EBS Multicomp with high-output basses: a major update of my review

[bongomania]

When I first reviewed the Multicomp a couple of years ago, I only had a passive bass and an active bass with a moderate/low output level. Over the last couple of years I've seen a number of posts complaining about hiss and distortion from the Multicomp, but I had not experienced those problems myself. I recently acquired a second Multicomp, and I have a high-output active bass, and my experience dialing them in together necessitated a major overhaul of my review! Initially I got a ton of hiss and distortion, which meant I had to take a closer look at the settings. Here is my updated review, taking all that into account:

I have now owned two MultiComps- one was almost noiseless and the other has some moderate (but acceptable) hiss; I don't know why their noise levels were different. On the plus side, turning the compression knob up to higher settings does not increase the noise in any case. The "normal" and "multi-band" modes are clean and transparent, however they can also sound sort of boring or dry. But the "tube sim" setting adds a nice thickness and boost to the mids, and has a rich tone; it does seem to roll off the highs just a bit. In the other two modes there is not much rolloff of highs or lows, although it is not quite as "boomy" or "bright" as some other comps. The Tubesim mode sounds great for both fingerstyle and slap, at any Comp setting from 12:00 to max, and I could happily leave it switched on all the time at that setting. But don't ignore the multi-band mode! If you set the compression to max in the MB mode you can get a very articulate and defined slap sound. The maximum compression ratio is only 5:1 however, so it is not much of a peak limiter for the very aggressive players. The attack of the compression is a bit slow (and not adjustable), so it allows your natural initial attack spikes through, which can be good or bad depending on the rest of your gear- it's great for a more articulate or aggressive sound, but those sharp attacks can clip your amp momentarily. But the compression itself is very smooth and natural. High-output active basses can distort the EBS very easily. It has a switch labeled "active" and "passive"; you would think that choosing the "active" setting would solve the distortion problem, but it seems to me that the active setting does nothing but add a lot of hissy noise to the signal and doesn't reduce the distortion at all. I am getting the best results with the EBS set to "passive" regardless of the bass. So if you are getting distortion, do two things: turn down the output level of your instrument, and open up the EBS to adjust the internal trim pots. Turning the pots clockwise lowers the threshold, meaning the compression will kick in at lower signal levels. In MB mode, each trim pot ("high" and "low") adjusts the threshold independently for high and low frequencies. In the Normal and Tubesim modes, the "low" trim adjusts the threshold for the whole signal, and the "high" trim is not active. In Normal and Tubesim modes, with a high-output bass, I'm getting the cleanest results with the low trim pot turned to max (fully clockwise). In MB mode however, having the low trim at max results in too much compression of the lows, causing a weak and thin low end. So for MB mode I'm getting the best results with the low trim at 12:00 and the high trim at max. Again, this is with a high-output active bass; your results and settings will vary depending on the output level of your instrument. When I used a passive P bass I got good-sounding results in each of the modes without adjusting the trim pots at all. The footswitch is not true bypass, but the bypassed tone is quite transparent.

I am always changing my wording (and my mind), so it may not be written exactly this way on my reviews page in the future. But I felt it was worth posting a thread with this revision, as the information changes the meaning and usefulness of my old review pretty significantly.

[dannybuoy]

I got away with turning my lo trim counter-clockwise to 10 o'clock to prevent distortion, instead of lowering the bass volume and turning them clockwise. Have you tried this way instead?

[bongomania]

Yes, and if the compression ratio available is sufficient for your signal, that's a very sensible approach; it didn't happen to help as much as I hoped with my particular bass. Turning the trims counter-clockwise to raise the threshold means less of your signal will be compressed, which is a more "natural" sound, and may result in less distortion with some signals.

[PhatBasstard]

When searching for a comp pedal I got an EBS because of bongo's review and because I found a great deal on a used one. I use it with active basses and leave it on all the time.

I have it in MB mode with the low trimpot at 12:00 and the high at 3:00. The main (top) comp knob is at 11:00 to 12:00
with the gain knob set to give me equal output whether on or off (although it's always on).

I love this pedal and have had no hiss or distortion issues.

[i2k]

never heard any hiss or distortion on mine...

[jinithith2]

Thanks bongo for this update. Helps a lot

[mozarwasagenius]

I got the BBE OptoStomp based on Bongomania's awesome info page. I've sinced noticed the "fizzy" artifact he mentions (pretty mild and unnoticable in live situations). However, I've been GASing for the Multicomp. This update to the multicomp has poured water rather than fuel on the GAS fire. I have relatively high output active basses so I may stick with the OptoComp which is great for mild compression imho.

[bongomania]

As an update to the update , it turns out the noise/hiss I was hearing from my newly-acquired EBS was actually due to a floating ground in my DI/preamp. When I used the same EBS with a different preamp, the noise went away completely.

So if anyone reading this does happen to be getting higher noise levels than they expected, try either using a different DI/amp, or troubleshoot the grounding (earthing) of the rig you've got.

[dannybuoy]

I've not tried many other compressor pedals, but I think the fact this pedal has trimpots makes it potentially a better match for active basses (or any bass that has an output level different than the maufacturer's expectation of 'normal') than some other pedals.

Playing agressively with a very high output quarter pounder pickup distorted my multicomp until I raised the threshold by turning the trimpot to the left. There will probably be some pedals out there that will suffer the same problem but have no trimpots to adjust to solve the problem.

I like the ability to tweak my theshold as well as compression ratio, I'm not sure I could live with a BBE or Compulator which have a fixed threshold. It's nice to have the option of low threshold + low ratio for a gentle volume levelling, or high threshold + high ratio for a peak limiting effect depending on your playing style. I just wish more stomp compressors had the options that rack units have! I'm interested in trading mine for a Maxon CP9-Pro now, the external threshold knob is pretty useful, especially when you have more than one bass.

[squarewave]

Thanks for the update Bongomania.

[dream_bass]

heya
plz can anyone whos using EBS MultiComp if its made in china or made in sweden ?
thanx m8s

[Outlaw_son]

Exellent review. I had been researching compression petals for a while now and overall i saw this petal had the most praise. Did I read your post right when you said that this petal does not act as a limiter or eliminate harsh peaks if your an aggresive style player? Also does anyone use this petal with a MM stingray bass and what petal setting works best for you?

[bongomania]

Yeah, the max ratio of the EBS is about 5:1, which is not much good for peak limiting. It may still be fine for your style though, because the whole bassist-bass-processors-amp "system" is all interrelated, so it depends as much on your own personal style and rig combinations as it does on the hard science of ratios etc. So there are other comps I have recommended more for their limiting abilities, but you might still want to try the EBS anyway.

[Outlaw_son]

Bongo, is there a certain pedal youd suggest that is comparable to the multicomp but does more for limiting?

[bongomania]

Sure, if you search in this forum on "limiter" you'll find several suggestions. There was a thread just yesterday where I specified some limiters. Also if you check out my top picks on my reviews page, you'll be able to read in their specific reviews which ones do a good job of limiting.

[Outlaw_son]

Bongo I didnt see anything about the multicomp pulling off the "squish" sound so I ask is the Multicomp able to pull off the "squishy" sound at all? Im looking for the "best of both worlds" a good transparent tone at times and then i wanna be able to tweak knobs for a phat squishy tone. thanks

[bongomania]

Hmmm... Most comps can do one or the other but not both, at least not well. You can get some squish out of the EBS by setting it to maximum compression, but whether it's "enough" for your tastes, only you can determine that. Also check out the Toadworks Mr. Squishy, it can do both clean and squashed to an extent.

[KarateKid25]

hmmm decisions decisions...

Thanks for the updates Bongo!!

[icarussmicarus]

Eh, best thing i ever did for my tone was sell my multicomp. I think compression is different experience for everyone. So hard to know what will work with what situation and what playing style and what gear. I'm leaving compression to the studio engineer, its essential. But i just sound so much better in my band mix live without it.

[FreaqyFrequency]

Will you be testing the new edition, Bongo?