Need some advice, compressors/drive/preamp etc..

[digamma]

Hi evry1,
I'm looking into this for my bass player. There are 2 things he wants to improve on his tone:
1 - Add some compression
2 - Add some texture, grit, warmth, while keeping things sounding big

Price is not an issue, and also, he is looking for something quite radical and noticeable rather than a very slight effect on his overall sound, for a very colored/alive bass sound.

At the moment, he is using a ampeg svt-II preamp -> Qsc power amp -> ampeg 8x10

We could get separate equipment, like a dbx for compression plus something else(sansamp?) for all the other stuff i mentioned above. If there is anything that can do both, even better!

Any ideas?
Thanks in Advance!

[PauperBoy]

I'm happy with an EBS Multi-Comp.

Great thread on compressors here
Compressor Review Megathread

[RickenBoogie]

Both compressors and od/distortion fx are very subjective. I think I'm alone on this, but for a compressor, I really like the TRex Squeezer. It's got all the control you need, nothing you don't, and I think it sounds fantastic. OD is another matter, there's so many flavors to choose from, I use an EBS Valve Drive, but that might not be extreme enough for what you're looking for. I also like the following: Seymore Duncan Twin Tube, this one has 2 channels and ALOT of dirt, MXR M80, again, alot of dirt and a DI, and recently I added the EHX Holy Stain, which has drive and fuzz, with reverbs, and pitch shift. Very versatile, and I'm really starting to dig the fuzz alot. Well that's all my opinion. Good luck with it.

[Ben Clarke]

An ART ProChannel would be sweet for this. Tube pre, comp and EQ. Very flexible and just sounds great.

http://www.artproaudio.com/products....=79&cat=1&id=4

[bongomania]

There are a variety of pedal options that may do the job to his satisfaction, but actually an all-tube amp head will provide all the compression, warmth, dirt, etc. he needs.

For pedal options instead, I would suggest separate compressor + od units, as I don't know of any that do a really good job of both functions. OD in general does provide a little bit of compression, and some compressors can provide a bit of dirt, but if you need a lot of both, you need to specialize.