Compression Question

[bassjamm]

Oi oi gang — I'm thinking about diving into the world of compression for the first time. Could do with some input please.

 

This'll be for playing at home. Cleaning up signal for effects (octaver, overdrive, low-pass filter). Some light studio use. No need for a touring machine.

 

I LOVE valves. Something about the warmth of them — they light me up. With that in mind, I'm curious about these two compressors:

 

Effectrode PC-2A (which has valves in, I believe)
Teletronix LA-2A

Can anyone describe what I might expect from each of these bad boys? Or how they might compare, please?

 

I'm pretty dense when it comes to this stuff. But I'm learning, slowly. So please, go easy on me — I'm not Einstein. Ha.

 

Fire away, basschatters...

[skidder652003]

I had the markbass compressore (had a valve), TBH couldn't tell the difference between that and a few regular compressors I've had over the years, but hey thats's compressors for you.

Never really understood them and again TBH I sometimes use them and sometimes don't and never notice much improvement in my sound.

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

The Markbass Compressore !

 

Genuine tube compressor, pretty fat tube sound, and with a lot of control over the compression going on, with a complete set of compression parameters.

 

And I can easily tell the difference, and don't really understand compression often being described as a subtle effect.

 

I mean it can be, and it isn't exactly like a high gain distortion or a phaser with all the controls cracked, but it is definitely notable, and can have a quite substantial effect on your tone. 

 

And I do think that relatively subtle changes often can make the whole difference between a decent and a great tone.

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Frank Blank]

On 07/12/2023 at 23:55, bassjamm said:

Effectrode PC-2A (which has valves in, I believe)

 

Firstly, paging @Osiris

 

Secondly I have the Effectrode PC-2A. I play semi-hollow short scale basses in an acoustic duo and the mellow warmth of the PC-2A is second to none, lovely.

 

Where are you @bassjamm? You are welcome to try it out any time.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Frank Blank

[bassjamm]

Thanks for the input gang — much appreciated.

 

3 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Secondly I have the Effectrode PC-2A. I play semi-hollow short scale basses in an acoustic duo and the mellow warmth of the PC-2A is second to none, lovely.

 

Where are you @bassjamm? You are welcome to try it out any time.

 

This is interesting. A "mellow warmth" is definitely what I'm going for here. And that's a generous offer. I'm in Retford, north Nottinghamshire.

[Frank Blank]

Just now, bassjamm said:

This is interesting. A "mellow warmth" is definitely what I'm going for here. And that's a generous offer. I'm in Retford, north Nottinghamshire.

 

Yes, very organic and round. It was a compressor that @Osiris suggested as he is familiar with our music and it was a perfect recommendation.

[Osiris]

On 07/12/2023 at 23:55, bassjamm said:

Oi oi gang — I'm thinking about diving into the world of compression for the first time. Could do with some input please.

 

This'll be for playing at home. Cleaning up signal for effects (octaver, overdrive, low-pass filter). Some light studio use. No need for a touring machine.

 

I LOVE valves. Something about the warmth of them — they light me up. With that in mind, I'm curious about these two compressors:

 

Effectrode PC-2A (which has valves in, I believe)
Teletronix LA-2A

Can anyone describe what I might expect from each of these bad boys? Or how they might compare, please?

 

I'm pretty dense when it comes to this stuff. But I'm learning, slowly. So please, go easy on me — I'm not Einstein. Ha.

 

Fire away, basschatters...

 

Not trying to be difficult, just get an idea of where you're coming from... Can I ask why your want a valve driven compressor? As far as I'm aware, most valve based designs actually use the valve for the post compression gain stage and not to do the compression itself. From what I've read, the Mark Bass pedal mentioned earlier is the only unit other than some high end studio gear that actually uses to valve for compression duties and not just for make up gain. How much difference this actually makes in reality, you'd have try for yourself and see what you think - I'd guess not as much as you might expect. There's a number of different compression types, optical, FET, VCA etc, and many different designs of each type and each have their own inherent characteristics, neither better or worse than any of the others designs, just different depending on what you want. Personally I wouldn't but a compressor just because it has a valve inside unless it was doing something that I couldn't get from a different unit. If you want mellow warmth, I'd look at an optical design. Yes the PC-2A has a valve in it but I suspect some of its warmth is coming from the inherent characteristics of an optical compression circuit. 

 

On 07/12/2023 at 23:55, bassjamm said:

I'm pretty dense when it comes to this stuff. But I'm learning, slowly. So please, go easy on me — I'm not Einstein. Ha.

 

It cannot be stressed enough, do your homework if you want to get compression right. Read up, learn what each parameter does and how they interact. Only then do they make sense.

[bassjamm]

Thanks for chiming in @Osiris.

 

Perhaps I didn’t explain my thoughts very well, but I don’t “have” to have a valve. I just love the valve sound. Always have. So my uneducated mind thinks, “Valves good. Compression with valves? Probably good.” That said, I know the Teletronix unit I mentioned earlier doesn’t have any valves in it. So valves aren’t a must. I’m after something simple, warm and with a sense of quality about the tone/build. If I have a gazillion knobs to twiddle, I’ll get overwhelmed and won’t get the most out of the pedal.

[Jack]

That's the problem though, if it has one knob labelled 'compression' you might get the best out of it, but its best might not be what you're looking for. 

[Osiris]

3 hours ago, bassjamm said:

Thanks for chiming in @Osiris.

 

Perhaps I didn’t explain my thoughts very well, but I don’t “have” to have a valve. I just love the valve sound. Always have. So my uneducated mind thinks, “Valves good. Compression with valves? Probably good.” That said, I know the Teletronix unit I mentioned earlier doesn’t have any valves in it. So valves aren’t a must. I’m after something simple, warm and with a sense of quality about the tone/build. If I have a gazillion knobs to twiddle, I’ll get overwhelmed and won’t get the most out of the pedal.

 

Thanks for the clarification. In that case the PC-2A might be worth a look, but as Jack tightly says...

 

1 hour ago, Jack said:

That's the problem though, if it has one knob labelled 'compression' you might get the best out of it, but its best might not be what you're looking for. 

 

[Frank Blank]

4 hours ago, bassjamm said:

I’m after something simple, warm and with a sense of quality about the tone/build. If I have a gazillion knobs to twiddle, I’ll get overwhelmed and won’t get the most out of the pedal.

That sounds like a pretty close description of the PC-2A!

[Gwilym]

Worth checking http://www.ovnilab.com/

for reviews and comparison of these pedals. Plus the article in the FAQ about tube compressors.