Compressors

[nshuman]

Seriously though, the Cali76 is starting to intrigue me more and more. Other than depth/colour, what did you think was better in the Cali76 compared to the FEA DB-CL Duke?

 

[DirtyDuke]

Seriously though, the Cali76 is starting to intrigue me more and more. Other than depth/colour, what did you think was better in the Cali76 compared to the FEA DB-CL Duke?

The fea db-cl is everything everyone says it is. And if I could justify keeping almost a grand in stomp box compressors I would have kept it. The Cali was just richer and fuller, easier to dial in and tighter.

There was just an organic sweetness and fullness I could never get with anything else. And it worked great with all my basses, and amps. With the fea and the mxr, it was like chasing a dragon trying to dial it back in.

Having said that, I'd love to get another db-cl.

 

[smeet]

So how does the Cali76 compare to the Diamond Bass comp?

 

[MightyMiloQuinn]

I'd love to hear the opinion of someone with more experience with compressors on the Heavy Sonic Oppressor. I picked one up recently on a whim, and I think it sounds really great. It's currently battling with my Fairfield Accountant for primary compression duties.

 

[johnk_10]

So how does the Cali76 compare to the Diamond Bass comp?

the diamond certainly is no slouch compared to it. IMO, the diamond is just a bit more 'colored' than the cali but in a great way.

 

[DagoMaino]

not really. I had a 10K resistor that read open on the source of Q1 of and that's what the problem was.

gotcha, thanks!

 

[raydee]

I finally got the Forest Green comp's comp/sustain switch sorted, boxed it up, and it's a great sound compressor. i really dig it in the sustain mode. it's probably my favorite 1590B sized comp now.

Nice build John(as always).
I wonder wich LED/LDR-combo did you use?

 

[johnk_10]

I rolled my own with a generic LDR and green led but it worked great (and the same) with a VTL5C2 too. I just went with my own since it had a lower profile and could fit the toggle switch in it easier.

 

[bongomania]

So how does the Cali76 compare to the Diamond Bass comp?

One of the more prominent differences is that the Cali is capable of much heavier amounts of compression than the Diamond. And it does that without sounding muddy or dull. One of the reasons the Cali seems easier to use than some other top comps is because you don't have to be quite so particular about the threshold.

 

[nshuman]

So, for those of you who run the Cali, do you run it at the end of your chain as you would a rackmount unit? Or do you put it somewhere else in your chain? I ask because at the end would be the logical choice to keep the character it adds?

 

[bongomania]

On the one hand, it's like any other comp: it can go anywhere in the chain that it makes the most functional sense. OTOH it is also capable of being a preamp to a power amp or mixer, so in that job it would go last in the chain.

 

[johnk_10]

just finished up building another one that sounds really good, a colorsound SupaSustain. it runs on 18 volts (I installed an internal charge pump to convert 9V-18V) and I also added a clean blend.

 

[johnk_10]

got another nice sounding comp built today. a Hexe 'The Tadek Compressor'. I etched a PCB for this one and also etched the enclosure. it's the only comp that I've built so far that uses a TDA7052A chip and it sounds really good.

 

[Need Gigs]

John, how would you describe the tone of the Tadek?

 

[johnk_10]

i think that it's it's pretty much transparent (can also be used as a clean boost) and can go from subtle to heavily squashed compression.

 

[nshuman]

I like the etching. Are you planning on using the process more on your builds?

 

[johnk_10]

yes. i'm going to use it on some of them.

 

[johnk_10]

i'm in the process of building a fairly complicated comp/limiter right now that uses the THAT4301 compressor chip. it's basically a Carl Martin comp with a few added features (i.e. it runs on a standard 9V supply instead of AC, has an input pad and a hard knee/soft knee compression selector). the controls are threshold, ratio, response and make up gain. I've been wanting to try a comp that uses this chip (which is somewhat similar to the new Keeley Bassist).
here's a pic of the etched & drilled PCB for it:

 

[gregmon79]

i'm in the process of building a fairly complicated comp/limiter right now that uses the THAT4301 compressor chip. it's basically a Carl Martin comp with a few added features (i.e. it runs on a standard 9V supply instead of AC, has an input pad and a hard knee/soft knee compression selector). the controls are threshold, ratio, response and make up gain. I've been wanting to try a comp that uses this chip (which is somewhat similar to the new Keeley Bassist).
here's a pic of the etched & drilled PCB for it:

Will it have any type of monitors on the outside? Like the MXR and Empress do? Or whatever you call those lights....

 

[johnk_10]

I just has a single led to indicate the compression (like the Diamond, the Keeley and carl Martin).