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Looking for a basic compression pedal

#21
tothemax said:
I'm fairly happy with my overall tone, but would like to add a bit of compression. I've owned the Boss CS-3 pedal before and I didn't find that it helped much for guitar tones and traded it off many moons ago. My gig setup is an Ampeg BA210v2 with a Porta Flex 2x10 cab, I do use a bit of the "Scrambler" OD circuit to add a little dirt.

My signal chain is very basic: tuner --> MXR 10 band EQ --> amp.

What would you suggest for a compression effect pedal to get started with. Good tone control without a huge learning curve.

Cheers
Click to expand...
I like the Wampler ego mini on bass. Been using it for years. Right out of the box it adds punch and seats the bass nicely in the mix without having to fiddle with it much.
 
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#22
nanbanpapa said:
BOSS BC-1X

If you leave the knobs at 12', you already have a great sound. You don't need to make too many adjustments.
It´s digital, it has a lot of headroom for hot signals. It will divide your sound by different band frequencies and compress them individually, which is excellent for bass. Even though sounds fancy, it is dumb-proof, thus serves me greatly :)
Click to expand...

That one is digital right? Which may be something the OP needs be aware of with regards to power demands.

I always wanted to try of of these. I'm guessing it's a very transparent compressor? And not like the multitude of pedals that with varying success try to simulate classic, vintage studio compressors and/or tubes?
 
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#26
+1 Keeley Bassist. It is a transparent style comp that is extremely easy to dial in. I use it as a limiter to tame down the volume of overly aggressive techniques live. If you are looking for something to add sparkle or overdrive, probably look elsewhere.
 
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#27
Empress MKii. Don’t let all the knobs scare you away. Start with everything straight up and make a couple of tweaks. Sounds so good!
IMG_5335.jpeg

Or if you really want something simplified, I really dig my Xotic SP Compressor. 2 knobs! Sounds killer!
IMG_5336.jpeg
 
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#30
tothemax said:
I'm fairly happy with my overall tone, but would like to add a bit of compression. I've owned the Boss CS-3 pedal before and I didn't find that it helped much for guitar tones and traded it off many moons ago. My gig setup is an Ampeg BA210v2 with a Porta Flex 2x10 cab, I do use a bit of the "Scrambler" OD circuit to add a little dirt.

My signal chain is very basic: tuner --> MXR 10 band EQ --> amp.

What would you suggest for a compression effect pedal to get started with. Good tone control without a huge learning curve.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Boss BC-1X Bass Comp. Hands down the best combination of performance and ease of use on the market for bass guitar. Until you learn how to operate a multiband digital compressor without training wheels, this is the one to buy, and frankly, it's likely all you will ever need.

You can spend a lot more money, but you won't get better, you can only get more flexible units.
 
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#31
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#32
tothemax said:
I'm fairly happy with my overall tone, but would like to add a bit of compression. I've owned the Boss CS-3 pedal before and I didn't find that it helped much for guitar tones and traded it off many moons ago. My gig setup is an Ampeg BA210v2 with a Porta Flex 2x10 cab, I do use a bit of the "Scrambler" OD circuit to add a little dirt.

My signal chain is very basic: tuner --> MXR 10 band EQ --> amp.

What would you suggest for a compression effect pedal to get started with. Good tone control without a huge learning curve.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Agular 599.
 
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#34
Did a bit of testing last night with the compressor both before and after the EQ in the signal chain. Ended up putting it in front of the EQ, sending a compressed and balanced signal to the EQ made sense, and I think it did sound better. The Mira pedal is very transparent tone wise and does what it's supposed to do. While it doesn't really add "punch" it does seem to clean up the overtones and add "tighten" up the notes which is what I was looking for. It took a while but I'm finally learning that while pedals add to your tone, they are not substitute for technique.

Appreciate all the feedback form the forum and this looks like my gig setup going forward (well you know... :smug:).

One of the discoveries I made with the Mira pedal purchase was that they recommend an isolated power supply with 200ma minimum for the pedal to work properly. To avoid an extra wall wort, I replaced the Gator power supply that came with the mini board with a Joyo rechargeable unit. Only had it a few days, but seems to be a solid unit, and the fact that it works cordlessly is pretty cool. It has 4x9v 100ma, 3x9v 500ma, and a 9v/12v/18v 100ma connection, on this small pedal board I'm thinking it should easily last a few hours. I ordered mine from Amazon last week and it was $55, looks like the price has gone up to $69 (ahh, $55 is the Amazon Prime price). Anyway, thought I would share

 
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