Compression - what works?

[kamakazee]

Lately I've been playing stuff that has fingerstyle and slap in the same song, and we all know how dynamic a Bongo can be. So, I've been looking for a compression pedal - well at least I think I am... I'm very unfamiliar with what compression actually is and how it works on bass. I do know that too much makes the bass sound 'squashy' and ruins the tone. Bascially, what I want is a stomp box that will make my slap more even with my figerstyle and bring down some of those peaks. Is it also too much to ask that the compression let the soft notes still be soft?

What are some good pedals that work with the EBMM sound well? I really don't know what I'm getting in to, as there aren't many music stores around here where I can try pedals first (if that were the case I wouldn't need to ask haha). I've given the Markbass Compressore a look, as well as the MXR Bass Compressor. I don't want to break the bank on an effect unit if at all possible. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Rick Auricchio]

Here's an article I wrote that appeared in Bass Player in August 1997 (I wrote the "Studio Time" column for a couple of years). Hopefully it will give you a good idea of how compression works.

In a nutshell, a compressor acts like an automatic hand on the volume, pulling back the loud peaks and not touching the quieter notes.

 

[J Romano]

Do a search of this site, Craig Young did a great thread about compression a year or more ago. That might help, mostly about the Compressore. It is his go to......

 

[kamakazee]

Awesome, thanks for the info guys. I guess now the only question is - what compression pedal works for you?

 

[eno_hn]

I don't have it. But I'm planning to buy EBS MULTICOMP pedal. It's so easy to use and so damn good. It gives very defined sound and lets you play with your bass without any problems. It finishes the sound so good, that once you buy it, you won't turn it off ;-)


Sent from iPhone

 

[J Romano]

I have the compressore. For some reason my old SR4 has a very weak signal. I have to crank the volume up when I use her. The compressore has brought new life to her, and brought her voice back. It works for me! BTW sounds awesome with all my other MMs.

 

[Yango]

This is an earlier discussion on compressors:

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/42575-compression.html

And this was my opinion on the matter:


I use the Demeter COMP-1 Compulator—I tend to play pretty hard a lot of the time—so I turn it on, and leave it on, both on stage and in the studio (engineers are always surprised, they generally don't want to know anything about pedals). It's the most transparent compressor pedal you're ever going to plug into. Do yourself a favour and check it out. I've used Boss, Aphex, BBE, Ross, Effectrode and EBS, and none of them work as well as the Compulator in my opinion. If you don't want to 'hear' the compressor... Demeter's got your compressor.

Demeter Amplification - Products

This one has a few more bells and whistles:

Demeter Amplification - Products

This guy has tried out truckloads of compressors, and put up his reviews here:

Compressor Reviews

I hope this helps you in your quest.

 

[ghunter]

I have three compressors:

1. The split compressor built into my Trace Elliot GP12SMX preamp

2. EBS Multicomp

3. Demeter Compulator

All three are excellent in their own way.

The Trace Elliot is easy for practice/gig usage and it's hard to make a bad setting on there, but I turn it off for recording as I have two better options. It has one compressor for the lows and another for the highs, and a knob to balance the two before the final output stage.

The EBS has a massive clarity and presence with the StingRay, you can really tell that it was designed for bass usage as it has lightning quick response through the lowest notes from my B string. The EBS is the swiss army knife of bass compressors and although it takes a while to dial in what you want from it, I am positive that 99% of bass players can find their sweet spot using this pedal.

The Demeter is crystal-clear and the effect is hard to put your finger on once you turn it on (unlike the other two). However, the second you unplug this pedal you know that something huge is missing. With only "Compress" and "Volume" knobs you would think that it's the easiest to set but I find myself spending a lot of time finding the right spot for each instrument. It's an amazing pedal and is absolutely essential for recording guitar and bass. Speaking of guitar, putting the Compulator first in your chain makes pretty much every other pedal behind it sound miles better.

If you can afford it, get both the Demeter and EBS. If you can afford one, the EBS is more versatile. If you play both guitar and bass, the Demeter is arguably a better value due to its wider applicability.

 

[Bass Guitar]

Can someone tell me how some pedals sound different? I mean, if you're just limiting sounds, why does the EBS comp for example tend to have a bit of a punch? And could I possibly get it to sound like that with software instead of an expensive pedal?

 

[ghunter]

Theoretically you could use software to do the same thing, but a lot of the "magic" that comes from these compressors has to do with the signal path. I haven't looked into VST compressors much (beyond the standard ones I have in Cubase), but there may be some interesting ones out there that emulate vintage compressors. The new UAD-2 platform comes to mind, as does the Focusrite Liquid Channel.

The other reason to keep compression in the analog domain is that it gives an easier signal for the Analog-Digital Converters to handle, as there will be fewer high peaks which could potentially clip. This allows you to push the maximum possible signal into your DAW (and also the lowest noise).

Compressors are the most difficult "effects" to evaluate the tonal quality of, as they don't really impact the quality of the tone. They require longer-term evaluation to really appreciate what they're doing to smooth out your sound.