Opto Stomp vs Punch Factory?

Venom of God · #1 02-24-2011, 07:13 AM

I'm in the market for a compressor (in pedal form, not too expensive and with a Boss style power input and as small a footprint as possible) and think that I've got it down to these two! What are your thoughts?

One of my friends owns a music shop who CAN'T get Aphex in and he still suggested that I buy a Punch Factory off the net rather than buying something he can get, so that's a pretty big push in the PF's favour, but I thought I'd get some last minute opinions from you guys before I hit that buy button. I only recently stumbled upon the Opto Stomp and I like the look of it.

Thoughts? Thanks!

laklandplayer · #2 02-24-2011, 07:30 AM

The Seymour Duncan Doubleback pedal is excellent.
I have one and it sounds and performs great. It also has a unique feature where you can blend back in just the hi's, the mid's or the full range signal (all unaffected) to the compressed signal to open up the sound if you want. It also has true bypass and is about the same size as the Punch and Opto. It is definitely worth considering.

Taz_60 · #3 02-24-2011, 07:43 AM

I used to own an Optostomp few years ago. It's a great comp. Very dumb-friendly, one volume knob, one comp knob. For the bassist who wants a simple, transparent, subtle, very progressive and inexpansive, it's the best. True bypass, standard boss powered, solid as a rock, aluminium knobs.

Best value for money in my opnion. Incredible comp. Not a "fat" comp ala black finger, though. The comp knob is very transparent and progressive.

Venom of God · #4 02-24-2011, 07:46 AM

I think that's the sort of thing I'm after, yeah. What do you mean when you say "fat," though?

I play four-four hard rock, if that's any help (check my sig if a sound sample helps!).

prd004 · #5 02-24-2011, 07:52 AM

I had a Punch Factory around seven years ago and I liked it very much. It had a very smooth, transparent compression and I used it all the time.

Unfortunately I used it so much the input jack wore out and the thing started cutting in/out on me all the time. I looked into getting a new jack but it was complex, multiple points soldered to the board it wasn't promising. My brother could have done it but on top of that I couldn't get just the jack, even from Aphex, so I just broke down and bought another pedal.......................

The second one sucked!!!!!!!!!! I hated it and couldn't really figure out why, but it never seemed to work as good as my original.

bongomania · #6 02-24-2011, 07:55 AM

Yeah the jacks on the Punch Factory are easy to break and difficult to fix. The Opto-Stomp is built to take abuse.

Taz_60 · #7 02-24-2011, 07:58 AM

I mean fat comps as opposed to transparent comp

For me, a fat comp is one which color your sound: tube comp, vintage comp,... Used this way, a comp is more a effect than a "always on" pedal.

The BBE is an "always on" pedal. It can slightly compress you sound without drop out your attack. You can't get massive compressed tones with it (well, turned all the way on, it can sound massive, but it was not designed for that type of tone...)

Venom of God · #8 02-24-2011, 08:00 AM

Well, that makes the Opto Stomp a bit more appealing as I don't want my compressor to die on me on the road! Review reads well on your site too Bongo, the low output is a little off putting but I'm sure I could make up for it with the volume knob on my SansAmp.

I don't have heaps of knowledge about compressors, is that the sort of design I should be looking at for hard rock?

Taz_60 · #9 02-24-2011, 08:21 AM

I read on Ovnilab that the newer version of the opto stomp has a very low output. Mine hadn't. I don't know if it's a big deal...

bongomania · #10 02-24-2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venom of God

is that the sort of design I should be looking at for hard rock?

It's good for all genres, generally, though opto designs are usually described as "smooth"--and some people in hard rock wouldn't like that. The classic rock compression is a VCA design such as in dbx units. Unfortunately it's expensive to make a VCA design with low noise, so the "good" VCA pedals tend to be on the expensive side. For a more aggro sound I'd actually steer you to either the Boss LMB-3 or a Boss CS-3 modded for bass.

Bassamatic · #11 02-24-2011, 08:47 AM

I still use the Punch Factory for overall gain control. It has no audible effect other than gain riding - it is extremely clean and transparent. It's on my board and I have not had any jack issues.

At NAMM Aphex showed new versions of their pedals - these seem built like tanks.

elolomet · #12 02-24-2011, 08:55 AM

Punch Factory sounds great but I'm on #2 as the jacks on #1 went out

Go with the Opto-Stomp...

Venom of God · #13 02-24-2011, 09:00 AM

Interesting, a Boss didn't even cross my mind to be honest! When you say aggro, what do you mean exactly? I thought compressors were meant to be transparent?

Chrisk-K · #14 02-24-2011, 09:00 AM

Quote:

I don't have heaps of knowledge about compressors, is that the sort of design I should be looking at for hard rock

Both Opto & Punch Factory are subtle and thus you may not notice their effect in a hard rock setting.

Venom of God · #15 02-24-2011, 10:47 AM

Do I want to notice the effect? I thought a compressor was supposed to just do it's thing in silence? Or do you mean it wouldn't work that well?

Testing_123 · #16 02-24-2011, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Do I want to notice the effect? I thought a compressor was supposed to just do it's thing in silence?

I read the following analogy a long time ago and it made sense to me, so it has stuck in my head -- maybe helps to clarify things? Paraphrasing:

Compression is like a good sports referee/umpire: if it's doing the job well, you really shouldn't notice it working or impacting the flow of things. If a referee has prominent presence in the event (or if it is obvious the compression is happening), maybe it isn't doing the job effectively (wrong tool, wrong settings, other?).

In other words, what you don't hear should help you determine the compression's quality/effectiveness.

Obviously, this analogy doesn't hold up if using compression to create its own sonic effect (player wants it to be "heard"), but I've always liked the general theme.

Venom of God · #17 02-24-2011, 11:31 AM

Thanks, that makes sense and confirms what I thought. Sorry if I'm missing some core concept here, but why is it an issue that I may not notice the Opto Stomp in a hard rock setting? Or is it just not a suitable compressor for the genre?

Commreman · #18 02-24-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

It's good for all genres, generally, though opto designs are usually described as "smooth"--and some people in hard rock wouldn't like that. The classic rock compression is a VCA design such as in dbx units. Unfortunately it's expensive to make a VCA design with low noise, so the "good" VCA pedals tend to be on the expensive side. For a more aggro sound I'd actually steer you to either the Boss LMB-3 or a Boss CS-3 modded for bass.

+1 on the LMB-3. I have had one on my board for the last 20 years. I have used it in all kinds of applications - Metal, hard rock, funk, soul, you name it. This pedal has never let me down. I actually switched to an EBS multi comp a couple of years back, and went back to the LMB-3 after a few shows. Some folks have a problem with the enhance feature on the LMB-3; used judiciously, it actually is a useful feature for adding a little more "bite" to your tone when you need it. I have found that this pedal doesn't make your tone "fatter"; it makes your tone more present and tighter instead.

I don't claim to be the compression expert that Bongo is, but I have had good experience with this particular pedal.

Chrisk-K · #19 02-24-2011, 01:56 PM

I own both the Opto and the LMB-3. Like I said, the effect of the Opto is subtle. I hear its effect but it's not huge. In contrast, when I activate the LMB-3, the effect is very noticeable. It adds more bite, tightness & presence to the tone.

I'm not an expert on compressors. But I wonder if one can hear the effect of the Opto when the sonic space is filled with loud guitars and drums.

bongomania · #20 02-24-2011, 02:24 PM

As to the question of whether you "should or shouldn't" hear the compressor working, there are two separate considerations:

1) Whether the user uses it as an "effect". E.g. for fattening, tone shaping, extreme sustain, rubbery attack, etc. In those cases obviously the compressor is meant to be heard.

2) Whether the envelope of the compression effect matches your playing style. Even the most "transparent"-sounding compressor has a specific envelope of response, the way it rides your levels. If a given comp rides your levels in a way that suits your style, it will seem to be completely inaudible and unnoticeable, like the good umpire. If it rides your levels in a way that clashes with your style, no matter how transparent it might be for 100 other bassists, it will bother you and it will fail to achieve your desired "feel" with each note. I can't think of a baseball umpire analogy for this... let's call it wrestling instead. Say we have Greco-Roman, Sumo, and WWF wrestlers, as well as referees from each style. Say all of the referees are the very best in their genre--now swap the referees around, Greco-Roman for Sumo, etc. You can see why this might not work, no matter how "good" the referees are.