The secret of compression is that with the right compressor (and settings) you can decrease the actual dynamic range of the performance, while still preserving and perhaps even increasing the perceived dynamics of your playing
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oh man @Al1885 that BC-1 is goodā¦that is the kind of compression I am talking aboutā¦I love the line level in that would work so well after my shur load box instead of needing the reamp coupled with a normal compressor pedalā¦probably not worth the extra $ but I am looking into it further anyway 
edit: now I think about it the becos can also handle line level for a little cheaper than this one
it is a nice compressor though
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Thereās really nothing bass or guitar specific about compression.
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@g13dip you have no idea how much I like and appreciate what you just said. Do you mind saying it again in English and slowly. I really want to get what you just said thatās the difference between a $300 Corey wing and double down and get the BC-1.
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happy that i found this post
this is golddd
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This would be my vote.
Why?
- the LED array gives you excellent visual feedback as you train your ears to hear the nuance of what compression does.
- it can currently be gotten with quite a discount in their āscratch & dent shopā
- nothing but fantastic reviews.
- it was a toss up between this one and the OG Orign Effects Cali '76 TX-L - I went with the Origin Effects as an investment pedal, but, just ordered the Empress due to #1 -3 for my travel board.
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Yup, and if marketed as a bass compressor, it is other stuff they throw in, as in the Empressā¦
On top of the full range of features and controls normally only seen in high end studio equipment, such as input and gain reduction metering, independent attack and release controls, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain insert, weāve now added a fully variable sidechain high pass filter, and a two position ātone + colourā circuit which adds gentle tone sculpting and harmonic distortion, giving your bass some delicious character.
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Lolā¦I will try to expand for you using the wong wampler and bc-1, hope it helps
The wampler is nice but is tailored for effective stage guitar use more than anything and after reading this review I would not think it was quite right for you (but could be wrong) compressor reviews/wampler cory wong
The BC-1 calls itself a mastering comp (nice try guys, but this is a real mastering comp ), I would call it a smoothing or last in line compressor, but the important bit is the function
bc-1 site says:
We like the idea of using a compressor as an always-on Master Compressor ā at the end of the signal chain. A compressor that tames and gently shapes the overall dynamics, giving you a pristine bass tone that makes you sound better, sit better in the mix and simply makes playing more fun!
BC1 is a 100% analog Master Compressor that makes the output from your strings more even and brings out all of the small nuances in your playing.
thats the kind of compression I am talking about: there is actual reduced dynamic range reduction (the compression) performing the āeven it out/sit better in the mixā part, but the way it compresses means it also retains or enhances the dynamic part of your playing too
people will often call this a musical compressor as the style of compression works with the musical dynamics rather than just imposing itself to tame dynamics without regard to musical effect
I dont know if that helped much but I can say alot more or provide some links for stuff to read that talks about this stuffā¦coming from studio training and years of using a compressor (plug-ins mostly but pro level ones) as my favorite studio effect I could say many things but donāt want to go off too much on a compression tangent
As far as buying the BC-1: it is the right kind of comp for you I think, but I also think there are cheaper comparable options that may be as good or better
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LA-2A is more a limiter than a compressor AFAIK.
I use it after the Cali plug-in to ādivide the workā - thus was based on an excellent video I watched about bass compression and daisy chaining them.
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Ok thought a bit about what I want after @eric.kiser questions
I am after an analog studio quality compressor (soundwise) in a pedal for use as a last in line glue/smoothing comp
My top five probably splits into:
studio comp compressor features in a pedal (all the features!):
the empress bass comp and the becos twain
and
studio pedigree (company takes the sound of their studio compressor and puts into a pedal)
the joemeek and the API both do this. the Mary cries also (except it is copying someone elses studio comp rather than its own studio design)
After consideration of what I will use it forā¦I love the idea of the full feature comps but most of the features are nice to have stuff for me at the momentā¦if I was to get one I would get the becos over the empress and I may get a becos and shoot it out against the one I buy now in the future, but they are hard to buy at the moment so I might never get one
so it is down to 3
- API Select TranZformer CMP
- JoeMeek FloorQ
- PRS Mary Cries
I will do another too long post when I choose between those
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@John_E the empressor bass is great, I really love that the empress has input leds I wish more comp pedal could fit that kind of thing inā¦if I was to get a full feature studio style comp pedal I would rather the becos but you would not go wrong with this if you like to tweek
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@John_E LA-2A is like a top 5 ever compressor/limiter, it works beautifully comping as well as limiting on anything basicallyā¦if the mary cries is like the LA-2A it will sound great on bass
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This is pretty cool. Didnāt knew they made pedals. I love the plugins.
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@Paul yeah many people love the API sound
as well as that very cool comp pedalā¦they also have a bass pedal (eq,ovdrv) with the API soundā¦according to their press Wooten and Claypool liked the API sound so much they were using the gat eq pedal version before they released this LLX bass one
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@Al1885ā¦have you looked at the API, if you think you want the BC-1 you should look very hard at this one (its also studio quality and cheaper)
see compressorpedalreviews
āYou donāt want to turn it off because of how alive it feels. How your instrument responds feels more energeticā¦Frankly, it makes many other pedal compressors seem like toys.ā
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Yeah, thereās very little difference between a limiter and compressor really, a pure limiter (which the LA-2A is not, it also has a compressor mode) is basically a compressor with infinite compression beyond the threshold.
It is true that the āLAā means āLimiting Amplifierā though 
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Hah, that things looks like something out of a Hellboy movie (what the Nazis would use) or even like some steampunk gear. And the guy presenting the video is dressed like a Victorian engineer 
(By the way, you need to watch the video and the comparison to a human hand to appreciate the sheer size of that thing 
)
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Thank you @g13dip for the English explanation and expansion of the BC-1. Itās nice and expensive, lol.
I donāt really need it for home but it would be nice to have one on a gig. I usually take my passive JDI and sometimes the providence dual bass station or the final booster with me. Thatās what I think that the Cory Wong pedals it has compressor and booster as well as DI.
A few times Iām in the studio I donāt have to ever worry about that as they have some rack mounted stuffs and it usually comes with a built in professional sound engineer lol.
Iāll definitely look at the API that looks like a good one too.
Again appreciate your insight buddy.
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@Al1885 if you use the wampler wong for gigging it might prove very nice as that seems to be its focus, the tone eq may be a bit gat focused but otherwise it seems a nice compact solution covering a few bases for live gig use
edit: and I am proud to announce that because of your use for a DI and booster I think you are someone who would actually get value for the money from the BC-1 and you would love it 
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Hah! Thatās a win win situation. I canāt lose either way. I just check with my GC rep and he said that while many of the wampler models are on sale the wongs and eco are not which bring the total closer to the BC-1 may be, just may be, lol.
Thabks @g13dip
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