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EBS multicomp or Demeter Compulator

#21
In my testing of the LMB-3 I found it to be very quiet unless I turned up the "Enhance". So if you are experiencing much noise, I suspect one of the following:
-defective LMB-3
-unregulated power supply
-noisy pickups or preamp onboard your bass
-another noisy pedal in front of the LMB-3

The way some compressors work, they may amplify noise that you wouldn't normally hear so much, but which is in fact coming from another piece of gear, not from the compressor. So even if you think your pickups/preamp/Sansamp etc. is not noisy, it may have noise in a frequency range that the compressor is prone to amplify. You can experiment by putting the LMB-3 in different places in the signal chain, or by removing the other pedals one by one.

Personally, I don't think there is such a huge quality difference between the EBS and the Boss. I do think the EBS is better, with fatter tone and smoother action, but not like a night-and-day difference. So I'd upgrade to the EBS given a choice, but I'm betting your signal quality issues are actually only being revealed by the Boss.
 
#22
yeah. i messed with some different orders of my pedal chain. the boss defenetly reveals the noise of the sansamp, and the sonic stomp (which i'm getting rid of). the boss isnt bad, i just dont like the "pop" that happens when im compressing the sound. i take the ratio down and the thereshold up, but then i feel im not getting any compression. do you have a suggested setting for the boss, for fingerstyle, jusr regular, leave on all the time, compression. just to maybe even things out a bit?
i usually have it level 12 o clock, enhance 0, ratio 11, and threshold at 1 o'clock.
 
#25
I have both units.
Whereas I liked the EBS a lot, I prefer the Demeter now.

The EBS has a very slight low end drop off (which I discovered using inear monitoring), whereas the Demeter makes things a tad thicker.

Just go easy on the compression (mine is set on 9 o clock) of the Demeter.It has a far wider compression range than the EBS
 
#27
quality compression is definitely worth it. probably one of the most important pieces of gear in any rig that has effects in it.

there have been lots of good points here and from the sounds of it, i think you need to adjust the string/pickup height of the quiet or louder strings (if you don't know what you are doing, have it set up by someone who does...not that you can do any real damage by raising and lowering things, but it can be frustrating when you are figuring that stuff out and you hit a point where you are even more unhappy than before).

also, i'd really play with your signal chain. i'd isolate the compressor and use that alone and see if it is working for you. i put my compression in my signal chain immediately after my effects that are based on dynamics (envelope filter) and at times i'll even add some more compression to the end of my chain to control spikes and valleys in tone from other effects i use.

as bongomania mentioned everyone plays different and there are no hard and fast rules that will work for every player. use your ears...tweak until happy.
 
#28
jpark369 said:
the ebs is $199, where as i paid $65.00 for the boss. shouldnt there be a noticeable difference in the two pedals? or more than noticeable, a "drastic" difference, or a positive one? is it worth the cost?
Click to expand...

Is anything "worth the cost"? Really. It's worth what you're willing to pay, if you like it. My favorite rack compressor right now cost me $600, and it was worth every penny. Does it sound $535 better than a Boss LMB-3? To me, yes, but I would never recommend anybody else make the same decision, because nobody else has the exact combination of my ears, tastes, and rig. On the flip side, I dish serious dirt on the T-Rex Squeezer, a $400 unit. I'd rather play through an LMB-3 than the Squeezer any day of the week, it was not worth anywhere near the price IMO. If you read through my reviews you'll note that I make a big deal about how several "cheap" or mid-priced compressors perform as well, or better (IMO) than many more expensive units.

You don't necessarily get what you pay for. Except with Behringer, in which case that's exactly what you get. ;)
 
#29
i agree for sure. it just sucks cause around here, noone carries the EBS!!! i have to buy it from GC to get it in store, and then i gotta come up with the dough, test it, then return if i dont like it. i think ive messed with the boss enough to know that its not for me. im going to tka eht eadvice of bongo and go for the EBS, also im looking into people around here that do setups pro. ive read alot of your comp. reveiws (so helpful!) and i think the EBS sounds best for me. thank so much
 
#32
I owned a DBX160a,the DBX half rack space one (forgot the model), and a ART TCS.

All were great units, the ART was specially good IMO but was to much for what I wanted. I now have a Compulator in my pedalboard and I love it.

It is veyr transparent but you can tell it's doing something. Actually it ads a nice sparkle to the sound to my ears. I've used it for recording too and worked great for a little limiting of peaks. It works great for slappers since it levels the notes without any squashing or breathing.

I haven't tried the EBS but I went through all the same options (EBS, APHEX, EH) before I got the Demeter and I can't be happier.
 

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