polvo

'Weak link' might have been the wrong way to put it, but I think I just saw too many reviews raving about the MXR and got it into my head that on some level it must be objectively 'better'. Maybe also subconsciously thinking that because the Spectracomp is mini and so simple to use, it might not be as good (ironically those are actually the exact reasons I love it). This thread has reassured me that I'm not just missing some magic sauce that the MXR has. But it does look like it'll be a great tool to learn about compression parameters, with all the controls on the pedal rather than hidden in a toneprint app. So I think it'll replace the Spectracomp on my board at least temporarily while I try and get my head around compression a bit more. Might well sell it on later though, and just go back to the tiny simple beauty of the Spectracomp!

I'm totally on board with this, and I'm definitely in favour of some compression in my chain! When I A/B the spectracomp or M87 against a dry signal it's a big improvement. It's just AB-ing between the spectracomp and M87 that my ears can't hear a difference. This isn't quite what my problem is... I understand compression, and I know in theory what effect all the parameters should have on the sound. I just can't hear it! It all makes complete sense in theory, I just can't hear it in practice. Yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head here. At this point I've probably spent too much time reading up on what the parameters do and not enough time playing around with them (especially with the band). In my post I kind of dismissed the on-board controls of the M87 as irrelevant to my situation, but it turns out they might actually be the perfect way for me to learn more about compression (can't exactly start tweaking Toneprint settings for the Spectracomp in between songs!) A follow-up question on this... I've noticed that what works well at home with a practice amp doesn't always translate to a band practice. But is the same true when going from band practice to live gigs? If I spend time dialing in compression, I imagine there's a good chance that won't translate to a gig (where the entire band is using different gear, plus sound is going through a PA, plus we're in a whole different space and in reality we're probably all playing with a different energy). Do you have any tips for getting around this? (the answer is probably just play loads of gigs)

TL;DR - Should I updgrade the compressor on my gig pedalboard, even though I can't hear the difference? Should I trust my ears even though they have never undestood compression? I've been using a Spectracomp (always-on, at the start of my pedalboard), and I like the punch and consistency it gives me when playing live. But as I upgrade other bits of my gear, I'm wondering whether this is a weak link in the chain. So when I saw a good deal on an MXR M87, I picked it up to try it out... but to be honest I can't hear the difference, and definitely no huge improvement . But since compression is such a subtle, almost subconscious effect, part of me wonders if I'm better off sticking with the M87 even though I can't tell the difference. So time to ask the reddit hive mind... do you think I will be getting better results by using a 'better' rated compressor? Obviously nobody in the crowd is going to actually notice a difference, so I'm really talking about the subconscious level (which, let's be honest, is where we do most of our best work as bass players anyway!) A potentially relevant factor here is that I generally find compression super hard to hear, so I might just not be dialling it in as well as I could. I understand in theory the effect that ratio, attack, release, etc. will have on my sound... I just can't really hear it unless it's super obvious. M87 is currently set up to compress pretty hard and emphasise the attack. In the Spectracomp's favour - I do love how little space it takes up on my pedalboard. I only really use compression as a 'set it and forget it' pedal when I'm playing live, so it's not like the extra controls on the M87 really bring much value for my use case.

I've been acquiring random bass & guitar effects pedals for a while, basically buying up anything interesting that I find being sold cheap second hand. I've played around with various different combos, but I'm interested to hear what other people would do with this. So treat this like a box of lego - what are you gonna build? And what's it gonna sound like? Bonus points if you can point me to a recording of the kind of sound you're aiming for. You can also add in one or two missing pedals if you think there are others I should be adding into the mix here. Pedals include: Sansamp BDDI MXR blow torch fuzz/overdrive (NOT PICTURED) EHX bass big muff Boss ODB-3 bass overdrive MXR sub octave bass fuzz MXR blue box octave fuzz EHX octave multiplexer Boss OC-3 super octave 'Dumble' homemade overdrive* TC Electronics skysurfer reverb MXR smart gate Neewer noise gate Marshall ED1 compressor (*Seller's description of the Dumble: Based on the NE5532 chip. Can go from full distortion to light overdrive with the drive knob. Has a smooth sound that works with single coils and humbuckers. Mid-focused overdrive tone.)

Thanks everyone, good sleuthing!

Would love it if someone can tell me anything about this bass, or have a guess at who made it and when. Here's what I know... neck thru double truss rod active serial number 00134 Bonus points if you can tell me what's going on in that last photo, I've never seen electronics like that (but also don't know much about active electronics). What's the rectangular thing and is meant to look that lumpy?

This is an update on my previous post: I had a go at rewiring the bass, and it mainly works ok. But there's a problem with the volume knob - first, it doesn't actually control the volume at all, and second there's a buzzing noise when I touch it. The buzzing suggests a grounding issue but I don't know what... Can anyone help me figure out what's causing the problem? I more or less followed the wiring diagram below, except for a couple of changes to make the rewiring simpler. Do either of the changes below sound like they would cause the problems with the volume knob? 1. The original wiring had everything grounded to tone, so I left it like that (instead of unsoldering all of those ground wires and resoldering to volume) 2. The tone pot was wired completely differently and I kept it pretty much as is: volume wire goes to the left lug (instead of the middle lug, like in the diagram) left lug also connects to middle lug capacitor is on the middle lug (instead of the right lug, like in the diagram) and then grounded to the top of the pot right lug grounded to the top of the pot

Thank you to everyone above for your help! But now comes the follow-up question, where I try to understand what I've done wrong and how to fix it... EDIT: Removed the rest of this comment and moved it to a new thread here:

Thanks, but I want to give this a go myself. I make a complete hash of it then good to know I have a backup option!

Is this about the new blend pot somehow being consistent with the volume & tone pots? Or just about upgrading the other pots since I'll have them out anyway? I hadn't planned on that... but will think about it if it makes a noticeable difference. Great tip!

That's mostly just me holding the bundle of wires out of the way to take a clearer photo. But a few of the black wires go into the body to connect to the pickups - as I've since learnt, these are extra grounding wires.

Before I get to my main question - what is the point of 2 separate volume knobs rather than a blend knob? It really annoys me that I can't quickly & easily adjust volume without impacting on the tone, or vice versa. I can't really see any advantage of double volume knobs but it's so common... what am I missing? Ok, and now the main bit. The plan is to turn the 1st pot into master volume and replace the 2nd with a blend. But I'm kind of confused by the wiring under the hood, and it doesn't seem to match what I'm seeing in the diagram... . Based on that, I was expecting to see three wires connected to the 1st pot (two from the pickup, and one going to the 2nd pot). But instead I have one from the front pickup (yellow in the photo below), one going to the jack (white), and one to the 2nd pot (white/red). The front pickup also has another two other wires (both black), one going to the 2nd pot and one going to the tone knob. Does anyone know why the wiring seems so different to the diagram? Or am I missing something obvious here? And any advice on how to approach the rewiring? Thanks!

Actually, I just took another look and I don't think that's the same bass. This one has a humbucker but the ones in that catalogue (and the reverb link) have split pickups.