Compressor with SR5HH

[jar546]

I am using a SR5HH with a LMII and an Eden D410XLT. A really good buddy of mine who has 35 years professionally in the music business said I need a compressor. I asked him to play it thinking it may be my technique and the same result. Everything sounds pretty good but he wants more consistency and with a compressor he said the sound would be unbeatable.

Thoughts on compressors?

I am hearing good feeback on the EBS MultiComp.

 

[silverburst]

Are you happy with the sound the way it is now?

 

[asianjeff]

Shouldn't a good compressor keep the same tone except just balance the signal?...

 

[Aussie Mark]

Shouldn't a good compressor keep the same tone except just balance the signal?...

Yes, this gives the impression of more "punch"

With compression, less is better. That's why I like the Aphex Punch Factory, which is very subtle and transparent.

 

[koogie2k]

Yeah...that is not bad advice. I have a compressor/limiter and I love it.

 

[thunder]

it's a matter of taste. play around with it.

 

[Brim]

A DBX 160a is fairly transparent...as long as you don't spiked the settings and then it'll "pump".

 

[theosd]

Try an Electroharmonix Black Finger. I just used mine for the first time today with my sr5 H and.. wow! It does the subtle compression thing, there are plenty of settings to ensure that, and it also adds a real nice musical edge to the sound at every setting. It adds a really groovy valvey grunt at higher pre-gain settings too. Just try one, I'm so chuffed with mine!

 

[bovinehost]

I use a compressor when recording.

But live? I suppose it depends on what you're looking for, but I like having all the dynamic range. Good compressors are things of beauty and I can dig having one in your live rig (I have, in the past), but mostly I think, "Nah."

 

[theosd]

This black finger is going straight in my set up and I imagine it'll be staying there. It just adds clarity and punch at minimal settings, and really REALLY nice valvey warmth when you up the pregain. I can't WAIT to crack this baby out on monday night. although it's only my first compression pedal I can see how compression may not always be ideal for live situations, but the sheer quality and power of this thing ensures that it'll always remain useful.

 

[jar546]

Is the Electroharmonix Black Finger designed specifically for bass? Does it give you a problem with noise if you have a tweeter?

I noticed that when it comes to compression (those who use it) there is never one brand or model compressor that stands out as overwhelmingly recommended or popular. As a matter of fact, the more I talk to compressor users, the more choices I find out about.

Does it really matter if it is made specifically for the bass?

I hear about the EBS Multicomp but it only has 2 adjustments and if I am using a compressor I want to be able to adjust the: input, threshold, ratio, attach, release time and gain.

There is no doubt that I want and need some compression. The big question is which one gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Thanks

 

[theosd]

Is the Electroharmonix Black Finger designed specifically for bass? Does it give you a problem with noise if you have a tweeter?

I noticed that when it comes to compression (those who use it) there is never one brand or model compressor that stands out as overwhelmingly recommended or popular. As a matter of fact, the more I talk to compressor users, the more choices I find out about.

Does it really matter if it is made specifically for the bass?

I hear about the EBS Multicomp but it only has 2 adjustments and if I am using a compressor I want to be able to adjust the: input, threshold, ratio, attach, release time and gain.

There is no doubt that I want and need some compression. The big question is which one gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Thanks

People seem to have mixed responses to the black finger from what I see online, but I put that down to people who have bad experiences wanting to wax lyrical about it more than those who are perfectly happy with their items, so there tends to be a bias in user-submitted reviews. It's not bass specific, but it's very powerful (needs its own special adapter) and EHX themselves recommend it for any application where you might use a specialised compressor. My Mark Bass CMD 121H has a horn and it sounds absolutely fine, there are plenty of adjustments you can make, and while this gives the pedal an aura of snobbery and might seem confusing at first. However, whatever setting I used for the compressor sounded ace, albeit not always what I was after, but that's the beauty of this thing - it's impossible to make it sound bad, unless your amp clashes with it which is a possibility with any compression. Mark Bass seems to work well, being transparent it allows the thing to work its magic without over colouration.

Oh and it's definitely good value for money, considering it's tube equipment and the outstanding sound quality. But then again, I have only had this thing for a couple of days. But it only gets the chance to make one first impression, and so far it's done very well by me! Only a good sign.

 

[theosd]

That's not to say I've used the thing at gig levels, but if I get a hum I expect the inbuilt gate on my mxr m80 will sort it out! I'm gonna have to get an extention cab for this combo pretty soon... I need more headroom!!

 

[strummer]

Does it really matter if it is made specifically for the bass?

I hear about the EBS Multicomp but it only has 2 adjustments and if I am using a compressor I want to be able to adjust the: input, threshold, ratio, attach, release time and gain.

Well, you pretty much answer your own question here
The MultiComp does only have 2 controls, comp/limit and gain, and then there is a selector for tubesim/multiband/standard. The reason it does not have more contorls is because it's specifically made for bass. So what you do is plug your bass in, start in multiband mode, dial in a little compression and adjust the overall output level with the gain knob. Simple, straight forward and very very nice
Oh, and input is adjustable via a push button on the input side of the box