To compress or not to compress?

[Dreamsinger]

For the last few years it's been an "always on" kinda thing for me.

 

[shellac7]

I play electric bass in an acoustic trio. Compression is absolutely the kiss of death - zero feel, kills the delicate dynamics! If the sound person is using compression I have to get them to take it off, which is sometimes a struggle.

I do understand its uses in other musical environments though.

 

[MTMB]

I used to play a lot with a compressor, but when my battery died I found out that my muting wasn't as good as it used to be in de past. Since then I never played with it ever again. Now I taught myself to even out my volume with my technique instead of relying on a piece of equipment.
Secondly, I don't like any deformation of my signal in general. The less the better. Eventually I decided to get rid of my tube amp and got a simple class D amp, and got rid of every pedal I had laying around. The equalizer in my MM is more than enough to switch from jazz to funk, from metal to hip-hop and from pop to techno.

 

[eigentone]

i was reading a bass supplement that came with a guitar magazine and it said every bassist should be using a compressor pedal,

1) would you agree with that?
2) what does it actually achieve?

0) Link? I think a bit of context would help us understand whether the author's recommendation is "It's a useful effect", "Always play with a compressor on", or somewhere in between (likely).
1) No. I think a compressor is a useful effect which should be used judiciously. That applies to instruments/signal beyond bass guitars. I believe a compressor pedal is not necessary for most players/sounds. When recording and when I want compression, I usually prefer compression after the amp (no pedal). The gig and desired sound matter. I tend to like my sound with fewer effects these days, but ultimately the other tracks/musicians influence the tone I go after. So I can see some sounds/genres are well suited for compression. But even then, a pedal would not be my first choice.
2) In short, it reduces the dynamic range of your bass. Above a certain volume (threshold), compression reduces the gain/volume of the signal by a ratio which you define. So say you go 10 dB over the threshold. Depending on the ratio, a compressor may (temporarily) reduce the gain of your signal by 3, 6, or 9 dB so that the "over" is on average 7, 4, or 1 dB above the threshold. Many compressors offer attack and release times so you can control how responsive it is to your bass/signal. Most compressors also have a control for gain compensation to make up for the volume loss. This makes an instrument easy to play in some ways, but it can severely affect your dynamic range and raise the noise floor. If the band wants to have a quieter breakdown and the bass has little dynamic range, it may be difficult for you to play as quietly as you need to.

A compressor may make your bass sound more or less aggressive and influence the volume and tone coming through the speakers as you adapt. If that's an effect that is always on, that gets old pretty quickly. It's like seasoning your food. Crushed red pepper and cinnamon don't go well with all foods. Use it, like all effects, tastefully. The basis for your tone is your fingers, bass, and amp. Don't add effects until you are delighted with those things.

 

[Npunk42]

I went a year without any effects. When I started using a compressor I thought I would use it on certain tunes and not on others. Im still fooling around with the settings but its always on.

 

[Brad Johnson]

i was reading a bass supplement that came with a guitar magazine and it said every bassist should be using a compressor pedal,

1) would you agree with that?
2) what does it actually achieve?

1) I find a statement like that to be unfounded. There's nothing that every bassist should use besides a bass.

2) Lots of things, depending on who and how it's being used. For good or evil.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Bass w/o a compressor is like bagel w/o cream cheese.

Cool. I dislike cream cheese.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Tools that I think are misunderstood and not fully appreciated are compressors, BBE Sonic Maximizers and Aphex Aural Exciters. Once you learn how to control them and get the most out them, you'll swear by them.

Not necessarily. I know very well how to control all of those devices. It informed my decision to not use them. Not that they're bad, just that I figured out other ways to control my sound that don't involve them.

 

[FunkyPaul]

This is a contentious question, but with most bass amps now being equipped with either a compressor or limiter I'd have to say it's an essential tool. My specific use of compression is currently more of a limiter, rather than a compressor, to keep control of peaks when I dig in. I liked the mid-1990's renditions of the SWR limiter circuit for this, but with playing more gigs where I have to supply a direct feed to the FOH to sometimes less-than-perfect sound techs, I have put a compressor on my pedalboard pre-DI out. The 2 I use are the Miura M2 and the Keeley Bassist. The Bassist is better at limiting (VCA compression) and the Miura is better for smooth compression (optical circuit). Both are very transparent and do not cut off low or high frequencies. I also have the EBS Multicomp, which is also great in Multiband (MB) mode but not quite as transparent as the Miura or Keeley. To each their own, but I would rather have a comp on my board and not need it than need it and not have it!

 

[JimmyM]

Cool. I dislike cream cheese.

Cream cheese on a bagel? Yecch! I eat 'em plain!

 

[mikeswals]

I never use one.

Tried a couple times, but as a player that primarily used tube amps most of my playing career, I just did not like the two mixed.

 

[Jollygreengiant]

i was reading a bass supplement that came with a guitar magazine and it said every bassist should be using a compressor pedal,

1) would you agree with that?
2) what does it actually achieve?

I have a question about this, does it make sense to use a compressor on a practice amp? I play a Fender Squire Jazz Bass through a Fender bass amp and wanted to know if it would help boost the volume on my D and G strings. Also, would a bass compressor be recommended over a regular compressor? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[Brad Johnson]

I have a question about this, does it make sense to use a compressor on a practice amp? I play a Fender Squire Jazz Bass through a Fender bass amp and wanted to know if it would help boost the volume on my D and G strings. Also, would a bass compressor be recommended over a regular compressor? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

It can help even out your attack but I'd question why I needed a boost on my D and G strings in the first place. Is it a setup issue like pickup height? Is it my technique? If so, the real fix could be something else.

As far as bass compressor vs. regular compressor... it depends. Your budget and what you're trying to accomplish will factor into that. It would be nice if things were simpler but they rarely are. Lots of options, including the option of not using an option.

 

[bassexplorer]

Never though I'd ever use a compressor. Then I tried the EBS.

 

[fretlessrock]

Horrible generalization. Also, most people are confused over what a compressor does, and how to adjust one. They end up raising the make-up gain and think it makes them "louder".

I almost never use one, but recently had a gig where getting a certain sound required it. I dialed up a decent comp on a Line6 M5..More than good enough for occasional use. But as an everyday thing I just can't see it. Anything that lowers the dynamic range of my instrument is on a very short leash.

 

[azapistagyerek]

Like many of you have said it always depends.

Examples:
1. used to play in an original band. Two guitars, keys, loud drummer (very talented/experienced musicians, though). Style: somwhere inbetween blues, hard rock, indie. I tried to use compressor (Boss LMB-3 or Warwick built-in one button comp), but even in the case of light settings the whole dinamics became dull, dead. The concensus was that I must not use such "rubbish effect".
2. oldies/rock-evergreens cover trio-band, one guitar, drums, me. The use of the compressor up to medium settings made the band as a whole to sound better, the bass could support the guitarist way better. Not bad without it, but... to be honest, comfortable. I'm a lazy man, if there is that tool, why not use? In addition, I can drink a beer or two - I don't have to worry about inconsistent right-hand technique.


Studio: totally different story. However, we did the bass line recorded without any compression, the sound engeneer insisted to have the purest input for every instrument (even the guitars were allowed to use only the wah and the amp's natural overdrive), and he applied the compression when he made the final mix.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Like many of you have said it always depends.

Examples:
1. used to play in an original band. Two guitars, keys, loud drummer (very talented/experienced musicians, though). Style: somwhere inbetween blues, hard rock, indie. I tried to use compressor (Boss LMB-3 or Warwick built-in one button comp), but even in the case of light settings the whole dinamics became dull, dead. The concensus was that I must not use such "rubbish effect".
2. oldies/rock-evergreens cover trio-band, one guitar, drums, me. The use of the compressor up to medium settings made the band as a whole to sound better, the bass could support the guitarist way better. Not bad without it, but... to be honest, comfortable. I'm a lazy man, if there is that tool, why not use? In addition, I can drink a beer or two.


Studio: totally different story. However, we did the bass line recorded without any compression, the sound engeneer insisted to have the purest input for every instrument (even guitars were allowed to use wah and the amp's natural overdrive), and did the compression only when he made the final mix.

There is good reason to not use compression while tracking. This assumes you have a very high headroom DI or you like the sound it produces when it is overloaded. (Some engineers like to use a hard-limiter on the input.) On the other hand, I would be surprised if the producer/engineer did not apply compression during mix-down or mastering. That would be very unusual.

 

[azapistagyerek]

... On the other hand, I would be surprised if the producer/engineer did not apply compression during mix-down or mastering...

Yes, exatly. I meant to say this, was only bit lazy to express myself so precisely.

 

[sowilson]

I like to have a compressor always on when playing rock, for the other stuff I play (trad Irish, jazz) not so much.

 

[lynnchpin]

I use it when I feel it's necessary. Only case I can see when a compressor should always be used is if the signature of a project's sound requires it, which is dependent upon what you contribute and how you contribute it or if you're using a technique where you can't deliberately control your volume output, or if you have a sub-standard instrument. The project with which I'm currently involved affords me the freedom to choose what I wish to do so most of the time I'm using compression for slap to tame the spikes or to create a more polished sound on driving songs. Depending on the song, I might use it to act as a lead boost or stack it with overdrive / distortion. Another factor is the compression unit you're using, not all are created equally, some more flexible and colorful than others. I have yet to explore the world of compression units thoroughly