Compressor pedal on the cheap...

[alack]

Another vote for the Zoom MS-60b. More than one good comp option for about $100 and dozens of other quality effects to plug any holes on your board.

 

[Inconnu]

Which rack out of curiosity? RNC? Alesis Nanocomp? I use the latter for studio comp/limiting and love it for being so affordable, been curious to see how a nicer rack comp would compare. Recently got the ART Pro Channel which has a tube compressor and it does sound much better though I still use the Alesis for stereo limiting and think it sounds solid.

Anyways for a good budget pedal comp I think the best option is this Sanjune 67$ 6 knob mini comp: https://www.amazon.com/SanJune-GB-C...08CSY9BRD/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It has input gain and master volume controls, so it can go from crystal clean to dirty comp and can be dialed in with different instruments easily. It also has threshold and ratio controls so you can dial in the perfect amount of compression, and lastly it has attack and decay controls. Mostly great reviews for it as well, with people comparing it to 200$+ comp pedals. I got mine to replace the Xotic SP and was impressed how comparably good the sanjune sounds on top of being more versatile. Was expecting it to sound a bit duller compared to the SP comp which does sound amazing despite being noisy, but I think the sanjune sounds just as good if not better as it's easier to dial it in perfectly for different rigs.

I mainly use it on guitar though have had good results using it on bass a bit. It seems like a quality studio comp in pedal form so it should work with everything. There are some reviews from bassists mentioning that running it at higher voltages gives it more headroom for low end though I've been hesitant to try it past 9v and find it has plenty of headroom/bass in most situations. Running it in my guitar amp's FX loop it did have a subtle clipping issue from the preamp signal even with the gain all the way down, ended up dialing the FX loop send volume down and compensating with the return and now it's very clean. Though it can be fun cranking the input gain for dirty comp boost tones.

I’ve got a ART Tube MP/C. Great little box, sounds transparent, but not getting in the very evident effect zone.

 

[2saddleslab]

The Ampeg opto sounds very good, and it has adjustable release so you can dial in a long release time to help make the effect more obvious. It was initially priced at $99 but increased to $130 so not exactly budget anymore

Love my always on Ampeg Optocomp. At minimal settings it brings the bass out front in the mix. This allows for useful nuance & dynamics.

 

[chandman1004]

Try a Tc Electronic forcefield compressor.
Very cheap, sturdy and depending on what you need, plenty good

This one is handy as an "effect". It doesn't seems to increase noise or cut bass level. I had the Kokko, but gave it away , as mine was noisy.

 

[chandman1004]

hmmm.. price has gone up on the Forcefield. Got mine for 49 , ?????????