Compression Pedal Magic

just got one. i was really intrigued by the cali76, but it is much more expensive. i also fully admit that like a lot of people (who aren’t named Tdub) i struggle with the subtleties of compression and thus wind up running it way hotter than i should. the mxr is perfect for that because you get a lot of visual feedback with the led monitors.

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The M87 is a really good choice.

Ar are the Hyperluminal and SuperSymmetry of course :slight_smile:

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Sorry for the late reply, I have been out of commission for a little bit.

The Bass limiter / enhancer is the one I would choose, and not based on price.
it is modeled off the Boss LMB-3 (I think thats right name) and is a bass limiter with a bit of a boost
The Compression Sustainer is bassed on the Boss Compressor Sustainer of the same name (CS-1 I think). It is ok for bass, (not saying the other is better cuz it is made for bass) but I don’t really like the susstaining compressors, I much prefer something that can be used as a limiter as well as sustainer and boost, which both the Boss LMB-3 and the Behringer BLE 300 or 400 (limiter enhancer) do pretty well. It can be a noisy pedal the more extreme the settings are set, but that is typical for a compressor
HTH

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That is an interesting list. I have the BC-1X also.
I have had or had 4 of those pedals. I am really surprised by one of them on the list, but it is the worst pc of crap compressor I have ever played with.

Also, the Best compressor I have ever played with (and kind of regret selling it) is not on the list. it is possible it is not made anymore, but I don’t think the Black Finger is either.

I have the
Keeley Bassist
Boss BC-1x
Bass Preacher
and rate them in that order. with the Bass Preacher being the worst compressor I have ever played with, maybe the one I got was bad, but it was on another persons board for a while and they liked it, so YMMV.

I have had
TC Electronics Spectra Comp.
I like it, but not the format. I kind of wish they would make a regular size one of these, with some more control dials and more tone print slots. Those are the two things that kept me from keeping it. It can be a very good pedal, but in the smaller form, its a bit limited, IMO.

The best Compressor I have ever played on is the MarkBass Compressore.
This pedal is pure magic, (as is their distortion pedal, Distorsore) but it has one big drawback, and that is its size. it is huge, but it is so damn good.

I would love to try the others, the DarkGlass, Empress, MXR and Seymour Duncan, Black Finger (and I want to try the White Finger for comparrison, thats a real pedal too) probably in that order.

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Nice one. LOL

I have not tried the MXR and really want to, because it is said to compare closely if not closest to the Keeley Bassist, which I love. The thing I have heard is the MXR can be VERY difficult to dial into sweet spots, but I have heard when you get it right, it can be awesome.
The Keeley Bassist, similar sound, is so easy to dial in with the 3 controls working so well with each other, you can just make it almost perfect in seconds. It only has a light that gets a little brighter as it clips harder, not a line of lights to show where it is, so it is not as easily visually, possibly, to dial in?

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I had exactly the same issue with the TC Spectra Comp. For me it was just a hassle to dial in or have the right tone slot loaded. I really do like my BC-1X if I want to add some warmth to my tone but for compression I rather have a more clean sound to start with.

Yeah that is kinda weird. The bass player that I know use Markbass gear but you don’t see the gear that often in reviews or comparison charts. Maybe it has something to do with region availability?

If I ever going to try a new compressor it would be one with visual leds. So possible the MXR, DG or Empress. But at the moment I’m also questioning myself how important compression is on my current pedalboard. I don’t play slap that often (mainly finger and pick) and with distortion or synth sounds I rather turn off my compression.

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My favorite clean noise compressor is the SanJune Cb-something, I can’t think of it right now. its more of the always on limiter type that just keeps things even and level, but does not color or squash. The BC-1X is a great boost type compressor. The Markbass is just a good easy to dial in, all on type of compressor. I switch between the San June and Keeley. I think the SanJune may do a bit better limiting, but its optical and a little slower on attack and release, but has more controls to set to liking.
The Keeley has less controls, but the magic Ratio, attack and release are set in the pedal and they seem to be perfect for the way the pedal is built and the way the controls interact with each other.

I think with the MarkBass, which is a tube compressor, I would probably do fine with it as the only compressor I had.
I have not had a distortion pedal from Markbass, but the company’s demo of it on youtube is awesome, and I really want to try one sometime, I believe it is also a tube distortion pedal.
In my limited understanding, the tube may not be doing the compressing and / or distorting, but they are considered tube pedals

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@T_dub

Not a problem

Thank you this helps a lot.

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Looking for a cheap compressor (mostly for jamming/rehearsing, rather than home/studio). Which of the two Behringer compressors is the better regarded - CS400 or CL9? (I think there are others, but those are the two available on Amazon.) Or should I just stump up the extra for an EHX Bass Preacher? That seems to be the best-regarded under a hundred dollars/pounds.

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No clue about Behringers. Heard some good things about the EHX Bass Preacher. TC Spectra Comp is a solid choice too which is even cheaper then the EHX.

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Ended up selling the EHX Bass Preacher. I thought I wanted something with more color, so I opted for the Spectracomp. The EHX is a great basic compressor and I’m thinking that maybe I should have kept it. The Spextracomp is really small and the app makes it super tweakable with a ton of presets but there’s a huge volume increase as you turn the one knob on almost all the presets. If it’s always on, not a problem but it might bother you if you kick it on/off often. You might also hate the one knob control. On its own, it’s hard to really dial in what you think you want.

I think I’m going to keep the Spectracomp for now but I got a Boss LMB-3 on its way. I scored one for $50 on Reverb and I need something to curb the crazy volume spikes from my C4 Synth. My current chain is C4 Synth > MXR Envelope Filter > Spectracomp > Aftershock Bass Distortion > Behringer Reverb. I’m going to add the LMB-3 to the end to act as a final volume ceiling before entering my amp. I also hear that it’s great for keeping your slap volumes in check. The hunt continues…

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@T_dub has done a lot of exploration in this area. I hear he’s a fan of the San June and probably has some insight :wink:

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San June All the way.
Very versatile compressor.
Pretty transparent, can be used as a medium / Soft limiter, with excellent, wide range compression with ratio from zero to infinity.
I have not noticed any bottom or top end loss, beyond the compression range.

I love this compressor, cant beat it for the price, which makes it one of my favorite compressors out there. Everything else I consider good to great usually is 2x and up more expensive.

Do t get me wrong, there are plenty of adequate compression pedals for as low as $25 (Kokko compresor which is direct Dyna comp clone) will do the trick in many cases. And it depends what you want out of a compressor as well.
Do you want hard limiting, or boost and sustain, or a mix of the two?

My favorite compressor I ever used was the Markbass Comprosessore. They don’t make the huge tube compressors anymore, I don’t think, and if you are lucky you can find them at $100, but they can go as high as $350 still.

I also have
Boss BC-1X which is a great boost enhancing with soft limiting pedal
And
The Keeley Bassist, limiting bass amplifier.

The Keeley is a 3 knob dream that is super easy to dial in

Both those retail around $199, but can sometimes be found almost new for $100 to $125.

If I had to get rid of one of my compressors, between San June, Boss and Keeley, I would scrap the Boss.
Fortunately, I dont have too.
But
If I was able to swap both the Keeley and Boss for a MarkBass Comprosessore, I would trade happily.

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Thanks. SanJune doesn’t seem to be available over here in the UK unfortunately.

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Check ebay

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Might be a little higher price on Ebay tho, closer to $100

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Nada.

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Although he stopped writing a few years ago, many currently available devices are still covered . . .

http://www.ovnilab.com/

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I am sorry, i never read your original message all the way to the part about the Behringer compressors, I just responded to the part about San June.
Behringer compressors are basically clones of Boss pedals, and they are really pretty good.

The CS400 is Boss CS-1. (Compression sustainer)

They also make a BLE. 100 , not sure if you saw those, I prefer those to the CS.
The BLE 100 is the Boss LMB-2
It is a Bass Limiting / Enhancer…
I would get that one myself, and had it at one time (the behringer BLE 300 or 400, not the Boss LMB-2 or 3), and it was not bad. It was noisy at high compression / enhancement ranges, but most all compressors can get noisy, so thats normal, and why I prefer to use a noise gate pedal.

As far as the DL9. My guess is it is a non bass version of the BEM, but is just CL (Compression / Limiting) But I could be wrong.

Look up the Boss LMB and Boss CS-1 on that list dave linked you too.
And
Behringer is on the list, all 3 of the,m, so that should explain them best.

Also, on the main page he has a link yo his top picks.

In the budget line, a little way down the list, but on the list, (which is short by comparison of how many he has reviewed) is the Boss LMB. (Same as Behringer BLE 100)

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Ovnilab is still the best compressor resource you will find.

And there’s tons of compressors under $100 - though lots and lots are just DynaComp clones.

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