I’m thinking about getting a compressor pedal for my pedalboard. The three choices I have narrowed it down to are: Keeley Bassist compressor, the new MXR Bass Dyno-Comp or the TC Electronic Spectra Comp. Any recommendations?
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Compressor Pedals
- Thread starter David Lakin
- Start date
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
I love my tube driven optical compressor the EHX Black Finger, use it as much as a tube preamp as a compressor, and actually keep the compression applied fairly subtle with a slow attack time, and in the setting where the compression is affecting the low end more so than the high end of my signal.
Just tightens my low end up slightly and nicely and emphasis my attacks slightly more, as well as applying some nice tube coloration and warmth.
It's unfortunately out of production, but a few shops still have some in their stock, and it's not all too rare, although not exactly common either, to find used.
Very affordable too compared to how great a pedal it actually is and that the tubes in it is run at proper high 300V voltage.
If one should wish it is also possible to use it exclusively as a tube preamp and/or for applying a slight touch of tube breakup hair and grid to your tone, or as a more prominent low to lower medium gain tube overdrive for that matter, as it is possible to dial the optical compression circuit completely out of the equation.
Here's how it looks (it is a fairly big pedal), and the relatively few and simple control options for dialing in the compression actually offers more control than one would think by the look of it.:
The "POST-GAIN" knob sets the output level of the pedal, and the "LAMP/LED" switch set the optical source for the compression, "LAMP" setting having a slower attack time, and affecting the low end of the signal more so than the high end, "LED" mode having a faster attack time and a more linear effect frequency wise, the "COMPRESS" knob controls how much signal is fed to the compression circuit, and essentially acts as a threshold control, when all the way down the compression circuit will not receive any signal, and therefor will never kick in, no matter how hard you play, and this way the pedal can be used exclusively as a tube preamp or a tube overdrive if one should wish so, also the "PRE-GAIN" control interacts with the "COMPRESS" control, the "PRE-GAIN" controlling the input volume, which means that it can also can be used to overdrive the input tube, though this can only happen when the compression type is set to normal ("NORM"), the "SQSH/NORM" switch gives the option for choosing either a squishy type of compression, with a really slow attack time, or a normal type of compression with a faster attack time, and with the "LAMP/LED" setting interacting with the "SQSH/NORM" setting.
Just tightens my low end up slightly and nicely and emphasis my attacks slightly more, as well as applying some nice tube coloration and warmth.
It's unfortunately out of production, but a few shops still have some in their stock, and it's not all too rare, although not exactly common either, to find used.
Very affordable too compared to how great a pedal it actually is and that the tubes in it is run at proper high 300V voltage.
If one should wish it is also possible to use it exclusively as a tube preamp and/or for applying a slight touch of tube breakup hair and grid to your tone, or as a more prominent low to lower medium gain tube overdrive for that matter, as it is possible to dial the optical compression circuit completely out of the equation.
Here's how it looks (it is a fairly big pedal), and the relatively few and simple control options for dialing in the compression actually offers more control than one would think by the look of it.:
The "POST-GAIN" knob sets the output level of the pedal, and the "LAMP/LED" switch set the optical source for the compression, "LAMP" setting having a slower attack time, and affecting the low end of the signal more so than the high end, "LED" mode having a faster attack time and a more linear effect frequency wise, the "COMPRESS" knob controls how much signal is fed to the compression circuit, and essentially acts as a threshold control, when all the way down the compression circuit will not receive any signal, and therefor will never kick in, no matter how hard you play, and this way the pedal can be used exclusively as a tube preamp or a tube overdrive if one should wish so, also the "PRE-GAIN" control interacts with the "COMPRESS" control, the "PRE-GAIN" controlling the input volume, which means that it can also can be used to overdrive the input tube, though this can only happen when the compression type is set to normal ("NORM"), the "SQSH/NORM" switch gives the option for choosing either a squishy type of compression, with a really slow attack time, or a normal type of compression with a faster attack time, and with the "LAMP/LED" setting interacting with the "SQSH/NORM" setting.
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Among the three you listed: I’d take the Keeley all day long. I haven’t played that particular MXR, but I have yet to play an MXR compressor that doesn’t suck out low end. I feel like the TC eats my attack too much and makes things a little too thick, almost muddy.
I consider being able to blend in uncompressed signal aka parallel compression essential.
I use a Barber Tone Press, but there are a few others out there with this feature like the Greer Lamplighter.
For studio rack gear having a lot of tweakable parameters and good metering is nice, but for a pedal I like having a few simple controls I can dial in by ear.
I use a Barber Tone Press, but there are a few others out there with this feature like the Greer Lamplighter.
For studio rack gear having a lot of tweakable parameters and good metering is nice, but for a pedal I like having a few simple controls I can dial in by ear.
