Or would a common guitar compression pedal do fine? I`m used to buying fuzzes and they`d obviously sound totally different on bass than on guitar, so I don`t want that to be the case with my future compression buy. Any comments/suggestions?
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Looking for a compression pedal....Do i need one specifically for bass?
- Thread starter soma89
- Start date
Compressors are not instrument specific. However, certain compressors sound better on bass than others, IMO.
Where have I seen this link before?
BTW mods, can we please make this a sticky?
Where have I seen this link before?
BTW mods, can we please make this a sticky?
srsly make this a STICKY!!!
I've owned a couple compressors, when I was rackmounted, I went dbx 160xt then to a 160a, just moved to the Markbass compressore recently, both great compressors.
Used DBX 163x. $49-$99 used.
Have had one in my rack since early 90's
Simple to use....slap a piece of Velcro on it and stick it on a $20 rack shelf. Sound great on bass. Set it and forget it. It even has an instrument input (preamp built in)
And unbalanced in/out if you want to put it on and effect send/return. I use it for recording bass as well.
dbx 163X: This is a half-rack mono unit, and it has inputs for both line level and hi-z (instrument level) signals, which is quite handy. It only has two controls, so operation is very easy. Note there is no bypass switch. The tone is fairly uncolored, the noise level is actually quite low, and the action is moderately punchy. Unfortunately, the lowest and highest frequencies are a little bit attenuated. Also, while the compression is good and smooth, it doesn't limit sharp peaks, and the action is not adjustable. These show up pretty cheaply on Ebay all the time, so if you just want a decent rackmount unit for cheap, this one will do the job fairly well.
Have had one in my rack since early 90's
Simple to use....slap a piece of Velcro on it and stick it on a $20 rack shelf. Sound great on bass. Set it and forget it. It even has an instrument input (preamp built in)
And unbalanced in/out if you want to put it on and effect send/return. I use it for recording bass as well.
dbx 163X: This is a half-rack mono unit, and it has inputs for both line level and hi-z (instrument level) signals, which is quite handy. It only has two controls, so operation is very easy. Note there is no bypass switch. The tone is fairly uncolored, the noise level is actually quite low, and the action is moderately punchy. Unfortunately, the lowest and highest frequencies are a little bit attenuated. Also, while the compression is good and smooth, it doesn't limit sharp peaks, and the action is not adjustable. These show up pretty cheaply on Ebay all the time, so if you just want a decent rackmount unit for cheap, this one will do the job fairly well.
I would think that pedals for guitar would filter out a lot of the low end and also be more sensitive to higher frequencies than low. Better to get a bass pedal.
Rack mounted studio grade compressors are a different story - they are designed to work at all frequencies, in general.
Rack mounted studio grade compressors are a different story - they are designed to work at all frequencies, in general.
FEA Labs, Retrospec, and Empress make some of the best compressors pedals out there, (to name a few). There is nothing about them that says they are bass specific. So saying you should get a bass compressor pedal is misleading, IMO. However, some pedals are better designed for bass. Personally, I would avoid the ross clones, but that is just me.
Best cheap compressor pedal is the old BBE Opto-Stomp. You can get one on ebay for about $50-60 dollars. Sounds great and is dead simple to use. Highly recommended.
Best cheap compressor pedal is the old BBE Opto-Stomp. You can get one on ebay for about $50-60 dollars. Sounds great and is dead simple to use. Highly recommended.
Did you actually try the Empress Compressor? I heard great things about it! I'm GASing big-time for this lil' sparkly box!
I'm not a freak of compression, I just want to add some punch when I play with my thumb/fingers... something like 5-6dB Gain reduction at a 4:1 ratio, nothing too hardcore. I guess the MIX helps keeping the natural decay of the bass.
btw, as a sound engineer, i GOTTA have a gain red meter! I'm very visual when it comes to compression. I know the Diamond comp is great but... no GR meter... not for me!
I have the Empress. I really love it. When dialed in properly it adds a lot of punch and definition without sacrificing any aspect of my tone. You can get quite a bit of output boost if you need it. The mix is interesting. To me, the effect seems like having more variety in compression ratios. I wonder how different it would sound with no mix and continiously variable ratio. The lights are fun, but you still have to listen. They do not replace good ears. If you are a sound engineer, you certainly know that.
Of course, ears are the key when it comes to compression... But still. Im used to looking at gr meter for setting attack/release, especially when I want it to pump in sync with the tempo of the song. Also, it is really useful for sidechaining purposes.
Anyways, cool to hear another good review about the thing. Thanks a lot, I know where a part of my next paycheck is going!
Anyways, cool to hear another good review about the thing. Thanks a lot, I know where a part of my next paycheck is going!
