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Cali76 only smaller?
- Thread starter smo
- Start date
@bovinehost did you ever try the Cali76 G-P? It doesn't have a fancy transformer, but does have a germanium boost section and parallel processing. It was a very limited edition, but if you happened to catch it let me know how it compares (PM or otherwise)
OK, don't beat me up for asking this... 
I've used a few compressors:
Diamond - too subtle and warm.
DBX - tames peaks but doesn't add much character.
Accountant - great drive and aggression but too squishy.
I want a compressor for live playing (mostly rock), so I'm wondering how much subtle coloration matters.
I'd like something that can make the sound bigger and more aggressive and bring out details and harmonics.
But I want it to be punchy and not soften the note attack, maybe even accentuate it. I prefer "hard" to "squishy".
Bongo felt that the Smoothie was too far in the "fat and warm" direction for what I want. He suggested the Empress, M87, or Cali.
So... It seems the Cali can do everything I want, but it's pricey. The Empress is too big. But, can the much cheaper MXR M87 do it well enough for noisy live gigs? It doesn't have the build quality, the HPF, or the blend. But I understand it has good note definition. How much difference will the better sound of the Cali make in a live band situation? For reference, live on stage I couldn't even tell whether the Diamond was on.
I've used a few compressors:
Diamond - too subtle and warm.
DBX - tames peaks but doesn't add much character.
Accountant - great drive and aggression but too squishy.
I want a compressor for live playing (mostly rock), so I'm wondering how much subtle coloration matters.
I'd like something that can make the sound bigger and more aggressive and bring out details and harmonics.
But I want it to be punchy and not soften the note attack, maybe even accentuate it. I prefer "hard" to "squishy".
Bongo felt that the Smoothie was too far in the "fat and warm" direction for what I want. He suggested the Empress, M87, or Cali.
So... It seems the Cali can do everything I want, but it's pricey. The Empress is too big. But, can the much cheaper MXR M87 do it well enough for noisy live gigs? It doesn't have the build quality, the HPF, or the blend. But I understand it has good note definition. How much difference will the better sound of the Cali make in a live band situation? For reference, live on stage I couldn't even tell whether the Diamond was on.
The Empress is far easier to dial in than the MXR, which can be finicky to set the input right. It's worth the additional size.
FWIW the MXR has a really fast attack time. In fact, it ranged from super fast to really fast on the attack control. It does have good note definitionOK, don't beat me up for asking this...
I've used a few compressors:
Diamond - too subtle and warm.
DBX - tames peaks but doesn't add much character.
Accountant - great drive and aggression but too squishy.
I want a compressor for live playing (mostly rock), so I'm wondering how much subtle coloration matters.
I'd like something that can make the sound bigger and more aggressive and bring out details and harmonics.
But I want it to be punchy and not soften the note attack, maybe even accentuate it. I prefer "hard" to "squishy".
Bongo felt that the Smoothie was too far in the "fat and warm" direction for what I want. He suggested the Empress, M87, or Cali.
So... It seems the Cali can do everything I want, but it's pricey. The Empress is too big. But, can the much cheaper MXR M87 do it well enough for noisy live gigs? It doesn't have the build quality, the HPF, or the blend. But I understand it has good note definition. How much difference will the better sound of the Cali make in a live band situation? For reference, live on stage I couldn't even tell whether the Diamond was on.
I've used all of them. The IME the Cali-TX does exactly what you are looking for. I don't know if the MXR will get you there. Probably the Empress would be my next choice
Thanks.
So the Cali-TX does it, does the Compact Bass do it too?
Can the Empress make things sound big and aggressive, or is it too transparent for that?
OK, don't beat me up for asking this...
I've used a few compressors:
Diamond - too subtle and warm.
DBX - tames peaks but doesn't add much character.
Accountant - great drive and aggression but too squishy.
I want a compressor for live playing (mostly rock), so I'm wondering how much subtle coloration matters.
I'd like something that can make the sound bigger and more aggressive and bring out details and harmonics.
But I want it to be punchy and not soften the note attack, maybe even accentuate it. I prefer "hard" to "squishy".
Bongo felt that the Smoothie was too far in the "fat and warm" direction for what I want. He suggested the Empress, M87, or Cali.
So... It seems the Cali can do everything I want, but it's pricey. The Empress is too big. But, can the much cheaper MXR M87 do it well enough for noisy live gigs? It doesn't have the build quality, the HPF, or the blend. But I understand it has good note definition. How much difference will the better sound of the Cali make in a live band situation? For reference, live on stage I couldn't even tell whether the Diamond was on.
I would describe the FEA DE-CL that way. The attack is very big and precise. I found the Cali to be a little rounder. I think it will bring out the detail, but I don't think it will add harmonics like some tube comps do. I have a retrospec squeeze box for that.
I thought the compact
Bass would be a smaller version of the full size one, but it's a different beast with similar qualities. I think of the CN more like a scalpel... Very precise. It's not sterile, but I think it will not add as much to you sound as the TX. I would put the CB and empress closer together. I've not done a lot with the Empress to get an aggressive tone.
I know this is a little left, but ever tried the Demeter?
Well Bongo's review has piqued my interest on the Cali Bass.
After playing the the DE-CL for 10 months I've went back to the Diamond. The DE-CL is excellent at leveling the dynamics and in doing so it makes the highs and lows of my bass sound more extended, not a issue with the highs I felt it brings out some of the sub lows making the lows seem blurry especially with the Tone Hammer. With the clean and unforgiving Mesa D800 the DE-CL sounded like a weird harmonic artifact when playing low on the E and I didn't like it with that amp at all.
I know this goes in the face of what most would say but after coming back to the Diamond I was surprised that the DE-CL actually sounded warmer but less clear in certain frequencies (with the warmth knob off). The Diamond is more about tight and punch, it doesn't extend the low end or high end like the DE-CL though it does seem to accentuate a certain upper mid grit.
If the Compact Bass is tight, clear and punchy and in the tone family of the Diamond I'm extremely interested.
After playing the the DE-CL for 10 months I've went back to the Diamond. The DE-CL is excellent at leveling the dynamics and in doing so it makes the highs and lows of my bass sound more extended, not a issue with the highs I felt it brings out some of the sub lows making the lows seem blurry especially with the Tone Hammer. With the clean and unforgiving Mesa D800 the DE-CL sounded like a weird harmonic artifact when playing low on the E and I didn't like it with that amp at all.
I know this goes in the face of what most would say but after coming back to the Diamond I was surprised that the DE-CL actually sounded warmer but less clear in certain frequencies (with the warmth knob off). The Diamond is more about tight and punch, it doesn't extend the low end or high end like the DE-CL though it does seem to accentuate a certain upper mid grit.
If the Compact Bass is tight, clear and punchy and in the tone family of the Diamond I'm extremely interested.
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I am using a DE-CL with a D800 too. The bass is an ACG Uber 5, an active with very big lows. I don't experience anything remotely like what you describe. Some comps will exhibit a weird waving effect on lows if the attach time is long and the release time is short. It sort of rides the low frequency wave. But with the adaptive release, I cannot see how that is possible. Anyway, I am sorry it didn't work out for you. BTW, the adaptive release is the best part of he DE-CL. Basically the release time changes depending on how often the effect is triggered. So fast notes get quick release times. Long notes have more sustain. I think that feature alone is worth the price of entry. Why don't more bass comps do this?
I actually really liked the DE-CL and never had any issue with my Shuttlemax. I didn't have the D800 long but notes low on the E string sounded really weird thru that amp and the DE-CL to the point I took the DE-Cl out of my signal chain. I wondered if it wasn't some weird interaction with the D800's HPF and a lower harmonic that the DE-CL was making audible. Ultimately I got tired of fooling with it and my band thought the Mesa sounded harsh so I returned it. Once I noticed it was happening with the D800 I realized it was having an effect on the lows with my Tone Hammer (albeit to a much lesser extent) where it didn't sound as tight as the Diamond. The Diamond really works well with the TH and I don't get nearly as obsessive tweaking it so it's all good.
Berg HD212 and a SX J bass with Lollars. I play over the bridge p/u and pluck with a fairly heavy right hand.
I have a Fearless F212 and a Fender Roscoe Beck V. So I should be able to get close to your setup. You have made me curious.
I don't have the warmest, most forgiving sounding hands so I chalked it up to being just the "perfect storm" of things that didn't work for me, my hands or my bass. Enough others are digging that amp that it's probably me that's the problem.
Thanks Bongo! Appreciate the time and effort.
Looks like I'm gonna settle on the Super Symmetry.
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bongomania
Commercial User
