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I made the logical decision, right? Compressors, again!
- Thread starter willsellout
- Start date
Yeah it's not an overload indicator, but earlier today when I first turned it on I was playing with it and cranked the compression up and got some distortion when the red light flashed, which was a bit weird. it's not doing that now though. The red light is very faint and it's hard to see in the daylight so I was having some issues noticing when it was flashing. Now that it's a bit dimmer inside it's more apparent when it's doing something.
Don't know how things go with other (FSO) basses, but with Birds on the BCP-1, everything around noon seems to work nicely.
Proof!
Man both of these compressors each have something special that I like. I don't think I could make a choice as it is, but what I have learned is that my playing style doesn't require a whole lot of compression. So I don't think I need a compressor and a separate limiter on my board. But I do like having them both. It will be interesting to see how the FEA stacks up. I've got no experience with the DB-CL, but I do have experience with the Opti fit and the DE-CL. Both of those were great but my favorite so far of theirs was the DE-CL.
Man both of these compressors each have something special that I like. I don't think I could make a choice as it is, but what I have learned is that my playing style doesn't require a whole lot of compression. So I don't think I need a compressor and a separate limiter on my board. But I do like having them both. It will be interesting to see how the FEA stacks up. I've got no experience with the DB-CL, but I do have experience with the Opti fit and the DE-CL. Both of those were great but my favorite so far of theirs was the DE-CL.
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svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
Both of those are Great. I too went thru about 10 different pedal compressors. I think I found one that i like. The Seymour duncan studio bass. I like that it has a BLEND control. Its Not a pedal if you want to really SQUISH the bass. But it does what it does very well IMO.
I ONLY wish it had a Threshold LED.. Other than that I love it.
If my Keeley's ( Bassist and Compressor Pro) had BLEND knobs i may have kept them...
I ONLY wish it had a Threshold LED.. Other than that I love it.
If my Keeley's ( Bassist and Compressor Pro) had BLEND knobs i may have kept them...
Your comparing a quite a wide variety of compressors against each other. The FEA DB-CL is a Dual-Band optical comp with a full set of controls for each band. Even tho the DB-CL is a Dual-Band comp it actually is a three band circuit. The very high frequencies from 5KHz and up bypass the compression circuits and are mixed back into the high-band signal at the output mixers. So the DB-CL will be very different from the other two FEA comps that you have tried.
-Frank
@willsellout That's a Canadian bifecta of compressor greatness right there! 
Diamond up front, Empress in the rear.
I've been wanting an Empress to add to my Diamond for ages, but I've got other comps and never been able to justify pulling the trigger. Of course, if I had more "disposable" income, I'd have been able to justify it long ago.
Diamond up front, Empress in the rear.
I've been wanting an Empress to add to my Diamond for ages, but I've got other comps and never been able to justify pulling the trigger. Of course, if I had more "disposable" income, I'd have been able to justify it long ago.
It was super funny to see the top two compressors I chose were both Canadian.
I've had both for a couple days now and I really like them both a whole lot. They do different things for sure, but the one that really shines in my eyes is the Diamond. That stupid pedal is just so well done. If I were to guess right now it's going to come down to the Empress and the FEA at this point. The Diamond is staying no matter what. It just has this really cool quality to it. It's just so musical and simple to use and it sounds great no matter what. I have no doubts about how good the FEA is going to be. Either the FEA or the Empress will be sold at the end of this experiment. I can't justify keeping all three compressors LOL!
I've had both for a couple days now and I really like them both a whole lot. They do different things for sure, but the one that really shines in my eyes is the Diamond. That stupid pedal is just so well done. If I were to guess right now it's going to come down to the Empress and the FEA at this point. The Diamond is staying no matter what. It just has this really cool quality to it. It's just so musical and simple to use and it sounds great no matter what. I have no doubts about how good the FEA is going to be. Either the FEA or the Empress will be sold at the end of this experiment. I can't justify keeping all three compressors LOL!
It occurs to me that this thread is very like my recent comp thread, except Will is spending about a million more dollars than I did 
I actually like the tilt EQ quite a bit. I can make really quick adjustments to the tone if I needed to. But I like the sound of the EQ at 900 with the EQ knob rolled down to about 11. Of course live it will probably be completely different.
It definitely isn't cheap but I sold one of my other pedals and I intend on selling two of the three comps that I bought, which should recoup most of my money. Ill be out a little bit of cash but I will have the compressor that I want and I didn't have to base it on reading reviews or other people's perceptions.It occurs to me that this thread is very like my recent comp thread, except Will is spending about a million more dollars than I did
Alright, it looks like the Diamond is out. I prefer the Empress for sure. The FEA should be arriving today so I will report back my findings. I am on the fence as to whether Im going to keep two compressors. So someone might get a good deal on an FEA or Empress
Alright, it looks like the Diamond is out. I prefer the Empress for sure. The FEA should be arriving today so I will report back my findings. I am on the fence as to whether Im going to keep two compressors. So someone might get a good deal on an FEA or Empress
Keep them all! Keep them all! Live on beans for 6 months.
The Empress is amazing for all the reasons you (willsellout) noted, including metering. The Diamond is also great, but as I've mentioned in other threads it didn't play well with my higher-output actives so I returned it. My other compressor is a Cali76 G-P -- it's one of the full size Calis, and the G-P stands for Germanium option (which adds sparkle and slight overdrive) and Parallel processing (i.e. clean blend). The G-P was a limited edition, and all of the full-size Calis are now out of production having been replaced by the Compacts, but I'm glad I snagged a G-P even though it's a huge pedal. I will add that the Cali Compacts are well worth considering.
Next on my wish list is an FEA comp (most likely the DE-CL), but overdrive pedals generally provide the compression I need, so as much as I love my Cali and Empress I rarely use 'em. Yes, overdrive plus compression can sound great, but I try to keep things simple (I'm always changing up my pedals from gig to gig so I don't use a pedalboard, I just set 1-3 pedals on the floor in front of my amp).
Next on my wish list is an FEA comp (most likely the DE-CL), but overdrive pedals generally provide the compression I need, so as much as I love my Cali and Empress I rarely use 'em. Yes, overdrive plus compression can sound great, but I try to keep things simple (I'm always changing up my pedals from gig to gig so I don't use a pedalboard, I just set 1-3 pedals on the floor in front of my amp).
When a compressor is considered, warm, fat, imparts it's own voice, etc. what is everyone really talking about?
I have a fair amount of experience with older studio compressors (talking a few thousand hours) and yes an LA3A, 1176, Aphex, dbx, etc. have their own voice but it is not a huge EQ change.
IMO, they are all reasonably flat when below threshold and not that much difference above threshold.
In other words, a clear, clean, vocal track has VERY similar EQ with the above units.
The type of compression is the difference IME.
Pretty much anything dbx is going to react in a quick manner and works very well for electric bass.
A LA3A is pretty slow and smooth and perhaps better suited for certain vocal styles.
So, when you guys talk about smooth and warm of say a Mark Bass tube unit, or clean like the Empress, is there an EQ change or is it the type of compression?
I've spent years working on the voice of my instrument, amp, cabinet, and playing style and am not so sure I want to change the EQ with a pedal although I do like and use compression.
Thoughts?
I have a fair amount of experience with older studio compressors (talking a few thousand hours) and yes an LA3A, 1176, Aphex, dbx, etc. have their own voice but it is not a huge EQ change.
IMO, they are all reasonably flat when below threshold and not that much difference above threshold.
In other words, a clear, clean, vocal track has VERY similar EQ with the above units.
The type of compression is the difference IME.
Pretty much anything dbx is going to react in a quick manner and works very well for electric bass.
A LA3A is pretty slow and smooth and perhaps better suited for certain vocal styles.
So, when you guys talk about smooth and warm of say a Mark Bass tube unit, or clean like the Empress, is there an EQ change or is it the type of compression?
I've spent years working on the voice of my instrument, amp, cabinet, and playing style and am not so sure I want to change the EQ with a pedal although I do like and use compression.
Thoughts?
