I mainly play a passive jazz and p. I love my Empress compressor. So, its one to try out in the future if you don't love the FEA.
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Maybe about to pull the trigger on some fancy-pants compressor (seeking opinion from users)
- Thread starter Frank77
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You need something fairly high end as I also had phil jones. Personally, I like optical as I feel it's more transparent or just more pleasing to me. i never did use a compressor live due to not needing one. Then i got my Wayne Jones rig w/ built-in compression that's pretty nice, I subtly use it most of the time. In my studio, i like my avalon vt-747.
You really should bring you rig to some store and try a bunch out. Then go get that it used.
You really should bring you rig to some store and try a bunch out. Then go get that it used.
Well, it's already been taken care of: I went for the FEA Lab Opti-FET, and I'm really digging it so far. I experimented quite a bit and now I've found my "almost always on / subtle" setting. When I have some more time on my hand I'll try to come up with my "voluntarily super obvious and extra squishy" setting. That's probably something I'll use more often with my active 5-stringer than with my passive p-bass.
Also, I had to do some juggling around to solve the whole compressor-octaver-envelope filter conundrum and finally decided to put comp first, octaver second and envelope filter third. My EF sounds somewhat better before comp, but my octaver sounds much better after comp (and putting EF before octaver just throws off its tracking - I sometimes use both together). I use octaver way more often than EF, too, so I went that way. I've set the comp for unity gain so I just switch it off when I need to use EF, overdrive or fuzz (that said, it's still on like 90% of the time).
No joke, Phil Jones got me hooked on transparency. Rigs with a heavily baked-in tone make me feel like I'm walking with stilts: I can manage, but something feels a little off and it annoys me. At my "always on" setting, the comp just adds some subtle muscle, and my p-bass still sounds very much like my p-bass.
So I just scored a super clean Wampler Ego for a very fair price off my local CL. Initial demo was promising.
OP may not want to hear it, but the brown Boss LM2B is the best compressor/limiter I've ever played. Just go that route first and see how it fits.
There are SO MANY good compressors out there, and what's perfect for one person may be terrible for another.
Here's the OG on compressor reviews, not updated any more but still an incredible resource:
Compressor Reviews
Scubaduba's compressor reviews on TB:
Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more
And his dedicated site for more detailed reviews:
https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com
Last post in this thread before someone accidentally bumped it was in 2017.
Not sure where the OP is currently standing with compression, or if he's still wearing his fancy pants FEA Opti-Fet
but I've been enjoying the heck out of mine for a few months now. I'm currently switching between the FEA and the Aguilar TLC, so the MXR has been bumped to backup status should anything go wrong with either of the top2 that are on boards.I haven't tried the Boss LM2B myself yet, but after reading this thread the Duncan Studio Bass now has my (unneeded) attention
*sigh*
I haven't tried the Boss LM2B myself yet, but after reading this thread the Duncan Studio Bass now has my (unneeded) attention
It’s a good one (Duncan). I did recently post mine for sale, but not because I disliked it. I just tend to have more in-the box DAW compression needs, and I’ve got another pedal (Empress Zoia) with a compressor function that works for my pedal needs.
If I really miss it, it’s cheap and easy enough to get another.
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Not sure where the OP is currently standing with compression, or if he's still wearing his fancy pants FEA Opti-Fet
Yup, total zombie thread.
Still love the opti-FET. These days I need chorus pretty much every rehearsal, so it's temporarily off my board (which as you know from a different thread I've recently downsize for logistical reasons), but I'm not getting rid of this compressor anytime soon!
I have the LMB-3, which is pretty decent but didn't quite hit my buttons. I think it would make a nice limiting booster for solos and parts you want to pop out more, but just didn't quite trigger me as an always-on like the Opto Comp I just got. I think I discovered that when it comes to compression, my type is optical. Actually it's variable mu, but since you can't fit a Fairchild on a small pedalboard, optical
I have the LMB-3, which is pretty decent but didn't quite hit my buttons. I think it would make a nice limiting booster for solos and parts you want to pop out more, but just didn't quite trigger me as an always-on like the Opto Comp I just got. I think I discovered that when it comes to compression, my type is optical. Actually it's variable mu, but since you can't fit a Fairchild on a small pedalboard, optical
Realizing that by “it” I meant Duncan, which wasn’t clear the way I quoted and responded.
Oh, haven't tried the Duncan. Looks terrific. But I'm fairly happy so far with the Opto Comp and I got it free
