Been looking at the Empress for a while - Atlas wasn't even on my radar until today. Thanks for that.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Looking for my first bass compressor (4 options)
- Thread starter CoolMcCoolDude
- Start date
If you want a punchy sound that is easy to dial in, check out the new Lusithand Alma comp. based on the
highly regarded Diamond BCP1 but with extra headroom.
highly regarded Diamond BCP1 but with extra headroom.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,634
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
i have an Atlas, an Empress, a Cali76, a Hyperluminal, a Becos Stella, an FEA DE-CL, as well as bunch of others and IMO, you can't really go wrong with any of them.
Last edited:
I like the Keeley Bassist best of all the comps I have tried but I have not tried most of the ones listed in this thread…
I don't think you can go wrong with any of those choices.
I haven't compared them directly, but I currently use a Cali76 and it's definitely my favorite compressor that I've ever used. I love how easy it is to dial in, I was a bit suspicious about the attack/release combo knob but it actually works really well, and simplifies things while still giving a nice range of control, especially for bass.
The built in parallel compression is awesome, and for me it has really simplified mixing (I do a lot of recording) because I actually just use my Cali going into my interface as my main compressor for bass, and the parallel compression is super effective and gives me better results than when I would set up parallel compression in my DAW, at least for the type of recording I do, and it's great in a live setting as well. The HPF really does help to round out the bottom end.
It's actually super easy to dial in really effective results, despite having 6 knobs. It could just be my tinnitus-infested and aging ears, but to me it doesn't colorize the sound a whole lot, though I know a lot of people say it does. There's a certain "vibe" there somewhere if you go looking for it, but to my ears it's actually fairly transparent, especially on more standard settings. I would call it transparent without coming across as "sterile" (I had an MXR-M87 that was good, but kinda sterile).
Again though, I don't think you can really go wrong with any choice, it's really all a matter of preference and what you want out of a compressor.
I haven't compared them directly, but I currently use a Cali76 and it's definitely my favorite compressor that I've ever used. I love how easy it is to dial in, I was a bit suspicious about the attack/release combo knob but it actually works really well, and simplifies things while still giving a nice range of control, especially for bass.
The built in parallel compression is awesome, and for me it has really simplified mixing (I do a lot of recording) because I actually just use my Cali going into my interface as my main compressor for bass, and the parallel compression is super effective and gives me better results than when I would set up parallel compression in my DAW, at least for the type of recording I do, and it's great in a live setting as well. The HPF really does help to round out the bottom end.
It's actually super easy to dial in really effective results, despite having 6 knobs. It could just be my tinnitus-infested and aging ears, but to me it doesn't colorize the sound a whole lot, though I know a lot of people say it does. There's a certain "vibe" there somewhere if you go looking for it, but to my ears it's actually fairly transparent, especially on more standard settings. I would call it transparent without coming across as "sterile" (I had an MXR-M87 that was good, but kinda sterile).
Again though, I don't think you can really go wrong with any choice, it's really all a matter of preference and what you want out of a compressor.
The Empress Bass Comp does both clean and “harmonically enriched” tones well (use the little EQ switch to add two different flavors of this). Supposedly the Atlas as well, though I’ve yet to try one. I can add the Darkglass Hyper Luminal to the list and it does both smooth and aggressive/saturated tones very well (its 1176/FET circuit is both more transparent and more flexible than the Cali76 IME, but also capable of even more grit when using the "all buttons in" mode)
Last edited:
Buy a used Cali76 and if you don't like it, sell it for what you paid for it.
Since we are looking for a first compressor, two thoughts come to mind:
Comps with excellent metering like the Empress make it a lot easier to understand what is happening and dial in a great sound. It can be a lot harder without the shiny thingies.
Opticals seem to be a little more forgiving to dial in. The Diamond, Opto-Smoothie, Budda Chakra, it seems harder to make them sound bad. If I don't need the tweakability of something deeper an optical with a few knobs can make for a sweet stage tone.
Comps with excellent metering like the Empress make it a lot easier to understand what is happening and dial in a great sound. It can be a lot harder without the shiny thingies.
Opticals seem to be a little more forgiving to dial in. The Diamond, Opto-Smoothie, Budda Chakra, it seems harder to make them sound bad. If I don't need the tweakability of something deeper an optical with a few knobs can make for a sweet stage tone.
I don’t have a ton of experience with compressors, but I like the Empress Bass so much I bought an OG Empress Compressor. I love it too! And together - so nice!
I tried the Becos Twain as well. It was very competent but didn’t do it for me.
I tried the Becos Twain as well. It was very competent but didn’t do it for me.
I’ve had an embarrassing number of compressors come and go, the Ovnilab Smoothie has kept its place for close to a decade now.
It brings out the details without crushing dynamics. Nice tone control, and levels for both dry and compressed signal.
I have not been impressed with the comps on my Zoom B3n or the Line 6 HD500x. They are ok for comparing different styles of compression to get an idea of the devices being modeled.
It brings out the details without crushing dynamics. Nice tone control, and levels for both dry and compressed signal.
I have not been impressed with the comps on my Zoom B3n or the Line 6 HD500x. They are ok for comparing different styles of compression to get an idea of the devices being modeled.
It seems that I will have to buy all 3…
Can you feel the GAS in the air?
Cool
Can you feel the GAS in the air?
Cool
Good question. I’m gonna follow along cause I too love diggin into those strings. These are kinda high budget for me but I’m very interested
Earlier this year I went through about 7 compressors trying to find 'the one' compressor pedal (didn't try Cali or Empress but have used Empress before). The Atlas was not out at that point. I nearly bought an ultrawave just for the compressor. In the end I found a few good ones, but not 'the one'. Mozztronics, and before that Keeley were my front runners.
Based on this thread I bought an Atlas today. Straight of of the box 2 of the presets were my new front runners, and I have other SA pedals and am not averse to a bit of fiddling in the editor.
I think the Atlas is 'the one' for me. I have a couple of gigs this weekend, I'll know for sure after that.
Thanks for the thread !
Based on this thread I bought an Atlas today. Straight of of the box 2 of the presets were my new front runners, and I have other SA pedals and am not averse to a bit of fiddling in the editor.
I think the Atlas is 'the one' for me. I have a couple of gigs this weekend, I'll know for sure after that.
Thanks for the thread !
I have a DG Hyper Luminal, a Collaboration Devices The Compressor, a Diamond Bass Comp Jr and a Cali76 and i always go back to the Diamond, if you can grab one you will be very happy
The Lusithand Alma is based on the Diamond Comp, but with a bit more control: NPD. Lusithand Alma compressor
