Compressor pedals: Broughton Omnicomp vs Empress Bass Compressor vs Ampeg Opto Comp

[J.Wolf]

Empress Bass (or OG Empress Comp) for the win. Get your color and flavor elsewhere and full transparent control over your dynamics from the Empress.

 

[jdjk7]

Which and why, thanks.

Omni for me. I have the Omincomp and Empress, both are active on my two pedalboards.

I prefer the tone of the Omni, and I pretty much found the settings I like for it immediately. The Omni has a slight amount of color, but its color is very warm and it balances out my very bright basses nicely.

The Empress is more neutral without the color switch engaged. Its controls are equally powerful, but I find them finicky. The major advantage with the Empress is metering. It's extremely useful in setting the compression up, and in fact I'll mute my amp and use the metering to make sure my effect levels are all correct.

It's also worth considering the Cali76 CB. I used one for several years, but it was de-throned by the Omnicomp and the Empress. It's got a good sound to it, but to me it sounds best as part of a sparse signal chain-- if you're using lots of effects, EQ, preamp, etc, you may as well go with something more neutral... like the Omni or the Empress.

 

[lomo]

Heybutterfingers1 you're welcome to come try the Diamond and Empress chez-moi if we can coordinate schedules. I live downtown and have both (on different boards). PM me if interested.

 

[sloppy_phil]

I voted for the Empress, but have the Omni, personally. When I was comp-shopping, they were the two which really appealed to me the most. Just managed to find an Omni, at a great price, before I could do similarly with the Empress, but it's really a toss of the coin between the two for me.

I find the Omni does add a *touch* of something in the upper registers to my passive basses. Gives them just a touch more "zip" which I initially thought would be a bit too crispy for my liking when I was practicing alone (I don't like the super "hi-fi/modern" sound), but realized it just helps the bass sit even more nicely in a full band mix. Hugely satisfied with my purchase, and would definitely recommend 100%.

 

[butterfingers1]

Heybutterfingers1 you're welcome to come try the Diamond and Empress chez-moi if we can coordinate schedules. I live downtown and have both (on different boards). PM me if interested.

Thanks that’s real nice, but I’m in the north of Laval and I rarely go into Montreal. And if I start comparing the two pedals I’ll have to move in .

I just got the Empress and a Broughton is on the way. I’m not so interested in the metering feature, more the tone improvement. But since I already have the other two I’m curious about the Diamond, it would go on my less important practice setup.

 

[VitoMB]

You would have a sidechain EQ to avoid low frequencies squished and also have the possibility to run at 18volts or higher to avoid transistors clipping from low frequencies. I have a FEA Opti-FET compressor that meets all these requirements.

 

[butterfingers1]

I find the Omni does add a *touch* of something in the upper registers to my passive basses. Gives them just a touch more "zip" which I initially thought would be a bit too crispy for my liking when I was practicing alone (I don't like the super "hi-fi/modern" sound), but realized it just helps the bass sit even more nicely in a full band mix. Hugely satisfied with my purchase, and would definitely recommend 100%.

Many say the subtle Broughton colouring is warm if anything, which would be my preference too. I’ll soon find out, it’s on the way.

 

[NKBassman]

I find the Omni does add a *touch* of something in the upper registers to my passive basses. Gives them just a touch more "zip" which I initially thought would be a bit too crispy for my liking when I was practicing alone (I don't like the super "hi-fi/modern" sound), but realized it just helps the bass sit even more nicely in a full band mix. Hugely satisfied with my purchase, and would definitely recommend 100%.

I agree 100%. The change in tone is hard to put my finger on exactly why it sounds better, but whatever je ne sais quoi is happening is very nice.

 

[NKBassman]

Many say the subtle Broughton colouring is warm if anything, which would be my preference too. I’ll soon find out, it’s on the way.

It’s warm but also more present with some enhanced detail. Like finding out you need glasses and putting them on for the first time.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

I've only used the Keeley Bassist.
So, I'm not much help but Omni, Empress, &Cali 76 gets lots of on TB. But for me it's either the Empress or Omni.

 

[vvvmmm]

I don't know the others but the Ampeg OptoComp is very cool, IMNSFHO, and easily in my top 5.

FWIW, I don't find it subtle/transparent as I use it - and I love it.

 

[Rojd]

I have the Broughton Omnicomp and love it. I had the Empress V1 awhile back and that was real nice too.

 

[Camarillo]

Never tried those, but Ilike opto compressors on bass.

 

[J-Mags]

I should be getting an Ampeg Opto-Comp in the mail soon for my small board. I'll let you know how it works. I tend to prefer fairly light and natural compression and I don't want to have to deal with a lot of knobs.

I like the Keeley Bassist because I hate too many choices in a pedal. I essentially set everything to noon, which would equal a relatively high threshold, but one that still engages, and a 6:1 ratio. It cleans things up and makes them sound more orderly, but you can't really tell that it's on, there's just less bashing and booming.

 

[manchego_eggo]

I should be getting an Ampeg Opto-Comp in the mail soon for my small board. I'll let you know how it works. I tend to prefer fairly light and natural compression and I don't want to have to deal with a lot of knobs.

I like the Keeley Bassist because I hate too many choices in a pedal. I essentially set everything to noon, which would equal a relatively high threshold, but one that still engages, and a 6:1 ratio. It cleans things up and makes them sound more orderly, but you can't really tell that it's on, there's just less bashing and booming.

do you drop the threshold a bit past noon (say 11ish)?

 

[butterfingers1]

do you drop the threshold a bit past noon (say 11ish)?

Wouldn’t the Threshold drop clockwise (ie increasing compression)?

And on this topic, doesn’t Attack clockwise SHORTEN the lag time (ie increasing compression clockwise)? The way instructions are written is often confusing and suggests the opposite.

 

[RevOgre]

Lusithand Alma. Easy.

The Alma is pretty great

 

[johnk_10]

on that list the empress does it for me.

 

[J-Mags]

do you drop the threshold a bit past noon (say 11ish)?

It depends on the bass. All my basses are passive, but I the one I've been using the most has double humbuckers. When I play my Jazz, I sometimes drop the threshold a bit. The LED that shows when you've hit the threshold is busted, thanks to my kids, so I just play it by ear. If it starts to sound like it's noticeably compressed, it goes up, if it starts to sound all herky-jerky, it goes down. The threshold is pretty sensitive; I'm kind of glad that the indicator no longer works.

 

[J-Mags]

Wouldn’t the Threshold drop clockwise (ie increasing compression)?

And on this topic, doesn’t Attack clockwise SHORTEN the lag time (ie increasing compression clockwise)? The way instructions are written is often confusing and suggests the opposite.

As Threshold goes up, the compression kicks in later and the sound becomes less compressed. A threshold where the compression goes up as the knob is turned clockwise usually isn't called a threshold; it's usually called input or sustain. It's still functionally a threshold but the knob is backwards, just like how a tone knob that gets darker as you turn it up is called a filter.