Musicman20 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've just tried an MXR Bass Compressor. Whilst my MXR guitar pedals have arrived flawless and felt very high quality, I am a little perplexed with how this one feels a little bit 'cheap'. It probably isn't, but it just seems quite fiddly to work with. I tried it through headphones and used guidance to see how it worked, and to be honest it added hiss and some noticeable clipping/distortion and an almost 'digital' like texture to the tone. It was from Amazon (brand new and cheapest price) but it is going back today due to the noise and the fact the paint job looked like a Friday afternoon rush. Any recommendations? For the price I could try a Boss LMB-3 and a Budda Chakra and still have change and still have two flavours over the MXR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I felt the same way! I went for an Empress in the end and I'm very pleased. Although I'd consider the new Keeley that is available now. If you want small - then the Wampler is well regarded on ovid. But I've not tried that personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I had the MXR M-102 Dyna-Comp ... sheer class, and built like the proverbial tank. Works absolutely fine for bass. http://www.rainbowguitars.com/accessories/mxr/m-102-dyna-comp-compressor/m102/jd The MXR Bass Compressor looks 'orrible to my eyes, too many knobs, too much to fiddle with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 i guess it depends how much control you want over your compressor. I got my MXR bass comp a few years ago and it works great. Not a lot of additional hiss even with a Jazz bass and a lot of additional makeup gain added. Some pedals like the Diamond get a great review but they only have 3 controls. Some people see 5 controls and think that's too many. A lot of it comes down to preference. I am surprised about the build quality comments etc. Maybe because it was Amazon stock they received B Stock and sold it on as massive corporates are likely to do. I've heard of similar happening with Sandbergs at Thomann. Don't mean this to come across in a "how dare you bash a pedal because I own it and i'm angry" type way. I struggled to understand and get what I wanted out of the MXR until I better understood compression and what I wanted from a compressor. (Again I do not mean that in a patronising "you have no idea what you're doing" way, I'm talking about myself). Hope there's enough qualification in there. We all know how compression threads can go...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 P.S. if you did notice a large amount of hiss, this is quite easily achievable with some compressors if adding a large amount of gain. With the MXR if you really cranked the INPUT or OUTPUT knobs really high (to the right) you'd probably experience quite a high level of hiss because you've added a high amount of gain that will boost all the noise present between your bass -> Comp pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I use the MXR super comp, bought it off ebay before the bass comp was announced, I've never noticed any hiss at any settings, does the job for me and it was about 45 quid if I remember right. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I've just started using the Seymour Duncan Studio bass comp. So far I'm very happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I tried the MXR Bass Comp at Anderton's recently. The one example they had in stock didn't work - no audible compression, and no lights on the LED ladder, no matter how I set the controls. And I do understand how to use a compressor! They have crammed a lot into a tiny box, especially when you consider it is a similar concept to the Cali76 (which I own) e.g. same control set. If you're wondering why I tried the MXR when I have a Cali76, I was looking for something smaller for my 'big' guitar pedalboard. I got the Xotic SP in the end btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) man... I'm wondering if QC has slipped a bit at MXR, I've never had an issue with the 2 pedals of theirs that I own. (Edit... don't want to make a generalised sweeping comment about one company's QC practices based on 1 pedal from Amazon and a Demo pedal that make have been fairly badly treated at a store but I'm just thinking out loud on a forum....) After this post I did some bass practice. Had my compressor set with a fair amount of makeup gain, and there was a mild level of hum (this was with my Audio Interface volume turned up pretty loud and listening through headphones). I run into an Avalon U5 DI with the Boost set at 4 (all other controls off) then into Audio Interface. I then turned off the MXR and turned up the gain on the Avalon until it reached the same level of signal as I was getting from the Compressor (Avalon boost was set at 7 or 8 didn't notice which but it was a big jump up in gain). The background hum was definitely quieter, but if you are talking about where your bass tone sits in the mix, you aren't going to hear any hum from either of them at all. For me the benefit of running the compressor outweighs the marginal increase in background hum because the only point you would hear the hum is in the silence between songs, and the hum isn't loud enough to be heard if the band volume dropped really low. Edited July 21, 2015 by The Badderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) - Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 It is only that MXR pedal that I hear reports of issues. My other two MXR pedals are incredibly well made and feel higher quality compared to the Compressor. I usually just buy the best but I've learnt so much from 6 string guitar orientated pedals that even cheap pedals sound great. It doesn't have to be boutique to be good quality. I've opted for the Budda Chakra (big batch on offer on eBay and the reviews on it for bass are very very good - http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/chakra.shtml That's a 1/3 of the price of the MXR because of the offer. I've also opted to try a Boss LMB-3 because I love the Boss shape and function...again it gets decent reviews for the price. I also wanted it for more of a limiting type pedal. I've bought a few pedals from Amazon and they've always been spot on until now. This one was factory sealed so I think it's always been a dodgy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Good review there for the Budda and at only £50 on evilbay not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Sounds good! £50 for a decent compressor At some point when I'm in a buying phase again I do want to try out some other compressors especially the Cali 76, Diamond and Keely to see what they're like. Unfortunately I doubt i'll be doing any buying over the next couple of years, but on the plus side some of them might have come down a bit in price in the used market by then. Also I'd love to try the new Darkglass comp as well. Can't imagine that being anything other than great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 [quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1437502982' post='2826652'] Any thread can go the wrong way with misinformation, bad manners, and a big ego! [/quote] Yeah. I think over the next 10-20 years, there will be modules in Psychology degrees based around different musical forums and how people communicate within them. Having seen how some threads just snowball in the space of a couple of poorly written comments that allow someone else having a bad day to mis-interpret and fly off the handle, I am now very careful with how I write posts and make sure I express what I'm not meaning so that people can't just hear it the wrong way and fly at you. It becomes quite tiresome having to take such care, but then again I guess it makes you think what you're writing through a bit more before you post it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1437513298' post='2826752'] Good review there for the Budda and at only £50 on evilbay not bad at all. [/quote] I think they are normally £90-100! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) - Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) - Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I'm holding out for the Darkglass Symmetry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keoI-wf8pc8 Anyone know when it will be released? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 Well the Boss LMB-3 and Budda Chakra both arrived, both feel very durable, both have a good quality footswitch. I've not had much time to play with them, but I'm already preferring how solid they both feel! Re: Darkglass - I imagine it will be expensive. Not that expensive is a bad thing (I've spent a hell of a lot on gear over the years) but I've found I don't really gel with the Darkglass pedals. I will probably eat my own words but the tone for their overdrive/distortion just doesn't work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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