Question Anybody use an Orange Squeezer?

[adouglas]

A while ago I picked up an Orange Squeezer compressor (actually the Analogman version of the original...Analogman happens to be right up the road from me) but never really used it.

I picked it up after seeing Tony Levin live in 2005. He had one on his pedal board, and left it switched on at all times -- so it must be an integral part of the fantastic tone he gets out of his gear. However, the music I was playing at the time didn't seem to benefit from it much so I put it away and sort of forgot about it.

Lately, though, I've been playing more funk and soul and thought that it might be useful to control the dynamics some, so I dug it out and plugged it in the other day to rediscover what it's all about.

I'm liking it so far. Turned up a bit above midway, it really adds a percussive thump to strongly plucked notes that I find rather appealing. Haven't tried it with the band yet, so I don't know if it'll really work out.

Anybody try one of these? How do you like to set it? Does it fit into a band mix well?

 

[adouglas]

Google images aren't always such a bad thing.

Here's a very rare shot of TL in 1980, sans moustache, with an OS plugged into his bass....

Just thought someone might find it interesting.

 

[strummer]

Cool pic, that young man is rocking
The orange squeeze, is that the thingie ON his bass? From the name it sounds like a compressor, does it have anything making it special?

 

[adouglas]

Yes, the original Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer was odd in that it wasn't a pedal. It was a little box with a male phone plug sticking out of one side, so you'd plug it straight into your instrument.

The OS has a kind of distinctive sound to it, and was used on a lot of very familiar pop recordings from the 70s.

This is from the Analogman site:

The Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer (OS) is legendary for its smooth compression and "squashing" tone as used on many Steely Dan (My Old School by Jeff Baxter etc), Doobie Brothers, Dire Straits (Sultans Of Swing), and other classic albums. Jay Graydon played the solo in PEG by Steely Dan with the orange squeezer.