• 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 freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

New ampeg pedals



I am sure there was a time that I would have been excited about either or both of those. As is, the comp seems cool but the amount of controls are vastly lacking. I don't need input/threshold and ratio tied into one comp knob. And the chorus? Sure would be nice to have separate blend and effect levels. It seems to sound ok on that demo but I can think of at least 5 chorus pedals I would rather have. And I am not even a Modulation guy.

The pedal and effects world is light years ahead of what Ampeg is putting out right now IMHO
 
Much as I welcome another compressor into the world, I don’t see anything there that makes it very compelling. There’s companies that have been at it longer who offer loads more with their products. I think Ampeg is far too late to the compressor party to make many inroads into the market with something as basic as theirs. Especially now that Keeley’s Compressor+ has pretty much sewn up the low price level with something that sounds amazing and costs very little money.

Chorus…no opinion. I don’t like the sound of chorus on bass and don’t use it. So I’ll defer commenting on that to someone who does and is.
 
The liquefier is on my maybe list with a Corona or Bass Clone. I have an Ampeg. I think a Corona might be good with it. The Liquefier sounds good in the demo. I tried a Pigtronix compressor, didn't care for it. I'm not getting another compressor until I need it and it'll be either MXR M87 for its hi fi rep or Boss for its multi band.
 
Last edited:
I think the Opto Comp is a little lacking compared to other pedals in it's price range class. To me, the Liquifier seems like a middle of the road entry into it's price range class. It sounds good, yet basic, in the NAMM videos. I don't think $100 is bad for a seemingly solid/rugged pedal from a solid company. But how often am I gonna use a super basic $100 chorus pedal? Not much. I guess $100 isn't much compared to the Aguilar Chorusasaurus($200) or the MXR M83($170)...but these offer so much more. You can probably get a sound just as good from a Boss CEB-3($110). So I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I want the Aguilar! Lol.
 
I like how everyone knows exactly what these pedals sound like and are capable of doing without them even being released yet. Saves the trouble of actually trying them out.
:p

I was thinking the same.
Don't care about the knobs, graphics, colors, or the box it came in.
If it sounds like poop, don't buy it.
If you haven't heard it, hard to judge.
I no longer trust You Tube clips as even some of the pro vids as some have either misleading recordings or odd settings that are not of interest to me.
 
Anyone tried these out yet? Love me some optical compression!

Tried them at NAMM (and chatted up Dino!). To be honest, my ears aren't that developed to really tell the difference between the Opti and the Boss BC-1x I already have. I really dug the Liquifier, however. I never used a chorus before and was excited by the lush swirling effect. I think will be really useful for me. I ordered one from GC and still waiting. Hoping to get it before my April 14 show.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JimmyM
Tried them at NAMM (and chatted up Dino!). To be honest, my ears aren't that developed to really tell the difference between the Opti and the Boss BC-1x I already have. I really dug the Liquifier, however. I never used a chorus before and was excited by the lush swirling effect. I think will be really useful for me. I ordered one from GC and still waiting. Hoping to get it before my April 14 show.
Ya, it's pretty swirly in the samples I've heard, too. I like that. But I'll tell you, on my board, there is no such thing as brand loyalty. Every pedal has to fight to be there or it gets the axe. And I've already got an MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe that kills for what I need. But I will give the Liquifier a fair chance.

Might not be so fair to the Compressor, though. I became a raging non-fan of compression 10 years ago after forgetting to turn it on one night, then turning it on and turning it right back off. I've recently tried it again, and I'm still jury out. Got a little Kokko that's based somewhat on a CS-2 and only costs $20, and a Boss LMB-3 that I like better overall because the Kokko overdoes bringing up the quieter sounds. But I'm not using either of them on a regular basis because I think I just don't like it that much anymore. Maybe the Ampeg will change my mind. Wouldn't put money on it but stranger things have happened.
 
I have the Bass Chorus Deluxe. MXR is off the chain.;) The crossover on the BCD is a cool sound, it's soft without being to wet. I can turn the crossover off with the button if I want to be wet. The flanger switch is cool, I don't have to use the knobs just the two buttons. I use the flange with my MXR Bass Octave Deluxe.
I know the Bass Clones like $65 and has the crossover button but I didn't try that one. I'm going for the better stuff. If your going to spend your money you might as well go all the way.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JimmyM
I have the Bass Chorus Deluxe. MXR is off the chain.;) The crossover on the BCD is a cool sound, it's soft without being to wet. I can turn the crossover off with the button if I want to be wet. The flanger switch is cool, I don't have to use the knobs just the two buttons. I use the flange with my MXR Bass Octave Deluxe.
I know the Bass Clones like $65 and has the crossover button but I didn't try that one. I'm going for the better stuff. If your going to spend your money you might as well go all the way.
That's kind of how I felt about it. I didn't try the Bass Clone, but I did try the MXR Analog Chorus and felt like it would have done a good job for me, too. But I got the BCD because of the flanger and the xover, which as it turns out, I don't ever use. The flanger won't do the cool rocketship sounds but I like what it does.
 
I play for 15 years and also have mixing and studio production background so compression is my best friend basically. Currently in the market for a compressor pedal and I listened to a bunch of them that are currently out there and really, completely unbiased I can tell that what I heard in that short sample from Dino with Opto Comp sounds so beefed up and nicely compressed, like fat warm sound...I just decided to order it. I love to compress the living hell out of my sound and make it nice and even so I can cut through the mix with every note. I want that s*** to sound like a MIDI bass. Punching you in the face equally with every hit. 0 dynamics please. Dynamic is for jazz. And I play pop/rock/metal so....squash is the sound I am looking for. Not transparency. This Ampeg sounds like it does that perfectly. Strangling those notes and sending them to hell so you can rise them back up from the dead with that Output Level knob. It goes all the way up to 20:1 ratio ...hell yeah.

People are complaining about lack of knobs and features well, make a decision based on what you hear not what you see. EBS MultiComp has only 2 knobs too and everyone is losing their S*** over it and praise the sound of it. Also don't forget that LA2A is one of the best, most expensive, legendary and most used compressors ever on every record and has just 3 knobs. LA3A... same thing.
In that price range there is also TC Spectra Comp but to me that thing sounds like a giant gain knob not a compressor and it's played by all these slappers and funk players which is a major turn off because they all sound the same and boring. No rocker is using Spectra comp so I kept looking. Also for under a 100$ EH Bass Preacher has no real value to me based on what I heard even though there's barely any sound samples of it out there. MXR has the most features and I was gonna get it but sounds too clean and sterile for my taste.
We will see...I will order Ampeg Bass Opto Comp and post a review as soon as it arrives. I hope to upload my demo/review by the end of April because that's when it will be shipping. And it will be legit review not some slapping-tapping bulls**t.
 
Last edited:
I play for 15 years and also have mixing and studio production background so compression is my best friend basically. Currently in the market for a compressor pedal and I listened to a bunch of them that are currently out there and really, completely unbiased I can tell that what I heard in that short sample from Dino with Opto Comp sounds so beefed up and nicely compressed, like fat warm sound...I just decided to order it. I love to compress the living hell out of my sound and make it nice and even so I can cut through the mix with every note. I want that s*** to sound like a MIDI bass. Punching you in the face equally with every hit. 0 dynamics please. Dynamic is for jazz. And I play pop/rock/metal so....squash is the sound I am looking for. Not transparency. This Ampeg sounds like it does that perfectly. Strangling those notes and sending them to hell so you can rise them back up from the dead with that Output Level knob. It goes all the way up to 20:1 ratio ...hell yeah.

People are complaining about lack of knobs and features well, make a decision based on what you hear not what you see. EBS MultiComp has only 2 knobs too and everyone is losing their S*** over it and praise the sound of it. Also don't forget that LA2A is one of the best, most expensive, legendary and most used compressors ever on every record and has just 3 knobs. LA3A... same thing.
In that price range there is also TC Spectra Comp but to me that thing sounds like a giant gain knob not a compressor and it's played by all these slappers and funk players which is a major turn off because they all sound the same and boring. No rocker is using Spectra comp so I kept looking. Also for under a 100$ EH Bass Preacher has no real value to me based on what I heard even though there's barely any sound samples of it out there. MXR has the most features and I was gonna get it but sounds too clean and sterile for my taste.
We will see...I will order Ampeg Bass Opto Comp and post a review as soon as it arrives. I hope to upload my demo/review by the end of April because that's when it will be shipping. And it will be legit review not some slapping-tapping bulls**t.
Root notes only, please.
 

Latest posts