How do you use a compressor?

[Eminor3rd]

I use a Fairfield Accountant as always-on, first in the chain, but I’ll change it from light to medium/heavy squash depending on the genre. I consider it a tone-shaper, and I don’t use much EQ or anything else, so it does a lot of the heavy lifting.

Well, maybe it’s more of an “either-or” than an “always on” — the only other “effect” in my chain is overdrive, and I’ve generally got one on or the other, depending on the gig, but never both at the same time, and whichever one I’m using will be used for the entire set.

 

[Wfrance3]

But now I am thinking that using the compressor as an effect, switching it in an out would also be cool, like using it to transform a bass with a strong attack to a bass with a more sustained tone character or the opposite.

So my approach to compression, for years, has been to have a DI that has input and output volume (or input and master) and a compressor. It's nice to be able to start with the right amount of input for the bass. Then adjust the right amount of output for the venue, or your recording equip, whatever the goal is...
In the middle is compressor. What I do is start with the threshold set to where the compressor won't engage. Use the makeup gain like a clean boost and just balance it between the two volume controls on the DI and then add compression for girth/sustain. I don't personally like the sound to be super squashed. I like the sustain to be long-ish, but not a ton more than no-compressed unaffected tone. TBH, I've tried a ton of different compressors, and what I find is that the models in my Zoom B1Four is just great for what I need. I have like 5 different models that I roll through. They have models for HPF and LPF a parametric eq model, and then like a half dozen different Comp models. My goto for P-Bass Flats is the one they have based on a Dyna Comp. It's great for coaxing the rasp out of a passive bass. I also use the 160 and the Limiter for other basses There are other Zoom models that people like, but those are the three I tend use.

 

[Sam Evans]

This.

Please don't selectively quote my post for No-Effects trolling. Thank you.

 

[marchone]

Please don't selectively quote my post for No-Effects trolling. Thank you.

Thats an erroneous supposition on your part.

I was agreeing with ONE part of your comment. Not trolling or whatever you thought it was. If you cared to look at my sig line before firing you’d see I’m not a No-Effects troller.

I am saying I use little or no compression as i play finger style exclusively since a stroke years ago.

The Ampeg SGT-DI has a built-in compressor but many complain it’s not effective enough. I find it fine for my style of playing.

YMMV

 

[Bassmike62]

Your comment about light compression at the beginning and then hard limiter at the end is my exact recipe and I find it works amazing

Intriguing !
I never thought of doing this and started experimenting with what I have on the board (sigged) after reading your post.

I'm using the Zoom MS60B's limiter patch for that purpose, since the pedal is last before boost. There are better pedals for limiting for sure, but for now that's gonna be it. May I ask what settings you use for your limiter ?

 

[Sam Evans]

Thats an erroneous supposition on your part.

I was agreeing with ONE part of your comment. Not trolling or whatever you thought it was. If you cared to look at my sig line before firing you’d see I’m not a No-Effects troller.

I am saying I use little or no compression as i play finger style exclusively since a stroke years ago.

The Ampeg SGT-DI has a built-in compressor but many complain it’s not effective enough. I find it fine for my style of playing.

YMMV

The OP's question is about how you use compression. If you don't, then it obviously doesn't apply to you, so there's no need to post. Otherwise, it comes off as a compressor-specific version of "no effects trolling," regardless of what other effects you use. If you didn't want it to sound that way, you could have elaborated in your first post the way you did in your second post. Especially when we have so many people on this forum claiming that compression is a lazy bass-player's effect that's only use is to cover up bad dynamics.

And honestly, no, I don't read people's signatures. I bet most people don't most of the time.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Intriguing !
I never thought of doing this and started experimenting with what I have on the board (sigged) after reading your post.

I'm using the Zoom MS60B's limiter patch for that purpose, since the pedal is last before boost. There are better pedals for limiting for sure, but for now that's gonna be it. May I ask what settings you use for your limiter ?

I use a DBX160a but will be experimenting with Keeley bassist because I'm looking to get away from the rack if possible and the Keeley uses the same chip as the DBX... I use threshold -20, ratio 2:1, last in my chain before the amp

 

[Nephilymbass]

I use the Cali76 compact bass early on and always on. It’s right after the source audio c4 but before my darkglass microtubes X overdrive at the beginning of my chain. I use what I consider pretty aggressive compression settings but mix in plenty of dry tone so it sounds more natural. I have a ton of reasons for how I do it.

1 allows me to have as much touch sensitivity for controlling the c4 envelope sounds as possible.

2 in the styles of music I play some additional compression is almost always added to the bass sound after the fact, wether by foh at a gig or by the engineer in the studio. So having it towards the end of my board is more redundant in my opinion. I don’t want my drive tone heavily compressed or compressed twice.

3 the position helps a little evening out the levels of the different c4 presets I use where my other pedals are all dialed in for one specific sound. And particularly with overdrive but also some other sounds I like to be able to dial in a slight volume bump for those sounds compared to my clean tone so there is some volume/dynamic control dialed in using every pedals after the comp

4 I like to have most of my compression before the delay as I prefer analog and tape delay types of delay where the delay fades in volume and gets out of the way. Heavy compression after delay really screws up the delay sound.

6 maybe this is just in my head. But the c4 being a digital octave/envelope filter/synth type pedal I feel running it into analog pedals makes it sound better. Maybe I’m crazy but I’ve been doing that sort of thing for years back to when I used the whammy 4 and bass whammy.

 

[marchone]

The OP's question is about how you use compression. If you don't, then it obviously doesn't apply to you, so there's no need to post. Otherwise, it comes off as a compressor-specific version of "no effects trolling," regardless of what other effects you use. If you didn't want it to sound that way, you could have elaborated in your first post the way you did in your second post. Especially when we have so many people on this forum claiming that compression is a lazy bass-player's effect that's only use is to cover up bad dynamics.

And honestly, no, I don't read people's signatures. I bet most people don't most of the time.

Gee, I didn’t know that. Peace.

 

[Krisfield]

I stack a preamp with a compressor, Preamp > Compression. I get an increased touch sensitivity, smooth even sound, and lots of sustain. It’s an effect that I’m really drawn to.

 

[splmurphy]

View attachment 5172718
Here it is. Flow is tuner/micro synth/Mastotron/qtron+(w/bit commander in loop)/hyper luminal/vintage ultra/cloven hood/phase/flange/delay/chorus. The comp is great for tami g the wild spikes from the qtron, and helps boost the somewhat weak octaves on the BMS.

Oh baby!!

 

[Parzival]

Little bit of evening, boost, and tone shaping.

 

[Jibudo]

Gee, I didn’t know that. Peace.

Everybody is welcome to reply, even if they don’t use or don’t like compression.

Thank you all for your replys, I’ve been reading all of them and learning a lot!