DBX 160, 1176, LA2A

[verstft]

You're recording slap bass bass and want to control the dynamic range of your pops and slaps.

Do you reach for a DBX 160, 1176 or LA2a?
What's your strategy for setting it up?

 

[silky smoove]

Assuming the part is well played I would go with an 1176 with the 4:1 button engaged, a moderately fast attack and as slow of a release as I could get away with that didn't cause audible pumping (start fast and dial it back until it stops pumping). Remember the attack/release controls on an 1176 are settings for speed rather than time. As you increase the attack knob the speed increases which is the same as lowering the knob on a compressor where the control is for time. I've seen many people make this mistake before. I'd set the meter for GR and bring up the input control until I was seeing somewhere around 3db of GR and then adjust the output meter for unity or whatever I wanted downstream.

If the part was not well played and it needed a much heavier approach I would engage the 8:1 button instead of the 4:1. If it was REALLY poorly played and I needed to squash the signal I would either use the 12:1 or both the 4:1 and 8:1 buttons. Using 4+8 sounds different on hardware 1176 units than using the 12:1. There's a great video of Steve Albini demonstrating this on Youtube. I'm not sure if you're using a plugin or hardware, but if a plugin those results may vary. Beyond that it would be the same as above but I'd allow the GR to creep above 3db until it was sufficiently leveled off for the needs of the tune.

I would not use an LA2A for controlling slap as it's attack times are too slow to be useful for that particular task. It's a killer compressor for fattening things up, but not utility compression. Some folks like an LA2A after an 1176 so that the 1176 can grab the peaks and then the LA2A can be allowed to fatten up the already compressed signal. I'm not a huge fan of that setup as it feels needlessly complicated for something that I feel I can usually duplicate sufficiently with a single compressor. Works for a lot of people though.

I also wouldn't immediately reach for a 160. It's a wonderful compressor and my absolute favorite on a kick-snare crush parallel compression buss, but for bass I find it makes things have this weird "plinky" quality (hard to describe the sound I hear with words). For slap, which is obviously more percussive, it might be a better fit than I'm giving it credit for, but for fingerstyle bass it has not been my favorite.

Don't sleep on an Empirical Labs Distressor on bass. It can be fast and snappy like an 1176 with some of the fattening qualities of the LA2A, plus it saturates pleasantly. It's been overused on a lot of records in recent years, but that doesn't mean it's not an incredibly useful compressor.

 

[verstft]

Awesome post Silky! This should be a sticky, seriously, you covered so much ground.
The DBX is VCA and the way it clamps down on your peaks is super extreme. I think it's a cool sound and easy to setup.
But it's probably not for everybody.

Also, I know the 1176 is great, I just always get mixed up with the Attack/Release being "inverted" and with it being so transparent, I sometimes have to fudge a lot with it with extreme settings to remember which way to turn the dang dials.

The 1176 LA2a combo thing is definitely a thing too. Peaks with 1176, and then fatten up the whole thing with La2a.

Thanks again for all the knowledge.

 

[silky smoove]

The DBX is VCA and the way it clamps down on your peaks is super extreme.

There are different versions of the 160 that react a little differently, but you're right that they're all VCA-based. Something about the 160 on kick and snare is just magical but that's about where it's usefulness for my abilities as an engineer stops. The Keely compressors are all VCA based, and my beloved Pettyjohn Crush is as well, so that's not to say that VCA compressors can't be awesome on bass, it's just the 160 specifically that I wrestle with.

Also, I know the 1176 is great, I just always get mixed up with the Attack/Release being "inverted"

I find compressors with speed settings more intuitive than those with time settings. I have a cheap ART VLA Pro II in a rack in my studio and I always have to double check the settings since it controls time, not speed. I much prefer the 1176 method for this approach.

and with it being so transparent

Whoa... full stop. An 1176 transparent? That's a first for me. 1176s are notoriously bright, a little coarse/grainy sounding and they saturate in a fairly aggressive way. These quirks are a lot of the reason why they're so popular. Which version of the 1176 are you using?

 

[verstft]

Whoa... full stop. An 1176 transparent? That's a first for me. 1176s are notoriously bright, a little coarse/grainy sounding and they saturate in a fairly aggressive way. These quirks are a lot of the reason why they're so popular. Which version of the 1176 are you using?

Hahaha. Compared to the squashy thing I get on the DBX160.
Now, if you start pressing all the compression buttons, the 1176 is practically an overdrive pedal.

P.S. I just picked up a Keeley Bassist comp thinking it might have a little bit of the DBX160 mojo.
It's much cleaner. I like it so far, but it doesn't do that weird extreme quacky clamping thing the DBX does.