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My Dirt Bender - Another Jounal
- Thread starter el murdoque
- Start date
EHX Batallion? It has two EQ bands in the mid-range, straddling your desired point, but everything else is there, including a one-knob compressor. The drive has its own tone control and its position vis a vis the EQ section can be adjusted.
On the optical compressor front, the Walrus Mira is very good. It’s discontinued, but they’re around.
@sunbeast
I asked Cioks about the power. It's a total of 48W from the DC-7, no matter what you connect.
I also asked about the plugs, and they said the Cioks 8 and the Crux are meant as DC-7 extension pedals, while the Cioks 4 can also be driven by a variety of inputs (which is true, on my test bench I have the 4 driven by a cheap laptop power brick). The 8 and Crux and DC-7 have that somewhat propriety barrel jack, while the 4 has a more common one.
I asked Cioks about the power. It's a total of 48W from the DC-7, no matter what you connect.
I also asked about the plugs, and they said the Cioks 8 and the Crux are meant as DC-7 extension pedals, while the Cioks 4 can also be driven by a variety of inputs (which is true, on my test bench I have the 4 driven by a cheap laptop power brick). The 8 and Crux and DC-7 have that somewhat propriety barrel jack, while the 4 has a more common one.
The Batallion has a complete feature set and it's cheap. Might look into that, even though I've never played an EHX overdrive that was fun. Fuzz, they obviously can do, but overdrive for bass?
Are we into optical comps now? As far as my education goes, the optical ones are not among the fastest and for peak limiting you need fast, no?
I have one, it's a great compressor, but I like the Echo Fix more since it has both a HPF and Mix knobs both of which the 76 does not have. The 76 is also absurdly tall compared to all the rest of my pedals so placement is tricky. I found it needs to be on the back row or it's hard to tap any pedals behind it.
That was my thinking.
Using the comp last in chain, as DI, so I can use a preamp without.
Of course there will be the problem of that pedal using up half the pedalboard, which makes the choice harder.
Not having a clean blend does not worry me. I mainly use the comp as a brick wall, so it's set 100% wet anyway.
The other pedal that interests me would be the Fairfield Accountant.
Maybe these two smaller options fit the bill:
www.wamplerpedals.com
becosfx.com
There is a new Becos model as well but the DI is on the right side, however since it is TRS style a right angle cable would negate the placement since it also has side jacks.
Cory Wong: Compressor - Wampler Pedals
The Cory Wong Compressor is a dual footswitch Compressor and Boost pedal with Wampler’s legendary tone shaping controls, a Boost mode switch for either a flat frequency or rich saturated mid boost, unique “Comp On” mode to bypass the footswitch, and XLR connectivity for recording or live use.
www.wamplerpedals.com
CompIQ STELLA Pro Compressor Pedal for Bass and Guitar
The CompIQ Stella Pro is an exceptionally capable compressor/limiter pedal with a comprehensive range of parameters, allowing unparalleled control over playing dynamics.
becosfx.com
Greer Lightspeed arrived. Works very well on bass guitar. DCX shootout in progress.
Never used the Batallion, or any other EHX dirt pedal (my only EHX pedal is the Flanger Hoax, which only comes out for special occasions. I suspect I have some kind of ill-defined prejudice against EHX, but I’m not sure what it would be based on; presumably something to do with my mother).
You’re correct re: optical comps in general. I thought someone else mentioned the Omnicomp, which I believed to be optical, but I am probably mistaken (edit: I checked, and it does appear to be optical). The Mira can do pretty short attack times, but it’s not an 1176-type, to be sure. The Wampler Ego76 is probably good, and in a standard enclosure, but if you’re going down this wormhole now, you may be best served by looking into scubaduba’s compressor review website. My compressor jouney (see what I did there?) ended with the Echo Fix, but I have a few nice ones.
Another edit: someone else mentioned the Doc Lloyd Photon Death Ray, another optical compressor (LA-2A type, I believe), so I’m pleased to report the insanity lies elsewhere
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The reason I suggested it is because it’s 1176 inspired.
I love the Accountant, and actually think it deserves your attention for the Dirt Journal, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a general-use limiting compressor. It’s definitely got a lot of flavor to the tone and compression action, plus the grit that it does well that isn’t really easy to dial in with any specificity without adjusting the signal level going into the pedal. I really love the compression action it can have, there is a particularly aggressive attack envelope to the compression that nothing else I’ve tried could do quite the same (something that is reminiscent of the more characterful settings of an 1176 for sure). I used to use mine as a sort of dirty character boost in a grungy hardcore band I was in, it was tough to not just leave it on all the time though!
I really am ambivalent on EHX. I do have a standard, big box big muff - and the older muffs along with the old memory man pedals are sought after and fetch premium prices. The Bass Soul Food is a terrible pedal IMHO, and I've witnessed many EHX pedals dying on the job.
The Omnicomp is championed by @sloppy_phil , who thinks it is the GOAT in the pedal comp category, no matter what's under the hood - and the Doc Lloyd was mentioned because I said the Omnicomp has a boring name and look, and in the name and look department, it's hard to beat the Doc Lloyd Super Photon Death Ray.You’re correct re: optical comps in general. I thought someone else mentioned the Omnicomp, which I believed to be optical, but I am probably mistaken (edit: I checked, and it does appear to be optical). The Mira can do pretty short attack times, but it’s not an 1176-type, to be sure. The Wampler Ego76 is probably good, and in a standard enclosure, but if you’re going down this wormhole now, you may be best served by looking into scubaduba’s compressor review website. My compressor jouney (see what I did there?) ended with the Echo Fix, but I have a few nice ones.
Another edit: someone else mentioned the Doc Lloyd Photon Death Ray, another optical compressor (LA-2A type, I believe), so I’m pleased to report the insanity lies elsewhere
Other than that, I think I did enjoy playing FET comps most. I don't have much of a drive to try out more comps since I really always come back to the old version Cali76 Compact Bass, but the one's I'd still be willing to try would be:
-Cali Big Box
-Echo Fix - because it's also based on the 1176, has the HPF, but on top of that it also has a VU meter and the all buttons mode.
-Warm Audio because it's smaller than the Echo Fix, also has a VU meter
-Fairfield Accountant because its small and quirky
-Becos .. I forgot the name. The super small one with lots of knobs.
BTW, I don't know if I mentioned it, but recently, I was looking at what Victoria Di Angelis of Maneskin uses to get her tone and I found that she has two Italian made drive pedals on her board along with a RAT. They are called Agata by Effetidiclara.
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My local guitar shop is a Strymon dealer and I was able to briefly audition the new Fairfax using the P-bass and headphones. It worked well on bass, no low end loss, and the drive was appealing. I am now intrigued.
I also played their Science Amplification Mother Preamp and was impressed.
Strymon has their chops on the digital side for sure, but apparently they also have an analog team, maybe so they can replicate analog tones digitally? Regardless, their new analog run of pedals (starting with the Fairfax) will be interesting to see what comes out. Guitar pedals are always weird for bass, some work fine, others don't. Especially when it comes to drive. The Fairfax seems like it would do well on bass, but not sure about what else is up their sleeve.
Something I had not known is that Strymon did an all analog optical compressor for bass before:
www.strymon.net
Optical Compression for your Pedalboard: OB.1 Guitar and Bass Compressor - Strymon
Optical compressors like the Teletronix LA-2A are revered for their natural, musical compression. What is optical compression and what can it do for you?
www.strymon.net
Something I had not known is that Strymon did an all analog optical compressor for bass before:
Optical Compression for your Pedalboard: OB.1 Guitar and Bass Compressor - Strymon
Optical compressors like the Teletronix LA-2A are revered for their natural, musical compression. What is optical compression and what can it do for you?
Not really, unless it has...THE BASS MOD! - Many distortion pedal circuits and high gain guitar amp channels yield best results if superfluous bass frequencies are filtered prior to the high gain stage(s). The frequency of the low E string on a guitar is 82.41 Hz. With these two facts in mind, OB.1 was designed to start rolling off bass frequencies at about 80Hz, for optimal interaction with high-gain guitar preamp and drive pedal circuits. However, OB.1 is also available without this filtering. For those who want to use OB.1 with bass, the pedal is available with a Bass Guitar Modification, which removes the high-pass filtering, thereby expanding the low-end range. With the optional Bass Guitar Modification, OB.1 offers the smooth, musical compression sought after by professional bassists on stage and in the studio.
I've been at a small private jam last night. Here's my report on the new pedals that I've not tested with others:
-Horrothia Type One Chorus: I feel like I can safely proclaim my Chorus thing is over. This pedal is great and works well in a mix.
-Dunlop Bass Mini Wah: It's still squeaky although I gave every crucial bit that I could find a small blob of grease, but in a mix, you don't hear the pedal squeak, and playing loud(ish), I could not even feel it through my foot. What I could hear was the mwah. Very vocal, quite chewy. I have the one knob it has to edit the sound set to max, of course. The bandpass nature of the thing makes it work well even with no other pedals playing into it, when you play it right.
-Effectrode Tube Drive: Not exactly a new addition, but I brought it yesterday because when you run the gain at noon, it's a brutal funk machine with the wah.
But it also surprised at low gain levels. The dirt is quite gentle, even though there is a lot of it, and it works beautifully.
We played one song where the guitar player looped a chord progression that sounded like the intro of a metal song - he even said as much. We toyed around on that, creating a weird hybrid of Scandinavian 90's metal and Elevator Jazz. I could run a lot of dirt into that lick and experiment with the wah - playing straight 8ths and a very simple line, but then providing the rhythmic accents by pressing down on the wah felt really cool.
At this point, I'm back to pondering how to mount the Effectrode on the board in a way that makes sense.
-Horrothia Type One Chorus: I feel like I can safely proclaim my Chorus thing is over. This pedal is great and works well in a mix.
-Dunlop Bass Mini Wah: It's still squeaky although I gave every crucial bit that I could find a small blob of grease, but in a mix, you don't hear the pedal squeak, and playing loud(ish), I could not even feel it through my foot. What I could hear was the mwah. Very vocal, quite chewy. I have the one knob it has to edit the sound set to max, of course. The bandpass nature of the thing makes it work well even with no other pedals playing into it, when you play it right.
-Effectrode Tube Drive: Not exactly a new addition, but I brought it yesterday because when you run the gain at noon, it's a brutal funk machine with the wah.
But it also surprised at low gain levels. The dirt is quite gentle, even though there is a lot of it, and it works beautifully.
We played one song where the guitar player looped a chord progression that sounded like the intro of a metal song - he even said as much. We toyed around on that, creating a weird hybrid of Scandinavian 90's metal and Elevator Jazz. I could run a lot of dirt into that lick and experiment with the wah - playing straight 8ths and a very simple line, but then providing the rhythmic accents by pressing down on the wah felt really cool.
At this point, I'm back to pondering how to mount the Effectrode on the board in a way that makes sense.
