Embarrassing MXR M87 bass comp question...

Is your volume on your bass all the way up? Do you play very lightly? It can't compress the signal much if there isn't much to compress.

Totally guessing here based on what you said. Good luck figuring it out. More knowledgeable people than I will swing by any second.

 

The MXR attack times go from really, really, really fast to just really fast. So you may not hear very much change with the attack control.

If you have to hit your strings fairly hard to get the meter to read a reduction, then you may need to increase the input level.

-Frank

 

i hammer my strings and i can barely get the meter working (with high output basses). i can hear the compression affect and the tight low end response but the meter may as well not be there.

i have heard defective models are on the market and they do pop up on occasion, Bongo touched on it in his onvilabs review.

 

In my experience the attack knob has very little effect on the sound. I am able to tell what the release knob is doing though. A fast release will stop the gain reduction as soon as the signal drops below the threshold and a long release will gradually release over time based on the setting. (Fun fact, this is the first time I have written or typed the word threshold in my life.)

 

I noticed in another thread that you said you used someone else's settings to start with (marloweDK's if I remember correctly).

This is mostly fine, BUT the input has to be adjusted to your specific signal chain, as it is highly dependent on the output of your bass, and determines when the compressor kicks in ; for starters, try increasing it so that the LEDs light up more often and reaches the -10dB gain reduction LED when playing hard, just to be able to see it working.

Now release will be easy to witness : with release fully counter clockwise, notice how the gain reduction locks in position for a short period of time, and then goes back to 0dB.

Attack on the other hand with be difficult to hear : try recording something with Audacity or another similar software and observe the waveform at the 2 most extreme settings ?

Finally, please read this : Compressor and Audio Gear FAQ

 

You should crank the input up until the led meter becomes alive imo

 

If you haven't, take time to read the owners manual. It explains a lot of tiny but important tidbits that will help you operate the pedal, with perhaps the most important thing being how to set your input. If your meter isn't lighting up then you need to increase the signal you're sending it and/or increase the input knob.

 

Increase the input level. I play passive basses as well, and my input is at 2 oc. With this, I only
pinch off the peaks of my signal (i.e. the LEDs only light up when I slap/pop or play very heavy).
If you want stronger compression, you need to increase the input.

 

In order to check the effect of the attack know, I'd recomend to play in such way that the attack of the note gets accentuated (like pickstyle, slap or playing staccato close to the bridge). That way, I find it much easier to hear when the attack is set too fast and is "muffling" my tone (for the lack of a better definition ).

 

With my passive bass I had to front-end the MXR M87 with an MXR M80 preamp, then I could get enough signal where it would compress.

 

The slowest attack on the M87 is 800 MICRO (not MILLI) seconds - super fast.

 

+1 you have to find a happy medium between your input and output levels because you probably already know the higher the input usually means the higher the noise level. Frank any chance of a Growler reissue?

 

Yeah, I thought the MXR was too finicky and flipped it fairly quickly. The compression seemed subtle at best.

 

I personally love mine. I do run my input fairly high on it, but it runs clean and without noise.

 

Did you follow the initial instructions for setting up the compressor to detect your input at "normal playing" between 3 to 5 lights on the meter, with all knobs starting at 12:00? I have to adjust the input on mine every time I change my bass pickup balance (eg. shifting from neck to bridge pickups on my Jazz Elite produces less volume and the compressor won't respond until the input is adjusted accordingly). Similarly, flipping from passive to active or changing basses to another one may require an adjustment to input and the final volume for unity gain.

That said, I'm still playing with my settings. I like to run the compressor in 4:1 and apply it lightly to my MXR Envelope pedal. It's tough to find the perfect combination and sound though, with so many options! And when I use my new head, which has a compressor built in, it's a whole different ball of confusion

 

No plans for a new Growler at this time. Thanks!

-Frank

 

I play with a light touch and even with the gain on max it doesn't do much. I sometimes put it after an EQ pedal and give it some additional gain.