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Compressor pedals: Broughton Omnicomp vs Empress Bass Compressor vs Ampeg Opto Comp
- Thread starter butterfingers1
- Start date
The short answer is yes.
You are correct about threshold, at least in most cases. Attack concerns the amount of time before the compression kicks in once the signal goes above the threshold, so usually you hear more attack (i.e. less compression on the attack) as you turn the knob up. I'm pretty sure that there are some pedals that operate in reverse, so you have to use your ears. The labelling of knobs on compression pedals is nothing if not confusing.
I love the Empress. I find most compressors hard to use and they often sound great until you get on the gig and then you find you're buried.
With the Empress, I just dialed in one of their setting suggestions and it was just perfect. I've masking taped it down to that and it's just always on in my rack. I actually don't even understand what the sidechain means even though I've read it in the manual lol, it just all sounds great to me and I now don't want to ever play without it.
With the Empress, I just dialed in one of their setting suggestions and it was just perfect. I've masking taped it down to that and it's just always on in my rack. I actually don't even understand what the sidechain means even though I've read it in the manual lol, it just all sounds great to me and I now don't want to ever play without it.
I sort of understand the theory behind the different controls, but not their effect on what I hear. I now just leave the Empress all at noon and only use the tone switch and other eq. I'm definitely a compression effect convert.
Here's an adjacent question for folks that are using the Empress (or, really, any of these comps with a built-in HPF) - do you run another dedicated HPF elsewhere in your chain? I've had a Broughton HPF last in line before my Olympic MKIIs for a few years but I'm wondering if the addition of an Empress negates my need for it.
Thanks!
BTW my gut tells me "keep both" but I thought I'd ask.
Thanks!
BTW my gut tells me "keep both" but I thought I'd ask.
Great question, I'll say keep it, you already have it.
First, from what I understand, the HPF in compressor pedals isn't to remove frequencies from coming out the pedal into your signal chain and speaker. It is an internal filter going into the pedal circuit that triggers compression.
I just got the Empress last week. To my ears, compression cleans up the tone I hear. It's a sort-of comparable effect to a HPF, but different too, and the effect seems more pronounced. I have the Empress>Broughton SVpre>Broughton HPF/LPF. If I switch off the HPF/LPF, it does degrade the tone.
I am so impressed with this compression "thing" I have the Broughton Omnicomp on the way and will order the new Diamond Bass Comp EQ.
Yeah, that was my thinking - great! I'm hunting for an Empress and hopefully I find one soon. For years I've kept the comp almost last in the chain but I've recently been revamping my board and want to try it both first in line, as well as after the octave / filter / drive section but before the modulation pedals.
Gotta keep hunting...
Gotta keep hunting...
I prefer the HPF to be first in my chain but I have a very small chain, Tuner, HPF, Compressor, DI or amp. The way I came to this was thinking about it. I want to suppress really low tones coming from my bass so everything else in the chain doesn't see it. I use the Broughton HPF and the Empress. If I turn the Broughton off the Empress has to work harder going by the LEDs. I also notice a tone difference. This can be partially compensated for with the SCHP knob but in the end I preferred the sound with the HPF set to around 40 Hz and the SCHP just below noon.
Not sure if it was already answered for you, but if you ever see "HPF" on a compressor, that is strictly a dedicated HPF for the sidechain, which determines (among other things) at which frequency point the low end gets compressed. Adjusting that setting will only adjust how much of your low frequencies are triggering the compression. So, while this is super handy for a bass player trying to use compression, it's not a general HPF for your signal. If you want one of those, you'll need a separate, dedicated unit.
Omni for me, haven't found a bad-sounding setting. The Empress just sounded a little dry, or brittle, to me. Wish I had better language for it, but the Omni just fits my ears more pleasingly.
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View attachment 5112124 The Empress replaced my MXR Studio Copmp and did it very well .
That's the move I'm trying to make.
The Empress and Broughton have a side chain HPF.
The Diamond doesn't, maybe it's designed without need for one. I was wondering if a HPF pedal just before the Diamond would help. Or maybe the side chain detects something other than what the external HPF pedal removes?
The Diamond doesn't, maybe it's designed without need for one. I was wondering if a HPF pedal just before the Diamond would help. Or maybe the side chain detects something other than what the external HPF pedal removes?
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I've had the Omni and the Empress. Dug both though probably the Empress more because of the Tone & Colour switch. Metering is best in class imo.
I went through a second Empress because it didn't have enough "mojo" for me. What's mojo? Presence, enhancement, working seamlessly across all five strings. Will probably mean something different to each of us.
Doesn't mean it isn't great, it is and would be on my board if not for the Cali76-CB. Mojo, tone enhancement, easy tilt attack/release control, HPF, and dry controls. Metering isn't great, but the sound is just about perfect to my ears.
I went through a second Empress because it didn't have enough "mojo" for me. What's mojo? Presence, enhancement, working seamlessly across all five strings. Will probably mean something different to each of us.
Doesn't mean it isn't great, it is and would be on my board if not for the Cali76-CB. Mojo, tone enhancement, easy tilt attack/release control, HPF, and dry controls. Metering isn't great, but the sound is just about perfect to my ears.
First impressions of Opto Comp: It's really squeezy, even at low settings. I suppose I'm just used to more transparent sounds. I've used an opto on guitar in the past, but never on bass. I'm going to reserve judgment until I get to hear it loud. I'm learning that what I like is speed and transparency.
There is no right answer. It's all up to you and what you want. Have you read the stickied thread which contains information about more compressors than you'd know what to do with?
I did say (post 31), "FWIW, I don't find it subtle/transparent as I use it - and I love it."
IME, not all opto's are colored, but I like the ones that are, e.g., the Ampeg, the Floor Q, the BBE, the Pigtronix ...
All that said, you might like the Seymour Duncan, which is very clean (non-opto) with a blend. I'd reco the MXR, but mine just died, which is apparently not that unusual.
Also, FWIW, my main pedal is the Toadworks, my main rack is the 160XT and a Meek (in parallel).
I think my Keeley Bassist is in the process of dying. It seems as though someone spilled something on it at some point. It works somewhat, but it ain't what it used to be. With the threshold above 10 am, I think it's a placebo right now. I've loved it in the past because I hate choices. I don't want to be fretting about release settings, etc. The Keeley has about the right amount of control. You can choose a high ratio with a high threshold or a low ratio with a low threshold, or just set everything to noon or 11:00 and it sounds as natural as it can under the circumstances.
