Building a Pedalboard. EHX Steel Leather with a compressor?

[Painy]

I'm currently in the process of building a pedal board as I've been missing the option of having a few effects available since I got rid of my bass Pod XT-Pro a few years ago.
So far I have an EHX crying bass wah (not the best regarded I know but I'm finding the low pass filter to actually be a pretty good feature and I like the feel of it under foot - and most importantly, I got it cheap), an old Bespecco volume/swell pedal, a Bass Soul Food (loving this for an always on warm bit of grit), a Joyo Roll Boost (just a nice transparent, clean volume boost) and a Snark tuner pedal. I also have a Metal Muff on its way for when I need things to get a little crazy.

Now I've never been one for compression in the past but tried a compressor out at a gig a couple of months ago and I actually quite liked it so thinking it might be worth adding one to my board. I've also been looking at the Steel Leather pedal and it looks like a cool effect that I could make use of but I'm wondering how the two might interact with each other given that the Steel Leather is apparently described as "the opposite of a compressor".
My question really is, are they likely to compliment each other,just cancel each other out or something completely different?

[elephantgrey]

simply put, compressors pull back the lout parts and bring up the quiet bits to even out the sound, expanders make the quiet bit quieter. Then there is limiters (extreme compressors) that cap the volume at a curtain point (your threshold) so it cant get any louder than that, and (noise)gates (extreme expanders) that completely cut off everything quieter than the threshold.

i use a compressor at the start of my chain to even out my strings, and make my dirt pedals more consistent, and a gate after my dirt pedals to cut off any noise when im not playing a note.

Compressors also can have envelope settings, so that they can let your attack through and make you sound punchier, and sustain your notes longer.

What is it you liked about playing with the compressor the other month?

[Painy]

I found it helped even things out nicely -particularly my somewhat poor slap technique which I often find makes the slaps quieter than the pops (I know I should work on my technique really but I don't use it much and I'm inherently lazy).
I also liked the way it tightened up the bottom end giving it a bit more definition and punch.
The demos I've heard of the Steel Leather pedal were set with a bit more effect than I'd probably use myself but the defined attack it seems to give would work well for me too.

[elephantgrey]

Okay, those are all things that a compressor will do better than an expander like the steel leather. [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/"]Ovnilab[/url] is a great resource, Id definitely check out his FAQ and top picks.

You want a compressor with atleast threshold, ratio, attack and make up gain/volume controls. And one or a line of LEDs to show you how much compression your applying makes setting it up allot less of a chore.

[Painy]

Sounds good thanks.Don't suppose you'd have any specific recommendations - ideally in pedal form and for under £100 if possible?

[elephantgrey]

For that much the Boss LMB-3 is probably your best bet. Just keep the enhance knob all the way anticlockwise, and note that there isnt an attack knob. Shouldnt be too much of a problem since its set to a good setting for most people, you just cant adjust it.

[Painy]

Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks again!

Edited August 2, 2015 by Painy

[elephantgrey]

No worries, and good luck with the board, watch out for the GAS!

[Ruck]

If you are thinking about the LMB-3 I recommend reading the link below on how it can colour your tone. Keeping the enhance all the way clockwise cuts high end.

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/bosslm2b.shtml

Otherwise a great pedal for the price.