Not sure it's worth the effort since any proof is long gone. Except live pics of the amp on my stack.
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Compression...Did I Just Discover A Favorite Type?
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
Biiiiiiiig +1 on the Effectrode PC-2A pedal.I have one and I am *VERY* happy with it!
@JimmyM: here's a 2015 review of the Effectrode PC-2A pedal:
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I know you said you didn't want to get drawn into a comp vortex (do you feel the tug yet?), but since you mentioned the LA-2A in your OP, I thought it was *relatively* safe
to comment on the Effectrode PC-2A which is a clone of the LA-2A in pedal format.
Don't forget the Effectrode LA-1A.
Well if it makes you feel any better, the reason Yamaha is taking so long to start producing stuff is because they've been going through all the designs, evaluating them, checking for engineering flaws, and unlike LOUD, who was usually pretty good but did let things slide that they shouldn't have on occasion, Yamaha isn't leaving anything to chance. If it's not ready according to them, it's not coming out.Not sure it's worth the effort since any proof is long gone. Except live pics of the amp on my stack.
Don't forget the Effectrode LA-1A.
Indeed!
That looks like one serious piece of pedal engineering!
Jimmy, just because you say it doesn't make it true.
I have a friend who has been an Ampeg endorser for many years and insures me that endorsers are not privy to company financial or manufacturing decisions.
Ampeg basically made 3 series of amps with approx. 15 amplifier models.
Of these 15 amps, many shared the same basic architecture. I think it would be fair to say that less than 4 of these models ever had reliability problems that would be considered greater than their competitors (7 Pro, and PF 500 are the only ones I remember).
Yamaha Music did approx. $274.5 billion in net sales according to page 8 of their 2018 annual report.
They bought Ampeg nearly 8 months ago.
I doubt that the former Ampeg division of Loud is holding up new models or even vague announcements to the public for anything Yamaha music related.
It would seem that Mackie was the biggest attraction to Yamaha considering that they go head to head as competitors in the $500 - $1K audio mixer range and Mackie has far greater sales in the under $500 mixer category. Mackie also opens the door to a much greater consumer segment of the audio market.
“Simplifying the LOUD business so that the Mackie brand, in particular, could be free from the constraints of a complex organization was always a cornerstone of our thesis for the LOUD acquisition,” added Ty Schultz, Managing Partner at Transom Capital Group.
I just hope that Ampeg comes back as the company we once all loved and doesn't go the way of SWR, GB, etc., or resold again.
So reading up on comps of different types, I apparently do have a type...variable mu. But since they are the big deal tube/transformer comps like Fairchild and Manley, it appears that optical is the next best thing for my tastes.
Now what I'm having a hard time buying into is how VCA comps can range from an 1176 to a Dyna Comp. That's weird!
Now what I'm having a hard time buying into is how VCA comps can range from an 1176 to a Dyna Comp. That's weird!
Then check out the Markbass Compressore, Lightning Boy, and Effectrode LA-1a.
Who said I was? But I know people who are, and while they certainly don't tell me everything, they do tell me some very vague and minor ballpark things. And not only that, YGG's spokesperson has also said that they didn't plan to do anything for at least a year, during which time the lines are going to be evaluated and decisions would be made.
5 actually, if you count hybrids in a separate category. But also bear in mind that with one of those types, they were mostly designed 10 years ago, and a lot has happened with the technology since then.
They bought Ampeg in May of 2018, or at least announced it then. A little longer than 8 months.
LOUD has zipola to do with Ampeg anymore, save for the fact that they built the stuff that Yamaha's been selling through.
LOUD didn't sell Mackie. The only division of LOUD they bought was Ampeg.
Two completely different situations. SWR was already falling out of favor with the bass public when Fender bought them, and the changes they made to the product line only made things worse. Genz Benz was inherited when Fender bought the whole of Kaman, and while it did have some popularity, it certainly was not a priority at Fender when they already had their own bass amps that were selling much better. Yamaha had nothing for bass amps, and they bought arguably the most popular pro-level bass amp company in the world and all the prestige that comes with owning such a brand. Despite so many TBers thinking Fender gutting SWR and GB was stupid and assigning all sorts of boneheaded conspiracy theories to it, it was not. For Yamaha to do to Ampeg what Fender did to SWR and GB when Ampeg is still at the top of the heap WOULD be stupid. That is why it's a pretty safe bet that it won't happen.
That all depends on whether they'll send me one for free or not
Honestly, if the Ampeg doesn't ultimately work out, I'm going to forget it.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I don't play jazz much. I spend most of my time in a pretty standard rock ensemble, often with no FOH. I got a compressor about 6-7 years ago and I like it just fine and here's why. I set it up with what I took to be modest, moderate compression settings. This particular unit has an LED meter so I can sort of see what is happening (and what isn't).
After a bit of nerding out on the thing, I began to wonder if it was doing anything for me. Then one day I got lazy and showed up for rehearsal without my pedal board. I was just straight into the amp. Most of the time that just means I'm missing the comp, as I didn't at that time have any other full-time pedals on.
And after 2-3 songs I was freaking out. I could hear that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out. It was like I was suddenly had my underwear on backwards. Some of my notes were disappearing, others honking out and taking over the mix. And then of course it hit me. My good ol' compressor. It does something for me after all.
So I propose that you do a couple of rehearsals or gigs with it, then do one without. I mean really without. See what you hear. If you find yourself forgetting about the change, dump it. If you find yourself reacting like I did, keep it and never doubt it again.
Anyway, that's what I know.
After a bit of nerding out on the thing, I began to wonder if it was doing anything for me. Then one day I got lazy and showed up for rehearsal without my pedal board. I was just straight into the amp. Most of the time that just means I'm missing the comp, as I didn't at that time have any other full-time pedals on.
And after 2-3 songs I was freaking out. I could hear that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out. It was like I was suddenly had my underwear on backwards. Some of my notes were disappearing, others honking out and taking over the mix. And then of course it hit me. My good ol' compressor. It does something for me after all.
So I propose that you do a couple of rehearsals or gigs with it, then do one without. I mean really without. See what you hear. If you find yourself forgetting about the change, dump it. If you find yourself reacting like I did, keep it and never doubt it again.
Anyway, that's what I know.
I will say I jammed a new bass this past weekend, my Aerodyne, with flats. Hadda turn the compressor off (Mr. Squishy)- didn't need it, wasn't beneficial unless turned way down, and then wasn't better.
Switched basses to a Hohner BA 2, put that compressor right back on - hadda have it.
Switched basses to a Hohner BA 2, put that compressor right back on - hadda have it.
Wouldn't say it's a necessity, though some people seem to think it is.
On a semi-related note, anyone try the Nyle Compressor from Vertex Effects? It just came out this year and has a preamp as well. I just watched Rhett Shull (great YouTube guitarist) praising it. I've read that it's good for bass too. It's an 1176 style compressor.
I've been playing guitar as well as bass, so I wouldn't mind getting a compressor that I could use for both.
I've been playing guitar as well as bass, so I wouldn't mind getting a compressor that I could use for both.
Compression is the most boring pedal ever. I use them but only when needed. I got all fancy-pants with an Empress & HPF sidechain, but in the end the stupid simple Fairfield Circuitry Accountant does the job like a champ. Less is more?
I certainly don't mind simple. Can't dumb down a pedal enough for me
Likewise. We all (maybe) know what Threshold, Attack, Release and Ratio mean. In the factual, literal sense. We know what each knob actually does, individually. I do. I want that control. I really do. I get what it is and I WANT it.I certainly don't mind simple. Can't dumb down a pedal enough for me
But I suck at IMPLEMENTING it, live, which is where I live. I suspect that this level of control is best left at FOH, the studio or, in the hands of players beyond my level and they certainly exist. If I have all of those functions I twiddle endlessly, instead of playing the tunes. So automate, please. And they have.
So, yeah. Gimme a 'bass compressor' with between two and three knobs. And we're already there so, cool. IMO/IME
