Y'know, this is very much like the old Pigtronix Philosopher King pedal, except that the EHX version has a distortion option
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
EHX Platform Stereo Compressor
- Thread starter grillman
- Start date
-
- Tags
- compressor ehx stereo
how about volume swell, and distortion for starters?
how about volume swell, and distortion for starters?
It was an off-handed quip. After about 2/3 rds of the longish clip of what up till then had been mostly really squishy clean guitar stuff, I moved on. I guess you caught me out.
Way back in the day of single channel guitar amps, dyna-comps, when not being used for chik'n pick'n made great pedals for rock guitar leads because with the tap of one pedal you could get more sustain, a little volume boost and hit the front end of the amp harder for more distortion.
I've got no beef with EHX. The music world would be a poorer place without mike matthews and/or his mad scientist brew of pedals.
This is stereo and they say it can be used in the studio for connecting directly to the mixer for recording. You would never want to run a Dyna Comp that way.
-Frank
This is a digital comp. They don't exactly come out and say that it is digital, but from the little bits in the manual it is fairly clear that it is.
From the manual:
The Swell algorithm is triggered every time a new note is played.
The states of the KNEE and LIMITER buttons (as well as the DRIVE footswitch) are saved in flash memory and restored each time the Platform is powered up...
-Frank
From the manual:
The Swell algorithm is triggered every time a new note is played.
The states of the KNEE and LIMITER buttons (as well as the DRIVE footswitch) are saved in flash memory and restored each time the Platform is powered up...
-Frank
thanks for looking into that and sharing the info. What are the pros and cons of using a digital comp compared to an analog one?
I also wouldn't want to strap two Orange Squeezers across the main outs of a Digico D5 the next time I'm mixing an arena show. What's your point? It was a joke because so much of the demo was obviously squixhed clean guitar which is what DynaComps did.
As with everything audio you will have differing opinions on process and methods.
I feel that a digital compressor with an outstanding A/D and D/A conversion and a lot of processing power can have more sonic capabilities than a hardware analog unit. But analog units with character have a lot of appeal even though their emulations in the digital world are very close. I believe it has to do with how analog distorts when over loaded compared to digital… digital overloading is really ugly sounding.
Also with digital units they can have many multi-bands of compression, many simultaneous thresholds, ratios, attack and release settings. The capabilities are only limited by the hardware and the designers imagination.
I would love a job where I develop comp character maps for a great digital platform! That would be almost as great as coming up with a new analog comp with unique characteristics.
-Frank
Sorry, I didn't see the joke!
My point is... that if EHX is claiming this is as comp that can be used live, in the studio mixing or post production work, like you would use a typical rack unit for, then it has MUCH better qualities, like noise, headroom and distortion than a Dyna-comp that you equated it to. Hope that makes my point clearer.
-Frank
My guess is that the EHX will be considerably cheaper. Also most likely with a lesser build quality.
Like we say in French when we want to express that one can't have everything "You can't have the butter and the butter's money"
"You can't have your cake and eat it too" en anglais"You can't have the butter and the butter's money"
Yep that's why I thought too, but I'm waiting for the review.
I'm using a UA 6176 and love the sound, but really want to try this out, particularly for the swell.
I tried out and returned the Platform stereo compressor, 1st let me say that I am not someone who can articulate specs etc. (that would be left to Frank @ FEA, bongomania, etc.). I own 2 fabulous comp pedals (FEA DE-CL, and the Opti-FET) which I was/am not looking to replace (I may one day keep only 1 FEA comp, but right now I love both that I have).
I tried this based on the factor of the Compressor & OD combo, the swell was intriguing also. I tested this out DI'd into my computer listening through AKG headphones, it started out pretty good, a little noisy (that could just be my house's ac), I found usable comp and od settings (no way able to replace my FEA's, again I wasn't looking to do that), however as I continued and dug in a bit, I heard what sounded like a bit of unwanted garbling/tracking noise, when I engaged the limiter button the garbling/tracking was more pronounced and more unwanted - this must be the digital factor (I'm not sure), the swell was not usable for me - you could actually hear the engage point, nothing in the off position fully counterclockwise, as you turn it clockwise (still nothing) until it reaches a certain point, I want to say around the 7:30-8:00 position - then it's on at it's lowest swell point (I guess). Anyway back it went.
I guess I want something like the DE-CL (which has the Warmth knob) with a 3 band parametric EQ combo pedal, with a great DI out also, capable of driving a power amp sending a signal to FOH.
I tried this based on the factor of the Compressor & OD combo, the swell was intriguing also. I tested this out DI'd into my computer listening through AKG headphones, it started out pretty good, a little noisy (that could just be my house's ac), I found usable comp and od settings (no way able to replace my FEA's, again I wasn't looking to do that), however as I continued and dug in a bit, I heard what sounded like a bit of unwanted garbling/tracking noise, when I engaged the limiter button the garbling/tracking was more pronounced and more unwanted - this must be the digital factor (I'm not sure), the swell was not usable for me - you could actually hear the engage point, nothing in the off position fully counterclockwise, as you turn it clockwise (still nothing) until it reaches a certain point, I want to say around the 7:30-8:00 position - then it's on at it's lowest swell point (I guess). Anyway back it went.
I guess I want something like the DE-CL (which has the Warmth knob) with a 3 band parametric EQ combo pedal, with a great DI out also, capable of driving a power amp sending a signal to FOH.
bongomania
Commercial User
I finally got one of these in; posting a full review soonish. First new review in what, a year? It's been a dynamic time.
It is digital, as Boomer noted. And there are some audible artifacts, as Janforth noted. OTOH, it is much better at actually compressing and peak limiting than many other digi comps I have tried. It has a proprietary multi pin plug inside, where a battery would usually go, that I suppose is for firmware updates, though no cable is included.
Not particularly noisy, although it amplifies noise the same way a traditional pedal comp does, and if you have the ability to hear very high frequencies as I do, it does have a high pitched clock noise that is pretty much constant, at a low volume.
The swell function is pretty fun and easy to use, but very obvious when it starts and resets; good for otherwise artificial sounding music, vaporwave, glitchcore, dubstep, etc., but not suitable for "refined" or "organic" sounds.
The distortion is actually quite likable! It won't suit everyone, but it covers a fair amount of territory from subtle to extreme, and I dig that it has its own volume and tone controls.
The metering is very useful.
The stereo in/outputs, well... if you're doing anything "serious" with a mix you won't use this pedal, but in the instructions they mention using it for "your next YouTube hit or podcast" which would sound about right, except don't most of those folks use in-the-box plugin compressors and effects? I'm not sure what benefit there could possibly be to taking your recording out of the box, through this pedal, and running it back in again. Maybe this is for a guitarist who uses other stereo effects pedals, going into two recording channels.
The compression and limiting functions are pretty decent and versatile, and like I said they work better than I would have expected from digital.
More comments in the full review later.
It is digital, as Boomer noted. And there are some audible artifacts, as Janforth noted. OTOH, it is much better at actually compressing and peak limiting than many other digi comps I have tried. It has a proprietary multi pin plug inside, where a battery would usually go, that I suppose is for firmware updates, though no cable is included.
Not particularly noisy, although it amplifies noise the same way a traditional pedal comp does, and if you have the ability to hear very high frequencies as I do, it does have a high pitched clock noise that is pretty much constant, at a low volume.
The swell function is pretty fun and easy to use, but very obvious when it starts and resets; good for otherwise artificial sounding music, vaporwave, glitchcore, dubstep, etc., but not suitable for "refined" or "organic" sounds.
The distortion is actually quite likable! It won't suit everyone, but it covers a fair amount of territory from subtle to extreme, and I dig that it has its own volume and tone controls.
The metering is very useful.
The stereo in/outputs, well... if you're doing anything "serious" with a mix you won't use this pedal, but in the instructions they mention using it for "your next YouTube hit or podcast" which would sound about right, except don't most of those folks use in-the-box plugin compressors and effects? I'm not sure what benefit there could possibly be to taking your recording out of the box, through this pedal, and running it back in again. Maybe this is for a guitarist who uses other stereo effects pedals, going into two recording channels.
The compression and limiting functions are pretty decent and versatile, and like I said they work better than I would have expected from digital.
More comments in the full review later.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i have a platform comp and i dig it a lot. IMO, it's a very nice compressor (i use it for live work). i used the platform at my last gig instead of my usual cali compact deluxe and it was great.
I had a Pigtronix Philosopher King for quite a while and while i really liked it, i actually prefer the platform over it so i sold the Pigtronix.
I had a Pigtronix Philosopher King for quite a while and while i really liked it, i actually prefer the platform over it so i sold the Pigtronix.
Great! Looking forward to another review.... damn man, doncha know these reviews are like crack for some of us!!!!
-Frank
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
just tested mine for noise and IMO, it's very quiet. i also tested it for the mentioned high pitched clock noise and mine has absolutely none.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,636
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
