I bought a brand-new Compressor - but no magic!

[Gasman]

I thought one of these was an essential add-on to any bass-player's signal chain - not sure what I thought it would do, but everyone has one, yes? Maybe produce nice meaty sounds? So I bought a Bass Preacher...

 

The only impact it has had on the output from my signal chain (HB passive 4 string bass - Aguilar boost - Aguilar AG700 - Darkglass 212N cab) seems to be a radical reduction in volume! 

 

What am I doing wrong? Help!

 

 

[Doctor J]

First thing is realise you don't really need anything between the bass and the amp.

 

Make sure you fully understand the concept of what the compressor is doing. Where have you put it in your signal chain? Is it after the booster and you're you compressing an already boosted signal? Having had a quick look at that pedal, I think the way they have labelled the amount of compression being applied as "sustain" is going to trick a lot of people. What I would do is set Sustain to 0 and match the volume to your signal with the pedal in bypass. They call this make-up gain (another boost in your chain) but don't say whether this is total post-compression boost or the overall output of the pedal. Either way, try to match the volume of the pedal engaged and the pedal bypassed with the compression turned all the way down. Then gradually apply the sustain knob until you start to hear it having an effect. The more the sustain knob is turned up, the more your signal is being squashed, the lower your output will be. This is where the make-up gain should come in. See if you can match the volumes again engaged and bypassed. Repeat until you find a level of compression you like the sound of where you still can match the volume level bypassed and engaged. If you can't, don't feel sad. If you're using any kind of drive or clipping, you're already compressing the signal, to an extent and maybe you don't need the compressor pedal after all.

[Gasman]

Thank you Doc - I will persevere using your advice!