Guest MoJo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) I play in a three piece, multi-genre covers band. Mostly pub gigs and I play a Yamaha BB414 through a Fender Rumble 500 v3. Overall, I'm extremely happy with my gear and my sound but, recently I've been hankering after a compressor. I used to like the Spectracomp Toneprint on my old BG250-115. It was always loaded in and turned on. I've been considering the new Spectracomp pedal but at the same time, can't help feeling that it's overkill for a pub gig and that the pedal will go the way of my GT6-B (two), Zoom B3 (two of these as well) and Zoom MS-60B, on eBay in a few weeks time. Your thoughts please ladies and gents Edited March 4, 2016 by MoJo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 What do you hope to achieve by using one ? That's what I say to myself when I'm thinking that I need something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Why didn't you try the compressors out on your multi units? Then you would have known if you wanted one. If you can, borrow one first. I did & decided I didn't need one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1457099672' post='2995340'] What do you hope to achieve by using one ? That's what I say to myself when I'm thinking that I need something. [/quote] I'm thinking that I would get a smoother, more controlled output, but would anyone, other than me, notice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1457101146' post='2995360'] Why didn't you try the compressors out on your multi units? Then you would have known if you wanted one. If you can, borrow one first. I did & decided I didn't need one. [/quote] I used to use one of the compressors on the GT6-B, didn't like the compressors on the B3 but the Spectracomp on the BG250 added warmth and punch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Everytime I`ve bought a compressor, I`ve sold a compressor. Something tells me I need one, that I won`t be a real bassist until I have one, but then I hear it in the mix and am not happy. I do play with a fair bit of drive though, which apparently acts as natural compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1457108116' post='2995469'] Everytime I`ve bought a compressor, I`ve sold a compressor. Something tells me I need one, that I won`t be a real bassist until I have one, but then I hear it in the mix and am not happy. I do play with a fair bit of drive though, which apparently acts as natural compression. [/quote] I'm the same. I think it's just that little voice telling me I need one. I've never been happier, with my setup, than I am at the moment. Just GAS nibbling at my heels I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Im the same.... bought a compressor and then sold it.... the circle continues. Now I adjust the pickup height and string height to achieve a balanced volume between strings and play more even handed . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elephantgrey Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Compressors might be the hardest effect to use properly (not saying what proper use of a compressor should be, dont want another one of [i]those[/i] compressor threads…). They are subtle beasts, and changes of their settings can be hard to notice when setting them up, but you can sure feel when you're using one thats set up right. i'm guessing this has quite a bit to do with why a lot of people seemed to have not gotten along with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefrash Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I quite like a compressed sound when practicing at home, or through headphones, but as soon as theres a bit of volume coming from the amp, I feel like theres just enough natural compression for it to feel good. I know alot of bassists that couldnt live without one. As elephant said though, its a tricky one to set up especially if you dont understand the theory behind them. I must admit, I dont fully understand them. I've done alright without them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1457108116' post='2995469'] Something tells me I need one, that I won`t be a real bassist until I have one, [/quote] I do use a compressor but when I was first looking to get one I was widely advised to get one where all the parameters could be adjusted and with good metering. Because the pedal I'm using is actually a very simple Mooer Yellow Comp, I often feel that I'm not using a 'proper' compressor and should look to replace it with something that has more bells and whistles. Truthfully though my basic little compressor sounds exactly how I want it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Keeley Bassist is one of the best pedals I have ever got. I don't set it to extreme levels, just to level out a few peaks. Subtle but brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1457108116' post='2995469'] Everytime I`ve bought a compressor, I`ve sold a compressor. Something tells me I need one, that I won`t be a real bassist until I have one, but then I hear it in the mix and am not happy. I do play with a fair bit of drive though, which apparently acts as natural compression. [/quote] Same with me. Love the idea of compression, never happy when I have it. Quite bizarre really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 It's just GAS. The SpectraComp function built into TC amps is great already. I love it on my RH750 - no need for anything more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Ah, sorry - you did say you sold your TC amp, so maybe you do need a SpectraComp after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 [quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1457296132' post='2997168'] Ah, sorry - you did say you sold your TC amp, so maybe you do need a SpectraComp after all! [/quote] Yes GF, I now run through a Rumble 500 v3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Ah, great amps - IIRC Norris brought one to last years Midlands Bass Bash, and it sounded really nice. Pity they don't have a built-in compressor knob! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 I went into a local shop last August and found they stocked the Cali76 (the Cali 76-G in fact)- - I didn't really want to spend heaps of money on one and thought if I liked it I'd find one on here soon enough. I found that this comp sounded fantastic and the added germanium drive really added to the overall tone of the bass sound. I bought it and have used it at every gig since, for home rehearsal and recording. It's an expensive unit and sounds good at a variety of settings and really lifts my crappy encore acoustic for silly home recordings! Compressors sound like they can be tricky but its one of those pedals if you can read a little on it and decide if you're using it as an effect or as a tool you can figure them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) I use one to even out my playing on certain songs, normally anything that is thumb and pluck or when I know I dig in too much, seems to give me a little more headroom.. Sometimes also just to smooth things out going into pedals and always like a little on recordings. Not on 100% of the time anymore, used to use it like that tho. Edited March 12, 2016 by Highfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I've dipped in and out of compressors fro the last few years, and I bought an Aphex Punch Factory (the older 1404 optical compressor) on here, and my OC2 and DOD FX25 are MUCH happier with the steady input that they receive after the compressor - particularly the envelope filter. I've got a DHA VT1 EQ on the board too, with I use for a little bit of grit (not sure that it's a noticeable amount of compression), but putting my compressor at the start of the signal chain has made a massive difference. I don't think I've turned it off since I put it on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 The secrete to GAS is to GAS for something you need, not something you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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