Osiris

You just need to set the threshold so that it works in conjunction with the amps gain control. Just bear in mind that if you swap basses you'll likely have to tweak the threshold and possibly the amp gain too. Or if you have an active bass and make any adjustments to the onboard preamp you'll probably need to fine tune the settings too. Once you've set things up right you might find that your driven tone is more consistent too.

Some pedal comps can reduce the low end on bass especially if they're designed with the guitar in mind. Dyna comp style circuits - of which there are a million variants are notorious for low end loss. This is why dedicated bass comps, multi-band compression and side chain high pass filtering have been developed as they help reduce any low frequency loss. With a multi-band you can have separate compressor that deal with the lows and high working in unison, that way the lows don't swamp the highs and you have independent control over the low end makeup gain (amongst other parameters) so you can boost the lows more if you want to, the TC Spectracomp is a decent multi-band unit. High pass filtering is a technique where the compressor is 'tuned' to react less strongly, or not at all, to bass frequencies, the Cali76 Compact Bass and DG Hyper Luminal both have adjustable HPF's, for example. While this might sound counter intuitive (to me at least) it actually increases the low end weight of the compressed signal. A fair assumption for a lot of pedals but not when it comes to compressors. This is where having a good understanding of compression will start to pay off, you need to understand what the Threshold control does in order to set it suitably - this controls the point at which the compressor applies the compression. There's no single answer to where you set the threshold as there are a number of factors to consider such as bass output level (a hotter bass will require a lower threshold, for example). A comp with decent metering is really helpful for setting the threshold just right. Set the threshold too low and you may not trigger the compression, too high and you'll obliterate your dynamics. My preference is to set the threshold at the point where it catches the signal peaks (unfortunately I'm only human and therefore lack a totally impeccable technique ) to keep the bass signal even when digging in hard but allows me to retain dynamics when playing softer. The importance of the threshold is probably where most people go wrong with compressors, IMO. This is easily doable with a suitably set threshold and when set up properly it would make the change in sounds easier as well as potentially saving your fingers from having to dig in so hard! It's all about the threshold.

But that's exactly what a compressor does! See the previous links I posted. Anyway, nobody has to use one. But when used properly compression makes the bass (and all other instruments, vocals, drums etc) sound more consistent and allows them to sit together more evenly in the mix while still retaining dynamics, transients, overtones etc. As a result the whole sound is improved, so why wouldn't you use one? I often leave my EQ set flat but would never consider telling anyone they should never use an EQ on their bass. It's the same principle. Any decent sound engineer, and we all know they're a rare breed, and certainly studio engineers use compression all the time. But just because some bass players don't or won't use one it doesn't invalidate the idea or make it pointless. I use them all the time and if someone wants to believe it's like riding my bike with the stabilisers on I'll just have to learn to live with it 🤷‍♂️

But if you were to use a compressor it would remove those overtones... 🤣🤣🤣

Making sure your technique is consistent as is humanly possible is fine, but how do you deal with playing the same note in different parts of the neck? For example, if you were to play a G on the 15th fret of the E string, it will have sound more dense and weighty than playing an open G string. Same note, same pitch but one contains much more energy than the other. How do you control that? Play the 15th fret G quieter? In which case it could get lost. Play the open string harder or maybe pluck it further up the neck?

Can I respectfully ask you to read this - it's a different link to the one I posted before but from the same website, and written, as before, by an authority on the subject of compression. The first main paragraph is the main point of interest. http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/howto.shtml The first main paragraph is the main point of interest; "A compressor is just an automatic volume control. At a basic level, it reacts to volume spikes from your music, and turns down the volume a bit as your input levels go up. That's really all there is to it."

I use D'Addario Nickel 50-105 guage. They're 34" scale strings but with the through-body stringing it's only really another wrap of the string around the machine head post thingy. I've been doing this for years, only because I have a job lot of 34" strings, and have never had any trouble with intonation or strings breaking.

Try some rounds on the JMJ, it makes a huge difference compared to the stock flats IMO. I don't really like flats in general but the ones that came with the JMJ aren't as lifeless as some that I've tried... But once I put a set of rounds on the bass really came alive, you still have that rubbery low end things but much more clarity and articulation in the upper mids and high end. Much more of a classic Precision sound 😎

I don't think they're being singled out as such but speaking from personal experience of BD as well as making a sweeping generalisation based on some of the posts in this thread, it seems to me that BD's unique take on customer service is arguably more variable than most shops, be they selling music equipment or anything else. In my own experience the level of customer service I have received from them has varied from excellent through to condescending, to apathetic incompetence. IF you go to one of the big box shifters and deal with the 12 year old Saturday boy on minimum wage then you might adjust your expectations accordingly. But when you go to a specialist shop like BD you, or at least I do, expect service that's a little more consistent. I neither want nor expect some fawning sycophant to blow smoke up my exhaust, but a little respect and common courtesy goes a long way.

And of course, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Ars

Have we had Bruno Ars yet?

Not the design but the finish. Sunburst and/or tort are disgusting enough on their own, but when combined they are truly hideous 🤢🤮 Just add gold hardware for the holy trinity of awful bass aesthetics!

Can I respectfully ask that you give this a read - Killed my tone (ovnilab.com)

Compression is very much a misunderstood concept, you really need to understand compression to get the most from it and to apply it correctly. That cannot be overstated. When done properly it's often invisible, in so far as it's not obvious, although it can be. The subject has been covered many times on BC already so it's worth doing a search if you want to know more, although there is some ongoing misconceptions that keep cropping up. Better still, take a look at sound engineering sites online as you'll get a more objective overview. I've never heard of compression reducing overtones before, I'm not sure that's true. Compression is for controlling the overall waveform as well as signal spikes on the signal, including but not always the transients. As for the guy on YouTube with his acoustic guitar, it sounds like he didn't know what he was doing 🤷‍♂️

That's what I was wondering too. Are you going for that scooped mid range sound, i.e. lots of lows and highs but with not a lot going on in between? If you are then I suspect that's where the problem lies. While a scooped sound can sound great when it's just the bass playing it's often the last thing you actually need to get the bass to be heard in a band context. Most of the audible frequencies of the bass are in the mids, so that's where you need to shape your sound. IME the sounds that work best with the band are not usually very exciting on their own but you need to be able to sit in the mix with the other instruments for the bass to work as part of the whole. And from memory - so I'm happy to be corrected - the bass control on the Tone Hammer is centred at 40Hz which is a very low frequency, and if you're boosting the bass control lots all you are doing is putting a big strain on the speakers, especially a single 2x10, and not really getting anything audible, or of much use, out of the speakers.

Alice in Chins

Dido has been playing this game for years.

Dad Kennedys

It's obvious difficult, if not impossible, to know what's going on without actually hearing your setup. But a couple of hints in the above post reinforce my suspicion that the BDI is the problem i.e. backing off the bass off and running the treble flat out as well as getting a more usable sound from a different amp. There are other ways of getting a top end bite to your tone without a massive mid scoop (which again is what I suspect the problem is). But if you really want to use that sound then you might just have to learn to live with it. You can use multi band compression as a sort of EQ, I have done this in the past with the TC Hypergravity. But this is where you need to understand the ins and outs of compression to set it up so it works for you. If you were to go down that road you could compress and boost your highs while using separate bands for the lows and mids. What it would sound like on the other hand... Again I'm second guessing here so could be way off the mark but it might be better to set up a bass sound, regardless of compression, that works with the other instruments you play with, rather than having "your sound". It might not sound great on its own but it'll fit in and make the whole band sound right. And yes, I speak from experience here 😃

Is it a compressor that you're looking for? The short answer is possibly. The long answer is more complex. Skipping over the OC-2 issue for the most part, it sounds like the make up gain from your SD compressor is helping to compensate for the volume drop there. I don't have an OC-2 and haven't used on for 25 odd years so can't really help any further with that. But my stock answer regarding compressors and their use is, if you don't know much already, do your homework. I cannot emphasise that enough, there's a lot of misunderstanding and misconceptions about them as well as some outright nonsense written about them - even on Basschat unfortunately. But to get the best out of a compressor you need to understand what they do and how to best apply compression. And that takes time as compression is (mostly) subtle. The impression I get is that a lot of people treat a compression pedal as an effect because it's a stomp box, right? But they make much more sense when thought of in terms of shaping your sound, so more in line with using tools like EQ , high pass filtering rather than an effect that will dazzle or impress anyone like a filter or synth pedal. Someone far more clued up than me on compression said that you need to think like a sound engineer rather than a bass player to use them properly, and that perfectly sums it up! Having got that out of the way... What do you feel is lacking from the SD? That might help identify potential replacements. If you're just looking for a volume leveler you might be better off with a limiter, for example. The Spectracamp is a great little pedal and infinitely configurable, off the top of my head there's something like 48 individual parameters to tweak. And if you have the understanding they are incredibly powerful. There's also the new Source Audio Atlas that is making me all moist around the nether regions, if nobody else! But being brutally honest, I suspect the inconsistency between your strings is down to the BDI21. Like the Sansamp Bass Driver it rips off it has a baked in huge void in the mid range which sounds sexy when the bass is played in isolation but is pretty much the last thing you actually need to get the bass to sit in the mix. The audible frequency range of the bass guitar is predominantly in the mid range frequencies and scooping them, especially as extremely as the BDI21 does, is in essence turning much - but not all - of the instrument down. As well as the absent mid range I also find the inherent sound of the pedal is too overly compressed anyway, certainly for my taste, so adding even more compression on top is unlikely to help. My suggestion would be to switch the DBI off and kill it with fire to see how things sound. If you still want that edge to your sound try something like the TC Electronic Spark Booster, the 4 knob version not the mini one. That way you can add some grit to the sound without completely f@cking it up making the sound difficult to work with. All IMO, of course 😃