Compressors "Kejserens nye Klæder"

[NancyJohnson]

I've just watched (and listened) to a short demonstration video uploaded by Bass Direct to You Tube; it covers a handful of compressors (models by EBS/MXR/TCE/DarkGlass). It's the usual stuff; a mystery hand switching each unit on and off, rotating a few knobs; all the while accompanied by some mentalist who unmusically slaps and pops their way through the entire video.

I'm sorry, I know I'm not a big fan of effects pedals as such, but compressors? Aren't these just The Emperor's New Clothes? I understood these are supposed to be a way of boosting and squeezing your signal, but could hear very little effect from any of the pedals. All I could really make out was the slightest in tone change, which in truth I could probably achieve by tweaking my tone controls. What is the fuss with these units? If you open up one of these are you just going to find a box devoid of anything except a little LED light?

Hmmm.

[ProfFrink]

Yeah, they're not for everyone. I use them mostly for slap and I do think the improvement in sound is noticeable. I also use it for some weirder stuff when mixing a few signal chains and I need one of them to stay at a certain level while the others vary with my playing.

Also check the link below for a completely different always-on approach:
[url="http://pedalsandeffects.com/boss-cs-2-my-number-one-pedal/"]http://pedalsandeffects.com/boss-cs-2-my-number-one-pedal/[/url]

[Guest FretNoMore]

If you don't hear a difference, then maybe it's not for you. Writing off compressors based on one Internet video is perhaps not exactly giving them a fair chance though.

Compressors are probably the least understood and most incorrectly used effects, I see a lot of people giving up on them after just a cursory attempt and usually with a less than brilliant product. It takes some tweaking and some listening, and the effect is not as evident as for instance a fuzz pedal.

If you want to read up a bit I suggest this site: www.ovnilab.com

Edited November 22, 2015 by FretNoMore

[NancyJohnson]

Heh, I swear my entire experience with compressors isn't limited to a YT video...I actually owned a EHX Black Finger for a little while, but really couldn't see the point so I sold it on.

[Guest FretNoMore]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1448211928' post='2913696']
Heh, I swear my entire experience with compressors isn't limited to a YT video...I actually owned a EHX Black Finger for a little while, but really couldn't see the point so I sold it on.
[/quote]
Yeah ... as I said, giving up after using a less than brilliant product.

Anyway, no effect is useful for everyone, if you don't like compressors don't use one. Others do like them - and know that every single bass line you hear on the radio or on an album has compression added to it.

I use a compressor all the time, not so much to change the tone or dynamics in any dramatic way, but rather because of how it affects the feel or playability of other effects on my board. Just a small change of the dynamics makes both dirt and filter pedals act differently, and I think they in my application get more easily controlled and consistent across strings. You can actually hardly hear a difference when I play a dry tone, but there is a difference in combination with other pedals. I think you need to have a clear idea of why you want to use a compressor to make good use of one. Again, I recommend the link I posted earlier.

Edited November 22, 2015 by FretNoMore

[Guinness21]

I'm looking at a compressor in part for dealing with dynamics (being a finger player), but one of the main reasons is for tone.

I play a bright bass and will shortly be investing in a markbass head and bergantino cab - a very transparent amp rig. I like it that way, but in some scenarios I will be cutting through too much. As a result, I'm looking at coupling a DI pedal and a compressor to warm up my sound.

I'm looking at the likes of the Darkglass Supersymmetry, Mad Professor Forest Green, Ovnifx Smoothie & Origin Cali76 CB. All the above fatten and warm up the sound, adding a bit of oomph. Go on bass-pedals.com, they do great sound clips where I can at least here a difference.