The BEST bass compressor

[artifus]

you don't have to lose dynamic range if you know how to use a good compressor.

the very nature of a compressor is to reduce dynamic range.

it is often then set to raise the overall output level, should that be required.

Your all assuming that you squish it. i can set my compressor up so i can thump like a muel with my fingers or be as quiet as a mouse but it still gives that roundness and smoothness that a compressor gives a bass player.

such effects are dependent on the compressors attack and decay settings, your playing style and the tempo of the tune in question, as well as many other factors. you are squishing it.

[pedalgrinder]

yes you are totally correct i'll rephrase then. you don't have to remove all dynamic range as in if its adjusted so that your using it as a limiter and you increase your release right up and attack well personal taste you can keep the dynamic range there as in accent notes and whatever. But say you turn your threshold to high you get no dynamic range at all. I explained myself wrong sorry.

[StephenGiles]

It depends I suppose if you are trying to play lead guitar on bass A proper bass sound should need no tonal changes or compression to my ears - it should just be bass.

I found the Ashdown bass compressor circuit but it has no component values - if anyone wants it pm me email address.

[pedalgrinder]

iam sorry but as a bass player i would have to disagree with you. I believe a good bass tone needs a compressor. It is not just needed but essential. But thats my opinion.

[Mike Burgundy]

That's a bit like saying good bass tone needs a Fender Jazz isn't it? It's definitely a good tone, and might hold truth for certain individuals, but it's still personal, depending on instrument, taste, music style, playing style, aptitude, rest of your rig, moonphase, gigging volume (you'll probably *need* compression in a very quiet band just to still be "in there", but when things get LOUD your ears compress all on their own) and whatnot.

FWIW I use compressors quite often, but not as my main tone. I don't even like to have a "safety" limiter (as found on many amps) on all the time. I mainly use comps either as a tonal effect (so you want colouring) or to lift some difficult tapping up (so you don't want colouring). I just got an MTD 6string which apparently has no need to lift anything dynamically, you can really do everything with your fingers, so compressor usage might go down a lot from now on.
Studio work is totally different though. I tend to use what I feel is a LOT of compression on bass when mixing. But again - personal, etc.

[pedalgrinder]

ok if it's so personal why does practically every recording majoritly have compression on the bass. The main problem with a bass is the notes that come out with where there place against the pickup have different levels in punch and drive or in electronic terms amplitude. So iam not saying you can't plug a bass in without one. But it really cleans you up live or wherever with one. guitar is different being higher frequency's iam going to get shot down in flames but i have to say what i think and i really believe a bass should have a compressor.

[deadastronaut]

[petemoore]

  SVT

[pedalgrinder]

even a svt sounds better with a good and i mean good compressor pedal obviously this forum doesn't like someone to have an opinion i keep getting shot for my opinion

[bsmcc2010]

You can't really compare a stompbox compressor to a studio compressor-they work differently and are used for different things. For example, lots of country players slap a high compression level stompbox compressor infront of their amp, pair it with a tele and get that 'chicken pickin' sound.

Studio compressors are used totally differently. The majority of the time in a studio the idea is to NOT hear te compression, instead use it to tame an audio file. I know that very generalised but that is what they ate mainly used for. So a bad player using fingers can record a take wig varying levels of velocity. The bass is often kept at a fairly constant level so compression is used to do this.

So in essance a stompbox compressor is generally for an effect, and a studio compressor is for dynamic processing-not to shape the sound of the instrment.

[12Bass]

ok if it's so personal why does practically every recording majoritly have compression on the bass....

A whole thread in itself there....  

A big part of it is the "volume wars" in modern music.  Compression allows more average volume = louder mix.  Bass frequencies in particular take up a lot of overall amplitude, so compressing the bass can really help increase overall volume.  Listen to the Rush album Vapor Trails for an example of the awful sound of too much compression/limiting/clipping.  Or recent stuff from Metallica.....

[pedalgrinder]

You can't really compare a stompbox compressor to a studio compressor-they work differently and are used for different things. For example, lots of country players slap a high compression level stompbox compressor infront of their amp, pair it with a tele and get that 'chicken pickin' sound.

Studio compressors are used totally differently. The majority of the time in a studio the idea is to NOT hear te compression, instead use it to tame an audio file. I know that very generalised but that is what they ate mainly used for. So a bad player using fingers can record a take wig varying levels of velocity. The bass is often kept at a fairly constant level so compression is used to do this.

So in essance a stompbox compressor is generally for an effect, and a studio compressor is for dynamic processing-not to shape the sound of the instrment.

that is wrong is a pedal is made correctly you can easily have studio standard in a pedal the only reason they don't is it is cheaper for the manufacturer. As a diy person you should be striving to make a pedal that reaches that standard rather than say there different. The manufacturers don't want to spend the money when they sell one that costs them half the price and people still buy it. I so don't agree with you in anyway

[Mike Burgundy]

I'm not shooting anybody but I would like some popcorn....

[pedalgrinder]

what cause iam the bad guy around here that states his opinion. Me and my big mouth. But its what i believe i can't help it

[gritz]

Step away from the popcorn!

I think everybody's making valid points. It would be great to have a pedal compressor that has all the functionality of a studio grade rackmount, but what with constraints like the limited headroom of a +9 supply and the requirement for decent parameter control (think attack, release, thresh, knee, makeup and mebbe even wet / dry mix), it's probably overkill for the majority of users who would rather "set and forget". Most pedal fx are somewhat focussed in their functionality anyway - that's why we love 'em. We can buy (or build) the right tool for the job (except possibly - as this thread demonstrates - where bass compressors are concerned!).

[Earthscum]

what cause iam the bad guy around here that states his opinion. Me and my big mouth. But its what i believe i can't help it

+1

But it's not because you have an opinion and you tell us your opinion, but rather that you impose your opinion as the gospel truth. Like others told you in the other compressor thread, it's about your attitude. Chill out!

BTW, your cracks at me being "old" didn't go unnoticed. I don't even own a VCR, my cable lets me "steal" for free with DVR.

Hi, my name is NOT "earthscum", people know me on the boards also by my real name, David. Take that as a hint.

And, back on track, I agree with the others. I've been playing bass for 23 years (since I was 13), and compression was rarely ever used by ANYONE I knew. The only bassists I can think of that used any kind of compression (that wasn't built into an amp) were a couple blues bassists, and they had rack mount units, multiple ones. But, yes. Bass is compressed on recordings to increase headroom without apparent loss in volume. Big difference between live and recorded, though. Live is all up to the bassist. If you don't have control of your dynamics, as noted before, a compressor could help you out. In my case, it kills my dynamics, and therefore kills what I'm supposed to be doing for the song, in most cases. For me, the best compression is simply a tone control to kill a bit of the initial attack.

[bsmcc2010]

that is wrong is a pedal is made correctly you can easily have studio standard in a pedal the only reason they don't is it is cheaper for the manufacturer. As a diy person you should be striving to make a pedal that reaches that standard rather than say there different. The manufacturers don't want to spend the money when they sell one that costs them half the price and people still buy it. I so don't agree with you in anyway

Conflict aside...

i sort of agree with you-it would be nice to have that control over compression in a stomp box. But it would be much bigger than a standard stomp box compressor-sort of ruin's the appeal of an effects pedal for me. Also i'm not sure i'd need or want that much control over compression in a pedal-the reason i love effects pedals so much is that they're easy to adjust during a gig or even the middle of a song. Compression level, output level, maybe attack/blend/tone is more than enough for me in a pedal.

[pedalgrinder]

earthscum lets get this clear i don't care what you dribble who you know what you do or how you go about it your pathetic. You don't bother me your just an annoyance that talks crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[anchovie]

[StephenGiles]

I always thought it was in the fingers - that's what my wife tells me!!!