Do you consider a compressor pedal a "must have"?

[Al Kraft]

Like many others I find it an occasionally useful tool to get a certain effect in my sound, but I don't think it's essential to use one all the time to be considered a professional level player.

 

[mrcbass]

"Need" is a bit strong, but I use one.

I have an "always on" compressor on my board. I feels like it does little, but I sure noticed it was missing when I
did some recording without my signal chain. FWIW, I use the MXR Bass Compressor.

 

[Lagado]

I remember talking to a sound engineer about it. He told me that one of the bassists who had played there last week had asked him to turn the compressor off the bass. The sound engineer then stated that he couldn't believe the difference, you could hear all the detail (Jaco style muted 'deadnotes' probably, which you want with more volume and attack than your usual to make an impact). How does a compressor know the difference there? It will just compress them.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I like what a good compressor does but I don’t think they are necessary for me.

 

[JRA]

lots of good responses here! i think Szaladin and monkeyfinger pretty much covered it for you, OP.

FWIW: many use a compressor as an effect in its own right, but its real use (historically) is to solve problems. in any environment/situation where a compressor can lend a solution (or part of a solution, as discussed above): a compressor can be useful. so, it ends up being one of those tools = better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it...which is probably the most "professional" position to take.

IME: audio-grade units tend to be more useful than the foot-pedal variety, though there are exceptions in both groups/types.

 

[nonohmic]

What about just a good HPF/LPF? It cleaned up my sound awesome.

 

[bmusic]

I have a MarkBass Compressore, but I only use it when I care how I sound.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

 

[Lagado]

I have a MarkBass Compressore, but I only use it when I care how I sound.

You're better off working on your technique then.

 

[micguy]

I own one, but it very seldom ends upon my pedalboard. I play in a lot of church settings, where I need control of my dynamics; a compressor gets in the way most of the time.

On the flipside, As I do ampless gigs, I'm sure my signal gets compressed at FOH from time to time. Most sound folks would prefer you do as little to your signal as you can, so they don't have to "undo" anything they don't want.

 

[Lagado]

"We have devalued the singular human capacity to see things whole in all their psychic, emotional and moral dimensions, and we have replaced this with faith in the powers of technical calculation."

Neil postman - Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.

 

[David Jayne]

If I'm working in a small band, a trio or four piece not so much. But it's helpful to me in a large band/dense mix. Somehow makes the bass more easily heard well without needing excessive volume.

 

[bass12]

Don’ t get weighed down by the types of gear frenzies that can occur here on TB. It’s easy to become convinced that you’ll be lost without an HPF, compressor and a flats-equipped P played through a Mesa amp. I don’t know how many hundreds of gigs I’ve done without a compressor but it’s quite a few. That doesn’t mean that my sound might not have been helped by a compressor, but compression certainly wasn’t necessary for me to get a good sound. On the other hand, any time there has been a FOH sound tech involved with the show it’s pretty much a guarantee that he has added some compression to the bass signal.

Having said that, I have recently become curious about compression once again and have bought a couple of comps to try out. Also, I love my HPF. And I wouldn’t mind trying a Mesa, and...

 

[BioDriver]

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Absolutely yes

 

[darwin-bass]

I bet live sound techs are much more in the "yes, always" camp than players when it comes to compression.

 

[darwin-bass]

I run one all the time because I want my quiet notes to still be heard. I wish the piano players would embrace compression more but sadly they want those wide dynamics so they can play with feeling. But the effect is they are too loud when playing forte and disappear into the mix on the quieter parts.

I can't wait for our new board so I can send pre-comp to the IEM to keep them happy while compressing in FOH.

 

[Lagado]

I bet live sound techs are much more in the "yes, always" camp than players when it comes to compression.

Stage compression plus out front compression, some compression on the compression...

I've met sound engineers who learned by rote, and I've met engineers who learned by experience. I know which I prefer.

 

[Iristone]

I use overdrive, which is kind of compression.
With clean tone, I tend to not compress when practising, so I can hear my dynamics better. But I always compress when doing demoes on my computer, even with overdrive. Maybe I should compress onstage, I never know, because my first and so far only gig on bass was cancelled due to something else.

 

[bucephylus]

I haven’t. For 50 years now.

The reason I have not bent the knee on this “effect” is that I prefer my instruments to have an open resonance to them. Every compressor I’ve ever trialed pretty much squashed that quality in the sound.

One of the gigs I’ve been doing in recent years went to an all IEM soundstage with one of the Behringer boards owned by the lead vocalist; who spends a lot of time reading in the online sound engineering forums, which predominantly advocate that ALL bass signals need to be compressed. Oh, yay. So, with that gig I have to go into the board before the gig and remove the compression. Of course, he starts twisting knobs on the gigs and will often put the compression back in when he sees it has been taken out. I wish people would use their ears.

That said, I think this is one of those things that we will no longer have much say about, as the stages go ampless, and the sound engineers increasingly decide what our sound is going to be. I’m still trying to digest a musical world where some non-musician is deciding how my bass should sound. So far, not a fan.

 

[lfmn16]

Don’ t get weighed down by the types of gear frenzies that can occur here on TB. It’s easy to become convinced that you’ll be lost without an HPF, compressor and a flats-equipped P played through a Mesa amp. /QUOTE]
Always good advice!

I am absolutely NOT anti-pedal, but in my experience, many more bass players plug straight in than use pedals. It doesn't take them right, wrong, or indifferent, but when someone asks if a pedal is a "must have" I think it's pretty clear that the majority of players get by without one.