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New Empress Compressor MKII

#241
Fuzzbass said:
Others have reported that they don't have the issue at all. Mine does have the issue, but it only happens at the tail end of compression, and it's barely noticeable.

Again, the noise mostly just happens with passive basses, and won't happen if the pedal receives a buffered signal.
Click to expand...

Still though, seeing as this is pretty much the most expensive pedal compressor widely available and the manufacturers have acknowledged that there is an issue for some setups I would expect a recall rather than it still just remaining for sale hoping either people don't have the issue with their setup, or don't notice, or go through the hassle of getting it replaced or fixed.

I was keen to get the mk2 but as the versions with the incorrect wiring are still widely available it doesn't give me much confidence that even if I wait 6 months it won't be one of these still in circulation.
 
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#242
SumOne said:
Still though, seeing as this is pretty much the most expensive pedal compressor widely available and the manufacturers have acknowledged that there is an issue for some setups I would expect a recall rather than it still just remaining for sale hoping either people don't have the issue with their setup, or don't notice, or go through the hassle of getting it replaced or fixed.

I was keen to get the mk2 but as the versions with the incorrect wiring are still widely available it doesn't give me much confidence that even if I wait 6 months it won't be one of these still in circulation.
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The mk2 doesn’t have any issues - only the bass comp.

as far as I know any you buy directly at this point do not have the issue. I think you are making a bigger deal out of this than it is. I have the bass comp - with the issue and it’s perfectly usable and it’s still quieter than many comps out there...
 
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#243
SumOne said:
Still though, seeing as this is pretty much the most expensive pedal compressor widely available and the manufacturers have acknowledged that there is an issue for some setups I would expect a recall rather than it still just remaining for sale hoping either people don't have the issue with their setup, or don't notice, or go through the hassle of getting it replaced or fixed.

I was keen to get the mk2 but as the versions with the incorrect wiring are still widely available it doesn't give me much confidence that even if I wait 6 months it won't be one of these still in circulation.
Click to expand...

The MKII doesn’t have the problem.
 
#244
Ah yeah, I mean the Bass comp not the Mk2.

I think my point stands. It isn't clear if units currently in shops still have this issue or not (I'd be buying from the UK so using UK shops rather than buying directly and importing). The post from Empress saying it would be a few weeks to get the new cables seems seems to imply that the units currently available in shops have not had the cables replaced - which isn't inspiring me to buy one gambling if it will have the (small) issue or not. And if I wait a few months from now if there isn't a recall how will I know if the fix has been made on the unit I order or if it's old stock?
 
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#245
Well - I got one of the last affected ones. Serial number is 205.

you could try emailing empress and they might let you know what numbers are affected.

personally - I would just buy one and worry about the fix later. Well actually I did just that.

the issue is minimal in most cases and doubly so with active Basses or any bass going through a buffer (including a wireless system).

Empress is a solid company - they are going to look after you. They have already stated they will swap the whole unit if necessary and even offer up a refund.

I have one with the issue and I still prefer it to their previous version and that’s saying a lot as that one was no slouch either.
 
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#246
What's the current status of shooting out new ribbon cables, or whatever that fix was back when it was discovered? I know they had mentioned it would fix it but they were waiting on parts to confirm, it was just a theory at that point, did it pan out in either direction?
 
#247
labeledbass said:
What's the current status of shooting out new ribbon cables, or whatever that fix was back when it was discovered? I know they had mentioned it would fix it but they were waiting on parts to confirm, it was just a theory at that point, did it pan out in either direction?
Click to expand...

From Empress, a couple weeks ago. I'm on their list for the fix, and have received no update since then.

Mitch -Empress said:
Quick update on the compressor fix - our easy fix, replacing the ribbon cable with a flex PCB works and it does fix the issue. We are waiting for the parts right now. The shop producing the parts came back with an estimate that was longer than we expected, we are seeing if we can source the parts somewhere else faster now but it is looking like the fix will be delayed by a couple weeks as of right now. I'll keep you all updated when I have an exact timeframe when the Flex PCBs will go out.
Click to expand...
 
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#248
Fuzzbass said:
From Empress, a couple weeks ago. I'm on their list for the fix, and have received no update since then.
Click to expand...
After extensive testing our simple fix of replacing the ribbon cable with a flex PCB does the trick. As of right now the parts are scheduled to be delivered on January 11th so we should be able to ship these out early next week. Sorry to everyone that is waiting for these, I know it is a painful wait.
 
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#251
Turn Em Loose said:
Got a Bass Comp on the way. Can't wait!! :hyper:
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Bet you're gonna like it!

Particularly if, like me, your goal is to get the tone benefit of some compression for live work without losing the dynamics of your touch on the strings. IMHO, the combination of built-in parallel compression, a side-chain with variable HPF, and complete metering is winner.
 
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#252
Ewo said:
Bet you're gonna like it!

Particularly if, like me, your goal is to get the tone benefit of some compression for live work without losing the dynamics of your touch on the strings. IMHO, the combination of built-in parallel compression, a side-chain with variable HPF, and complete metering is winner.
Click to expand...

I just got it yesterday. It came with the issue that will be fixed but other than that I can say it’s the best compressor I’ve ever tried. Even with the issue it sounds amazing pretty amazing I literally can go on about how amazing it is.
 
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#255
Kenneth92 said:
I just got it yesterday. It came with the issue that will be fixed but other than that I can say it’s the best compressor I’ve ever tried. Even with the issue it sounds amazing pretty amazing I literally can go on about how amazing it is.
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. My original Empress comp went out the door soon after I got the Empress Bass. The new one's even better, and has more features. I'm not even factoring in size and jack placement, which don't really matter to me (but do to many others, obviously).
 
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#259
Mr. voodoobass said:
Something i quite not understand yet. The hpf side chain knob, does it work without connecting anything in the side chain? Meaning not using trs split into other gear?
I understand it is for setting where the compression starts to kick in, but havn’t got if you have to actually side chain with additional gear?
Click to expand...

IANA tech or engineer, IME, and AFAIK:

The variable HPF knob is very useful even if you don't insert a sidechain signal from somewhere else. The built-in sidechain is what triggers the gain reduction. The manual has a block diagram showing how that works, inside the pedal--and the explanation is well worth reading.

As you said, the variable HPF lets you decide the frequency in the spectrum of your bass's signal at which the compression can be triggered. The practical benefit is to eliminate one of the drawbacks of all the compressors I tried before: no longer will a low note cause the whole signal to be squashed.

And that's why IMHO the Bass Comp is the version to get, rather than the Mk 2. You can fine tune the cutoff frequency, rather than selecting one or the other. To me, that's the money, for sure.
 
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#260
Ewo said:
IANA tech or engineer, IME, and AFAIK:

The variable HPF knob is very useful even if you don't insert a sidechain signal from somewhere else. The built-in sidechain is what triggers the gain reduction. The manual has a block diagram showing how that works, inside the pedal--and the explanation is well worth reading.

As you said, the variable HPF lets you decide the frequency in the spectrum of your bass's signal at which the compression can be triggered. The practical benefit is to eliminate one of the drawbacks of all the compressors I tried before: no longer will a low note cause the whole signal to be squashed.

And that's why IMHO the Bass Comp is the version to get, rather than the Mk 2. You can fine tune the cutoff frequency, rather than selecting one or the other. To me, that's the money, for sure.
Click to expand...

I was back and forward in regards the mkii and the bass version but after getting the bass version I can say that having the schp knob is pure money.
 
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