MXR M87 Bass Compressor?

[Joe Louvar]

So what is the story about the MXR M87 Bass Compressor - how well does it work/sound, etc - comments?

Thanks

[doomdude]

-to 118/A team theme- OVIN-LABS! OVIN-LABS...O-O-VIN LABS! O-O-VI-IN-LABS!

www(DOT)ovnilab.com/reviews/mxrbass.shtml

This guy is awesome. He's done tons of compressor reviews, and FAQs etc. Worth a look!

[Gadgetjunky]

Works great. I have mine more transparent, limiter like, but you can get a wide range of stuff out of it will all the knobs.

[judeix808]

Originally Posted by doomdude

-to 118/A team theme- OVIN-LABS! OVIN-LABS...O-O-VIN LABS! O-O-VI-IN-LABS!

www(DOT)ovnilab.com/reviews/mxrbass.shtml

This guy is awesome. He's done tons of compressor reviews, and FAQs etc. Worth a look!

^^^Agreed!

His review is the reason I decided to order this compressor. Now it will be a matter of learning how to use when it arrives.

[Joe Louvar]

Originally Posted by doomdude

-to 118/A team theme- OVIN-LABS! OVIN-LABS...O-O-VIN LABS! O-O-VI-IN-LABS!

www(DOT)ovnilab.com/reviews/mxrbass.shtml

This guy is awesome. He's done tons of compressor reviews, and FAQs etc. Worth a look!

Thank you for the link - that was exactly what I was looking for. And I bookmarked this link Compressor Reviews too.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by judeix808

Now it will be a matter of learning how to use when it arrives.

lol - actually that is the easy part, compressors are really easy to use - finding the ones you like (expressly stomp boxes) is the hardest part.

[Laurent]

Excellent pedal, super transparent, affordable, compact and the visual led's are amazingly helpful to see what's going on and dial in the right amount of compression.
Compression is hard to hear unless you're used to use the effect, the visual dials will teach your ears to hear what's going on. It's a great tool.

[ricknote]

Just bought one last week. I've played 4 gigs with it and it's a keeper. Can't beat it for the price.

[svtb15]

I have been back to using my old 160x rack compressor .. But i have travel dates after the 1st of the year again and still need to look into one of these pedals... mainly for convenience.... if it could do what my 160 does or my stay at home 1176 does .... i will poop myself... right now im real happy with my dbx but this is on my short list of pedals to eventually try out..

[Dan Robbins]

I spent over an hour at Guitar Showcase in San Jose (great independent store) A/Bing the M87 with my EBS Multicomp (latest generation True Bypass) in my "drive" pedalboard setup.

The MXR is WAY better for limiting transient peaks for slap bass style, than the EBS. I also found that the EBS added an unpleasant midrange bump (in multiband mode) that was the exact opposite tone you want to boost when playing slap bass. I think the EBS is GREAT for fingerstyle and tapping, but fails miserable with slap bass. The attack comes through and is not adjustable, and it's the attacks that need taming. The M87 was WAY more transparent sounding, and I could dial it in so it only came on with hard hitting slapped low notes. The metering is the icing on the cake.

Long story short, I sold my EBS and am getting the M87. It is not the quietest pedal out there, but in a live rig, it shouldn't be noticeable. I imagine for certain settings the noise will be more noticeable, but for my purposes (peak limiting for slap bass), it was just as quiet and perhaps quieter than the EBS. I HATE those internal trimpots on the EBS--like duh, put it on the top of the box!

Buy the M87, for the price, you won't be disappointed!

[Outlaw_son]

Loving mine so far. Used it at practice saturday for the first time. Keep in mind we are a loud metal band in Drop C tuning. Twiddled with the knobs for 30 secs based off suggestions from the manual. WOW. I could FINALLY hear every single note Id played! Not only that but it sounded so even,so smooth across the strings... Cleaned up the bottom end,no coloring of my tone and really just gave me a more focused sound.

My guitar player looked at me in amazement and screamed "wow, i can hear you so clearly dude",needless to say we had an awsome practice and now my guitar player thinks he needs one. Got to fine tune a little more but its definately staying on by board.

[MuthaFunk]

Originally Posted by svtb15

I have been back to using my old 160x rack compressor .. But i have travel dates after the 1st of the year again and still need to look into one of these pedals... mainly for convenience.... if it could do what my 160 does or my stay at home 1176 does .... i will poop myself... right now im real happy with my dbx but this is on my short list of pedals to eventually try out..

If you're a serious player looking for something to dissplace your dbx I would suggest the Empress Compressor. IMO it's much better than the MXR both in functionality, design, and sound. You'll have to fork out a little more than the MXR though....

[Dan Robbins]

It looks like the Empress' frequency response is down to 40hz, not low enough for a 5 string bass.
Is there anyone out there using this with a five string and can report here?
It looks amazing on paper.

MXR goes down to 20 Hz. Low B string is about 31 Hz. MXR should even work with a low F# string.
I'm still really happy with my MXR of course I would love to try the Empress.