• 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.

NEED TONE HELP ASAP!!!!

#21
Compression can be very musical if done right. But I think I'm done with it. I like the sound of my rigs much better without it. If the soundman wants to compress me a little (just a little), I don't mind, but one night I forgot to turn my comp on, and I discovered that I like listening to my rigs as they are much better. I don't even like compressing my recordings anymore.
 
#22
deeptubes said:
Compression robs me of "my sound". Don't care for it at all. If I'm playing soft, I want it to sound that way. If I'm beating the hell out of my bass, I want it to sound like it. I don't want every note to sound the same. Control your own sound. Don't leave it up to a machine.

I have a 400w Fender and a BassPOD XT Pro, both of which have a compressor. They are both set at 0. I've been playing for more than 25 years. I hit my strings very consistently.

If you have a '69 Camaro with a 454, why would you put a 350 in it? That's what compression is to me, a step back.
Click to expand...

Groan. Every word of that is based on not knowing how to use a compressor.

Plus making the mistake of thinking the cruddy one-knob comp built into an amp head, or a cheesy digital effects unit, is representative of how comps in general can work or sound.
 
#26
99.9% of all recorded bass is tracked with compression, and then compressed further on mixdown, and again (inevitably) during mastering.

I fact, bass is the one thing that most mix engineers want to be a total constant, most of the time, barring any automation during parts where the bass needs to be louder - perhaps during a bass fill or a part where the drums drop out.

I can understand why players feel it robs them of control, or 'their sound', but the fact is that on any recording, or when your bass is going through a professional PA system, it is going to get compressed.

So PA-wise, it's probably better that you do it with pedals or whatever, so you have some control over the compression. For recording, totally leave it to the engineer - or ask if your pedals are going to help. If he's wanting to track through an 1176, it's unlikely that you can better that with your gear....

Sorry, a bit OT! Back to your regular scheduled service.....
 
#28
The compressor is not going to affect the EQ of your tone. It compresses but isn't going to make it more or less bassy, trebly, whatever. I have the same one, and all it does is compress.

Since no one can hear the amp, or know exactly what you are looking for:

Tuern the knobs up one at a time to see which one produces the nastiest sounding tone that you don't want. Then use that to instead cut out the frequencies you want to get rid of.


And since you said you are relatively new to bass - many have found that the ideal tone for a good mix with a band is NOT the one that sounds really good when you are solo in your room at lower volumes. For the band there should be more midrange, a little more honk-clank than you think. Just an opinion.
 
#29
Adjusting a full range compressor absolutely will affect the EQ. Squash the whole signal and the portions with the most energy, ie the lows and low mids, will get squashed more than the portions with less energy.

It won't be as drastic as turning an EQ knob, but to suggest that all compressors are transparent outside of a reduction in dynamic range is silly.
 
#30
silky smoove said:
to suggest that all compressors are transparent outside of a reduction in dynamic range is silly.
Click to expand...


Fortunately I did not suggest that all compressors are transparent outside of a reduction in dynamic range. :)

I did state that I use THAT compressor and find it has no appreciable effects on the tonal balance. It is also equipped with a sidechain filter to further reduce (if needed) the effect of the phenomenon you described .
 
#33
JimmyM said:
I don't about the percentage, but you're right that this happens a lot...AND IT SUCKS! This is why recordings seem to have no dynamics anymore.
Click to expand...

Who knew there would be contention on TB? This isn't about wire! :)

Some folks have grown up listening to music that has been extremely processed.
I have seen the good effect, in the studio, compression can have. I have heard it done really well.


Music is about time and space and passages that are of different volumes. To get top 40 to play on a stereo and on a one speaker car radio and sound similar we have an industry that squashes the nuances.

Our conversation was about their use in live settings based on the OPs issues.

Some bassists have a very measured even technique requiring no compression limiting etc.

Others don't, or may not have learned to play without compression.

To the OP I was suggesting that he start with a simple signal chain first. He may really like his rig if he hears it.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back