Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Guidance on purchasing a tasty rack compressor


Dreadstone
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi there folks,
long time lurker first time poster here. :ph34r:

Sorry if TMI, looking to avoid you having to ask more Q's initially

Looking for help & some direction from you informed folks on what's hot & what's not.
Reading a lot of contrasting views on lower market compression.

Not really looking to mess the floor with another pedal, I want reasonably high-end compression to go in the rack. Looking to make the investment to begin with.
Want something that's got good selection of knobs to twiddle & a few thumbs up in it's direction
Budget range 500-800 could probably be talked into higher if it's truly worth the extra squids.
Seems a bit silly to go mad on this when my ampage ain't all that thou :lol:
But.. a decent compressor is a decent compressor eyh.

bit of background;
Usually playing Ibanez BTB 6 through [b]Hartke LH500,[/b] with [b]Hartke 4x10 cab[/b].
Mostly for playing some variant of metal, I guess 'technical' to a degree.
Sometimes using [b]Darkglass b7k[/b] (Still getting used to dialling it in mind) & [b]Boss ME50b[/b] for reverb & chorus.
In band I play the same "drop B" tuning as the guitarists, BF#BEAD
Also fiddle about in GCGFGC
N.B need it for live, not studio

I use a variety of techniques, hasty swaps between slap & finger, hammer-finger(ish), lots of dead notes, few thumb rakes, three-digit fingering - it needs some serious smoothing for the ears to be happier :(
But I still need percussive edge of dif. techniques to come through & for it to be clear enough to punch out from the deep end between two distorted-up & downtuned guitarists.

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to bass gear, so help me out folks

The waffles are done! Give us the blueberries & syrup
What are the names to be considering? :gas:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't find the thread, but pretty sure Baschatter 51m0n has written chapter and verse on compression. Check his profile [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/1370-51m0n/"]http://basschat.co.uk/user/1370-51m0n/[/url] and you should be able to find it in his threads, if not, drop him a PM and he should be able to point you to the original link.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Firstly I'd say you really don't need to start spending the 'big money' to get good rack compression.
I'd say hit ebay and pick up a decent VCA based rack unit. As an example an 'early' Behringer MDX2000 Composer (Yes - Behringer !) is likely a good buy (Later versions with the 'shiny' fascia are more dubious by reputation but I have an earlier model)
But pretty much anything from the likes of Yamaha / dbx etc that has full control over attack / release as well as auto options should get you a long way. Control of the knee function is handy too.
They can be a bit more work to get your sound compared to pedals but that's basicaly because they give you more options rather than trying to have a particular sound. Bearing in mind that these things are meant to be applicable to any sound source or mix and not aimed specifivcally at bass / guitar use. Plus of course you get two channels to play with allowing a great deal of flexibility.

Probably a bit further up the price scale, the Rane DC24 is no longer available new but would be good if found used. Ovnilab link:

[url="http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/dc24.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.c...iews/dc24.shtml[/url]

And if you do want to spend big money you'd probably want to take a look at this :

[size=4][color=#000000][font=verdana, tahoma, arial, helvetica]Empirical Labs EL8 X Distressor[/font][/color][/size]

[size=4][color=#000000][font=verdana, tahoma, arial, helvetica]- One channel but has tube / opto emulation etc.[/font][/color][/size]

Edited by rmorris
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...