NPD Spectracomp

[hamfist]

I just can't keep quiet about this one.

I have owned a load of comps over the years, including some highly respected ones like the Empress, the MXR bass comp and the MB COmpressore but this little TC pedal is amazing.

Firstly its so tiny, so pedalboard space is very minimal.

Secondly, its just so damn powerful and sounds so good. Noise level is incredibly low too. If you haven't read up on it yet, its a 3-band compressor (bass, mids and treble (with user adjustable crossover points)), with every variable adjustable independently, for every band.

So .....

level
make up gain
ratio
threshold
knee
attack
release
blend
and probably something I've forgotten, tweakable for every band !!! There is nothing hardware-wise that can do this.

I ummed and ahhed about getting this for a while, being skeptical of a digital thing, especially one that needs accessing via software but it ends up that that is its strength not its weakness.

IN all honesty you do need to understand compressors, their variables and how they affect your sound to get anywhere near the best from this. The default loaded tone is IMO horrible, which is a real shame IMO because that is what 90% of people will judge it on. In fact all the downloadable ones from the TC website are very OTT and much more of an "effect" compared to what I look for a compressor to do. I'm looking for something that simply makes notes sound bigger, fatter and sit in the mix with more presence than without. I don't want it to sound obvious that I'm using compression, so I want my attack and the decay of notes to still sound natural, but just "better".

This comp does it all ! Its a little limited by its one knob but TBH all the other compressors I've ever owned I've simply set up on one setting and left them there, so in theory I don't really need any external controls. You can link any compressor variable, or variables, to the knob so even that one knob can be incredibly powerful. If you change basses then it would be good to set it up as a general threshold control.
I gig with one bass so I have currently set it up with the knob controlling bass frequency level and comp ratio, giving me a range of "tightness" for the bass. Its a great "Boom" control for difficult rooms.

I really can't recommend this enough.

[bartelby]

I opted for a Hyper Gravity, over the Spectra Comp, purely because of the extra controls.
But they are fantastic pedals.

[Dood]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1495956399' post='3307692']
I just can't keep quiet about this one.

I have owned a load of comps over the years, including some highly respected ones like the Empress, the MXR bass comp and the MB COmpressore but this little TC pedal is amazing.

Firstly its so tiny, so pedalboard space is very minimal.

Secondly, its just so damn powerful and sounds so good. Noise level is incredibly low too. If you haven't read up on it yet, its a 3-band compressor (bass, mids and treble (with user adjustable crossover points)), with every variable adjustable independently, for every band.

So .....

level
make up gain
ratio
threshold
knee
attack
release
blend
and probably something I've forgotten, tweakable for every band !!! There is nothing hardware-wise that can do this.

I ummed and ahhed about getting this for a while, being skeptical of a digital thing, especially one that needs accessing via software but it ends up that that is its strength not its weakness.

IN all honesty you do need to understand compressors, their variables and how they affect your sound to get anywhere near the best from this. The default loaded tone is IMO horrible, which is a real shame IMO because that is what 90% of people will judge it on. In fact all the downloadable ones from the TC website are very OTT and much more of an "effect" compared to what I look for a compressor to do. I'm looking for something that simply makes notes sound bigger, fatter and sit in the mix with more presence than without. I don't want it to sound obvious that I'm using compression, so I want my attack and the decay of notes to still sound natural, but just "better".

This comp does it all ! Its a little limited by its one knob but TBH all the other compressors I've ever owned I've simply set up on one setting and left them there, so in theory I don't really need any external controls. You can link any compressor variable, or variables, to the knob so even that one knob can be incredibly powerful. If you change basses then it would be good to set it up as a general threshold control.
I gig with one bass so I have currently set it up with the knob controlling bass frequency level and comp ratio, giving me a range of "tightness" for the bass. Its a great "Boom" control for difficult rooms.

I really can't recommend this enough.
[/quote]

Great review and yes I can't recommend it enough either! It is the single best compressor I've ever used, the Hypergravity I suppose would be its equal but I love the smaller form factor.

I also agree that the TonePrints get you started, the Editor brings a whole new dimension!

I too love to change what parameters the knob adjusts and similarly, my preset I have made sounds like it's doing the same. I have all three bands compressing gently but I have a bias to the low end keeping the attacks suited to each band, then I've blended in the dry signal for a classic 'New York Compression' parallel mix.

Simply, brilliant.

[Osiris]

Yes, another happy user of this superb little compressor here too!

Agreed that the default tone print isn't the best, with the rest of my gear there was something unpleasant going on with the mid range that I didn't like, it seemed a bit mushy and ill defined, but that was soon addressed by swapping out the tone print. While some of the downloadable tone prints can be a bit OTT, there are some more subtle and very useable ones too; a couple worthy of mention are Fed Comp, which is ultra transparent and even, and Captain East, another subtle one with some parallel compression throw in.

I've had look at the tone print editor with a view to trying to create my own print. However, although I understand the principles of compression and what the respective parameters control, what I don't fully understand how best to configure them across the different compression bands to achieve the sound I want. I've only ever tweaked single band compressors before.

At the minute, I'm using the Muscle Comp tone print as I like the punch it imparts especially at gig volume. But it also adds more top end than I like, so I simply eq it out at the minute. I'd like to create something with the punch of the Muscle Comp but without the higher frequency boost, and to also experiment with adding in some parallel compression. It doesn't look like you can edit the existing tone prints so I can't see what settings are used in the Muscle Comp print, otherwise I'd start from there and make some changes to suit.

Has anyone got any pointers that could help me achieve this, please?

Edited May 28, 2017 by Osiris

[paul h]

I use the Hypergravity with guitar. Absolutely love it.

I edited a toneprint to sit between the Spectracomp and Vintage settings...which are a bit too bright and too dark respectively.

It makes the bridge pickup on my Tele sound massive!

[hamfist]

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1495960175' post='3307718']
At the minute, I'm using the Muscle Comp tone print as I like the punch it imparts especially at gig volume. But it also adds more top end than I like, so I simply eq it out at the minute. I'd like to create something with the punch of the Muscle Comp but without the higher frequency boost, and to also experiment with adding in some parallel compression. It doesn't look like you can edit the existing tone prints so I can't see what settings are used in the Muscle Comp print, otherwise I'd start from there and make some changes to suit.

Has anyone got any pointers that could help me achieve this, please?
[/quote]

THat should be pretty easy to do using the PC editor, which is the way I access the pedal. I can't comment on using the android app.
Once you've downloaded the editor and booted it up on your PC with the pedal connected by USB, the software has two main tabs - "library" (to access TC's online toneprint library) and "editor". If the musclecomp toneprint is already on your pedal then just go straight to the "editor" and all the parameters should come up. If it is not there already, then use the "library" to get to musclecomp and then send it to the pedal, and then go to the "editor".

From your description, the easiest way to reduce treble is to reduce "level high" in the gain section of the parameters.

THis link has someone else's screenshots of the parameters accessed on the software and what it should look like on screen .........https://www.talkbass.com/threads/npd-tc-spectracomp.1264098/#post-19623477

Once you've tweaked it to your liking then store it using the software to be able to reload it again if you need to (i would then send it to the pedal again (just to make absolutely sure)).

[No. 8 Wire]

I've got one of these but haven't delved into the pc editor yet. Is it possible to save and share settings?

[Dood]

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1495986764' post='3307934']
I've got one of these but haven't delved into the pc editor yet. Is it possible to save and share settings?
[/quote]

It's possible to save settings and also keep them saved in the editor, like saved 'patches' but there is no option to share (yet, who knows what the future holds!)

Edited May 28, 2017 by dood

[No. 8 Wire]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1495987683' post='3307949']
It's possible to save settings and also keep them saved in the editor, like saved 'patches' but there is no option to share (yet, who knows what the future holds!)
[/quote]

Bugger. That means I'll have actually do some work instead of nicking everyone elses patches:-(

[CameronJ]

I too have (and enjoy) my recently purchased Spectracomp. Recently saw that TC are releasing a hyper gravity mini though, so I'd be interested in seeing the differences. At the moment the only obvious difference to me is that the HG mini has 3 Little knobs on the front panel vs the Spectra's 1. Presumably the TonePrints will be much more guitar oriented too.

[hamfist]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. THe bl00dy thing isn't holding its toneprint on power down/up cycles ! I've tried updating firmware etc etc. Done everything to the book, but no good.

A bit of googling shows this seems to be a still as yet unresolved issue with this pedal for some. bo!!ocks !

Edited May 28, 2017 by hamfist

[Dood]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1495992211' post='3307991']
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. THe bl00dy thing isn't holding its toneprint on power down/up cycles ! I've tried updating firmware etc etc. Done everything to the book, but no good.

A bit of googling shows this seems to be a still as yet unresolved issue with this pedal for some. bo!!ocks !
[/quote]

I've not heard of this. Is it odd units that do it, as mine seems to be ok. Hmmm!

[Al Krow]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1495992211' post='3307991']
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. THe bl00dy thing isn't holding its toneprint on power down/up cycles ! I've tried updating firmware etc etc. Done everything to the book, but no good.

A bit of googling shows this seems to be a still as yet unresolved issue with this pedal for some. bo!!ocks !
[/quote]

Hey hope you manage to get this sorted, as the TC Spectracomp is right at the top of my choices for a compressor given how compact it is both on the pedal board and on the wallet! There's been a lot of +ve feedback about this pedal and I was just about to push the button on getting it, but your and Osiris comments about the default tone prints being not great and the difficulty with getting something that works well in place has just made me hold off (I suspect I'm less techy than either of you, so I'd have even less chance of fixing!)...so thanks for sharing that concern, very timely.

Cali 76 anyone? (ok appreciate at over 3 x price that's an unfair comparison...)

Edited May 28, 2017 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1495991570' post='3307986']
I too have (and enjoy) my recently purchased Spectracomp. Recently saw that TC are releasing a hyper gravity mini though, so I'd be interested in seeing the differences. At the moment the only obvious difference to me is that the HG mini has 3 Little knobs on the front panel vs the Spectra's 1. Presumably the TonePrints will be much more guitar oriented too.
[/quote]

It's already out:

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/TC-Electronic-HyperGravity-Mini-Compressor/1YYW?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=91976d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=127148636959&gclid=CjsKDwjw6qnJBRDpoonDwLSeZhIkAIpTR8JfhWogjzLhVW9qWRkqxj2ILAPaLtD3QUCO3GAFvH9ZGgJy5PD_BwE

[hamfist]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1495993097' post='3307994']
I've not heard of this. Is it odd units that do it, as mine seems to be ok. Hmmm!
[/quote]

From what I've read it does seem to be a fair few units doing it, there is talk on both TB and the TCE forums. Some folks even suggesting that it is down to the power supply that is powering it somehow causing the issue. If a pedal is that finicky about power supply I don't want anything to do with it. My PSU's are certainly not poor quality.
It seems that TC have known about this glitch for a while but not sorted it. Gutted here.

Its going to be a deal-breaker for me I'm afraid, I just don't trust the thing now. I was a bit dubious about the reliability of basically a mini-computer in a pedal (newly brought out pedal too) in a gig environment when I bought it, but was tempted because of its amazing functionality.

I've order a "proper" pedal now, the SD Studio bass comp. I had narrowed it down to getting the TC or the SD initially anyway.

[Osiris]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1495974554' post='3307834']
THat should be pretty easy to do using the PC editor, which is the way I access the pedal. I can't comment on using the android app.
Once you've downloaded the editor and booted it up on your PC with the pedal connected by USB, the software has two main tabs - "library" (to access TC's online toneprint library) and "editor". If the musclecomp toneprint is already on your pedal then just go straight to the "editor" and all the parameters should come up. If it is not there already, then use the "library" to get to musclecomp and then send it to the pedal, and then go to the "editor".

From your description, the easiest way to reduce treble is to reduce "level high" in the gain section of the parameters.

THis link has someone else's screenshots of the parameters accessed on the software and what it should look like on screen .........https://www.talkbass.com/threads/npd-tc-spectracomp.1264098/#post-19623477

Once you've tweaked it to your liking then store it using the software to be able to reload it again if you need to (i would then send it to the pedal again (just to make absolutely sure)).
[/quote]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Admittedly, I haven't actually hooked the pedal up to the editor software yet, but I had read somewhere that you couldn't see the parameters for artists tone prints. I think the justification was some sort of copyright or legal issue, although I've been trying to find where I originally read that, but to no avail.... Anyway, I'll give it a go and see what happens.

Is there a simple parameter for blending back the uncompressed signal for parallel compression?

Mine seems to hold the tone print without 'forgetting' it. It's powered by a T.Rex fuel tank junior.
Should it ever develop pedal amnesia, I could probably live with beaming a suitable tone print back in on power up, but only as long as it doesn't forget it while it is being used I.e. long enough to get through a gig without having to 'remind' it what it's supposed to be doing.

[No. 8 Wire]

I just fired up the pc editor for the first time today.

You can definitely see and tweak the artist tone prints with the pc editor.

[hamfist]

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1496001975' post='3308071']

Is there a simple parameter for blending back the uncompressed signal for parallel compression?

[/quote]

Yes, use the "blend all" parameter, or of course you can choose to "blend lows", "blend mids" or "blend highs" differing amounts. Its fairly straightforwardly laid out.

[Al Krow]

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1495999982' post='3308058']
I had narrowed it down to getting the TC or the SD initially anyway.
[/quote]

Be really interesting to hear which other compressors were on your shortlist and how you decided on the TC and Seymour Duncan pedals as being your top two choices?

[hamfist]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1496009096' post='3308126']
Be really interesting to hear which other compressors were on your shortlist and how you decided on the TC and Seymour Duncan pedals as being your top two choices?
[/quote]

The TC was a bit of a leftfield experiement, something different. Lets face it, there are no equivalents from other manufacturers as yet.

Of the other compressors in the £100-£160 new or used range (which is the general pricerange I was looking at) the SD had the best combo of price, size, functionality and good reviews for me (AND I could afford it new, making it returnable after a tryout). Is it the best comp ever ? no. But its a good balance of things and has the slightly unique (for a hardware pedal comp) of being able to blend in full range, mids or lows alone back into your compressed signal. THe others have negatives.

MB COmpressore - too big and no blend
MXR bass comp - pricey, and I have owned it before and found it a bit "soul-less and flat" (using words to describe a comp is very difficult)
Rothwell Love Squeeze - too little functionality for me
Diamond BCD-1 - too little functionality for me
Boss BC1-X - poor reviews about tone
Aguilar TLC - priceyish, no blend and rare on the used market
EBS multicomp - too little functionality, and used before - not for me.
Keeley bassist - pricey and rare on the used market.

There are, of course, others but the SD seemed to fit the bill for me. Who knows, I may get it and hate it. I'll let you all know !

Edited May 29, 2017 by hamfist

[Al Krow]

Cheers buddy. You've saved me time and effort on the TC and I'm definitely grateful for that! The SD has gone onto my shortlist for the reasons you've said above. I've taken the liberty of soliciting the thoughts of other BCs on a fresh thread - please feel free to share your really helpful thoughts above on that too. AK

[Prime_BASS]

Would it not have been worth sending the pedal back for another in return? If it's just odd units that are affected?


I have the TC Nova dynamics right now and I love it. Got it over the spectra comp purely as I wanted the noise suppressor along with the choice of different compression with on the fly controls.

Don't find it as nice as what I think I would the spectracomp with all the added functionality on the app as I like to set and forget. But overall glad I got the Nova dynamics as it can be incredibly subtle and uncoloured and do the whole squeeshy thing too.

[Dood]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1496090138' post='3308744']
Would it not have been worth sending the pedal back for another in return? If it's just odd units that are affected?

[/quote]

Yup, or just try using the Firmware that fixes the problem, it seems:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/new-firmware-released-for-tc-electronic-spectra-comp.1268962/

[Al Krow]

Thanks Dood - just had a scroll through that thread you kindly provided the link to: a lot of not very happy US customers!

I guess whether the TC Spectracomp (or Hypergravity) pedal is going to be right for you, given its very competitive price-point and small footprint - which are both big plusses, is going to boil down to whether bassists want something that works well straight out of the box with controls that are intuitive and make sense so they can get on quickly with the much more important task of making a great sound from playing their basses. Or whether, finding that the pre-loaded default setting is pretty meh, they need an A-level in computing to use the PC Editor to get a sound they like ('cos none of the available toneprints quite hit the mark) and also to fix bugs associated with it?

I know which of the two camps I fall into!

[hamfist]

I did all the firmware updates - did NOT fix the problem. I am fairly computer-literate so am confident I did it right (about 3 times !)

I Just don't trust the thing not to suddenly lose its toneprint mid -gig, even if I did get an apparently "working" one.