compressor advice.

[hipnotode]

im looking some advice about what compression pedal to get.
im probably looking at about £200 (which probably equates to about $300.
i like the thought of a tube compressor, because i wouldnt mind adding a little warmth to my signal (i dont go through any distortion or anything like that. i try to keep myself fairly clean in that respect because of the abundance of distortion my guitarists use). i was thinking about a black finger, but ive read about noise issues.

[funkstag]

everyone atm seems keen on the new mxr bass compressor

[Bassmike62]

Check out this link. Fellow TBer Bongomania is pretty much THE compression guy on this site and has done extensive research and testing on a pile of comps. He's helped out lots of guys here, including yours truly.


Compressor Reviews

[teleharmonium]

I like the Diamond compressor.

IMO tube warmth does not come from stompbox compressors with placebo preamp tubes run at much lower plate current than the tubes were designed for. Those give you the drawbacks of tubes without the benefits.

[hipnotode]

Originally Posted by teleharmonium

I like the Diamond compressor.

IMO tube warmth does not come from stompbox compressors with placebo preamp tubes run at much lower plate current than the tubes were designed for. Those give you the drawbacks of tubes without the benefits.

so get a rack mount one?

@Bassmike62 cheers ill check it out.

[truecanadian04]

look up the BBE Maxcomp or anything by DBX!!!

[Ubersheist]

I got the Vox "Cooltron" Snake Charmer. I believe it was intended for guitar, but I really like the way it sounds. It's a tube compressor, and is very versatile. It gets pretty extreme with the compression, but I also like crazy extreme compression. I don't want it to just smooth out the sound. I want it to be an effect in and of itself. This pedal can do that quite handily.

The downside is that it's no longer in production. There are still some to be found here and there, and they sell for $150-200.

[redhed]

I would suggest AGUILAR's TLC compressor pedal, a sweet sounding unit. I use it all the time no matter which amp I am using - check it out

[duke2004]

Originally Posted by teleharmonium

I like the Diamond compressor.

IMO tube warmth does not come from stompbox compressors with placebo preamp tubes run at much lower plate current than the tubes were designed for. Those give you the drawbacks of tubes without the benefits.

Very true, most preamp tubes in pedal form do absolutely nuttin. Im a big fan of the Alembic F1X single rackspace pre, it can be subtle but very tubey. You may have to go a bit above your budget when shopping used. Other suggestion is the preamp of an Eden, which has its own less subtle charachter. The WTDI is the least expensive way to try it, well within your budget.

[hipnotode]

i was looking through bongomania's list of reviews, and came across the Markbass Compressore.
bongomania seams to think highly of it, anyone else used one?

[slaphappychappy]

I just have an Ashdown one . Pretty happy with it, especially on my old 80s passive samick mod bass. It works well, it just kills any synth, so I just run it on my clean channel for when I bypass the effects.

[M Sterling]

The Markbass Compressore has a tube that actually does the compression, like a studio unit. True, some tube compressors use the tube as a gain stage but are actually optical, but this is not the case with the compressore. The MB is a fantastic pedal if you can get around the size and odd power supply. I swear by mine.

[hipnotode]

yeah i think the Markbass is probably going to be the one i end up with.

EDIT: also i think that list should probably be stickied in a useful links thread or something. maybe with the most popular pedal list link.

[Bassmike62]

Originally Posted by hipnotode

@Bassmike62 cheers ill check it out.

Glad to help out. Bongo's the one to be thanked, he probably put a zillion hours in that page. There"s a "Thank you Bongo" thread somewhere in a not-too-distant past. To my knowledge, he's the only TBer to have such a thread.

[Floyd Eye]

Aguilar TLC.

[teleharmonium]

Originally Posted by hipnotode

so get a rack mount one?

Not necessarily; there are good stompbox compressors; I just would not consider a tube in a pedal that runs off of a low voltage power supply to be a positive.

[teleharmonium]

Originally Posted by M Sterling

The Markbass Compressore has a tube that actually does the compression, like a studio unit. True, some tube compressors use the tube as a gain stage but are actually optical, but this is not the case with the compressore.

That smells like misinformation.

Compressors have detector circuits and a variable gain device and usually a makeup gain circuit. Optical compression refers to the type of detector circuit, it is not mutually exclusive with the part that does the actual compression nor the makeup gain, either of which could still be tube or solid state. The right way to build an all tube variable mu compressor requires a remote cutoff pentode, which the Markbass unit does not use. Their site does not provide specifics on what this pedal is doing that I could find.

I suppose it's possible the unit could be using something like a VCA to manipulate the bias of the 12AT7 inside. But running at much less than full spec plate current, it's not like it would have the sound that a 12AT7 would give you in a real amp or preamp running at high voltage. They don't say what kind of detector it uses.

If it sounds good, then cool, but it ain't like it's an LA2A or a Fairchild in a pedal.

[tonym]

Can't agree with Bassmike62 enough. Follow the link he posted to Bongomania's compressor review site. He's thoroughly tested the pedals and reading his reviews will lead you to exactly the right pedal for you

Personally, I picked up a used Love Squeeze online for a good price and can't recommend it enough. Great compression and absolutely doesn't color your tone.