Diamond is BACK baby!!

[BassikBrad]

Last year I ran some tests, for which I got some flak , but that's Talkbass, showing frequency response curves
of the effect of the Tilt feature. For those who did not see it.


The sound you've always wanted. Lusithand Alma compressor..

 

[BassikBrad]

I'm a fool for the Diamond Comps. I was looking at the Lusithand, but I thought it was too high in price. I saw the new Diamond and jumped at it. One is on the way. The mid control is just too tempting.

The Lusithand can be got for the same price, if you click on "Watch" in the Reverb listing

 

[JRB]

I used to have the diamond and loved it. I now have the Lusithand and it would be very hard to give up the clean blend and go back to the diamond as I find that really makes the pedal.

 

[Grizelda100]

One reason I'm so fond of my Catalinbread Gygas Fuzz is the tilt EQ.
This compressor looks look interesting.

 

[Xad]

I've never had a Diamond, but thanks to y'all and especially @scubaduba, I went on a crazy compressor journey over the past year and now have WAY too many compressors, including the Smoothie, Monocomp, Omnicomp, Atlas, Alma, Unit67, Okko Cocaine, Becos Stella, Module 4, and many others.

While they all have something to recommend them, the two that have a place on my board are the Alma and the Unit67. What do you think, would the new Diamond be likely to replace either of them?

 

[scubaduba]

I've never had a Diamond, but thanks to y'all and especially @scubaduba, I went on a crazy compressor journey over the past year and now have WAY too many compressors, including the Smoothie, Monocomp, Omnicomp, Atlas, Alma, Unit67, Okko Cocaine, Becos Stella, Module 4, and many others.

While they all have something to recommend them, the two that have a place on my board are the Alma and the Unit67. What do you think, would the new Diamond be likely to replace either of them?

If the headroom issue was not addressed then I would be skeptical. The Alma fixes that and provides parallel compression. I’m going to have to test it.

 

[Xad]

If the headroom issue was not addressed then I would be skeptical. The Alma fixes that and provides parallel compression. I’m going to have to test it.

I’m intrigued by the potential flexibility of the three mid center frequencies and the tilt eq.

I use a CIOKS SOL/4 for power, so 18V isn’t an issue. But waiting for your review is probably the wise thing to do

 

[Fuzzbass]

Couldn't you just turn the volume of the bass down in that case?

Yeah but that's a no go for me. Last thing I want to do is think about the position of the volume knobs on my basses: they are always dimed, and I set my pedals to whatever output that happens to be.

My other comps can handle my hottest basses just fine. So, I had to pass on the BCP1, but I'm interested to know whether this new version has more headroom.

P.S. I was running the BCP1 at 18v with the Diamond power supply. Forgot to mention that in my earlier post.

 

[mmbongo]

Yeah but that's a no go for me. Last thing I want to do is think about the position of the volume knobs on my basses: they are always dimed, and I set my pedals to whatever output that happens to be.

My other comps can handle my hottest basses just fine. So, I had to pass on the BCP1, but I'm interested to know whether this new version has more headroom.

P.S. I was running the BCP1 at 18v with the Diamond power supply. Forgot to mention that in my earlier post.

Is this headroom issue only with the BCP1? I've never had issues with my Bass Comp Jr.

 

[Lebowsky]

That tremolo is HOT

 

[wavemaker]

I’m surprised they didn’t add a clean blend

Same here. Still, ordered - my first foray into optical compressors, we'll see how that goes. I’m looking to shape / fatten my JMJ Mustang for the minimalist rig. Should be here on friday, I'll surely report back.

Until then: Does anyone have the lowdown regarding battery compartments or other free real estate inside the enclosures of this new and compact Diamond series? If I like the comp as is, I might be tempted into adding a clean blend modification.

 

[cusar5]

JHS interviewed Greg from SGFX/Diamond on their Youtube channel, and demo'd the new lineup.

I think I'd be most interested in the Memory Lane. I loved the sound of the Jr. that I owned for a little while, but it was hard to fit on a board with the size of the enclosure and location of the jacks.

 

[scubaduba]

Is this headroom issue only with the BCP1? I've never had issues with my Bass Comp Jr.

Headroom was definitely an issue with the BCP-1. When I reviewed the Bass Compressor JR prototype for Diamond (https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/post/diamond-bass-comp-jr) I didn't notice headroom being an issue assuming running the pedal at 18 volts.

So, the question is whether this new version handles hot input signals well.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Is this headroom issue only with the BCP1? I've never had issues with my Bass Comp Jr.

See scuba's post. I have never tried the Junior, but if it has sufficient headroom as you say (and I don't doubt you), then that's promising for the new offering.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Internal voltage doubling should help. Not sure that the original had that feature, but I didn't really follow the Diamond that closely.

The BCP-1 was set up for an 18V supply out of the box.

The new model can double a 12V supply to 24...

 

[mmbongo]

The BCP-1 was set up for an 18V supply out of the box.

The new model can double a 12V supply to 24...

It can also work with 18v just like the Bass Comp Jr. always did, which is probably why it does not have headroom issues.

 

[foal30]

Last year I ran some tests, for which I got some flak , but that's Talkbass, showing frequency response curves
of the effect of the Tilt feature. For those who did not see it.


The sound you've always wanted. Lusithand Alma compressor..

I thought that was a top post and enjoyed your analysis of the Alma.

 

[mmbongo]

I thought that was a top post and enjoyed your analysis of the Alma.

I would love to check out a Alma. But alas..side jacks plus lack of any type of metering

 

[wavemaker]

Does anyone have the lowdown regarding battery compartments or other free real estate inside the enclosures of this new and compact Diamond series? If I like the comp as is, I might be tempted into adding a clean blend modification.

So, to answer my own question: Yeah… no. I don’t see a clean blend mod fitting easily into the enclosure… maybe off to the side next to the footswitch, but it would be a tight fit for sure.

On the other hand, I don’t see the addition of a clean blend as a must-have. I‘ll have to explore the pedal further, but first impressions are very good: The comp, running on 18 volts, definitely enhanced the character of my JMJ Mustang with stock flats. Thick, yet clear, and punchy came to mind.
I‘ll swap to GHS Boomers tomorrow and see how it’s going with rounds.

Side note: I was surprised to find both the tilt and the mid knobs having center detents - which acted as a nice reminder to focus on the comp side of the pedal and keep the EQ flat for the time being.

 

[foal30]

It can also work with 18v just like the Bass Comp Jr. always did, which is probably why it does not have headroom issues.

So yeah I’m thinking I have the BCP-1 for years what headroom issue?

But the other week there was a discussion on the Sadowsky preamp which I’ve had since the 90’s .....and sure enough going back and listening was more useful than “believing”.

So I tried a couple of my active Basses with the BCP-1 @18 volts into an Ashdown CTM-300..... and at certain settings or with certain techniques or on the B string.....there’s what I assume is a headroom issue