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OVNIFX Smoothie Compressor
- Thread starter boomertech
- Start date
Having put each head to head I don't think you would be able to tell a difference between the optical and vca Smoothie.
Thanks,
Just to confirm, during both solo play and with a group, the two types of compression are nearly identical?
I can only speak for the OTA but it is phenomenal for rock and r&b tones. I’m playing an American Pro P Bass through it (Stock pups fairly close to the strings) as well as a Modulus Q6 (Bartolini pre trimmed back a bit to roughly match the p bass output). I haven’t been able to clip this older OTA. Maybe my old G&L would’ve clipped it, but I’m satisfied with the headroom on the original. That was not my experience with some other pedals, especially the Pigtronix which maybe didn’t clip but just clamped down on everything way more than I wanted (two separate but related issues with gain and compressors). I’d say the Pigtronix would be perfect if you like a very forward Sheehan or Wimbish type sound. Hard to get a subtle setting on that one.
In general this great Smoothie design will work for any kind of music. It has everything you might want to do to bass signal in the studio short of a side chain. The split signal levels with the EQ applied only to the compressed signal work so much better than any other Blend knob I’ve tried. Never mind a pedal that doesn’t let you mix the two. You can add focused thickness or defined bite depending on how you play and the mix of your band. I favor the bass side of the tilt EQ and bring my dry level up until it sounds just like me but “on a great record”.
There’s a probably a setting for your preferred tone somewhere in there. Definitely worth trying out at the very least. I prefer it to MultiComp, Aguilar TLC, Markbass Compressore and Philosopher’s Bass. Those are all fine pedals. I just think the Smoothie is the best bang for the buck and the most flexible. The small size and basic 9v make it just about unbeatable.
In general this great Smoothie design will work for any kind of music. It has everything you might want to do to bass signal in the studio short of a side chain. The split signal levels with the EQ applied only to the compressed signal work so much better than any other Blend knob I’ve tried. Never mind a pedal that doesn’t let you mix the two. You can add focused thickness or defined bite depending on how you play and the mix of your band. I favor the bass side of the tilt EQ and bring my dry level up until it sounds just like me but “on a great record”.
There’s a probably a setting for your preferred tone somewhere in there. Definitely worth trying out at the very least. I prefer it to MultiComp, Aguilar TLC, Markbass Compressore and Philosopher’s Bass. Those are all fine pedals. I just think the Smoothie is the best bang for the buck and the most flexible. The small size and basic 9v make it just about unbeatable.
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I have the older Smoothie. Only one of my basses will clip it; a Roscoe SKB 4, but I have to dial up some extreme midrange boost to do it. (This particular Roscoe has a huge EQ range.)
I'm mostly playing active basses, but lately I've started using this with a 65P (passive) and it really excels there. Also using it with an older Tobias (active) and it kills there too.
- Apr 20, 2009
- 2,618
- 4,664
- Disclosures
- Endorsements: your name could be here, Mr. Sadowsky!
I can confirm, my 1980 L2000 will clip it (and almost everything else).
- Apr 20, 2009
- 2,618
- 4,664
- Disclosures
- Endorsements: your name could be here, Mr. Sadowsky!
A lot of the compressor discussion moved here Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more | Page 287 | TalkBass.com, and bongomania comments from time to time.
Great, thank you.... Look like that read will keep me busy for a while! Lol
id say the Smoothie is different from both the original Empress and the new Empress bass version (which is what I got).
yes and no. I don’t own the old one so it’s memory. With the switch in the middle, no, except that I find the sidechain high pass knob indispensable.
With the harmonic distortion options in the other two settings, it’s a whole other beast.
With the harmonic distortion options in the other two settings, it’s a whole other beast.
I still love my original smoothie and will never let it go.
Well, if you haven't already heard the news, there is currently an issue with the new Empress Bass: the -1 and -2 dB LEDs can generate mild static as they fade out. Empress believes they have a DIY fix which they'll provide for free, but it's still in testing. Anyway, you can possibly use that issue to talk yourself out of one.
Aside from that glitch, the Empress Bass is an amazing comp: all the goodness of the original, plus more.
But the Smoothie is also amazing. I have the second-newest version, the one where you had to choose between Tough and Suave (I chose Tough) -- as opposed to the newest version where you can select between both. It's also a keeper.
