New Caveman Audio BC1 bass compressor

[oomo]

BC1 Bass Compressor | Master Comp. Monster Tone.

Looks pretty serious (and quite a big form factor), but might be interesting. It's only open for pre-orders at the moment, so guessing it'll be a while before we see any sound demos/reviews.

 

[Derek Williams]

Demos here, unfortunately in every demo they are also running the BP1C, so you never hear it completely in isolation:

 

[darkhalf]

Where can we preorder the bc1 and if they ship here in the states? Thank you

 

[Admiral Chew]

Where can we preorder the bc1 and if they ship here in the states? Thank you

I preordered from Bass Direct in the UK and they ship worldwide. There may be more convenient options in the US though.

I’m hoping it will be the final piece of the puzzle for my boards.

 

[darkhalf]

thank you sir. watching demos on YT and man it sounds so good. i will def research more where to get one here in the states . all the best sir.

 

[BostonJazz72]

Where can we preorder the bc1 and if they ship here in the states? Thank you

Hi - John Fox Bass has some on pre order. He is in the States. He said looking at September for delivery from Caveman. I am not sure if they are are spoken for but that is where I ordered mine from.

 

[darkhalf]

Hi - John Fox Bass has some on pre order. He is in the States. He said looking at September for delivery from Caveman. I am not sure if they are are spoken for but that is where I ordered mine from.

Hello sir, Thank you so much for the lead. im gonna try to preorder one. all the best sir! Cheers!

 

[Admiral Chew]

BC1s landed at Bass Direct in the UK and Caveman said they’ve been sending them out to dealers. It’ll be interesting to hear what the consensus is when people have used them.

 

[DumDrummer]

I like to run my compressor at the end of the board to tame dynamics and even things out, but find that the Aguilar TLC I have is easily over driven and distorts. Would be really keen to hear from anyone who tries the Caveman and also has experience with the Effectrode LA-1A.

 

[Admiral Chew]

My BC1 arrived and, I have to say, I really like it. I usually use a Cali76-TX into a Noble and have been looking for another sensibly priced Cali. It’s early days with the BC1 but I can see me calling off the Cali search.

I’m currently running the BC1 with the BP1 (preamp into comp - relatedly, I emailed Caveman asking if they would consider making the 9v tuner out on the BP1 a 12v out to power the BC1 without the need for a PSU) and the resulting tone is lovely and sweet. I plan on using the BC1 with a few preamps but, while I’m stuck with limited time to use it, I’d really like to hear how others are getting on with it.

 

[huebass]

My BC1 arrived and, I have to say, I really like it. I usually use a Cali76-TX into a Noble and have been looking for another sensibly priced Cali. It’s early days with the BC1 but I can see me calling off the Cali search.

I’m currently running the BC1 with the BP1 (preamp into comp - relatedly, I emailed Caveman asking if they would consider making the 9v tuner out on the BP1 a 12v out to power the BC1 without the need for a PSU) and the resulting tone is lovely and sweet. I plan on using the BC1 with a few preamps but, while I’m stuck with limited time to use it, I’d really like to hear how others are getting on with it.

I am very intrigued by this compressor. Formally was wanting a Cali76 tx but too $$ and this one might be a good price range for me. In the last few days have you discovered anything worth noting? Is it awesome? Better, same, worse, different to the Cali? Thanks!

 

[Admiral Chew]

I am very intrigued by this compressor. Formally was wanting a Cali76 tx but too $$ and this one might be a good price range for me. In the last few days have you discovered anything worth noting? Is it awesome? Better, same, worse, different to the Cali? Thanks!

I need to spend some more time with it to be able to say much that’s useful I’m afraid. The BC1 arrived at a similar time to my BP1 and I rushed to use them together; it’s difficult to say with certainty which of them is doing what to my tone. I want to spend some time this week using the BP1 without the BC1 for an extended period and using the BC1 with another preamp.

My early views are that I prefer the tone from my BP1 with the BC1 after it, my preferred tone from the combination gives me a much cleaner/more transparent but compressed sound than the Noble/Cali combination, and I see the two pairings as offering sufficiently different tones that they both have extensive use cases for my aims. I want to check this week whether it’s as good with other preamps (particularly those with tube compression).

I would really have liked the BP1 9v tuner out to be 12v so it could run the BC1; this would be a dream clean board with no need for another PSU.

 

[Derek Williams]

I ordered a BC1 from Bass North here and was told would take 8 weeks for more stock. 1 week later and I got shipping notification, so I’ll be comparing the BC1 with my DLA-2A hopefully in a few days.

 

[huebass]

I ordered a BC1 from Bass North here and was told would take 8 weeks for more stock. 1 week later and I got shipping notification, so I’ll be comparing the BC1 with my DLA-2A hopefully in a few days.

Did you ever receive it? Any chance you can report back your on your recent experience with this compressor? I've been really eyeing one but haven't found a decent (personal) review or such on YouTube yet.

 

[Derek Williams]

Did you ever receive it? Any chance you can report back your on your recent experience with this compressor? I've been really eyeing one but haven't found a decent (personal) review or such on YouTube yet.

Yep, I received it. It’s a very good transparent compressor, you can barely tell it’s on when using it (by design). If that’s what you are looking for then it’s the best I’ve tried. I also got a Doc Lloyd DLA-2A just before the BC1 though, and that’s the one that gets my big recommendation if you want some colour. I like both, so I’m using both in my at-home setup.

 

[huebass]

Yep, I received it. It’s a very good transparent compressor, you can barely tell it’s on when using it (by design). If that’s what you are looking for then it’s the best I’ve tried. I also got a Doc Lloyd DLA-2A just before the BC1 though, and that’s the one that gets my big recommendation if you want some colour. I like both, so I’m using both in my at-home setup.

Will it not impart some "character" if you push the BC1? I do want something that adds at least something. Transparent is overrated! lol jk The DLA-2A looks killer but as usual, you can't buy these types of awesome compressors without them being sold out. :/

 

[Derek Williams]

Will it not impart some "character" if you push the BC1? I do want something that adds at least something. Transparent is overrated! lol jk The DLA-2A looks killer but as usual, you can't buy these types of awesome compressors without them being sold out. :/

You get some of that nice "louder is better" , so I still prefer my tone with the BC1 on. I'll be pairing it with a Caveman BP1 (I should be getting mine back in about a week), so will be getting that little bit extra from there.

 

[AlexMG]

You get some of that nice "louder is better" , so I still prefer my tone with the BC1 on. I'll be pairing it with a Caveman BP1 (I should be getting mine back in about a week), so will be getting that little bit extra from there.

Hi, could you please speak more about your experience with the Caveman compressor? Thanks!

 

[Derek Williams]

Hi, could you please speak more about your experience with the Caveman compressor? Thanks!

It’s very clean and transparent. Quite boring, doesn’t get in the way. It’s perfect if you just want a bit of compression without affecting your tone.