compressor settings for evening string level

[marijn van gils]

I would like to even out the levels between my (5) strings: get less "boom" from the lower strings and/or more "meat" from the higher strings at loud (gig) levels.

1: is compression the right tool for this, or would some EQ-ing be better? If so, how to EQ for this specific goal?

2: what kind of compressor settings would be appropriate for my goal? And will these affect other aspects of my sound?

3: which compressor would you recommend for this purpose? The EBS multicomp looks good to me as far as quality/footprint/price/simplicity go, but is it up to this task?

Thanks for any input!

[stflbn]

Raise the pickup on the higher strings side, or drop the pickup on the low strings side

"To Me" it sounds like you might be over EQ'ing things on your bass or amp if you're getting "boom".

The compressor is just going to even everything out overall, not string by string.
You 'could' look toward a true dual band compressor like and FEA, but I think you've got other things going on causing the issue.

[staindbass]

maybe both. if you cut mids and low mids so the bottom strings sound more massive, you lose the fundamental bass note of the higher strings. then they sound weak. its a tradeoff. yes the compressor can even out the levels. i would put the compression ratio around 6 to 8, then turn up the threshold just enough till it evens everything out. i havent tried the ebs, so i cant comment on that.

[Touch]

I use a BBE Opto Stomp for this. It is a pretty subtle compressor well suited to this task.

[blastjv]

Yeah, I think both. I had the same trouble. Once you get the EQ as close as possible to what you want, and you're sure your setup is good (including pickup height adjustment), the compressor might be able to take care of the rest for you. That's exactly what I use my BBE Opto Stomp for, and it works like a charm.

-JV

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks!

I only have the problem at high levels during gigs, and it is not too big anyway. I do boost the low mids a lot and try to be carefull not to have too much bass, but I'll fiddle some more with the EQ.

I'll also try the pickup height at the treble side, but I don't have the problem at low volumes, so I'll use restraint with that.

I could use a compressor also to tighten my sound on straith 8th note rocksongs. Will the same settings apply for this?

[Toastfuzz]

Maybe not a good answer for you, but adding any sort of light overdrive or distortion has helped me achieve this. I'd set the distorting level low enough that you couldnt hear the effect in the E string, could barely hear it in the A string, D and G strings sound like straight guitar overdrive, but the volume and punch of all strings on all notes was equal. And its just cool to feel like you have a clean bass and distorted guitar at the same time.

[blastjv]

And as far as how to set it, the most straightforward way to achieve what you're describing would probably be to bang on your low B at whatever is the hardest you would play it, and adjust compression until it starts to kill your attack and then back it off a bit until it sounds natural again. Then adjust output volume and you should be set (hopefully)

-JV

[marijn van gils]

Thanks guys!

[marijn van gils]

As a follow-up:

The height of the neck pickup was too low indeed at the treble side. Adjusting this solved the problem: now I can eq any boom out while retaining sufficient "meat" on the higher strings.

Unrelated to this, I bought an EBS Multicomp anyway, and so far I'm really liking how it tightens my tone in the band mix.

Thanks again!

Marijn