TC Electronic HyperGravity Settings Guide
The TC Electronic HyperGravity is a multi-style compressor with TonePrint capability — three compressor types (Vintage, Spectra, and TonePrint), a Blend knob for parallel compression, and straightforward Sustain, Level, Attack, and Tone controls. The TonePrint function allows downloading artist-created compressor settings via Bluetooth from the TC Electronic app.
The best TC Electronic HyperGravity settings start with: Sustain at 5/10, Attack at 4/10, Level at 6/10, Blend at 7/10, Type at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Country: Sustain 7/10, Attack 2/10, Level 6/10, Blend 8/10, Type 1/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Sustain | 5/10 | Light → Heavy |
| Attack | 4/10 | Fast → Slow |
| Level | 6/10 | Unity → Boost |
| Blend | 7/10 | Dry → Wet |
| Type | 3/10 | Vintage → Spectra |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Vintage mode, fast Attack — the HyperGravity in Vintage (optical) mode for country compression. Vintage mode produces the most transparent, musical optical compression character. Fast Attack, high Sustain, and high Blend produces the even, snappy response for chicken-picking. The Spectra multiband mode can also work well — it compresses bass and treble frequencies independently.
Vintage mode, slow Attack — light compression for blues. Vintage optical mode's characteristic behavior with slow Attack allows the pick transients to pass through. Blend 5 keeps compression subtle. At these settings the HyperGravity adds the level consistency of studio compression without changing the dynamic feel of blues playing.
Spectra mode for multiband rock compression — the Spectra mode compresses low and high frequencies independently, which can tighten the low end of a rock rhythm tone without reducing treble clarity. Sustain 5, Attack 4, Blend 6 for practical always-on rock compression.
Very fast Attack in Vintage mode clamps down on transients immediately for tight, punchy funk rhythm playing, with high Blend keeping the compressed signal dominant.
Slow Attack in Spectra mode smooths volume swells and sustained chords without clamping the initial pick attack, useful for building even, controlled ambient textures.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The TonePrint function is one of the most underused features on TC Electronic pedals — the app includes free artist-created compressor presets from professional players. Downloading a preset takes 30 seconds via Bluetooth. For players who are not confident dialing in a compressor from scratch, artist presets provide a calibrated starting point from a player who uses the same pedal.
- Vintage mode models optical compression, the smoothest and most forgiving type for general use, while Spectra multiband mode gives more surgical control over low versus high frequency dynamics — choose based on whether transparency or precision matters more for a given part.
- The Blend control is what separates this from a simpler compressor — using parallel compression, blending compressed and dry signal, keeps pick attack and dynamics more natural even at aggressive Sustain settings.
- Placed early in the signal chain, before overdrive or distortion, this compressor evens out picking dynamics before the gain stage, producing a more consistent drive character than placing it after.
- For always-on use as a subtle dynamics leveler, keep Sustain low and Blend closer to the dry side, checking periodically that the compression is not audible as its own effect during normal playing.
FAQ
TC Electronic HyperGravity — Common Questions
Best starting settings for TC Electronic HyperGravity: Sustain at 5/10, Attack at 4/10, Level at 6/10, Blend at 7/10, Type at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Country: Sustain 7/10, Attack 2/10, Level 6/10, Blend 8/10, Type 1/10. Vintage mode, fast Attack — the HyperGravity in Vintage (optical) mode for country compression. Vintage mode produces the most transparent, musical optical compression character. Fast Attack, high Sustain, and high Blend produces the even, snappy response for chicken-picking. The Spectra multiband mode can also work well — it compresses bass and treble frequencies independently.
For Blues: Sustain 4/10, Attack 6/10, Level 6/10, Blend 5/10, Type 1/10. Vintage mode, slow Attack — light compression for blues. Vintage optical mode's characteristic behavior with slow Attack allows the pick transients to pass through. Blend 5 keeps compression subtle. At these settings the HyperGravity adds the level consistency of studio compression without changing the dynamic feel of blues playing.
Sustain: Compression intensity — ratio and threshold combination. (Light to Heavy). Attack: Compressor attack time. (Fast to Slow). Level: Output level. (Unity to Boost). Blend: Parallel compression mix. (Dry to Wet). Type: Vintage (optical), Spectra (multiband), or TonePrint (custom download). (Vintage to Spectra)
The TonePrint function is one of the most underused features on TC Electronic pedals — the app includes free artist-created compressor presets from professional players. Downloading a preset takes 30 seconds via Bluetooth. For players who are not confident dialing in a compressor from scratch, artist presets provide a calibrated starting point from a player who uses the same pedal. Vintage mode models optical compression, the smoothest and most forgiving type for general use, while Spectra multiband mode gives more surgical control over low versus high frequency dynamics — choose based on whether transparency or precision matters more for a given part. The Blend control is what separates this from a simpler compressor — using parallel compression, blending compressed and dry signal, keeps pick attack and dynamics more natural even at aggressive Sustain settings. Placed early in the signal chain, before overdrive or distortion, this compressor evens out picking dynamics before the gain stage, producing a more consistent drive character than placing it after. For always-on use as a subtle dynamics leveler, keep Sustain low and Blend closer to the dry side, checking periodically that the compression is not audible as its own effect during normal playing.
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