Not two knobs, but the Keeley Bassist is about as simple and easy to use as it gets. Easy to dial in and comes with an excellent manual that explains the theory of operation, offers some suggested default settings, and also shows you precisely how you
don’t ever want to set it. Which alone is worth its weight in gold.
The three knobs are ratio (amount of compression); threshold (at what level compression kicks in) and gain, which is self explanatory. All the other standard compressor factors (attack, decay, hard/soft knee, etc.) are handled for you and adjusted automatically. Something some of the higher end and more complex compressors are starting to offer as a switch selectable setting.
Bottom line: the Bassist is transparent and silent in operation, does what needs doing, and is almost impossible to make yourself sound bad while using it. It also packs a huge amount of gain. It also can double as a clean boost pedal by setting the ratio knob to 1:1, which basically means zero compression.
If you want something even easier to use that packs even more functionality, check out the Dry Bell Unit 67. It’s a
combination boost/Rangemaster-like spectrum knob/2-band EQ/one switch+one knob compressor that does really nice things for bass. This elegant looking box is definitely a player’s piece of kit.
My only regrets about owning one is I didn’t buy it sooner. It’s since become my all-in-one everyday pedalboard. Almost everything I’d need for a gig is contained in this pedal - except for a tuner and DI.
It’d take a lot of typing for me to discuss this pedal completely. So to save me from having to do that I suggest you check out Dry Bell’s website where they explain in detail what the Unit 67’s design goals and features are all about. Link
here.
TB’s resident compressor guru Scubaduba did a review of it
here.
Lots to like for around $289 last I looked. Not bad at all considering the Keeley Bassist goes for $199 new. (I’m only quoting new prices for comparison because Unit 67s don’t seem to show up on the used market very often. I’m assuming it’s because their owners are keeping them.)
