Best Small Box Compressor

[akagilligan]

Ideally has a mix knob, but most importantly....low compression musical tone without a bunch of noise.

Recommendations??

PS-have read the threads and been over to ovnilab.

Thank you

 

[mactac]

What sort of compression do you want, and what do you want to do with it?
ie do you want a compressor with character (for example like how an 1176 or LA2A does), or do you want it to be "transparent"?
Do you want to just control/squash dynamics, or increase them or use it to get extra punch (ie you'd need an attack control) or what exactly would you like it to do?
Compressors can do all sorts of things to sound, and a good recommendation is completely dependent on this. Your description doesn't really get into enough detail.

 

[mactac]

Oh, and sorry - one question I forgot to ask - what do you mean by "small box"? A stompbox? or a small tabletop?

 

[akagilligan]

Sorry..my bad. I'm building a small grab and go board so I don't have to always take the big one. If it helps...started with empress, then Cali 76 on the big board. Liked them both, but a bit big for what I'm doing.

Increased dynamics, musical, tone sweetening, small stompbox, transparent, low noise.....

 

[yaksonator]

Ovnifx Smoothie Compressor.

 

[Mosfed]

Ovnifx Smoothie Compressor.

I don't have one but it would be my top of my list if I was looking for your kind of compressor.

 

[GMC]

The MXR compressor would be top of my list, small, compact, fully featured and noise free. It has an input / output volume stages... blends are a bit alien to compressors. They are generally subtle by nature and good compression is quite transparent to the original source tone...just less dynamics.

 

[extreme]

You should seriously consider the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Germanium Gold pedal. I find it to be very musical, and it can really squash your signal, but it features a blend knob (actually a true blend, as opposed to the blend knob controlling the ratio on the regular PT pedal...go with the germanium gold) that really does a nice job of allowing your bass to sound natural, but have a fattened up compressed feel to it.

 

[lowfreq33]

Xotic SP Compressor is tiny.

 

[Yango]

Demeter Compulator. I've tried tons of compressors, and haven't found anything that I like better.

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[Unemploid]

@6:00

 

[Mosfed]

Xotic SP Compressor is tiny.

And super cool. It makes me drool for a nano-board.

 

[SandCBass]

I'm digging the Fairfield Circuitry "The Accountant" compressor, tiny footprint, and a great sound to it.

 

[Swimming Bird]

I use the MXR bass comp. It's mad decent.

 

[JehuJava]

There's a Wampler Ego in the classifieds. Has a blend knob...a blend knob!

 

[jazzsoul]

EBS MultiComp, in my opionion there is no better one.

 

[ThePoloHobo]

+1 On the MXR M87. I liked it way better than the markbass one. Very transparent! And the gain reduction LED's are great for dialing in the sensitivity.

 

[Amplified]

Aguilar TLC? Small package.

 

[DirtyDuke]

Smoothie or pwnzor

 

[eddododo]

I gotta say, as far as a sweet-sounding, tonal-magic type compressor, the FEA optiFET and the 3leaf PWNZOR are the BEST ones I have used.
I guess the FEA is a little big, but the pwnzor is small, and phenomenal-sounding.
The accountant seems like a nice candidate, but its seems a little gritty, though in a beautiful way. Ill have one in the mail tomorrow, so i will let you know!