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Compression...Did I Just Discover A Favorite Type?

#41
Let me check the timeline here:

1) Ampeg didn't make compressor pedals.
2) Ampeg endorser regularly makes a point of not using compressors because they ruin his tone.
3) Ampeg starts making compressor pedals.
4) Ampeg endorser suddenly discovers he may like compressors after all. He has even discovered a "favourite type".
5) Ampeg endorser's "favourite type" of compressor just happens to be the new Ampeg compressor. Well there's a surprise...

You do the math.
 
#43
JimmyM said:
Didn't notice the reduction in highs, but it's not like I use tweeters so it's N/A to me. I do think it's a pretty darn good pedal, for sure. And I'm really not looking to score an LA-2A or go on a comp expedition...that was just a gag :D I just wanted to know if me liking the Opto and the RCL set to opto was a coincidence or a real thing.
Click to expand...
What are your settings for Compression and Release? If you keep them low (below "noon") the Opto Comp is rather clean and doesn't change your tone much. It's only when you turn them up further that the tone changes drastically and gets "fatter" and "darker" (how much of that is due to bigger low end and how much is due to a high roll off I'll leave to more experienced ears than mine). Cranked it made the brand new roundwounds on my brand new SR2605 sound a bit like flats :D (using headphones via my SCR-DI)

Have a nice day, Walter

(Thanks for the thread, reminded me to play with this little gem again after not using it for over two years. When I bought the Opto Comp shortly after it became available in my neck of the woods I soon realized that my Ibanez bass(es)' output was too low to trigger compression on lower settings (without boosting the onboard tone controls). I didn't want to buy a booster because then I already knew I would have to move twice in the (now) last two years and wanted to keep my stuff to the bare minimum. Well, I'm back in my old renovated digs for good and can give this pedal the environment it deserves)
 
#44
Deleted member 271037 said:
Let me check the timeline here:

1) Ampeg didn't make compressor pedals.
2) Ampeg endorser regularly makes a point of not using compressors because they ruin his tone.
3) Ampeg starts making compressor pedals.
4) Ampeg endorser suddenly discovers he may like compressors after all. He has even discovered a "favourite type".
5) Ampeg endorser's "favourite type" of compressor just happens to be the new Ampeg compressor. Well there's a surprise...

You do the math.
Click to expand...
Jimmy.... someone's picking on you.

;)
 
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#46
packhowitzer said:
The key for me with compression was being able to blend the compressed signal with dry signal. Prior to having that feature, most comps I owned were frustrating for me to use. I really like the compressor I have now (which has this feature). If I ever branch out, the blend feature would be tops on my list. Just my .02
Click to expand...

Does not that defeat the purpose of having a compressor?
 
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#48
ugly_bassplayer said:
No its a very common practice.

Parallel compression - Wikipedia

Also commonly called New York compression.
Click to expand...
I see this makes sense for recording but would you use this for live as well?

I am thinking if one uses a compressor to limit spikes for the front of the house, running a parallel uncompressed signal would reintroduce the issue?
 
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#52
Deleted member 271037 said:
Let me check the timeline here:

1) Ampeg didn't make compressor pedals.
2) Ampeg endorser regularly makes a point of not using compressors because they ruin his tone.
3) Ampeg starts making compressor pedals.
4) Ampeg endorser suddenly discovers he may like compressors after all. He has even discovered a "favourite type".
5) Ampeg endorser's "favourite type" of compressor just happens to be the new Ampeg compressor. Well there's a surprise...

You do the math.
Click to expand...
1+ 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = let's do the math and show our work.

If I don't like something Ampeg makes or prefer something else to an Ampeg product, I'll let you know and I won't use it. I've never liked an onboard compressor or limiter in Ampeg amps (or any amps, actually). I hated the B series amps. I don't like the 410hlf or some of the PF cabs that go really low. Sold my PF115he cabs after ultimately deciding I didn't like its deep lows. Sold my SCR-DI and Classic pre because I ultimately favored the Tech 21 VT Deluxe and MXR 6 Band EQ. My Scrambler pedal, which I do like, sometimes gets replaced by my JohnK Greedtone OD clone because I find it better than the Scrambler at certain things, like using flatwounds. I've also said how I think the separate Scrambler pedal is a much better implementation of the Scrambler circuit in the SCR-DI. And the Opto Comp isn't the least bit out of the woods yet. Preliminary tests have been successful for me, but it's got a long way to go before I decide to use it for the long haul.

Also, I don't know if you noticed, but all of Ampeg's current lineup was designed by LOUD Music, and Ampeg got sold to Yamaha in May of last year. And nobody at Yamaha gives one crap whether I like one of the LOUD-created pedals or not. As a matter of fact, they actually want to hear honest feedback from their endorsers about the current product line. Also, two mods have commented on this thread and none have brought up the Ampeg issue, and you aren't a mod.

So that leads us to...

6. You're whining about a very insignificant thing.
 
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#54
El Snooperino said:
What are your settings for Compression and Release? If you keep them low (below "noon") the Opto Comp is rather clean and doesn't change your tone much. It's only when you turn them up further that the tone changes drastically and gets "fatter" and "darker" (how much of that is due to bigger low end and how much is due to a high roll off I'll leave to more experienced ears than mine). Cranked it made the brand new roundwounds on my brand new SR2605 sound a bit like flats :D (using headphones via my SCR-DI)
Click to expand...
I definitely keep the settings low, as it'll get into squishland if you don't, and though there was a time I wanted to use squish as an occasional effect, it just doesn't work on bass like it does on guitar, at least for me. So I think I've decided my settings are comp 9:00, release 8:30-9:00, still working on that one. Anything past 10:00 on either dial is unusable for me.
 
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#56
SteveC said:
I hope this thread doesn’t make me look at compressors again for church use.
Click to expand...
Steve, you are extremely susceptible to GAS, but you've made very big strides in controlling it since the early days. But the compression vortex can be a very powerful one if you let it, with only the fuzz vortex being comparable. So my advice to you is to really decide if you even need a compressor. If your FOH person runs one on you, you probably don't. But if you truly decide you do, then do a ton of research and try as many as you can before you buy. Otherwise you end up like Bongomania and Scubaduba, buying every comp on the market :D
 
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#57
I ran the Demeter for years. Liked it best on a Telecaster guitar though. I am on again / off again with stomp compressors. At the moment I am ON with the MXR. The ONLY reason is to smooth things out just a smidge before my SA C4. Prior to the C4 I'd been off the comp wagon for a long, long time.

That said, given I'm running sound I have a limited on the mains and compression applied to instruments and voices in my band scene. Nothing over the top but we like a 'produced' sound with everything in the PA except drums until we get to a place where we actually need drums in the mix.
 
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#58
scubaduba said:
Hope this thread stays civil. Nothing wrong with having fun with compressors. :D
Click to expand...
Speaking of which, I just read your Opto Comp review, and it appears I have been interpreting the release knob backwards. I thought counter clockwise was a shorter release time, but clockwise is. Whoops! I generally go for shorter release times, but it appears I've had it on almost as long a release time as it'll go! So now I'm back to experimenting...I'll report back.

EDIT: Turns out there's not much difference at all with the light compression I prefer.
 
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#59
JimmyM said:
1+ 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = let's do the math and show our work.

If I don't like something Ampeg makes or prefer something else to an Ampeg product, I'll let you know and I won't use it. I've never liked an onboard compressor or limiter in Ampeg amps (or any amps, actually). I hated the B series amps. I don't like the 410hlf or some of the PF cabs that go really low. Sold my PF115he cabs after ultimately deciding I didn't like its deep lows. Sold my SCR-DI and Classic pre because I ultimately favored the Tech 21 VT Deluxe and MXR 6 Band EQ. My Scrambler pedal, which I do like, sometimes gets replaced by my JohnK Greedtone OD clone because I find it better than the Scrambler at certain things, like using flatwounds. I've also said how I think the separate Scrambler pedal is a much better implementation of the Scrambler circuit in the SCR-DI. And the Opto Comp isn't the least bit out of the woods yet. Preliminary tests have been successful for me, but it's got a long way to go before I decide to use it for the long haul.

Also, I don't know if you noticed, but all of Ampeg's current lineup was designed by LOUD Music, and Ampeg got sold to Yamaha in May of last year. And nobody at Yamaha gives one crap whether I like one of the LOUD-created pedals or not. As a matter of fact, they actually want to hear honest feedback from their endorsers about the current product line. Also, two mods have commented on this thread and none have brought up the Ampeg issue, and you aren't a mod.

So that leads us to...

6. You're whining about a very insignificant thing.
Click to expand...
Tell them that LOUD made the 7 pro and that amp blows big time.
They owe me a bass I sold to replace my exploded amp before a 5 gig stretch.
 
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