Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more

I was thinking more of the effect it would have on the Low B string response. Some compressors are notorious for losing the low end when you use them.

 

That means this compressor is very quiet by design. If such a low ratio of compression is set at maximum, then there is not much need for a makeup gain to recover, so there will be no noise added from amplification. It looks like an "always on" compressor to me. It would be nice to have a "noise comparison" for compressors, all having set the same ratio.

 

From my understanding, we generally don't perceive changes in volume that are less than 3dB and most cab will struggle to reproduce 30/40 Hz fundamentals.
Having the CompIQ, I can't hear any loss of low end on the B or any other string at any threshold/ratio settings.

 

I'm a big fan of their Sick As overdrive, I'm sure their compressor is top quality. I hope you can test one soon.

 

My test is if I perceive any tonal difference if the comp is in or out. I get no loss from my Keeley's, Whirlwind OC or my new Ampeg Opto.

 

Yep, I can only speak for myself as perception is indeed a subjective matter and YMMV but for me, it definitely share the same tonal qualities as the Keeleys.

 

What do you think of the Opto? I just picked one up and so far, for the price, simplicity, Small size and 9v, it's a really good compressor. Its not quite as nice as my Diamond that is more than twice the cost, but it works better with active basses and with a simple 9v you can toss it in your gig bag, etc.

 

So, I joined this forum today because I was trying to get some info on a Maxon vs MXR compression pedal, but after reading through your reviews I'm leaning more toward either a Smoothie, Studio Bass, or Empress.

A bit of background, I currently play a Fender Jazz Bass with a worship band. I've been using our music minister's Boss CS-3 because I don't have a compressor of my own, but am interested in an upgrade. We play a lot of praise songs the likes of Hillsong and Elevation, along with modernized traditional gospel tunes. I'm looking for something easy and efficient, with a sound that's more natural, but strong, and that plays well with acoustic guitars and multiple vocalists.

As I said, I'm most interested in the Smoothie, Studio Bass, and Empress. Is there one you would lean toward more than the other considering the context? Or am I completely off base?

 

I know these have been covered but, I just recieved the Smoothie and I must say Im blown away. It is by far the the best comp I have used. The Keeley Bassist was great! The Markbass compressore is fantastic. EBS multicomp is just okay.
Im not a technical expert but to my ears, the Smoothie is just so darn sweet. I compared all of them. The MB sounds darker than the Smoothie. Bongo did a great job with the parameters on the Smoothie. His suggested settings are right on with my ear. Just a bit of adjustment to the attack knob and I'm in heaven. My pratice routine has never sounded so good. I cant wait to gig with it this weekend!

 

I love the Opto about as well as my Keeley Bassist. I just used it 10 nights in a row on a show and it sounded great. Being optical, It's warmer than the Keeley and does a good job. It's pretty darned close to my Whirlwind OC in terms of smoothness. I love the vintage vibe.

 

I love the Smoothie and the Empress. Both have wet/dry blend which makes subtle compression easy IMO. I don't know how you feel about metering, but the Empress' LED ladder is second-to-none for a pedal: easy to tell at a glance what the compressor is doing. Yes, of course you can also use your ears, but if your goal is subtle compression then it's valuable to have visual confirmation, especially in a noisy environment or in the mix. I can be guilty of playing differently during the gig than I do during setup/soundcheck -- pretty sure I'm not the only one!

I haven't tried the Studio Bass, but I've read that it's also a great comp.

 

What do you mean by warmer?
All things equal, an optical comp and a VCA comp have the same potential EQ.
One could make a case that that many optical compressors have similar attack and decay curves like a tube amp but that compression action could be changed electronically.
Both devices react to an over the threshold condition and lower the overall volume; one does it with a voltage controlled amplifier and the other does this with an optical device.

 

Although they’re similar in function, there’s a difference in the implementation and details. And that’s where the differences in tone and response come into play. So while you could make a case in the abstract that there’s no differences, a side by side comparison would show the opposite more often tends to be the case.

 

How'd that come about?

It's multi-band without complex controls, and probably the easiest compressor to set in that you can pick settings virtually at random without compromising or altering your tone. Exceptionally transparent and low-noise at all settings. Metering as visible as the Empress, probably brighter.

Best aspect is that it totally passes the highs through, if not exciting them a bit. Perfect if you want pick grind or fret clack to make it to your od/dist/fuzz boxes further down signal, or slap and pops to really ring out.

Sweetens sound a little, but should be of no interest to those who want a compressor to double as part of their tone shaping. Begs consideration as a simpler Empress, FEA, Cali not Doc Llyod, Diamond, etc.

 

I guess he refers to "sounding like a tube". Maybe. The harmonic distortions introduced by tubes processing audio signal are perceived as likable, and some electronics can replicate that, to a degree. On the other hand, optical compressor benefit from light permanence on the sensor they are coupled with, which make the volume variation of the compression to be sort of smoother. Sudden variation in level, as is the case with compression, where signal is dropped with an attack time and released after, also introduces a sort of distortion. Overall, optical compressors have longer attack and release times, and they sound good as long as ratio is kept rather low. Once you start squashing more or use it as limiter, they better have a threshold, otherwise they will color a lot. Some may like it. Some may not, and may prefer the transparency, fastness and versatility of vca compressors. These can have shorter attack timings that don't distort the signal the way opticals do. I suppose one should have both kinds, to use them as needed. Compressors have many flavors, that is for sure.