more a mix of Nuno's hands and that specific pickup he uses?

[@williamwallis1276]

I read recently that he likes to use a ProCo Rat but not used in the typical "Distortion" sense. Distortion is set between 0-1, Filter and Volume are set to 1 o'clock. I tried it and it does seem to take some of the heavy top end away while adding some dynamics. It's very subtle but it did make a difference to my ears. Just don't know how long he's been doing that. Could be a more recent thing though. Cheers!

[@tomfairbairn1202]

I think that Cali 76 is the best OD pedal ive heard lol

[@KodyXXVll]

too bad he isn't using it right lol. thru knob clockwise is fully stacked compression.

[@tomfairbairn1202]

well sounds killer to me @@KodyXXVll

[@KodyXXVll]

@@tomfairbairn1202 i agree. stacked does sound good. it's just not how he's describing it which irritates me.

[@tomfairbairn1202]

@@KodyXXVll ah ok, tempted to pick up the new 1176 and have a go, im guessing thats a cheaper version

[@darwinmalo2871]

What if I want to riff hard, can I just add the compressor too?

[@wlawnsldj]

John Mayer?! Oh “my editor” I never felt more betrayed.

[@ventsislavdosev]

What is the reverb name?

[@lucianmezinoi-qq1zf]

in live situation and especially home if I use those settings it will increase the volume of the original tone way way more then initial . So it's not useful///. nobody talks about this?

[@ll14m4n]

turn on auto-generated subtitles on 11:55

[@blue_mountains28]

Hello!

[@Harrysound]

If you say "John My Editor" really quickly it sounds like "John Mayer"

[@andreydanov5946]

Always tube amps!!!!!! What if I don't have one???

[@MeasAgun]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@mikehomar5321]

Hi 😊👋

[@JayTheLane]

Mate you look like Denis the Menace but in green 😂

[@VictorEMusique]

Great video but could you follow up with one where you're not using pedals that are financially equivalent to a mortgage payment? :)

[@KodyXXVll]

there are other channels for that. plenty.

[@VictorEMusique]

@@KodyXXVll not with a player like Rabbea

[@jonathanlanderos2266]

You’re like the Jared Polin of guitar gear haha check him out he has an afro too aka froknowsphoto

[@dntinpalevo]

Should have used a regular compressor which most people have like the BOSS one.

[@MaxMiller614]

Start a twitch bro

[@RabeaMassaad]

I keep thinking about the idea of steaming games and guitar stuff. But I don’t really know how twitch works or anything.

[@marticimus]

No love for that shirt???

[@mrmohantyexperiments]

I know it’s not but Why does bea’s background look like a green screen. Lol.

[@godbyone]

It is

[@RabeaMassaad]

Hahaha if you meant the lights yeah! Good one! Haha But that’s not a green screen I’m in my studio

[@godbyone]

Completely honest ? Come on. I want someone to say. Not going to be Honest today