• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Compression: I’ve see the light!

kyral210

kyral210

Sep 14, 2007
1,966
1,661
UK
#1
Today I bought the Black Country Customs Custard Factory, and bass will never be the same again.

I’ve used compression in my Helix a lot. In fact, I run compression at the start and end of my signal path. But I never loved it. It felt like a clunky effect that was an improvement in the same way a sledgehammer is an improvement over a stick, but you just need a hammer. That all ended today.

Turning The Custard Factory on my tone was just better. Maybe it’s the circuit, maybe it’s the presence knob, or maybe the Helix compressors just suck. I don’t know.

Maybe more expensive compressors like the Cali76 are better, but I haven’t A/B’d them. Maybe I will love that better? But I do know I am in love with this pedal and won’t be parted from it for a long time!

I now know why bassists love compression so much!
 
  • Like
Reactions: _Tay_, Bassmike62, Fuzzbass and 11 others
#3
Smurf-o-Deth said:
The Helix compressors are not particularly great on bass. They are functional, but that’s about it. I am not surprised in the slightest that a dedicated compressor sounds better to you.
Click to expand...


And because I’ve heard that a bunch, I’m switching to digital with a Stomp XL and the only pedal I kept was my Humboldt.

I was same as OP until earlier this year. My exposure to compression had been on amps and I didn’t really see the big deal and didn’t really understand what it did and what it can do. Now, I’m not ever going to be without some really good compression.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Fuzzbass, butterfingers1, Zooberwerx and 2 others
#4
Parzival said:
And because I’ve heard that a bunch, I’m switching to digital with a Stomp XL and the only pedal I kept was my Humboldt.

I was same as OP until earlier this year. My exposure to compression had been on amps and I didn’t really see the big deal and didn’t really understand what it did and what it can do. Now, I’m not ever going to be without some really good compression.
Click to expand...
If I could only have one pedal, it would be my Humboldt. Thankfully, I can have more than one!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fuzzbass, Zooberwerx, Derek Williams and 1 other person
#5
kyral210 said:
Today I bought the Black Country Customs Custard Factory, and bass will never be the same again.

I’ve used compression in my Helix a lot. In fact, I run compression at the start and end of my signal path. But I never loved it. It felt like a clunky effect that was an improvement in the same way a sledgehammer is an improvement over a stick, but you just need a hammer. That all ended today.

Turning The Custard Factory on my tone was just better. Maybe it’s the circuit, maybe it’s the presence knob, or maybe the Helix compressors just suck. I don’t know.

Maybe more expensive compressors like the Cali76 are better, but I haven’t A/B’d them. Maybe I will love that better? But I do know I am in love with this pedal and won’t be parted from it for a long time!

I now know why bassists love compression so much!
Click to expand...
Yes. My love for my Cali 76 has nothing to do with the compression per se. Rather it is a secret sauce pedal that just makes my bass sound better. The less I notice any actual compression the better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueTalon, Zach77, Maxi Funkl and 3 others
#6
die-hard-john-mc-clane.gif


The comps on the HX are great in a pinch, but I always use an external. I went on a compressor spree there for a while, but I've scaled it down to 3 - OvniFX Smoothie, Doc Lloyd PDR, and my personal fav with my HX Stomp, the Effectrode LA-1A. I use it like @HolmeBass mentions using the Cali 76 to fatten and sweeten the sound. The tubey goodness of the LA-1A pairs well the insane flexibility of the Stomp.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Auspuff, Scott Bland, butterfingers1 and 3 others
#12
I believe it helps to think of a compressor as a control (like volume or tone) instead of as an effect. If you use it to set up the overall sound and leave it on you eventually forget it's there and let it do its thing. Once you get used to this approach it becomes natural and you can always tweak it as needed. I always run one. Hope this helps.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Clark W, retslock, Low Down Brown and 7 others
#15
Yeah, it’s kinda like being a member of the Illuminati.

Re: multi FX comps: I paid good money for my B3n…100 effects, ~8 comp models and every one should sound pretty damn good but that’s not the case. Usually, there’s one that’s more than passable and, in my case, it’s the dbx 160. I would hope this holds true for the pricier upper-tier offerings.

Riis
 
#16
Zooberwerx said:
Yeah, it’s kinda like being a member of the Illuminati.

Re: multi FX comps: I paid good money for my B3n…100 effects, ~8 comp models and every one should sound pretty damn good but that’s not the case. Usually, there’s one that’s more than passable and, in my case, it’s the dbx 160. I would hope this holds true for the pricier upper-tier offerings.

Riis
Click to expand...
It took me quite a while to find a pedal comp that didn’t end up annoying me.

My ideal was the sound that great studio comps gave me, comps like the Distressor.

I tried the Smoothie - close but no cigar - the TLC, the Ego, the Diamond, and none of them failed to eventually annoy me with ugly squish artifacts or having to be set so low that they didn’t change the sound of my bass at all.

None until the Cali 76. Honestly it would be worth it at twice the price. Have you seen what a Distressor costs?

Before the Cali I played without a comp for decades, and always accepted that FOH would apply compression as they saw fit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: butterfingers1, JackNasty, Fuzzbass and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back