Empress Bass Compressor vs EBS MultiComp

Looking for opinions...

I've been using an MXR Studio Compressor which has been fine, though I never *loved* it. Recently it started having some issues, so gives me an excuse to look for a replacement.

I'm torn between the Empress and MultiComp.

I really like the monitoring available on the Empress. It also has the same controls that I'm used to from the MXR (input, output, attack, release). Hard to know without playing with it for awhile, but I think I might find the mix and high pass filter really useful as well.

However, I really like the availability of multiband compression on the MultiComp. And as much as I like the adjustability on the Empress, sometimes having less knobs to turn is a relief.

Questions:
  • If you use the EBS, do you miss the LED monitoring lights? If Empress, do you find the monitoring useful?
  • Thoughts on multiband compression, especially for 5 string? Will the HPF on the Empress be just as good/useful?
  • Thoughts on the "tubesim" on the MultiComp?
  • Tone toggle on the Empress?
Thanks in advance!
 
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Reactions: Zbysek
You are torn between two totally different approaches to compression here. The empress is a fully featured...a knob for every function type of compressor, in a fairly large box. The EBS is a highly versatile but minimal control approach to compression. The Empress is great if you like to knob twiddle (say in a home studio) and the EBS is great for fast live edits on stage.
Personally, I use a Source Audio Atlas and it's got far more versatility than the EBS and far more control (via the Neuro App) than any other compressor, even more than a DAW would offer. On a gif it's a fast patch dial in, at home i can slowly dial in the specifics and cuances I'm looking for.
 
I have both and usually use the empress, mostly because because the empress has all the parameters available to control and the led lights are really usefull.

The EBS is much simpler to control and set up, compression ratio is 5:1 at max, the tube sim sounds great on it but be careful with multi comp mode, it sounds good at the beginning of the signal chain but if it's after distortion all you end up doing is boosting the fizzy highs so if your going to use it after distortion don't use the multi comp mode
 

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