Ashdown dual band bass compressor versus other budget compressor pedals

[rbx374]

hey guys, i recently decided i'm in need of a compressor and struggling to find much info online regarding the ashdown ones.

To keep it short and sweet i'm looking for some sort of a compressor or limiter/enhancer to even out my bass tones...i dont have much money so i'm looking for budget really (nothing over £100)

I currently have a zoom b2.1u and i cant stand the compressor on it...seems to go from nothing happen, to nothing happening, to nothing happening to nasty clipping, and when bypassed i can hear severe deterioration of my bass tone...admittedly i'm not a big effects buff...but i know enough to get by and this pedal isn't doing it for me.

my style is finger playing, some songs pretty quick but on the whole mostly arpeggiated or moderate speeds...the basses i use are an ibanez gsr206 (6 string active) and a yamaha rbx374 (4 string active) tuned to drop C# (C#, F#, B, E, [A], [C#]) and going through a behringer bxl4500 head and bb410 cab...

i'm familar with ashdown amps (love them, for a solid state amp i like the valve feel they kinda provide i used to own the mag250 combo...still technically do but its been left in another country) so i'm giving serious thought to their compressor as i feel it must be of a similar quality...

my question to anyone familar to these is are they worth getting? or is there something better/as good in the same price range? (boss, behringer, digitech etc...)

open to all ideas but really only looking at budget pedals...if its over £100 ($150) its not something i could realistically buy in the next week or 2.

[rbx374]

also failed to mention i like the idea of the dual band thing that they mention on their page (so that low eq can be less manipulated for a smoother waveform) as alot of compressors i looked at seem to sound very artificial, i prefer to enhance the natural tone if possible

[bkbirge]

What makes you think you need a compressor or limiter? They are not enhancers. Unless you switch from fingerstyle to slap you may not need one, just practice good playing technique. That said, there are a lot of choices and a compressor is the last place I'd try and cheap it. Go here and read everything...
http://www.ovnilab.com/index.shtml

The Markbass Compressore is one of the recent faves around here but I use a Retrospec and lots of people use different things.

I also have an EHX Black Finger in the classifieds you may be interested in.

[ryansalmond]

They have a fairly distinct, rubber-band-like sound. They are more compression-as-an-effect than compression-as-a-utility type pedal. I like the tone myself, but it is pretty quirky. They can also be somewhat unreliable- it seems like they behave differently (sometimes distorting, etc), on different days, even if the settings haven't changed.

I don't have experience with other compressors in this price range.

[vaesto]

Hi,
I can share my experience on it:
If you play active basses Ashdown dual-band compressor is not your choice. It doen't hold the hotter input and distorts in very unpleasant way (even if you do the mod from their website). Also you'll need external power supply - it doesn't work well&long on batteries. So to conclude - you'll need to test it if possible. Check if it is suits your needs and expectations.

[4StringsEnough]

Get the Carl Martin Optical Compressor. Great pedal for not a lot of dough.

[liveburning274]

Another great mixed-in band compressor that is a good budget one is Seymour-Duncan's Doubleback comp. I had one for a bit and really enjoyed it. You can dial back in your clean signal at various frequencies depending on what you like. It is VERY versatile. I only got rid of it because it was too large for what I wanted...but if you're interested in the Ashdown you can handle the Doubleback.

My 0.02

[rimbaud]

And also the Cali-76 TX from Origin Effects, bongo done a nice review on ovnilab for this one, and as the MarkBass, he never returned it

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/cali76.shtml

totally new clip from a cali76 user: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVBXKSqr2L8

And Simon Keats is a nice guy

[bongomania]

Hah, as much as I love the Cali, it is a wee bit over the OP's budget.

Definitely check out the Carl Martin Opto, or a used Markbass. Unfortunately I think there are no good dual-band comps at a low price. The Seymour Duncan is probably the closest thing.

[rbx374]

cheers for the advice guys, i do focus alot on technique...i dont plan on putting much compression on it, i just want a little to clean up the low and highs peaks (for example the low c# sounds very low and the string above peaks alot) so i tend to play the c# harder and the F# lighter...but its still not enough...i like the peaks...i tend to accentuate on my mid ranges as my general method of playing but its just too much without compression with this bass...although i love the tone of the bass

[rbx374]

well...i just tried the analog.man bi-comprossor (borrowed from my bands singer - he's also a bassist in his spare time)...not so sure about the ross side of it, but the os...lovely!...

[howlin]

How 'Bout 1 of these?

[bkbirge]

Originally Posted by howlin

How 'Bout 1 of these?

LOL at the "Stanley Clarke's secret weapon". Kinda doubt it's the gear.