Cali 76, best, most effective, favorite settings?

[Ringhammer]

I have a Cali 76 Compact Bass and I’m curious as to what some of people’s favorite and/or most effective settings are. I’m looking to get a fair amount of compression without losing too much dynamic control. Just want to smooth out the peaks a little and not lose any low end. I will be using thing in a rather loud two guitar drums and me, all tuned to D standard and drop C.

 

[prndltech]

I had posted this in another thread about the DCX but this worked well for me the other day with the stingray

 

[Stubb]

I had posted this in another thread about the DCX but this worked well for me the other day with the stingray

Works with a P with TI Flats into an Arkham Oracle, too.

 

[prndltech]

Works with a P with TI Flats into an Arkham Oracle, too.
View attachment 5126096

I’m currently running a khan vtdi at the end of my chain. As you well know, a Cali 76 into some tubes sounds good

If the noble ain’t twice as good when it gets here, I’ll be selling it and I may try an oracle. But I really love the simplicity of the khan.

 

[amper]

I have a Cali 76 Compact Bass and I’m curious as to what some of people’s favorite and/or most effective settings are. I’m looking to get a fair amount of compression without losing too much dynamic control. Just want to smooth out the peaks a little and not lose any low end. I will be using thing in a rather loud two guitar drums and me, all tuned to D standard and drop C.

Your mileage may vary.

What settings work best for compression are entirely situationally-dependent, and it's sort of useless to talk about compression settings except in the most general sense, which is to say, "use as little as possible".

 

[smeet]

This works nicely for me right now. Pretty close to what was already posted.
And I also have a Khan at the end of my chain. Those two are my always-ons.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I use a Fairfield Circuitry Accountant because compressors are boring. I just fail to understand why bass players swear by them. Maybe I'm just a weirdo.

 

[Cerio]

What settings work best for compression are entirely situationally-dependent, and it's sort of useless to talk about compression settings".

This.

 

[odarellmc]

Your mileage may vary.

What settings work best for compression are entirely situationally-dependent, and it's sort of useless to talk about compression settings except in the most general sense, which is to say, "use as little as possible".

I disagree. If that was the case we'll be changing settings every song, not gonna happen. There has the be some middle of the road settings. While maybe not ideally set for studio work, average setting are good to see. From what I see I'm setting my compression way to high... Something to check out, thanks guys.

 

[Dave Hill]

 

[Deleted member 271037]

If the main objective is to catch peaks I would probably use a faster attack than the examples above. Dry signal all the way OFF. The input signal will need to be set to ONLY exceed the threshold at peaks of course. If not you will affect the attack on ALL your notes (ot just the peaks) and squish your dynamics (which can be cool but not what you wanted). For general "squishing" I would normally use a slower attack though.

You'll have to use your ears I'm afraid. The "best" compressor setting will depend on your playing style and the genre of music.

 

[tb-player]

I used to have that pedal. When I got it I reached out to Ian Allison since he’s big on Cali76. He directed me to an Instagram video he did years ago about how he likes to setup his compressor. I have no idea where that video is, but it was worth a deep dive to find it.
I now play an Empress MKII and use the same approach I learned in that tutorial.

 

[Phagor]

A reasonable starting point is all knobs at 12 o'clock - a testament to how well Origin designed the ranges of the controls.

 

[Rib 13]

Your mileage may vary.

What settings work best for compression are entirely situationally-dependent, and it's sort of useless to talk about compression settings except in the most general sense, which is to say, "use as little as possible".

If youre saying that compression settings are tailored to the individual player then, yes, I completely agree

 

[kmon]

A reasonable starting point is all knobs at 12 o'clock - a testament to how well Origin designed the ranges of the controls.

yes…everything at noon is a good starting point. It’s like the Mesa instant gratification setting and sounds good to me.

From there I tend to roll the ratio, dry and HPF back between 9 and 11. As far as the HPF I don’t mind having a little more compression on the lower notes. I started with the attack all the way to the right but I do like the noonish setting, I seem to get a little more sustain.

 

[dougfr67]

Your mileage may vary.

What settings work best for compression are entirely situationally-dependent, and it's sort of useless to talk about compression settings except in the most general sense, which is to say, "use as little as possible".

Absolutely. You have to understand what threshold, attack and release are, then set it up according to your playing style. You can't just copy someone's settings.

I disagree. If that was the case we'll be changing settings every song, not gonna happen. There has the be some middle of the road settings. While maybe not ideally set for studio work, average setting are good to see. From what I see I'm setting my compression way to high... Something to check out, thanks guys.

Based on your reply (You're setting your compression high, because you see other users settings.) you clearly don't understand the compressor.

 

[Stubb]

I agree that settings aren't necessarily transferable, but I think having some guidelines can be helpful, especially with 6 knobs that are all pretty interactive. The fact that at least some of us wind up with similar settings speaks to that.

 

[r_bnks]

I agree that settings aren't necessarily transferable, but I think having some guidelines can be helpful, especially with 6 knobs that are all pretty interactive. The fact that at least some of us wind up with similar settings speaks to that.

Some users wind up similar settings because some of them might have same dynamics.

This is a guideline imo not user settings: Audio Compression 101: How to Use a Compressor for a Better Mix | LANDR

You can go a long way with understanding compression basics.

 

[Ringhammer]

Interesting that some of your examples have a slow attack and fast release. One intention on using a compressor is to try to remove the clack I get from when I’m digging in and the string is striking the frets hard. I’m mostly a finger player and I can come down pretty hard when I’m into it. Seems like a fast attack is what would be what’s called for in that example. The other reason I have thought of for using a compressor on bass might be to get a little more volume out of the thinner strings, but I’m not sure if that’s actually possible or if a compressor is the right application for that?

Yes, I probably am not an expert on using a compressor, that why I asked here. I thought that’s what these forums were for…

 

[Killens84]

The photo is my full board, but you can see the comp settings.