What's your favorite Compressor Pedal...

[Xjenrbcjsmsbfjw]

Empress here. I feel like it colors my sound the least, and the controls/display are some of the better available on the market. I'm a pretty big empress fanboy though, so I was an easy sell.

 

[Edgetone]

I use a Union Tube & Transistor "LAB" compressor. It's a boutique pedal by a shop out of East Vancouver. They make wonderful gear. This is an optical compressor set with a fast attack and slow release. The controls are as simple as it gets: In and Out. It is wonderfully clean and punchy.

Also, it comes in a nice wooden box that makes a perfect foot rest when practicing seated on a stool.

You can check out their full line of pedals here: Union Tube & Transistor

 

[Fuzzbass]

For the first 12 years of my playing career I've never used pedals but have recently put together and buying some really nice pedals. I'm still new to Compressors but I wanted to start a thread and see what everyone likes and uses for their compressor Pedals? What style do you play and how often do you use it? I have purchases the TC Spectracomp, Cali76, and now have a Darkglass Hyper Luminal on the way. The Cali was my favorite for Praise and Worship style music and stayed on all the time so it's my favorite but I'm looking forward to trying the Darkglass.

I don't often use compression (I prefer overdrive/distortion) but I appreciate how useful it can be. I own and recommend the following:

Empress -- clean, transparent, quiet. Best-in-class metering, covers both input level and gain reduction. The wet/dry mix is especially useful. I like it better than many of the rack comps I used when I was a rack-rigger. Can't go wrong with this one

Origin Cali76 G-P -- this is one of the discontinued ones in the huge box; it can be unwieldy at the gig. It's also a limited edition model with a Germanium boost and Parallel processing (wet/dry). Definitely my favorite, although it's also the most expensive by far

OvniFX Smoothie -- nice price, small box. Clean, transparent (unless you use the tilt EQ), easy to use, has separate controls for wet and dry. Another great comp

FEA DE-CL -- another that's clean, quiet. Has two independent engines, a compressor and a limiter, which can be combined (or not). Also has a "warmth" control that adds subtle but pleasing overdrive if you want a bit of hair on your tone -- I love this, but it can be disengaged for those not interested. All the FEA comps are great -- on the spendy side, but high quality, built like tanks

Becos Stella Pro -- despite being the smallest comp I own it also has the most features, by far. The company makes micro comps for those put off by lots of knobs and switches, but if you're familiar with comp it's reasonably straightforward. It's my newest comp, no gig experience yet, but it has performed beautifully at home and I expect the same result at the gig. In addition to full-feature compression, I look forward to experimenting with the tape saturation feature (overdrive/distortion)



Oh... I owned the Diamond BCP1 for awhile. Worked great with my passive basses (added a pleasing phatness to the tone along with comp), but got too squishy with my actives so I sold it

 

[amper]

Not that this question hasn't already been asked and answered ad infinitum, but my two favorite compressors for bass guitar are the Boss BC-1X Bass Comp and the tc electronic SpectraComp.

Both are multiband digital compressors, but the BC-1X is designed specifically for bass guitar, and is very easy to get a great sound. The SpectraComp is technically "better", since it allows customisation of virtually every parametre, using an external device, but is not easy to use.

I think bass guitar benefits from using multiband compression, since you can shape the thump/boom and the snap/spank differently.

The BC-1X replaced the SpectraComp on my bass pedalboard, but I am using the SpectraComp on acoustic/electric guitar.

There are other compressors I also like on bass. I think the best analogue wideband compressor pedals I've heard are the Xotic SP, the One Control Lemon Yellow, and the Mark Bass Compressore. The SP and Lemon Yellow are equally great on guitar, not sure about the Compressore on that front.

I also love the older JoeMeek opto-compressors, not sure how the new ones compare, but I used to own a VC1Qcs channel strip that was outstanding for bass or vocals.

I would also like to try the Origin Cali76 Compact Deluxe and the Darkglass Supersymmetry, but frankly, I don't feel the need to go compressor shopping anymore, because the Boss BC-1X Bass Comp works perfectly for me and my style of playing.

I play a piezo fretless StingRay and a fretless Warwick into a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout. If and when I pick up a fretted bass again (which will be a StingRay or a J-J of some sort), I may change my mind, but for now, the BC-1X has pride of place on my bass pedalboard.

 

[Chad Michael]

How do I 'dial in' the Keeley?

My application:

When I play the Lakland DJ bass on a high - powered stage rig, and switch from fingers to slap, I run over the top of everyone. No interest in changing the way I play or hear. How do I dial in the compression and threshold? Thanks in advance. Stomp boxes and compression are new to me.

 

[dfloresjr]

Keeley Bassist. Very versatile and blew away my old Trace Elliot Dual Band Compressor. I play driving rock ( think Foo Fighters) with a pick so comp is always on. The Keeley is so clean and quiet and works great with my other pedals.

 

[dfloresjr]

The Keeley is easy to dial in and the manual is very helpful as a starting point. You’ll need to decide how you want the box to operate: are you looking for a really squished sound or merely a touch of comp to level out the peaks? The Keeley can do it all so experiment with the compression rate and the threshold until you’re happy.