Cheap compressor

[Harryburke14]

Hi guys.

Does anyone know of a cheap bass compressor that's decent? I have found a few recommendations for guitar but until now, no decent bass ones for less than £50 or so.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Rumple]

You could pick up a second hand Zoom ms60b, I use one as a compressor and tuner plus you have tones of other effects and amp sims if you ever need them.

[Harryburke14]

56 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

Thomann's Harley Benton version of the Boss LMB-3 has done me proud!

Just checked - It's now discontinued 

They do have the Behringer Limiter/Enhancer thing though that has mixed reviews for £20 or so. Might be worth a punt?

[stevie]

Have a look at TommyK's post in Effects For Sale on here. I've no experience of the Joyo compressor he's selling, but the brand is quite well thought of and well priced. There are plenty of reviews. It's not quite bargain basement though. Just as an aside, my limited experience of compressors (including the Boss LMB-3) is that the mid-price bracket brings audible performance benefits.

[fretmeister]

Marshall ED-1.

Very under-rated. I love it. Can be a little noisy at high settings, but for common use no problems.

 

Despite having Cali / Empress / DG compressors I still use one a lot.

[Harryburke14]

The Marshall and the Joyo ones are both "guitar" comp pedals - is there any real difference in performance between the two? Should I just be looking at good guitar compressors?

[fretmeister]

http://www.ovnilab.com/

 

and his top picks

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/toppicks.shtml

[stevie]

Yes, that's a great resource.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

Marshall ED-1.

Very under-rated. I love it. Can be a little noisy at high settings, but for common use no problems.

 

Despite having Cali / Empress / DG compressors I still use one a lot.

Me too, have you done the cap changes for bass? 

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[lee650]

Wasn't someone selling a DOD milk box on here recently? they are supposed to be really good for not much cash

[Harryburke14]

44 minutes ago, lee650 said:

Wasn't someone selling a DOD milk box on here recently? they are supposed to be really good for not much cash

Yeah I have just had a search and I believe it is still available so maybe.

For now, I have pulled out and wiped the dust off the old Boss ME50B - it has a few compression settings to fiddle with despite it being fairly limited. But hey, some of the other effects on there are pretty nice too so will have to use it a bit more methinks.

[elephantgrey]

6 hours ago, fretmeister said:

http://www.ovnilab.com/

 

and his top picks

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/toppicks.shtml

+1.

[CameronJ]

There was a TC Spectracomp on sale recently for £45 the other day! A bit of a steal if you ask me.

[fretmeister]

19 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Me too, have you done the cap changes for bass? 

No - is there much of a change?

[Harryburke14]

I have been offered an Xvive Bass Squeezer for relatively little money. I have had a look at some reviews and it seems ok, with a built-in drive circuit and very basic compression knobs. I am tempted.

That being said, the built-in compression in the Boss ME50B has sounded good so far, so who knows.

[T-Bay]

4 hours ago, CameronJ said:

There was a TC Spectracomp on sale recently for £45 the other day! A bit of a steal if you ask me.

Great pedal and that is a superb price.

[krispn]

Is there a Tech 21 bass compactor in the FS section still?

Edited December 22, 2017 by krispn

[Chienmortbb]

On 21/12/2017 at 12:35, fretmeister said:

No - is there much of a change?

Just two capacitors, if you can use a soldering iron, I will send you a pair.

[TheGreek]

I have a Joyo compressor - not bad value for the £15-20 they cost. 

[Guest Briton]

?

Edited June 23, 2018 by Briton

[jimfist]

Zoom B1on multi-effect pedal is what I'd suggest in that price range.  Just set it up so that only a Comp (a few to choose from) is in the signal path. Of course, it gives you a lot more than that if you choose to use it, the least of which are tuner, looper, rhythm box, and headphone output.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/zoom_b1on.htm

[Harryburke14]

Just as an update:

Have bought a Marshall ED1 for a very reasonable price with a view to change out the capacitors in it. I have read a few tutorials online and it is as simple as unsolder cap, fit new cap, solder.

Only problem is I don't have a soldering iron. Or any experience soldering...

Still, these are meant to be great compressors for next to no money, so needless to say I am very happy 😊

[jposega]

17 hours ago, Harryburke14 said:

Just as an update:

Have bought a Marshall ED1 for a very reasonable price with a view to change out the capacitors in it. I have read a few tutorials online and it is as simple as unsolder cap, fit new cap, solder.

Only problem is I don't have a soldering iron. Or any experience soldering...

Still, these are meant to be great compressors for next to no money, so needless to say I am very happy 😊

Desoldering requires more skill than soldering. If you leave your iron on the cap too long, you run the risk of lifting the trace on the circuit board. Every time you hear the trace up you’re running the risk of having it separate from the board. 

Do you know how changing the capacitors will effect the circuit? Is there any record of anyone modding this pedal for use with bass?