Compressor that just compresses?

[Cutter8]

Rothwell comes to mind.

Yep, cnltb nailed it. The Rothwell Love Squeez gives you simple, straight up, super transparent, dead silent compression with two knobs—compression and volume. I can’t imagine a better choice for what the OP wants.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Some of the "toneprints" may be multi-band. I'm unsure. But no compressor can possibly compress each string differently as it can't possibly have any idea which string is being played, or even what type of instrument. That may be a bit semantical and I'd have not responded except...

I didn't say that I knew how it worked, but that's what they claim. I had it on my bh500. I loved it at about the third notch. Best onboard compressor I've used on an amp. It seemed to be very musical, as apart from simply dumbing down my signal and boosting my lows. But if an on board tuner can tell you what string you're playing, I'm sure a researched, engineered, dedicated, effect can do the same.

 

[ToneMonkey]

For bass, M87 and Aguilar were the best I tried.

 

[Moosehead1966]

Empress. Transparent as it gets. Made in Canada.

Marc

 

[MynameisMe]

I love my Empress compressor.

 

[Maynjo]

The MXR M-87 is really transparent, but I was not a fan. In my experience, I would either have the input boosted too high and it would completely squash my E string, or I would have it set too low and it wouldn't do anything. It felt more like a limiter then a compressor. The Keeley Bassist is really transparent and really easy to dial in, but my current favorite is the Seymour Duncan Studio Bass. It lets you blend in your clean tone and it's really transparent when on the "full" setting, but can also fatten up your tone on the "mid" or "low" setting.

 

[Chrisk-K]

I love the SpectraComp. It can do so many things. I personally don't want to use a subtle, transparent compressor. I want to hear the effect.

 

[Heavy Blue]

Known issue with the toneprints on the Spectracomp that use GAIN MAKEUP. They'll add hiss to the sound. When I owned the SpectraComp this drove me crazy until I used the editor to start tweaking things. Once I disengaged the auto gain makeup parameter, things got a lot quieter, and I was pretty blown away by the pedal.

The Spectracomp is no joke. It's an incredibly full-featured, programmable, advanced compressor. Tweaking it is not for compressor newbies, and I'd suggest you roam the TonePrints to see if you find something more to your liking. So, just a heads-up. Don't give up on the pedal yet.

So after you disengaged the auto gain makeup did you wind up having a volume drop when you kicked it in?

 

[ToneMonkey]

The MXR M-87 is really transparent, but I was not a fan. In my experience, I would either have the input boosted too high and it would completely squash my E string, or I would have it set too low and it wouldn't do anything. It felt more like a limiter then a compressor. The Keeley Bassist is really transparent and really easy to dial in, but my current favorite is the Seymour Duncan Studio Bass. It lets you blend in your clean tone and it's really transparent when on the "full" setting, but can also fatten up your tone on the "mid" or "low" setting.

The M87 offers several different comp ratio settings. True, higher ratios do approach limiting.

You experienced what you experienced. I don't want to discount that. But few compact pedals I've personally tried were as versatile or transparent sounding than the M87. I've owned dozens of comps over the past 50 years.

I'd like to add one thing for the OP's benefit. I am not at all a fan of DSP comp emulations. I've owned some insanely expensive ones and they all sound fake to me. And they feel weird. Very cartoonish is the only way I can put it. For me, analog comps are the only way to go. For bass, I'd never use a dynacomp variant. Way too colored and rolled off for my tastes.

I didn't read the entire thread, so I don't know if anyone shared this link, but it's a wealth of information. The guy is also a bassist who is very critical of comps that mangle bass tone.

Compressor Reviews

 

[jimfist]

So after you disengaged the auto gain makeup did you wind up having a volume drop when you kicked it in?

The gain structure of the tone print changed pretty significantly, but I simply readjusted the output gain(s) to my liking. Of course, this is an interactive process between the multi band comps and ratio settings as they relate to the assignments to the control knob.

 

[John Stephen]

I'd like to add one thing for the OP's benefit. I am not at all a fan of DSP comp emulations. I've owned some insanely expensive ones and they all sound fake to me. And they feel weird. Very cartoonish is the only way I can put it. For me, analog comps are the only way to go. For bass, I'd never use a dynacomp variant. Way too colored and rolled off for my tastes.

As the OP, I appreciate your looping back to me. Could you explain what DSP is? Digital something? And if analog comps are the only way to go, what's a good analog compressor? Thanks in advance.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Digital Sound Processing... DSP.

A good Tube Analog Compressor is to my liking. Still used by many top notch studios. A few folks built them in a foot pedal. Markbass did it for many years and was viewed as one of the best it was the Compressore. Sad they discontinued building them recently. But it means there are some on the used market, and some prices are ok.

 

[John Stephen]

Thanks for the info, Eddie.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Thanks for the info, Eddie.

Anytime... If you look for a Markbass Compressore, get the later version with the recessed control knobs. Makes it easier to set it and not bump a knob. And an easier way to identify a more current model.

 

[ToneMonkey]

As the OP, I appreciate your looping back to me. Could you explain what DSP is? Digital something? And if analog comps are the only way to go, what's a good analog compressor? Thanks in advance.

Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The DSP uses an internal algorithm to emulate a real world device, in this case a compressor. It's akin to what modelers like Line 6 do to emulate analog devices. I believe that your TC is a DSP device, which might explain why you don't care for it. All the TonePrint stuff is DSP.

As I said in my previous post, analog comps that have worked well for me with bass are the M87 and Aguilar. The review link I provided is super handy. The reviewer really liked the Rothwell and a few others. I use a Wampler Mini for guitar but would never use it for bass. The only comp I use with bass is the internal comp on my Phil Jones amp. I don't slap much any more, so it's plenty capable for what I need it to do.

You seem interested in learning. I'd start with the reviews I linked.

 

[John Stephen]

Thanks, ToneMonkey. I have been making my way through the reviews while also tinkering with the TC. I appreciate all the help, info and recommendations.

 

[scubaduba]

To the OP:

There have been several good recommendations here. I am not a fan of the Spectracomp and I cannot recommend it.

For your purposes, I would suggest you look at compressors that have an independent volume control (which the Spectracomp lacks). I'd also recommend you start with something that is fairly transparent, meaning doesn't significantly alter your original tone. This will allow you to better hear and understand what the compressor is doing before your tone is altered almost as an EQ would.

There are many compressors that would suit this purpose well. I'd suggest looking at one of these:

Becos (any of them)
Rothwell Lovesqueeze
MXR M87
Swindler Effects Workers Comp
Vick Audio R-Comp
Union Tube & Transistor Lab (as long as you keep the comp dial lower than 11:00)
Carl Martin Comp Limiter
OvniFX Smoothie
Broughton Apex

Honestly, there is no one size fits all compressor. The list above is a good starting point though.

 

[John Stephen]

Many thanks, scuba (for the above recommendations and for your epic tome on compressors of all kinds). Since so many folks have responded to my question, and my follow-up questions, I will post back when I have something to report. Thanks all!

 

[John Stephen]

To loop back on this, as the OP, I've set the TC Spectracomp aside and have been using the MXR M87 to good effect (pun intended). I had some trouble figuring out how to edit the tones in the TC, and also I found that when I used my phone to load one of the Tone Prints into the TC unit, when I eventually stopped playing and turned off the power, the Tone Print would be lost. I would have to reload it each time.

The M87 is easier for me to work with because I don't have to load or edit anything, and it makes clearer to me the effects of compression, since it doesn't notably change the tone of my bass (and the compression isn't masked by Tone Prints). The user instructions that came with the M87 are simple and clear to follow. I imagine the TC Spectracomp is very useful for those who are inclined to work with it, and who know more about effects than I do.

I'll also vouch for the fact that, at least so far, compression doesn't compensate for poor technique. However poor my technique is, it's just as poor with compression as without it. The compression evens out strings and evens out the louder and softer spots on my Mikrobass's fingerboard (yep, it has louder and softer areas), but only lightly (I have it set on light compression). It doesn't even out my technique (alas). I'm digging the M87 and will continue using it. Thanks to everybody who responded and offered advice and suggestions.

 

[Briton]

You’ll find that you can make almost any bass sound fatter and warmer, yet still retain its definition,
by running its signal through a MXR M87 set to a ratio of 4:1, with fairly fast attack and release
times (set both knobs to approximately 3 o’clock) and input and output at roughly unity gain.To add more compression, select a ratio of 8:1 and slightly increase the Input
knob. With the extra punch and leveling this will add, every bass note will eassily cut through
even the densest backing track.