Violet Deliriums's video: How to make the 80s New Wave WHAPP compression sound

This is a video on how to make a sound that I call WHAPP. If you want to hear my WHAPP in action, listen to my cover of The Fixx, "One Thing Leads to Another" in the playlist "Violet's Cover Songs" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BMFwW1PsI. I also open up an MXR Custom Comp to show you the interior controls dials for "Attack" and "Trim." When I watch compressor stompbox demos on YouTube, I am constantly frustrated by people who focus on 70s rock/blues sounds and chicken pickin' compressor sounds while this classic New Wave sound is ignored. So I thought I would explain it. SHORT VERSION All steps are essential except last one. Of course, you will have to listen and adjust until you get the WHAPP you want: (1) Guitar with single coil pickups, select bridge + middle (2) Turn compressor "attack" midway, crank "sustain/sensitivity" (3) Add a chorus effect for more dimension (4) Add a second compressor, delay and/or reverb if desired MORE INFO I named this sound based on something Fixx guitarist Jamie West-Oram said when asked how he made the sound for "One Thing Leads To Another" (1983). He said he "whapped a lot of compression on." It made sense to me because it sounds like a WHAPP (in capital letters). Though I cannot find the quote I mentions, West-Oram describes the process on page 196 in "The Guitar Player Book" (2007). I was pleased to find that my ears found it the same way using my gear. The sound of WHAPP is very crisp and sparkly. It reminds me of the sound of someone smashing a huge window more than a guitar. Other 80s guitarists like Andy Summers of the Police also use WHAPP too. He said he used an Ibanez Blazer guitar, either an MXR Dyna Comp (or a Valley People Dyna-Mite Limiter, he can't remember), and an MXR Stereo Chorus through two Marshall JMP 2x12 combo amps for stereo. I made my WHAPP using a Fender American Standard Stratocaster, MXR Custom Comp (Attack 12 oclock, Trim 12 oclock, Output 12 oclock, Sensitivity cranked), plus a Boss ME-6 patch with a heavy compression and slight reverb, and an Electro-Harmonic Neo Clone chorus (Depth high, Rate 9 oclock).