It seems the Urei 1176 goes down to 4:1 so I guess it's mirroring those settings.
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Cali76 CBC confessions
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
It seems the Urei 1176 goes down to 4:1 so I guess it's mirroring those settings.
Only louder in the detection circuit of the compressor, not at output. The entire bandwidth of the signal is compressed equally as the Cali is a single band compressor.
But since bass tends to be monophonic-ish, the detection path tends to be what's being played.
This is a common misconception with this compressor. It will not reduce the output of frequencies below the HPF like you’d see with an inline HPF. It only affects the way the compressor reacts. The output in terms of frequency response will be unchanged. I’ve confirmed this with Origin Effects back when I previously owned a Cali.
Addendum: Monophony or polyphony doesn’t dictate single band vs multiband.
Quoting Origin Effects, the manufacturer:
The frequencies filtered out of the sidechain are 20Hz (most filtered) to 350Hz (least filtered). Turning the HPF control clockwise reduces the amount of these frequencies that trigger the compressor, making them relatively louder than frequencies above 350Hz.
Source: F.A.Q. – Origin Effects
The frequencies filtered out of the sidechain are 20Hz (most filtered) to 350Hz (least filtered). Turning the HPF control clockwise reduces the amount of these frequencies that trigger the compressor, making them relatively louder than frequencies above 350Hz.
Source: F.A.Q. – Origin Effects
Right, but if I'm playing notes below the HPF, the trigger will be lower. There will be overlap as there are overtones to any note played, but if the compressor isn't triggered, the compression will be less. The end result of a HPF in the trigger and an HPF to the compression circuit isn't going to be very different.
Only louder to the detector circuit as confirmed by Origin Effects.
They’re completely different processes with different results.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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The Cali is more of a scalpel than a sword. That said, your best bet is to do what you've learned...take the dry mix all the way down, play and figure out how it compresses and squeezes and how the side-chain HPF fits in. Once you do that, you can add back in the dry until you get the benefits of the compression but also keep things sounding natural.
At its best, the cool thing is that you can have and use compression without it being a totally obvious thing.
It's also worth playing around with the output. Setting things for what sounds like it's even when engaged or not is pretty obvious...but the real fun for me is bringing that output up a bit and finding the place where you can ride the line between control and endless sustain. You can play the Cali like another instrument with this smooth big swell/gain under your fingers.
At its best, the cool thing is that you can have and use compression without it being a totally obvious thing.
It's also worth playing around with the output. Setting things for what sounds like it's even when engaged or not is pretty obvious...but the real fun for me is bringing that output up a bit and finding the place where you can ride the line between control and endless sustain. You can play the Cali like another instrument with this smooth big swell/gain under your fingers.
Didn't realize that the lowest compression was 5:1 which explains why I didn't hear much of a difference when I thought it was going from about 2:1 to 4:1, just guessing. The guess was way off.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
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I’m usually about 1 o’clock on that control, or if I want to really tighten things, 3 o’clock.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
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- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
I've also been pondering the side-chain HPF, because I do find it a useful control on this compressor in practice. I'd also treat it like the dry signal level control.
Start with it all the way rolled back...and also with the dry mix off. Then play with your chosen compression levels. From there you'll be able to tell or hear when your deeper content is being squished too much or the low stuff is being flattened and limited. From there you can bring up that control until you reach a point where you don't feel like the rug is being pulled out from beneath you when you're either playing down low or have low EQ pushed from your bass.
I'm fairly sensitive to the limiting/squishing of lows. I've bought and moved on from some amps because of baked in limiting circuitry...I feel that MarkBass LM's are all guilty of this and it drives me nuts.
I think that multi-color metering LED is pretty useful to dial in this feature in a visual sense. You can use it to find a place where the stuff down the neck is triggering similarly to the stuff mid-neck and earball the finer adjustment.
Start with it all the way rolled back...and also with the dry mix off. Then play with your chosen compression levels. From there you'll be able to tell or hear when your deeper content is being squished too much or the low stuff is being flattened and limited. From there you can bring up that control until you reach a point where you don't feel like the rug is being pulled out from beneath you when you're either playing down low or have low EQ pushed from your bass.
I'm fairly sensitive to the limiting/squishing of lows. I've bought and moved on from some amps because of baked in limiting circuitry...I feel that MarkBass LM's are all guilty of this and it drives me nuts.
I think that multi-color metering LED is pretty useful to dial in this feature in a visual sense. You can use it to find a place where the stuff down the neck is triggering similarly to the stuff mid-neck and earball the finer adjustment.
The "Captain East" toneprints is excellent. Most of the pro to prints are great, but I always go back to that one.
I've found the Cali Compact Bass to be really versatile, and all the knobs work as they should IMO, I'd try driving the input to the compressor a little more if you're not hearing the differences in turning knobs. My settings are usually (running at 18 volts)
Blend: 11 o'clock
Output: Noon
Input: 2 o'clock
Ratio: 11 o'clock
Att/Release: 11 o'clock
HPF: Noon
I'm using just a touch more compressed signal than my dry, and it's pushing the front end of my Shift Line Olympic to put it into edge of breakup. For me the trick of the HPF was playing with the pedal turned off and then turning it on and listening for the lows. Another method would be to run the Cali into an interface and pull up something like Logic's EQ plugin and see where the compressor is rolling off low frequencies. The faster attack to me sounds great for picked notes and such, although the slower settings sound warmer.
Blend: 11 o'clock
Output: Noon
Input: 2 o'clock
Ratio: 11 o'clock
Att/Release: 11 o'clock
HPF: Noon
I'm using just a touch more compressed signal than my dry, and it's pushing the front end of my Shift Line Olympic to put it into edge of breakup. For me the trick of the HPF was playing with the pedal turned off and then turning it on and listening for the lows. Another method would be to run the Cali into an interface and pull up something like Logic's EQ plugin and see where the compressor is rolling off low frequencies. The faster attack to me sounds great for picked notes and such, although the slower settings sound warmer.
Sorry, but. No. Those frequencies filtered in the sidechain end up uncompressed or progressively less compressed at the output. They will be amplified by the makeup gain stage and end up louder than they entered the compressor. The more compression used the more gain is necessary to compensate and the uncompressed frequencies will get even louder. This is a great way to add weight to the signal without squishing it altogether. This is the whole purpose of a sidechain filter. What OE describes is a “gentle slope” hpf starting around 350Hz and cutting deeper below, toward 20Hz.
This thread makes me feel warm and safe with my Hilbish Compressimiser and its single knob compression. I haven’t tried the Cali or the Empress yet, but I haven’t ruled them out as future options to experiment with.
