Can't find a compressor I like

[kcducttaper]

Maybe I've just got too high expectations, but I've been having a heck of a time finding a compressor that I simply just like. Below are a list of the compressors I've tried and why I don't like them:

Darkglass Hyper Luminal (x2):
- Always had audible (to my ears) artifacting in the compressed signal even in 4:1 ratios. The more compression I added, the more artifacting I could hear, which means the compressor is introducing noise in the compressed signal. I legitimately thought the first one was defective, so I sent it back for a replacement and it did the same thing. Ultimately Darkglass said it was "working as designed", so I got rid of it.

Empress Bass Compressor:
- Doesn't stay on when my pedal board turns on/off.
- Pops when I turn it on/off.
- Sometimes, when I'm digging in, it'll "pop" and I notice that my gain reduction also maxes out at -25dB reduction for a brief moment. This seems to be a lot worse with a very fast attack. For reference, I'm nornally running 4:1 ratio with about -4 to -6dB gain reduction during normal playing, so a random spike to -25dB seems massive and it's definitely not a cable pop.
- I really love the side-chain high pass filter though!

MarkBass Compressore:
- Compresses the low B too much for my liking. It's 'balanced' with the rest of the strings, but I like my B to be big and powerful - especially since many PA systems are rolling off at those frequencies already.
- Easily the cleanest and most natural sounding of the 3 compressors and, if it had the side-chain high pass of the Empress, it would be the end of my compressor search.

Anybody else have some recommendations of a compressor pedal I could look into? Am I just expecting too much from a compressor?

 

[Killing Floor]

I really like the Lusithand and the Diamond is very similar.

Compression is like Fuzz or Delay or Overdrive. It’s impossible to know what you like without amassing a huge collection of pedals. My advice is buy a new compressor as often as possible until you burn out and stick one on your board.

What are you wanting from it? Limiting, squash, leveling? Is transparency more important than some audible characteristic? There’s no best.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Maybe I've just got too high expectations, but I've been having a heck of a time finding a compressor that I simply just like. Below are a list of the compressors I've tried and why I don't like them:

Darkglass Hyper Luminal (x2):
- Always had audible (to my ears) artifacting in the compressed signal even in 4:1 ratios. The more compression I added, the more artifacting I could hear, which means the compressor is introducing noise in the compressed signal. I legitimately thought the first one was defective, so I sent it back for a replacement and it did the same thing. Ultimately Darkglass said it was "working as designed", so I got rid of it.

Empress Bass Compressor:
- Doesn't stay on when my pedal board turns on/off.
- Pops when I turn it on/off.
- Sometimes, when I'm digging in, it'll "pop" and I notice that my gain reduction also maxes out at -25dB reduction for a brief moment. This seems to be a lot worse with a very fast attack. For reference, I'm nornally running 4:1 ratio with about -4 to -6dB gain reduction during normal playing, so a random spike to -25dB seems massive and it's definitely not a cable pop.
- I really love the side-chain high pass filter though!

MarkBass Compressore:
- Compresses the low B too much for my liking. It's 'balanced' with the rest of the strings, but I like my B to be big and powerful - especially since many PA systems are rolling off at those frequencies already.
- Easily the cleanest and most natural sounding of the 3 compressors and, if it had the side-chain high pass of the Empress, it would be the end of my compressor search.

Anybody else have some recommendations of a compressor pedal I could look into? Am I just expecting too much from a compressor?

Have you tried inserting a Variable high-pass filter in front of the Compressore?

 

[kcducttaper]

Have you tried inserting a Variable high-pass filter in front of the Compressore?

I have not, but that sounds like it would be more or less ideal to split off the low lows to bypass the compressor and then sum it back in again. Is there a pedal that does that? I've seen several high pass filters that just chop off the low end, but that's not what I'm after.

 

[davelowell2]

What about a looper pedal to get parallel compression? FilterFXLoop has filters but there are loop pedals that are plain.

edit—-I’m a big fan of that Markbass, too.

 

[el murdoque]

Cali76 Bass version?
With the new one freshly on the market, the old ones pop up second hand all the time.

 

[HolmeBass]

I have not, but that sounds like it would be more or less ideal to split off the low lows to bypass the compressor and then sum it back in again. Is there a pedal that does that? I've seen several high pass filters that just chop off the low end, but that's not what I'm after.

The Cali 76 Compact Bass comps kind of do this - they have an HPF that is applied to the side-chain, which greatly reduces the compression on the lowest notes. I have mine dimed for as much low end as possible.

 

[kcducttaper]

The Cali76 does look, on paper, to be about what I'm after (then, so did the Empress). I guess I'll just have to give that a go and see if that does the trick?

 

[guitarflinger]

"Can't Find a Compressor I Like"

Neither could I, so I got rid of it. I use a high pass filter, tuner pedal, and several different overdrives. Never looked back.

 

[jTrolt]

I hear you. Tried many myself. Last one I tried was the Boss BC-1x. For what I prefer in controls, performance and sound, it has stayed on my pedalboard. It's what finally worked for me.
Keely, Ampeg, TC electronics were some of several tried first. TC was the only one I was warming up to, but the BC-1x just hit the spot for transparency of sound while delivering full control over dynamics, and I personally just feel much more reassured with a meter giving me some idea of how much signal reduction is taking place.
FWIW.

 

[groovaholic]

I really like the Lusithand and the Diamond is very similar.

Compression is like Fuzz or Delay or Overdrive. It’s impossible to know what you like without amassing a huge collection of pedals.

+1 to all this.
I've tried a bunch of pedal compressors.
For what I was looking for, the Lusithand Alma was the answer - but it sounds like you're looking for more control than the Alma offers, and metering - which the Alma lacks entirely.

 

[silky smoove]

Empress Bass Compressor:
- Doesn't stay on when my pedal board turns on/off.

As with most things, it's important to read the manual:

 

[newfuture]

TC Spectra comp.

Get seriously under the hood of the toneprint control of same.

Your complaints about what you've tried seem to point to wanting a multiband comp with a tremendous level of control. The spectra Comp can give you that.

I have mine set up as a three band comp with differing levels of attack/release/threshold/ratio for each band. Definitely not something you can set on the fly, but you can assign multiple parameters to the single knob, and I have done so. I get a wide variety of different compression effects in different zones of the knobs' travel, enough to be able to play with different basses smoothly with just a small tweak of the knob.
I do not think you are going to find something you like that is pure analog.

 

[birminghambass]

I never found a 6 string I liked, so I don't own one. Maybe compression isn't for you.

 

[WG Plum]

Broughton Omnicomp for me, pretty sure it's in stock too.

 

[IPA]

Don't sleep on the BC-1x just because the price tag isn't up to talkbass standards

 

[Jeff Scott]

For simple, I liked the Aphex Punch Factory (original orange case); for comprehensive control, the two Aphex 661s did the job for me. I had these a log time ago so I won't/can't go into sonic details.

 

[PizzaBall]

Empress Bass Compressor:
- Doesn't stay on when my pedal board turns on/off.
- Pops when I turn it on/off.
- Sometimes, when I'm digging in, it'll "pop" and I notice that my gain reduction also maxes out at -25dB reduction for a brief moment. This seems to be a lot worse with a very fast attack. For reference, I'm nornally running 4:1 ratio with about -4 to -6dB gain reduction during normal playing, so a random spike to -25dB seems massive and it's definitely not a cable pop.
- I really love the side-chain high pass filter though!

This is interesting. So I have the Empress Bass Compressor and I don't have any of the issues you mentioned(besides the first point , but I use straight AC power, no battery, so when I cut power, I expect it to turn off). I guess what I'm saying is I wonder if maybe something is wrong with the compressor itself? I haven't done any research on the Empress, truth be told, I just googled it a while ago, saw a bunch of people here and on reddit suggest it, and then went with it. I've been very happy with mine, are there better options out there? Probably... I just did very limited research before buying mine because I was so new to pedals and effects.

 

[ics1974]

Cali 76 old or new version. I bought both and decided to keep the old version as I liked the extra sparkle to the sound it was known for.

 

[XLunacy]

FEA Dual-Band.
Stays on, very high quality (=low / no noise), and allows you to compress lows and highs differently (you can also leave the highs uncompressed).
Cons : lots of knobs, metering is reduced to a single LED