Al Heeley Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Ah, I think you mean they achieve a similar thing but using different methods. To ask for opinions on a forum only to be greeted with "my favourite is not necessarily your favourite" is not really worth the effort posting. What is it about your favourite that makes it so? What way does it compress, what tonal qualities are lent by the unit that makes you prefer it above the 300 other choices? On what basis would you recommed it if someone asks for your opinion? Now that's a discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329827263' post='1547922'] its the knobs and the lights really, especially the lights. But really, how can you say they all do different things? Surely they are sold as compressors so they all compress. If I spend good money on a compressor then when i took it home it sounded like a flanger or a whammy pedal I'd be most perturbed. [/quote] Different circuits, based upon different electronics to offer different solutions to the same problem. They all compress/limit but the way they do it can be very different. An opto compressor uses a light source/light receptor to indicate the volume of the signal, the speed at which the light source gains and loses brightness has a lot to do with the characteristic sound of that type of compressor. An led behaves very differently from an electro-luminescent panel so there are many variations in this type of solution alone. (Joe Meek compressors) A true tube compressor uses the change in the grid to cathode voltage to drive the gain riding (called a vari-mu circuit), different tubes have different behaviour here too. (La-2a, MB Compressore) A FET compressor can be very very fast, but because FET circuits cannot cope with high current they are prone to noise. (1176) The most benign circuit is often consider to be a straight forward VCA, it tends to be clean, can get pretty fast and is often very transaparent. However a lot of what a compressor can bring to the table are the side effects of the other solutions, so even a VCA is not really the be all and end all. (Compounder) Moreover the very nature of how and where in the circuit the compression is applied drastically changes the 'action' of the compressor. A feed-forward circuit uses the input signal to drive the volume regulation. A feedback design uses the result of the original signal after the voltage control to drive the volume regulation. The behaviour of the two systems is completely different. A cart horse will get you from A to B, sometimes you will find the journey is better taken in a Ferrari, or even a tank.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 (edited) Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent? Edited February 21, 2012 by Al Heeley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 At that price, look for a used BBE Opto Stomp, or an EBS Multicomp if you can stretch a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 the ebs multi comp seems to get a lot of favour from bass players. thx - will keep my eyes open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329825449' post='1547877'] Not wishing to hijack this thread, but what is the best compressor for under £50? [/quote] I know Ovnilabs gets brought up again and again, but I think this page is really useful: http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/toppicks.shtml I guess the prices here are a little different to the US, but I've spent quite a lot of time looking at his reviews, and it looks like the Carl Martin Classic Opto would take some beating if buying new (I think you can get it for about £75 - £80). Despite its popularity, the EBS doesn't feature in the Top Picks, and in fact his review suggests that they're not particularly reliable........ I've been looking out for a DOD MilkBox because they look like pretty good value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329835433' post='1548143'] Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent? [/quote] I drive a third hand BMW 3 series Personally I think £50 really is on the low side, and a pedal is going to make life hard for yourself regarding metering. The Optostomp gets a lot of love as a fairly generic somewhat transparent optical squishing device, a lot of people like the EBS for what it can bring to the table. If it were me I'd look for a second hand Alesis rack comp and learn how to use a comrpessor, and what compression sounds (and doesnt sound) like using its far better metering to help me understand what I was doing. Any comp around £50 is going to be a false economy except as a teachin aid IMO, expect a pretty noisy circuit that to some degree badly effects your tone (ie with no compression set - ratio 1:1 and threshold set all the way up the damn thing adds noise and lessens some area of the frequency spectrum). Or it just has a pants sounding 'action' or is a one trick wonder. Eventually you will have to move it on. The most flexible circuit is a VCA, the lowest entry level is really over the £100 mark (more liek £150+) for something you would be happy with for good. Having said that if I wouldnt record with it I wouldnt use it live, some people have a different (lower) expectation on live kit though (cant see why personally but they do). One thing though, dbx did a desk top compressor (MC6) that Silveroxnik got one of off ebay for well under £50, it may well be that the form factor is so unpopular that people discount it out of hand, but for what ever reason it was seriously cheap, I set it up for him a couple of bass bashes ago and really like the sound of it, its a VCA has decent metering and doesnt wreck your tone. If you can find one for a silly price get it, it woudl certainly be a decent teaching aid and is good enough to last a while in a rig IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329835433' post='1548143'] Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent? [/quote] *SHAMELESS PLUG MODE ON* I have a Barge Concepts RC-2 for sale at the minute that would be inside your budget - bongomania's compressor review site gives it a reasonable review (comparable to the EBS unit). *SHAMELESS PLUG MODE OFF* Having said that it might not be a huge difference from the dynacomp clone you're playing as it's based on the same circuit (a few extra features like an added decay control and switchable guitar/bass modes and good quality components throughout)... Edited February 22, 2012 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 For the sake of £27 I bought a Dangleberry ebay GLX limiter, modelled on the Boss LMB-3. I imagine this could bring posts of ridicule and derision plus weblinks to "difference between a compressor and a Limiter" articles, (thx I read some of the shorter ones..) but for £27 I thought it was worth a try within the band mix to see if I will gain some benefit from it. You know what, for a real budget pedal, its solid build quality (I have an almost as cheap 7-band GLX eq thats been gigged 18 months now no problem) and it does reinforce and smooth out the sound. The enhance knob is a little noisy adding some top end eq for a percussive slap sound if you want, but thats not a feature of our set. I will give it a few gigs and decide if I need to shell out >£140 on a 'proper' one or just play this cheap GLX one till it expires. The pedal works way better for bass than my homemade dynacomp clone - presumably that's specifically designed for the guitar players. Well worth the outlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1330534315' post='1559031'] For the sake of £27 I bought a Dangleberry ebay GLX limiter, modelled on the Boss LMB-3. I imagine this could bring posts of ridicule and derision plus weblinks to "difference between a compressor and a Limiter" articles, (thx I read some of the shorter ones..) but for £27 I thought it was worth a try within the band mix to see if I will gain some benefit from it. You know what, for a real budget pedal, its solid build quality (I have an almost as cheap 7-band GLX eq thats been gigged 18 months now no problem) and it does reinforce and smooth out the sound. The enhance knob is a little noisy adding some top end eq for a percussive slap sound if you want, but thats not a feature of our set. I will give it a few gigs and decide if I need to shell out >£140 on a 'proper' one or just play this cheap GLX one till it expires. The pedal works way better for bass than my homemade dynacomp clone - presumably that's specifically designed for the guitar players. Well worth the outlay. [/quote] Sounds very interesting! You might have just saved me some money........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I have (and have had) many compressors and the best one I have used for bass is the DBX160A. It is very natural sounding and easy to dial in as well. For pedals I like the EBS in tri-band mode. I also have a Markbass TA501 with a one knob built in valve compressor and this is really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBboy Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1330534315' post='1559031'] For the sake of £27 I bought a Dangleberry ebay GLX limiter, modelled on the Boss LMB-3. I imagine this could bring posts of ridicule and derision plus weblinks to "difference between a compressor and a Limiter" articles, (thx I read some of the shorter ones..) but for £27 I thought it was worth a try within the band mix to see if I will gain some benefit from it. You know what, for a real budget pedal, its solid build quality (I have an almost as cheap 7-band GLX eq thats been gigged 18 months now no problem) and it does reinforce and smooth out the sound. The enhance knob is a little noisy adding some top end eq for a percussive slap sound if you want, but thats not a feature of our set. I will give it a few gigs and decide if I need to shell out >£140 on a 'proper' one or just play this cheap GLX one till it expires. The pedal works way better for bass than my homemade dynacomp clone - presumably that's specifically designed for the guitar players. Well worth the outlay. [/quote] I bought one of these the other night too, should be coming on Monday! Ovnilabs reviewed the GTX CS-3 copy, and said that the circuit and pots, etc is all exactly the same as the Boss version. I think there's a Behringer that is the same circuit too, bit it suffers from plastic shafted pots and jack sockets mounted directly to the circuit board. This GTX should be every bit as reliable as the Boss LMB-3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I heard it was virtually identical to the Boss LMB-3 unit, rumoured to come from the same factory - maybe a both of marketing myth that Dangleberry like to propagate but the units sure are built better than the Behringer ones. I've heard only good feedback from these budget pedals, as long as you don't expect £200 boutique performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 first decent volume practice tonight and i left the pedal on the whole time, I'm quite impressed for the money it really does a decent job at tightening up the sound and the dynamics. I'm really not very experienced at the whole comp/limiter thing but you really can't knock this little pedal for the money. If anyone wants to dip an inexpensive toe into the water of compression then i heartily recommend the £27.50 to Dangleberry on ebay for this. At higher volume settings I found the unit more comp-like since it prolongs the decay of the note whereas a pure limiter, i believe, maintains the decay but just knocks off the peaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disssa Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 IMO very good compressors are the TC Electronic Triple C or the TC Electronic NDY-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1330990176' post='1566094'] first decent volume practice tonight and i left the pedal on the whole time, I'm quite impressed for the money it really does a decent job at tightening up the sound and the dynamics. I'm really not very experienced at the whole comp/limiter thing but you really can't knock this little pedal for the money. If anyone wants to dip an inexpensive toe into the water of compression then i heartily recommend the £27.50 to Dangleberry on ebay for this. At higher volume settings I found the unit more comp-like since it prolongs the decay of the note whereas a pure limiter, i believe, maintains the decay but just knocks off the peaks. [/quote] LImiter/Comp both will act as a sustain enhancer with a low enough threshold. If that devices threshold is not variable, then the input volume effectively becomes the threshold.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pn_day Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Another plug for the excellent ovnilab.com reviews. I ended up picking up a Carl Martin Comp-Limiter 2nd hand, and it sounds great. Closest thing I could afford that sounds like a reasonably transparent PA compressor. The only problem is that the controls are, shall we say, a little unusual. If you are on a limited budget I'd look at the recommended ones on the above website and see what is kicking around 2nd hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripper1888 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 [quote name='basstech' timestamp='1328302354' post='1525337'] I've got a tc bh500 amp with built in compressor but it cuts far too much frequency even at a very low operation. Who does the best compressor where u can control all parameters pl guys? Ta J [/quote]I just use a single pedalcomp. It's a Electro Harmonix "Soul Preacher" with only two knobs and a 3 way switch. Maybe that will be to less options for you ? Anyway , it's sounds great with my fullstack Ampegrig or my Gallien Kruegerrig. Good luck mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 [quote name='pn_day' timestamp='1332795091' post='1593331'] Another plug for the excellent ovnilab.com reviews. I ended up picking up a Carl Martin Comp-Limiter 2nd hand, and it sounds great. Closest thing I could afford that sounds like a reasonably transparent PA compressor. The only problem is that the controls are, shall we say, a little unusual. If you are on a limited budget I'd look at the recommended ones on the above website and see what is kicking around 2nd hand. [/quote] The Carl Martin optical compressor also got favourable reviews if I remember right. Never owned a Carl Martin pedal but might have a serious look at some of their stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I'm getting really nice subtle/musical results from my Boss LM-2 & CS-2, not boutique stuff, and kinda getting difficult to find for decent prices. The Limiter I think is quite similar to the modern Boss equivalent, but the old CS-2 beats the newer CS-3 hands down! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 [quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1329835433' post='1548143'] Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent? [/quote] Marshall Ed-1. It would be good at twice the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 [quote name='OmeDunk' timestamp='1329302630' post='1540174'] Nice post on compression, 51m0n. Again. Does anybody have experience with the new Alesis 3632? Seems to be a big improvement from the 3630 for a nice price. [/quote] [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1329327653' post='1540775'] I've not used a 3632, I would expect it to be on the noisey side for a studio device, although probably ok for live. If its anything like a 3630 though it will be a perfectly good way to learn how to set up a compressor, it will have all the important controls, reasonalby good metering (ie way better than a pedal!) and a limiter to catch those mega spikes when you open the attack up and whack the knackers out of it. As a cheap device to really learn with I think you could do a lot worse. And thanks for the props chaps! [/quote]Saw one of these in a local Crack Converters for around £40 IIRC at the w/e. Might have to go back later in the week to see if it's still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassPimp66 Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1332944609' post='1595251'] I'm getting really nice subtle/musical results from my Boss LM-2 & CS-2, not boutique stuff, and kinda getting difficult to find for decent prices. The Limiter I think is quite similar to the modern Boss equivalent, but the old CS-2 beats the newer CS-3 hands down! Si [/quote] I bought a CS-3 and I modded it as per OvniLab suggestion [url="http://ovnilab.com/articles/cs3modding.shtml"]http://ovnilab.com/a...s3modding.shtml[/url] It sounds pretty good. It is just a hassle to close the pedal cover as the new capacitors are much bigger than the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr Szelma Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 (edited) IF IT HAS TO BE STOMP BOX - Demeter (yellow 4 knob version) - Aphex Punch Factory - Carl Martin OptoStomp EBS is S-H-I-T!!! Good sounding bass sounds rubbish after using EBS MultiComp, rubbish bass sounds better with it on. My basses are very good, I don't want to kill them with EBS And depends on what for you want compressor - If slapping, then ok, but other than that, please, start practicing instead! you'll hear the difference after practicing without/ with and again without (all the changes after a few weeks abviously), instead of improving your playing will be much worse... Edited April 7, 2012 by dr Szelma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightSix Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Are your Very Good basses fitted with active preamps...? The EBS can distort with very high output basses: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/multicomp.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/multicomp.shtml[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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