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budget compressor, one that fattens tone...

pcake

pcake

Sep 20, 2011
10,169
31,502
Los Angeleez
#1
i'm looking for a budget compressor, one that you can really hear, maybe fatten up the tone some and give a nicely compressed sound, not something super transparent. if i can also get more sustain, that would be a bonus, but it's not a must.

in all these years, i've never used a compressor, and i want to get an idea of what different controls can do by experimenting, so i'm not looking for something super simple. if i like it, i'll probably get something nicer.

suggestions?
 
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#2
pcake said:
i'm looking for a budget compressor, one that you can really hear, maybe fatten up the tone some and give a nicely compressed sound, not something super transparent. if i can also get more sustain, that would be a bonus, but it's not a must.

in all these years, i've never used a compressor, and i want to get an idea of what different controls can do by experimenting, so i'm not looking for something super simple. if i like it, i'll probably get something nicer.

suggestions?
Click to expand...

Seymour Duncan Studio Comp (used) ticks the boxes. It has the desired adjustability without getting stupid and, more importantly, a blend for mixing compressed and unaffected signal.

Riis
 
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#3
87CEDF85-C12C-4A53-A1AE-41C0412FFD1F.jpeg
 
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#5
You'll get a lot of recommendations up here for compressors. I've owned a lot of them over the years. One of my favorite "budget compressors" in a pedal format is the Keeley bassist.

It's a DEEP rabbit hole. Good luck!

Edit: Traits of some compressors you'll probably want to to avoid are rolled-off bass frequencies, and noise. There are others, but they won't be as noticeable to a beginner. Be sure to test before buying if possible.
 
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#6
darn, it's too late to edit my original post. no noise would be a huge thing.

any thoughts on a used MXR M87 or a joyo scylla?
Nuisance said:
You'll get a lot of recommendations up here for compressors. I've owned a lot of them over the years. One of my favorite "budget compressors" in a pedal format is the Keeley bassist.

It's a DEEP rabbit hole. Good luck!

Edit: Traits of some compressors you'll probably want to to avoid are rolled-off bass frequencies, and noise. There are others, but they won't be as noticeable to a beginner. Be sure to test before buying if possible.
Click to expand...
i won't be able to test before buying, but i'd like to do some experimenting. is this the one you mentioned?
https://reverb.com/p/keeley-bassist-compressor?hfid=83754797
 
#7
Zooberwerx said:
Seymour Duncan Studio Comp (used) ticks the boxes. It has the desired adjustability without getting stupid and, more importantly, a blend for mixing compressed and unaffected signal.

Riis
Click to expand...
I use one of these on my board and I agree. It has lots of flexibility, just enough to make it sound bad if you get way off the path but not so much you can't find your way back easily.
 
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#8
pcake said:
darn, it's too late to edit my original post. no noise would be a huge thing.

any thoughts on a used MXR M87 or a joyo scylla?

i won't be able to test before buying, but i'd like to do some experimenting. is this the one you mentioned?
https://reverb.com/p/keeley-bassist-compressor?hfid=83754797
Click to expand...
The MXR is a good unit. Joyo products general do what they say on the box well enough so it probably is a usable solution but I would pick the MXR every time if I had to choose between the 2.
 
#13
pcake said:
darn, it's too late to edit my original post. no noise would be a huge thing.

any thoughts on a used MXR M87 or a joyo scylla?

i won't be able to test before buying, but i'd like to do some experimenting. is this the one you mentioned?
https://reverb.com/p/keeley-bassist-compressor?hfid=83754797
Click to expand...
Yes. It's simple to use, and use can get as much squash and sustain as you like. I will mention that you'll likely find just (as do most bassists) that just a bit of light compression works best in a live setting to give you some punch while slightly leveling the notes.

Placing all of the knobs at around noon on the Keeley is a good starting point....then tweak to taste.
 
#14
I have no experience with compressors. There. I got that out of the way.

Decades ago I was a frequent participant on the rec.audio.pro Usenet group, back when it was populated by a lot of truly knowledgeable, experienced, heavy industry folks and serious folks wanting to learn more. One of the compressors that ALWAYS came up as a great budget recommendation for studios was the RNC 1773 by FMR. Just curious ...has anyone here had any experience with using one live with a bass? It's not a pedal, but has unbalanced 1/4” in/out.
 
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#16
Best budget comp I have tried is the Guptech Squeezr, a Warden clone. Excellent quality and flexible, but fairly transparent rather than a thickener. It can distort with a very high output bass if high compression ratio is selected, which is easily remedied by backing off the ratio a bit.

https://reverb.com/item/62377931-sqwzr-optical-compressor-blue

That said, for a newbie, a comp with full controls and accurate metering can transform the experience from groping in the dark to seeing the light ;) I'd buy once/ cry once.
 
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#17
pcake said:
i'm looking for a budget compressor, one that you can really hear, maybe fatten up the tone some and give a nicely compressed sound, not something super transparent. if i can also get more sustain, that would be a bonus, but it's not a must.

in all these years, i've never used a compressor, and i want to get an idea of what different controls can do by experimenting, so i'm not looking for something super simple. if i like it, i'll probably get something nicer.

suggestions?
Click to expand...
They'll all fatten the tone, or make the tone less fat, or sound compressed, or sound transparent, or make your tone punchier, or remove all the punch and attack, or give a lot of sustain, or less sustain. It all depends on how you set up the parameters.

A compressor does one thing: Reduce dynamic range.

All those other things that happen to your tone happen because of how you apply the compressor to your signal, not inherent to the compressor itself.

If your intent is to learn what the different controls can do, get any compressor that has:
- Input Gain
- Threshold
- Ratio
- Attack
- Release
- Makeup Gain
- Dry/Wet

Also check out my post here that explains how these work.
And more details here in this followup post.
 
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#19
FullumMusic said:
They'll all fatten the tone, or make the tone less fat, or sound compressed, or sound transparent, or make your tone punchier, or remove all the punch and attack, or give a lot of sustain, or less sustain. It all depends on how you set up the parameters.

A compressor does one thing: Reduce dynamic range.

All those other things that happen to your tone happen because of how you apply the compressor to your signal, not inherent to the compressor itself.
Click to expand...
I must respectfully disagree with this assessment. Some comps tend toward clean and transparent, others just do not.
 
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#20
The Duncan Studio Bass is a nice compressor but I’d say the compression is more on the transparent side. If you are looking for something voiced and effect-y this might be a bit subtle. The Attack control was functionally useless and I could never hear what it was doing. The blend and toggle are definitely helpful for tone shaping, so it’s not completely transparent at all settings, but that more a function of the blended dry signal being filtered.

It is a decent amount of bang for the buck and if you start with it you might not need/want to “upgrade.”


In general, VCA comps will tend towards transparent and often contain words like “studio” in the description. Optical and FET comps are going to be much more effect-y. Optical units can be pretty squishy. FET units can be exploited for some grind/crunch.
 
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