I know you're kidding, but just to take you too seriously, you can absolutely tell the difference when it's off/on. IMO it makes the bass sound quite dramatically better, and fit in the mix better too.
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DIAMOND BASS COMPRESSOR
- Thread starter ilansgroove
- Start date
A test of the Diamond (though apparently the one I demo'd was the guitar version) left me thinking it was more pre-amp than comp which I liked about it
There is a dramatic diff but is that because of the compression? I was not convinced
Agreed. It really fattens your basses up without adding noise or squashing things too much. I have the EQ switched off on mine, much prefer it that way.
Video demos of compressors are pointless, double that if they're on youtube.
Compression helps a lot with mix, hard to feel in a youtube video, where usually the audio quality is very poor (dont mention 'bout computers loudspeakers...)
I can feel the compression. It's not THAT subtle, I know when my dynamics are being affected. So that's definitely part of it. There may be more than that going on, even with the tilt eq zeroed out.
I don't really care why it sounds good, as long as it sounds good. I mentioned earlier that I don't use it to fix dynamics issues, I just like the way it sounds, and if it squashes my dynamics a little bit I can deal with that.
+100
I use the Diamond with my Sterling and it works great. Nothing against the TLC as I'd gladly use that too, but the Diamond does have something magic going on, regardless of which bass is running into it, IMO/IME.
Got the BCP1 today and head to head with the TLC the BCP1 wins for me because of the EQ. On my AmSpc P Bass I have comp at 12, EQ at 1 with toggle on 250 and volume doesn't matter but also at 1 and then into a Aguilar TH pedal/pre - or my TH 500 head - basically flat with very very slight EQ adjust as the TH knobs make a huge difference in a very short travel. I dig in playing fingerstyle with this setting and it is very punchy and good sustain. I got really dang close with the TLC and in fact it was the winner for half the night but I kept having to go back and adjust the EQ on the Pre after most changes. On the BCP1 I just boost that 250 a bit and it cleans up
Nice one man. Obviously the bcp works better for you, but would you recommend the tlc? Until I got my stingray i was just waiting til I had the money to get a bass comp, but now I have a bright, punchy active bass i don't know if there are better suited compressor out there.
Either one is a great compressor pedal. I have one of their first 5's. I believe its a 1988 or 89 stingray. Love it love it love it. Its a rosewood one which I have not seen to many of in that date anyway. It has been re-fretted by Jimmy Coppolo. Great job. He actually hugged it cause it has more mojo than any of my basses. Or many of what I have seen. Jimmy is all about vintage, in looks and sound. I had tried the TLC not with that bass but impressed with it anyway. I like the diamond with it but the way they both compress it's going to be what your ears like better. But I will say you will like both. I would slightly say get the diamond cause of its eq. But the TLC as a compressor has more tweaking advantages. The ratio in the diamond is locked. You can do more adjustments with the TLC. Now that you are still undecided. I say get the diamond, you can sell it faster I think than the TLC.
Been there, done it. Prefer the Markbass Compressore big time because it gives more control over how much (or not) you might want to color your sound, has at least the same quality compression and even more control over the parameters. Gotta love it.
Very disappointed to learn that there's nowhere to attach a battery inside this thing!
Nowhere on the website could I find mention you cannot use a battery. Sigh.
Paperwork in the box speaks of a red polarity reverse cable but it is not in the box. Will contact the local store I got it from.
Just a heads up of you get this pedal, internal battery is not an option
Nowhere on the website could I find mention you cannot use a battery. Sigh.
Paperwork in the box speaks of a red polarity reverse cable but it is not in the box. Will contact the local store I got it from.
Just a heads up of you get this pedal, internal battery is not an option
You should have gotten that cable adapter, mine came with one. I use mine with the power adapter but I bought a right angle Godlyke extension to hook to it so the cable wouldn't stick out off my pedaltrain.
I got mine back in November/December and I'm still very happy with it. I'd used a Markbass Compressore for 4 years but glad I got the Diamond, I don't find myself struggling to dial it in. Always had a hard time finding the sweetspot on the Compressore. I've been running mine into a Tone Hammer but my last two gigs I've went back to using the preamp on my Shuttlemax and the Diamond just kills with it, really great combo for J Bass goodness.
It's an 18v pedal, drawing 18mA; you'd need two 9v batteries.
It can also be run at 24v (max) for more headroom.
Better that it doesn't run on batteries.
I agree it sucks that there was no mention of "no batteries required", I think that's a good thing; an increasing number of builders (according to my own scientific survey of "intuition") are ditching batteries. Save the environment etc yadda yadda.
Still, I like the option of using a battery, so if your power supply malfunctions or a cable gets chewed through by rats, cats or bats you can still chuck a battery in. Mostly though, I'm still hunting for a pedal power supply that can do multiple 18v pedals and a 15v for the Tonebone.
I've got a boss limiter for slapping and want to use my Diamond for some sweetening, but it stays at home on my "home" board which is self powered. My gig board is much smaller and doesn't have the aforementioned power supply. Gigrig would be perfect if it weren't so bloody expensive.
I bought mine used and being a newb
at buying on the forums it didn't occur to me that the seller wouldn't ship the power adapter with the pedal. 
So my Diamond is an "at home only" pedal right now.
It can also be run at 24v (max) for more headroom.
Better that it doesn't run on batteries.
I agree it sucks that there was no mention of "no batteries required", I think that's a good thing; an increasing number of builders (according to my own scientific survey of "intuition") are ditching batteries. Save the environment etc yadda yadda.
Still, I like the option of using a battery, so if your power supply malfunctions or a cable gets chewed through by rats, cats or bats you can still chuck a battery in. Mostly though, I'm still hunting for a pedal power supply that can do multiple 18v pedals and a 15v for the Tonebone.
I've got a boss limiter for slapping and want to use my Diamond for some sweetening, but it stays at home on my "home" board which is self powered. My gig board is much smaller and doesn't have the aforementioned power supply. Gigrig would be perfect if it weren't so bloody expensive.
I bought mine used and being a newb
at buying on the forums it didn't occur to me that the seller wouldn't ship the power adapter with the pedal. So my Diamond is an "at home only" pedal right now.It's an 18v pedal, drawing 18mA; you'd need two 9v batteries.
It can also be run at 24v (max) for more headroom.
Better that it doesn't run on batteries.
I agree it sucks that there was no mention of "no batteries required", I think that's a good thing; an increasing number of builders (according to my own scientific survey of "intuition") are ditching batteries. Save the environment etc yadda yadda.
Still, I like the option of using a battery, so if your power supply malfunctions or a cable gets chewed through by rats, cats or bats you can still chuck a battery in. Mostly though, I'm still hunting for a pedal power supply that can do multiple 18v pedals and a 15v for the Tonebone.
I've got a boss limiter for slapping and want to use my Diamond for some sweetening, but it stays at home on my "home" board which is self powered. My gig board is much smaller and doesn't have the aforementioned power supply. Gigrig would be perfect if it weren't so bloody expensive.
I bought mine used and being a newb
Having a pedal that has a battery option is always nice, but I never use them. As far as the diamond yes it does use 18 v, but you can also use a 9 volt cable if there was a problem. Yes the 18 volt is better but not too noticeable with a 9 volt power supply. To bad you didn't get the power supply but they are not to expensive. Always nice to carry one of these with you. http://www.amazon.com/Godlyke-Power-All-IP-1-Iso-Pump-Converter/dp/B005MMW5TA
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It smooths out my Bongos (H-H and H-S) and SR5 H. My Stingray has a maple board and the Diamond Bass Comp tames the clank no doubt about it. The tilt EQ is the secret weapon of this pedal IMO
@ Bassist30
Thanks for the iso-pump idea. I'll definitely check it out. I wish somebody did that for 15v. I'm tired of trying to find a power supply for my Radial preamp and assorted 18v pedals. Nobody does an affordable small PS with 15v and a couple of 18v. I'll continue to wall-wart the Radial, and get some iso-pumps and a small PS for the rest.
Cheers,
FF
Thanks for the iso-pump idea. I'll definitely check it out. I wish somebody did that for 15v. I'm tired of trying to find a power supply for my Radial preamp and assorted 18v pedals. Nobody does an affordable small PS with 15v and a couple of 18v. I'll continue to wall-wart the Radial, and get some iso-pumps and a small PS for the rest.
Cheers,
FF
Yes, that's a cool accessory.... just as long as the user remember to use the reverse polarity that comes with the pedal with it (Godlyke makes one if anybody's misplaced theirs).
Interesting to hear that. I've made peace with clank but I get what you're saying. My J Bass sounds kind of harsh thru my Shuttlemax on anything below the low A on the E string and the Diamond seems to mitigate that as well. Admittedly I haven't played with the eq knob much on a gig yet and have just set it flat. I've messed with it a bit at home and it's cool for adding just the right amount of low end when favoring a J Bass bridge pickup. The beers always make me forget to tweak it on gigs.
Bongo mentioned in his review but it's worth repeating; this pedal is just ridiculously silent. My pedal chain isn't very noisy to begin with but it's almost as if it cleans it up. Weird. My MB Compressore was fairly silent but amplified noises as compressors normally do but the Diamond does not. The low end is nice and tight, the MB muddied up the lows by comparison and didn't fatten up the mids like the Diamond.
Not going to say this pedal is the be all, end all but it's pretty terrific. If anything it's supremacy to the MB (for my use anyway) has piqued my interest in what the FEA pedals and the Cali76 have to offer.
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