Twigman Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 I have a BBE Opto Stomp pedal on my board doing compressor duties...or rather I did until the thing fell apart. - I suppose I could put it back together but tbh I can't be arsed. I found it very subtle and actually wasn't a great fan of it. I'm looking to replace it but I'm out of touch with what's available these days. So could you give me some pointers for an easily controllable compressor that will fit in the space left by the BBE Opto Stomp on my pedal board. Budget isn't really an issue. What's out there and how do they sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 TC Electronic Spectracomp for dead simple, or Hypergravity if you want more to fiddle about with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 The Keeley Bass Compressor is a nice easy to use pedal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 1 hour ago, Twigman said: I have a BBE Opto Stomp pedal on my board doing compressor duties...or rather I did until the thing fell apart. - I suppose I could put it back together but tbh I can't be arsed. I found it very subtle and actually wasn't a great fan of it. I'm looking to replace it but I'm out of touch with what's available these days. So could you give me some pointers for an easily controllable compressor that will fit in the space left by the BBE Opto Stomp on my pedal board. Budget isn't really an issue. What's out there and how do they sound? It depends on what you want from your compressor, are you looking for something transparent? Or something that will give your sound some added character? Are you looking for another optical compressor? If you weren't overly enamored with the BBE maybe look at a different compression type, for example something FET based will feel a lot different to an optical comp, more immediate and aggressive. The new Source Audio Atlas compressor looks intriguing and should do anything and everything you could ever want from a compressor. I'm thinking of writing to Father Christmas to ask for one myself this year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Boss BC-1X It's a multiband but works out all the difficult stuff under the bonnet so you don't have to. It's quite remarkable. I no longer have a Cali76 / Darkglass / ThorpyFX / Empress because of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 1 hour ago, fretmeister said: Boss BC-1X It's a multiband but works out all the difficult stuff under the bonnet so you don't have to. It's quite remarkable. I no longer have a Cali76 / Darkglass / ThorpyFX / Empress because of it. Does the Boss impart any character or tonal magic? Or is it more on the transparent side? It's one on my short list of units to try. I'm still using the Boss LMB-3 which I absolutely love, it's only a simple pedal but I love it's aggressive edge and the punch it adds to the mids, it's possibly the punchiest unit I've ever used. It's cheap and dirty. Like me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, Osiris said: I'm still using the Boss LMB-3 which I absolutely love, it's only a simple pedal but I love it's aggressive edge and the punch it adds to the mids, it's possibly the punchiest unit I've ever used. It's cheap and dirty. Like me. I currently have a spectracomp on my board, but before buying that I used to use the Behringer copy of the Boss LMB-3. I've recently been able to buy a real LMB-3 in mint condition at a very good price so will have some fun seeing which I prefer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Search is your dear old friend: www.ovnilab.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 59 minutes ago, itu said: Search is your dear old friend: www.ovnilab.com And this which has slightly newer ones https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/ On my shortlist empress bass cali76 atlas and ended up getting an Omnicomp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 3 x HyperGravity for lo Z basses or if the comp is at the end of some fx board. Daring Audio Phat Beam for my dear hi Z fretless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GremlinAndy Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 I bought and tried quite a few. the Empress Bass Compressor is easily the winner for me personally. I use it at the start of my chain just to even out my playing a little without destroying the dynamics completely. It can be transparent or can add colour depending on the settings. The fact that it has separate input and output LEDs means you always have a much better idea, visually, of exactly what it’s doing. Not cheap, but the most expensive part of buying the right compressor for me, was buying 3 or 4 before finding the one which suited me the most. The ones I didn’t get to try which seem to be highly regarded are the Cali76 and the Keeley. Neither have the twin level LEDs, but I didn’t get to compare sounds so can’t say. Compressors can be a difficult thing to get right, and opinions are subjective, so I wouldn’t recommend you buy it based on my say so. …But I would strongly recommend you try one if possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 10 hours ago, GremlinAndy said: …But I would strongly recommend you try one if possible. And I would strongly try more than one, and if possible, side by side. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 29, 2022 Share Posted October 29, 2022 28 minutes ago, itu said: And I would strongly try more than one, and if possible, side by side. +1 I was all set to get a cali76 based on reviews, and sound clips … then I got to try one and it was instant dislike … esp side by side with a spectracomp which I liked 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 All round functionality snd sound:- Becos Stella Empress Bass Comp Non compressor nerds:- Spectracomp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfrasho Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 as a transparent compressor, don't think there's much wrong with the EBS multicomp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 16 minutes ago, Elfrasho said: as a transparent compressor, don't think there's much wrong with the EBS multicomp! It has limited metering, which renders it pretty useless to me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 On 28/10/2022 at 18:33, Osiris said: Does the Boss impart any character or tonal magic? Or is it more on the transparent side? It's one on my short list of units to try. I'm still using the Boss LMB-3 which I absolutely love, it's only a simple pedal but I love it's aggressive edge and the punch it adds to the mids, it's possibly the punchiest unit I've ever used. It's cheap and dirty. Like me. a little bit of something. I like it on even when the settings mean it’s not doing much compressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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