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Cali76 compact bass compressor vs. Empress bass compressor

empress vs cali76

  • Empress

    Votes: 61 46.2%

  • Cali76

    Votes: 49 37.1%

  • other

    Votes: 22 16.7%
  • Total voters
    132
Christian C

Christian C

Oct 13, 2023
20
16
17
Little Silver, NJ
#1
Hello! I'm trying to decide on what to buy for my first bass compressor to record guitar and bass and I have narrowed it down to these two. I want to buy I great compressor that I can record with and play live with without having to worry about replacing it with something down the road (I want to find the best compressor). I don't know what I want in a compressor since I have never had one before but I play in a cover band that covers anything from rock and metal to jazz, jazz fusion, funk, soul, and country. I am building a large board so I want it to be able to work well with all of my pedals. I have a darkglass b3k, a bass big muff, an MXR envelope filter, a cry baby bass mini wah, an ehx bass clone, an Ampeg Sgt-di, an ehx canyon, a boss oc5, a boss bf3, and a Peterson strobostomp. I know the main difference between the two is the cali76 adds color and the empress is neutral. Do I need a neutral compressor or would a colored one be beneficial in my situation? I can't really find any demos of both in one video on YouTube, so if you have one can you please post it? Also, afe there any other compressors you would say are better and don't lose any of the features on these?
 
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#3
Just Wrong said:
I've had both. Can't go wrong with either. But I will say this: At some point, I grew tried of the Cali76's colour, and there's no way to get rid of it (even when off -- it's not true bypass). The Empress Bass Compressor has a "colour" switch (mid bump or mid scoop) that can be turned off. Save yourself a few bucks and get the Empress.
Click to expand...
Is any one of them not able to compress the signal as well any the other? Would I be losing anything by getting the Empress?
 
#4
Christian C said:
Is any one of them not able to compress the signal as well any the other? Would I be losing anything by getting the Empress?
Click to expand...

Well, you can't really use the Empress as a limiter, its highest ratio being 10:1. At its highest ratio (20:1), you could use the Cali76 as a limiter (See: What is the difference between a compressor and a limiter?).

Other than that, the Empress has separate attack and release controls, which is a plus. The Cali76 Compact Bass does not.

But since this will be your first compressor, it's worth noting that the Empress has the best meter out there. You'll be able to see what each control does to your sound as compression is not obvious as say distortion. The Cali76's meter is rather worthless.
 
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#5
I had a Cali CB years ago and though I liked the aggressive character and midrange enhancement much of the time, I wished I could tone it down at times. Mine also clipped/distorted with a few of my basses at 9V, so I personally wouldn’t grab one again unless I was able to run it at higher voltages.

I currently have an Empress, and while I still wouldn’t call it completely neutral it can do this moreso to my ears than the Cali, doesn’t have issues with distortion at 9V, and is generally more versatile for my uses (apart from lacking a true limiter setting, though it can do this in a pinch at the 10:1 setting). Also, as mentioned that Empress meter is a great reference
 
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#6
Gotta try them with your specific basses, playing style, and tone. Get both return one.

I love the cali76 and it was perfect with my passive basses. It didn’t mesh well with my active 5 strings. Switched to Empress and it’s more transparent and works better across all my basses.

Cali76 adds a bit of coloring I love in certain contexts.

Both top tier
 
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#7
As almost always in life, it depends.

The metering on the Empress is best in class and can be considered almost invaluable for a compressor novice, in my opinion.
That being said, in my opinion, while I liked its performance, I also sent mine back after a couple of weeks as it was a little too clinical in the context of my basses/board/amps. I‘d say if you‘re going straight to DI/FOH, the character switches may correct this - for me and with my gear, it was not.

I got my CALI76CB, almost reluctantly, in a trade and inside of plugging in and fiddling with the knobs for three minutes, I was in disbelief of how easily I achieved my tonal goals. After using six different compressors for fifteen years prior, with some high quality contenders (Darkglass, Diamond, Empress) and almost constantly fiddling with some of them, I can barely put into words the peace of mind I get from this.

But - and this is a big but - while good compressor pedals are versatile and in the cases above, the most important thing is whether you like the character of a specific pedal, there‘s always the question what you want your compressor to do - and I‘ll be honest: When I was starting out, I absolutely didn’t have an answer to that question - I just picked up somewhere "every bass player uses a compressor“ (which in itself isn’t true, even though probably every bass track ever recorded has been compressed.)

I think @BGroovy got it right: Try both of them out, and while doing so, ask yourself "what am I looking to achieve, here?" In my experience, your options are, at the very least:
1. (More) Sustain
2. (More) Evenness through your bass‘s tonal spectrum (And I don’t mean string-to-string balance: That is a question of setup)
3. An emphasis on the attack, i.e. a more "punchy" sound
4. Character / special sauce / using the comp as a preamp, really.

(Not all of these are mutually exclusive.)

Good luck, and enjoy the journey!
 
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#10
I voted "other" as I love the Source Audio Atlas. It emulates either of the above and has fantastic presets right out of the box and the community presets are great. And if you're deep into compression (seems like you want to be, if not yet), then you can get some extremely fine grain control.

For analog comp pedals, I've owned the FEA DB-CL and the Aguilar TLC, and borrowed the Cali and empress off of a friend. I really feel like the Atlas blows them away.

Here's their demo:
 
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#11
Christian C said:
Hello! I'm trying to decide on what to buy for my first bass compressor to record guitar and bass and I have narrowed it down to these two. I want to buy I great compressor that I can record with and play live with without having to worry about replacing it with something down the road (I want to find the best compressor). I don't know what I want in a compressor since I have never had one before but I play in a cover band that covers anything from rock and metal to jazz, jazz fusion, funk, soul, and country. I am building a large board so I want it to be able to work well with all of my pedals. I have a darkglass b3k, a bass big muff, an MXR envelope filter, a cry baby bass mini wah, an ehx bass clone, an Ampeg Sgt-di, an ehx canyon, a boss oc5, a boss bf3, and a Peterson strobostomp. I know the main difference between the two is the cali76 adds color and the empress is neutral. Do I need a neutral compressor or would a colored one be beneficial in my situation? I can't really find any demos of both in one video on YouTube, so if you have one can you please post it? Also, afe there any other compressors you would say are better and don't lose any of the features on these?
Click to expand...

I do not recommend using a compressor when recording. Track everything "clean" straight to the board. Leave compression, EQ and other effects for mixing in post when you can hear the bass in context of all the other instruments. Otherwise your physical compressor is baking in a tone that might be difficult or impossible to correct in post.
 
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#13
Christian C said:
I can't really find any demos of both in one video on YouTube
Click to expand...
I just went through this same decision making process, and was surprised there’s not 100 videos of users A/Bing these two popular compressors. In fact, I couldn’t even find just one video. Lots of threads of bassists talking about and comparing the two, but no videos comparing them side by side.

After a week of research and reading reviews, I ordered the Cali76 but still don’t know which I’d prefer. I might just order the Empress to compare them side by side on my own.
 
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#14
I've owned both, and ended up selling the Empress.

Both are great compressors and I can't imagine not being happy with either (unless you love tweakability and options, in which case get a Becos or Atlas). Both are excellent pedals and sound great. IMO the Cali76 adds better flavor and a little more punch.

Otherwise both are great. The Empress has much better metering if that maters, otherwise I prefer the tone of the Cali76.
 
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#16
HolmeBass said:
I have never tried the Empress. I own and use the Cali “always on”.

I use it specifically for the tone coloration, not really for the compression.
Click to expand...

Same.

I've considered additionally trying an Atlas in the chain to do the other things.

For me, I don't like heavy alterations to my sound; I like subtle enhancements, most likely always on.
 
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#17
Just Wrong said:
Well, you can't really use the Empress as a limiter, its highest ratio being 10:1. At its highest ratio (20:1), you could use the Cali76 as a limiter (See: What is the difference between a compressor and a limiter?).

Other than that, the Empress has separate attack and release controls, which is a plus. The Cali76 Compact Bass does not.

But since this will be your first compressor, it's worth noting that the Empress has the best meter out there. You'll be able to see what each control does to your sound as compression is not obvious as say distortion. The Cali76's meter is rather worthless.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that it's at all worthless, unless one uses it in such a manner that the input level is far above the threshold.

I set mine so that the threshold is just above my slightly-softer playing level, so that it's on most of the time, and so that I can see the note decay drop the unit under the threshold -- for this, the single LED is perfect.
 
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#19
I voted other I've never tried either of those but I think a very good 1st compressor is the Keeley Bassist easy to dial in transparent can be used as a limiter a great pedal to use while you decide if compression is for you.

I started with the Keeley then got a Broughton Omnicomp for another pedalboard Great Compressor so good in fact I was ready to get another one to replace my Keeley but went with the Walrus Mira mainly because is optical like Omnicomp but is currently being closed out blown out on sale prices anywhere from $129.00 to $100.00 USD. Absolutely the cheapest way to start down your Compressor Journey with a high end pedal and if its not for you you've haven't invested much.
 
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