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Bass compressor
- Thread starter G72
- Start date
If you really want something under $100 and you want a compressor that will shape your sound (like a Cali76 might, but 1/10 the price), the Caline Bass Compressor is both cheap and pretty darn effective for the price. I got one just to play with it and if you spend some time you can find some settings that really round out your sound. Joyo makes some pedals in the $70-80 range that I have seen good reviews of but have never played. I am historically skeptical of this cheap stuff but there have been some significant upgrades to the low end stuff over the last couple of years. If you play live and anticipate turning the compressor on and off I would be careful with this stuff as its mostly plastic or cheap metal (the Caline seems substantial but I still wouldnt want to be stomping on it in real life). If you want to spend a little more you can get some MXR dyna-comps and CS-3s at around $100 used, I know a couple people who swear by either a CS-2 or a CS-3 live (the Boss stuff is great live because it basically never breaks).
If you want to eliminate mud then I’d recommend a high pass filter (HPF) rather than a compressor. Another vote for the Keeley, but I’d focus on getting your fingers consistent rather than relying on a compressor (for that).
I agree. It has a very good default tone and effect but you’ll want to explore its extensive on-line parameters and defaults before long. Great value!
Either of the Aguilar compressors could be worth a look. Used prices are close to $100. All their stuff is quality.
- Aguilar DB599 (two knobs, only makes good sounds. Great for live and easy use)
- Aguilar TLC (A bit more control. Very transparent. Great utility and fidelity)
Can’t go wrong with Keely or EBS though. Really quality stuff.
- Aguilar DB599 (two knobs, only makes good sounds. Great for live and easy use)
- Aguilar TLC (A bit more control. Very transparent. Great utility and fidelity)
Can’t go wrong with Keely or EBS though. Really quality stuff.
No, I play with wildly inconsistent fingers. From the brush of a buttterfly’s wing to a sledgehammer, and everything in between. Variation in touch provides variation in tone and texture, enables different riffs. The only downside to this is wildly variable dynamic range. A compressor helps with that.
If you like what a compressor does then it makes sense to use one - as long as it’s not a substitute for subpar technique.
Just keep in mind even a really expensive compressor can sound bad if you don’t know how to use it properly.
I don’t understand. Is there something illegal or immoral about subpar technique? I had subpar technique for most of my life. I wish there was a pedal I’d known about to help me out.
Changing what someone says in a quote is bad etiquette. Might even be against forum policy. So I would kindly ask you not to do that in the future or I will flag your posts.
Thanks.
Altering quotes is a time honored tradition on TB. I’ve witnessed it over 100 times in my tenure on this forum. It’s always done with the goal of comedy, wit, or a good pun.
Rest assured, no one can alter your original post but a TB moderator. The integrity of your words is intact. The public acknowledgement that I “fixed your post” is a clear indicator to all that I have altered your words. No one will attribute my feeble attempt to be clever, to you.
There is no need to threaten me with flagging, do as you please. The TB moderators are your friends. In my experience they are always fair and even handed.
Fear not for the future, as will no longer be reading your posts, thus highly unlikely to be quoting them.
Your desire for it to be transparent makes me feel that, of the recommendations given, a used Aguilar TLC would be perfect, if you can find one in budget (I bought and sold mine for less than $100).
I completely disagree with the comment that you cannot get a good compressor for under $100, simply because the Joyo Scylla and Zooms MS60B or B1 Four can be found for well below that. The Zoom compressors vary in noisiness, but all sound and work very well.
The Caline Pressure Point, Joyo JF-10 (the green one with the scorpion), and Donner Ultimate Comp are all perfectly usable for even less.
My Aguilar TLC was replaced by a Walrus Mira (which I got, new, for about $100), and I absolutely love the Mira, but I wouldn’t call it transparent. But that’s the whole reason I replaced the TLC with it.
As I said, the TLC would be my first recommendation, but that depends heavily on used availability and prices. If there aren’t any, just get the Scylla if you want to hit the sweet spot between affordability and looking “professional” (although I would not hesitate to have the Caline or Donner on my pedal board). If you do get a Scylla, I would recommend Jayme Lewis’ YouTube videos on it to understand the controls.
I completely disagree with the comment that you cannot get a good compressor for under $100, simply because the Joyo Scylla and Zooms MS60B or B1 Four can be found for well below that. The Zoom compressors vary in noisiness, but all sound and work very well.
The Caline Pressure Point, Joyo JF-10 (the green one with the scorpion), and Donner Ultimate Comp are all perfectly usable for even less.
My Aguilar TLC was replaced by a Walrus Mira (which I got, new, for about $100), and I absolutely love the Mira, but I wouldn’t call it transparent. But that’s the whole reason I replaced the TLC with it.
As I said, the TLC would be my first recommendation, but that depends heavily on used availability and prices. If there aren’t any, just get the Scylla if you want to hit the sweet spot between affordability and looking “professional” (although I would not hesitate to have the Caline or Donner on my pedal board). If you do get a Scylla, I would recommend Jayme Lewis’ YouTube videos on it to understand the controls.
I was thinking along the lines of our pal @InkCow 's recommendations to consider the Aguilar TLC and a Zoom multi like the MS60B.
I'm not much of a compressor guy, but I'm sometimes checking out this and that to keep things spicy. It's easy to be comp curious because so many of our pals here enjoy them and I've sampled a couple in recent history. I recently had a go with the ultra simple (and very affordable) TC Electronics Forcefield, which seemed okay when I had it in service for a couple of gigs.
Then I got the itch to try something "better" and I found an Aguilar TLC. This one was a bit of a revelation because it turned out to be remarkably transparent. When I did a couple of side by side comparisons, it was obvious that the Aguilar was very good in terms of preserving my tone and at rather subtle settings, I find that it's hard to know that it's even there.
I can also strongly agree with the recommendation above from @bass12 in terms of a high pass filter (HPF). I grabbed one (from Broughton) at a nice price for just in case and it eventually saved me at more than one show where the space turned my sound too muddy and boomy. The HPF worked like magic and it has become my borderline essential "always on" gizmo. Although I still have my Aguilar TLC, I don't use it.
I should note that I'm usually playing through my own amp at our gigs and not running any of my bass sound through our PA. I'm also primarily a fingerstyle player and almost never get to do much of any slapping or solo'ing at our shows. Just driving the bus and singing backups.
I'm not much of a compressor guy, but I'm sometimes checking out this and that to keep things spicy. It's easy to be comp curious because so many of our pals here enjoy them and I've sampled a couple in recent history. I recently had a go with the ultra simple (and very affordable) TC Electronics Forcefield, which seemed okay when I had it in service for a couple of gigs.
Then I got the itch to try something "better" and I found an Aguilar TLC. This one was a bit of a revelation because it turned out to be remarkably transparent. When I did a couple of side by side comparisons, it was obvious that the Aguilar was very good in terms of preserving my tone and at rather subtle settings, I find that it's hard to know that it's even there.
I can also strongly agree with the recommendation above from @bass12 in terms of a high pass filter (HPF). I grabbed one (from Broughton) at a nice price for just in case and it eventually saved me at more than one show where the space turned my sound too muddy and boomy. The HPF worked like magic and it has become my borderline essential "always on" gizmo. Although I still have my Aguilar TLC, I don't use it.
I should note that I'm usually playing through my own amp at our gigs and not running any of my bass sound through our PA. I'm also primarily a fingerstyle player and almost never get to do much of any slapping or solo'ing at our shows. Just driving the bus and singing backups.
Also, since I think I remember you saying that you’re in Europe, Thomann has a Harley Benton badged version of the Joyo scorpion one for very cheap. Still green and has the scorpion!
