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recomend a bass compressor

Mytt88

Mytt88

Jan 18, 2011
217
76
#1
Hey guys, I currently own the mxr m87 bass compressor and I love everything about it, apart from one thing. The hiss noise. It drives me insane.

I'm using it to get a Justin Chancellor style tone to 'fatten up' my sound and 'tighten it up' as well as getting presence and clarity.

Can anyone recommend an alternative. I'm probably leaning towards a bass specific rack unit although I would consider another pedal as long as there is no hiss.

Budget is ideally under £200 although I would stretch if there is a stand out alternative that is worth it.

Cheers in advance
 
#6
Might have to stretch your budget just slightly but these are my 2 favorite rack units for bass...
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Another inexpensive alternative that for many was the standard rack unit for many years, the mighty Symetrix 501,
sym501.jpg


There's also the ubiquitous DBX 160x (or "a")...
dbx160.jpg
 
#7
Thanks all for your suggestions.

I will try the Zoom MS-60B out first since it is the cheapest option and I may be able to sell my sansamp bddi, mxr m87, and my eq pedal and actually make a profit. Of course I am hoping the sound quality of this thing is comparable. It looks amazing though.

Empress Compressor looked cool as a pedal although I'm not sure it's bass specific compared to the markbass compressore? and the Symetrix 501 was the rack option that caught my eye, will try those if it doesn't work out.
 
#9
@BassMonstrum

Yes I am sure. Maybe it's because I have an active bass??? but it is well documented that some of those pedals have issues. It really is a great pedal though aside from the hiss. I am quite gutted about it
 
#12
Mytt88 said:
Hey guys, I currently own the mxr m87 bass compressor and I love everything about it, apart from one thing. The hiss noise. It drives me insane.

I'm using it to get a Justin Chancellor style tone to 'fatten up' my sound and 'tighten it up' as well as getting presence and clarity.

Can anyone recommend an alternative. I'm probably leaning towards a bass specific rack unit although I would consider another pedal as long as there is no hiss.

Budget is ideally under £200 although I would stretch if there is a stand out alternative that is worth it.

Cheers in advance
Click to expand...

I am using one of these and I have no hiss coming out of it... It is actually very clean, maybe you should return it if it is a recent purchase you made...:eyebrow:
 
#14
Mytt88 said:
A noise suppressor does help in between gaps when I'm not playing notes but not during. I think I just got unlucky with a defect pedal.

here its explained

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/mxr-m87-compressor-hiss-867124/


I also found this from user bongomania, a website that reviews all different compressors
http://www.ovnilab.com/index.shtml
Click to expand...

That is to bad, hope you find a replacement that will do it for you. I cannot help you as I am new to the compressor world and like I said, I have no issue using it with either my passive P bass or the active SB5000..
 
#15
Could one of you guys please do me a favour if you have the means?

Could you plug your bass direct to the mxr then from your amps/effect unit through headphones. Turn the output past 12 o'clock and let me know if you hear any hiss. It's as soon as I go past 12 o'clock.

unfortunately all the deep desirable tones I want happen at around 2 o'clock +
 
#18
It has been mentioned a few times that some of the M-87s have a hiss issue, which is not normal for the design.

Contact MXR and let them know what's happening. They will fix it for you, most likely by replacing the one you have with another.

It shouldn't be making hissing noises....
 
#19
I'd say for a rack unit the DBX160x/a is great for bass (and everything else). There is a reason it's been an industry standard forever. I used one in my bass rack set-up for a long time. I don't use that rack system anymore but I actually just purchased a Maxon CP9-Pro+ because it is based on the DBX circuit and so far I really love it. It adds great punch to your sound (if that's what you're looking for) but it also does a great job of just evening out dynamics while remaining very transparent.
 
#20
+1 to getting the MXR fixed. Sounds like a defect. Failing that, if you still wish to keep with a pedal, I'll second the suggestion for the Empress. It's IMO the best compressor available for anything in a pedal format. I use it for bass and it's a premium studio grade product. Dead silent.

After trying out many of the big names you hear around on TB I kept the Empress as my first choice and my second board has an Agular TLC. The Agular is another fine pedal with a great sounding compression with good controls designed for the bass player.
 

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