One of these days I'll get an all tube amp. For now I'm rockin a Quilter which I'm really digging.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
To compress or not to compress?
- Thread starter Daniel Douglass
- Start date
That's not my baby pic!!
If my girlfriend was into tats, I would have "Threshold" and "Ratio" written over her nipples!
-Frank
I hate tattoos, and certainly ones near nipples. Somehow, I'm okay with this idea.
That's only 9 years ago. How can you be sure?
Compressors have really evolved since 2008!
You may like a mult-band comp or a full-band with a parallel dry blend.
-Frank
I keep thinking it would cause my "Release" time to be shortened!
-Frank
I'm getting out of here before someone makes a dry/wet knob joke.
Maybe you're right, Frank. I'm out of the loop with all these new-fangled features for sure. But in all honesty, I don't think I'm missing out, although after seeing Juan Alderete use his Boss CS-2 as a dirty boost squish box, it almost makes me want to at least get something like that for the same purpose. Then the mood passes and I forget about itCompressors have really evolved since 2008!
You may like a mult-band comp or a full-band with a parallel dry blend.
-Frank
But maybe I AM missing out. Have to look into it more.
Maybe you're right, Frank. I'm out of the loop with all these new-fangled features for sure. But in all honesty, I don't think I'm missing out, although after seeing Juan Alderete use his Boss CS-2 as a dirty boost squish box, it almost makes me want to at least get something like that for the same purpose. Then the mood passes and I forget about it
A dirty squish box can be really nice!
But if you have an opportunity, try blending a bit of super squashed clean signal with your clean tone. It doesn't take away your dynamics or cause the high frequency tone suck perception you normally get with heavy compression. You have everything you had before with your sound, but there will be a new secret sauce added to the tone. You just may like it. Add squish to your clean tone, not clean tone to the squish... if that makes sense.-Frank
I tried using a rack then a pedal and didnt like what it did to my tone or dynamics so now i never use them. Most of my gigs are at large venues so i leave that to the FOH sound guy to deal with that. My last gig i realised the monitor guys had put a lot of compression in the bass monitor feed so it made it difficult for me and the band to confirm that i was playing quiet enough in the softer moments in the songs as the lead vocalist thought i was playing too loud in those areas where he was getting the audience to sing along. So no not for me. If someone is using my rig on my open mic night i turn on the compressor on my pjb head if its an unknown player or someone i know plays heavy handed. .
I like compression, but found out what I need is actually a limiter, as swapping from fingerstyle to slap mid-song do create ugly peaks that need to be tamed. This happens when the Drummer and the other guitarist look at you with that look 
Boss CS-2 as a dirty boost squish box, it almost makes me want to at least get something like that for the same purpose. Then the mood passes and I forget about it
same here!
I also quit using a comp some years ago. I started out using it to get more consistent levels for quick passages. Then I felt that was cheating and set it to a more reasonable level. Then that felt too much and I dialed back a bit. In the end, when I felt satisfied with the settings, I left it at that. A couple of weeks later I realized that I could not tell the difference between comp on and comp off. So the comp went from my board.
The only reason I see for me to have one is to boost it into an analoge octave into a fuzz into an envelope filter into reverb to get that synthie sound.
If you are happy with your current sound... just let it stay that way and don't worry about compressors. People in general say a lot of things that mean very little. Especially in magazines.
(I do use a compressor with one of my bands, so I'm not against compression... I just disagree that every bassist *needs* one. That's BS)
I have to disagree, compressor does change sound, otherwise we wouldn't use it. It aims at sound dynamics, but your instrument sounds different with it. Besides, not all good compressors are transparent.
As for small gigs, it really depends on the musicians. Jazz trio bassist playing in a restaurant doesn't need compression i.e.
In the end, what works best for you is what counts. Maybe my list of reasons is wrong, but compression is just a good tool, and in no way a necessity.
FWIW compression can be used as either a simple limiter or as an actual effect. There are a number of different compressors out there. And each is designed with different sonic goals in mind. So it's important to generally understand what compressors do - and how they work. Then understand what the specific compressor you're plugged into was designed to do and how it does it. And finally how to set it properly for your playing style and the musical context you're playing in.
While you don't necessarily need a compressor, or even want to have it on at all times, it's a valuable tool in the right hands. Most musicians I've met who dismiss using compressors, or claim it ruins their sound, were fairly clueless about how to use the compressor they tried. So if you don't have the time or patience to learn how use your compressor effectively, you're probably better off not getting one.
While you don't necessarily need a compressor, or even want to have it on at all times, it's a valuable tool in the right hands. Most musicians I've met who dismiss using compressors, or claim it ruins their sound, were fairly clueless about how to use the compressor they tried. So if you don't have the time or patience to learn how use your compressor effectively, you're probably better off not getting one.
After decades, the last couple years I have been using compression always on. I use the OvniFX Smoothie. It has a dry level, which I dial in to almost the level of my bypassed volume. I use the compression side for tone fattening and sustain. I change technique a lot, even within a song, mostly for tone, as opposed to dynamics. A little thump here, some thumb muting and little pops there, let's the quieter stuff jump our and the louder stuff balance out. Plus when I change tones on my onboard eq, I like how it works the compression while keeping the level steady. It's an art form.
But I practice every day, never use compression.
But I practice every day, never use compression.
Im just starting too understand and use compression and what it does for me is: making the attack and volume across my strings more equal, particulary fattening up my D and G strings and for example make sure my slapping doesnt disappear in the mix when i switch from fingerstyle too slap midsong. I do only like a small amount of compression and I only like it when my peak isnt limited too much and the compressor is slow enough too maintain my attack. EBS multicomp does this well
