questions about punch,compression e.t.c

Hello there,this is my forst post! For years now i have been trying to get a nice sound for my guitar,using various equipment.I have some questions though.
When we say that a sound has punch, we mean that the notes can be played easily with low distortion as if we played them with full drive.Is that right?Meaning, you can tap,legato or solo easily with the notes sounding loud ,even when you have minimum gain.Is this the ''punch''? I have noticed there is a punch knob in some preamps that as i have heard it does this thing exactly.And this is very crucial,because with low distortion you can have a nice clean sound(michael romeo or malmsteen like) and yet you can solo e.t.c normally.
and if that is right where does compression comes in?Is there any connection with punch? Is it the same?
I have studied Malmsteens sound which is my favorite for a very long time now,and i have found out that in his preamp there must be a punch knob.But i think in the 80s he used compression too.
I am a little confused with punch and comp.Do they work together?Seperately?
And another thing.For years now i have been trying to get that unique sound that is caused when you mute the notes(with distortion always) which is very dynamic .Also refer to malmsteen's 80s albums for that.I have played with various distortions and multi-efects units,and i have suceeded in getting the metallica's heavy palm muting sound(well almost),but malmsteen has even more dynamic to his sound.I have an obsession with this particular palm mute sound>First time i heard it in Rising force album i said to my self,i gotta make a sound like this.(Didnt we all?:p)
So far something is missing,dont know what,but i have a suspicion that it may have to do with compression or the punch..
Any suggestions?

Punch usually describes certain lower bass frequencies. It is the opposite to rumble/boom which usually means you need to re-Eq your bass.

Compression is a way of limiting the loud points and boosting the soft points (volume wise) of your playing

Your looking for clean clear sound with sustain for days for soloing??? Sounds like your describing a non-master volume Marshall SL plexi with the volume up over 9,this is why the old school guitar players didn't need fuzz to get sustain.Back then you'd drive the powetr amp section of the am till the transformer overdrove the tubes compressed and the low wattage speakers(greenbacks)got close to distortion causeing a sweet clear sound.
I'm sorry to tell ya ain't no fancy preamp,$3800 head etc... that can duplicate exactly the true sond of a cranked amp,and power sokes don't work either.Youbest bet for live performenace would be to put your stack in the band truck with foam over it,crank it and mic it through the PA and monitors.

Punch is mostly a matter of equalization, the sweet frequencies lay somewhere in the lower mids...

Btw, a compressor only affects signals that go above a certain treshold, the signals that are low enough in amplitude are not affected... unless you're talking about make-up gain, but that's not really part of the compression.
An expander is what boosts low level signals that go below a certain treshold.

Compression can even out the loudest sounds a bit in your pplaying, but it doesn't add much punch... Especially when using distortion/overdrive(which compress your sound already), compression will make your playing sound rather dull because you're robbing your sound of any dynamics that were left.

Well actually Malmsteen's distortion comes out of Gay Station ,at least that was one of the things he used back in the 80s.Not the Marshalls.When i said a ''clean'' sound i ment not a clean guitar sound cranked up to make distortion but a clean distortion.A distortion in which you can hear clearly the notes.
Have you ever watched Michael Romeo's instructional, Guitar Chapter? He uses a Malmsteen like sound there.Again you can clearly see that he has gain too low.I dont know what equipment he used but he has The drive knob at 5 or even lower.You can hear that.As you lower the gain you clear up the sound,but you lose ''solo power''.If i put the drive knob at 5 or below i just cant solo properly.I have a good technique and i can even tap easily with a no-distorted sound,but it just sounds weak.You can see that Romeo taps or legato with minimal gain without any true effort in the fingers and it just sounds loud as if he had full gain.
So, that's what i try to achieve.Compressor helps ,yes, but its not the same result.Plus compressor doesnt help for the sound to be clear ,it adds some noise when you play.At least i have played with 3 types of compressors and i get that result.
I have a v-amp2 and i am pretty satisfied with it.Before that i used a zoom multi-effects unit ,and before that 3 pedals.A boss dist,an equaliser and a compressor.Oh, and a noise gate pedal.So far with these setups i havent been able to achieve a crystal clear full blown solo sound.I ask too much,i know, but me thinks that the secret lies soewhere in the punch knob or at a good compressor.The problem is that none of my equipment has a punch knob.
I am saying it again,when i tried a preamp some time ago,the Sansamp PSA-1 preamp at a friends house, i played with the punch knob and the result was similar to the one i am describing.Low gain but enough sensitivity and loudness at the strings to play a full blown legato solo.
I am a bit confused by the description of the ''punch'' as mentioned in the above posts.It souldnt do something like this but it does...

Originally posted by Paladin
I am a bit confused by the description of the ''punch'' as mentioned in the above posts.It souldnt do something like this but it does...

Punch is a term used to describe an aspect of an instruments sound. Yes, it is used as a name for knobs an whatever fx processors too, but I have no clue whatsoever what that parameter actually does. Hell, I've seen "grind" and other moronic terms used to describe distortion... manufacturers will come up with anything to make the product more eye-catching...

After a little more research i found out that punch represents the attack of the note.So it is somewhat connected to my thoughts.It makes the note sound louder and it makes the pick sound louder too.The sound of the picking that is.

Maybe try useing and EQ pedal with the level slider cranked up a bit.I know when I used one it seemed to make a hell o a clean boost.