Al Krow

Fake news!

Fact: bass six string players typically have 6 fingers per hand

Does your 605 have the NE1 circuit also? Dunno if you have come across a 2005 also in your travels and been able to compare them? And I have no idea how they sound / play compared to the current line up, but I'm guessing more similarities than differences ie you know you're playing a Yammy BB!

Wonder who picked up that very tasty BB 604 NE1 that sold within 5 hours?!

Oh wise Underworld Jedi of the Dead. If we take the above two "concluding statement" posts together, dear chap, I think you've finally achieved your objective and brought balance back to The Compression Force. YF Dark(ish) Lord.

Absolutely brilliant concluding statement! But no disagreement from me: if the gear we play gives us joy, then what better reason is there to have it?

I've really liked your tone on the various clips you've posted over the years on BC and I'm also aware you've played to some very large audiences, certainly by most BC'ers standards. Do you not use a pedal board comp at all even for larger (non pub) gigs? Out of interest, are you using any other pedals or going straight into your amp / DI'ing straight into the PA? I know the OP had a bit of bee in his bonnet about us not using cheaper compressors, but the Spectracomp seems to be a big fav on BC and would certainly fall into the "budget" category; as with all things bass, it's not necessarily about paying top dollar but as @Baloney Balderdash rightly said it's about getting the most out of what we already have (and I'm certainly not excusing myself from that). I have to agree with you, though, some form of metering can be very useful.

#Me too 😁 And hats off to Andy for being a bit of a BC hero on this.

Yeah I'd not really come across the Boss BC-1X before either. It's not as "posh" as some of the others (e.g. Cali 76) or as simple to use as some of the "one-knobs" (e.g. Spectracomp) which seem to get more air time on this forum. A BC mate has recently got one and took the trouble to record and share a short clip a couple of days back. Got a thumbs up from two of us listening and a thumbs down from a third - which I guess just emphasises Kev's point about folk hearing things differently; a point which undoubtedly also extends to our audiences in terms of what they like or don't. But he's loving it and, frankly if it's working for him and making him feel happier about his sound, then fantastic. What more can any of us ask from our gear? Ooops...didn't you say something very similar about your own use of comps in one of your earlier posts in this thread? Best pass that Domestos...

Look forward to checking that out Ped. On the PG Review clip I posted above, this statement of his has gotta get some sort of prize? At 2.25 he says "the unique thing about this compressor pedal is that you can't get a bad compressor tone. Some of those compressors out there you can squash it completely gone" I think we're in agreement that he then proceeds to squash the life out of it at 7.29. The irony eh? Still, I guess he's only managed to influence 100,000 viewers so far...😂

Agreed with the end result. The comp settings he uses are at 6.29. These show release at a touch over 5/10 and ratio at 5/10 I guess that would equate to a compression ratio of 4:1 although there's nothing in the manual which discloses the max compression, so it's that's a bit of a guess (I've made an assumption of max comp around 20:1 which is not atypical). The release is at mid point so not overly fast, which I think is your key and important point regarding the transients (but again very little info in the manual about interaction between attack and release for this pedal).

A lot of truth in that Kev! And maybe why the topic remains so controversial? For example, I was having a listen to this generally decent gear review of the Boss BC1-X and he recommends a setting for live use (for all the reasons that others have given during the course of this thread) at 6.29+ onwards. He plays both without (7.17) and with the comp (7.29). It's really easy to hear the difference, but personally I so much prefer the uncompressed tone which let's the playing dynamics breathe. Maybe others prefer the compressed tone and maybe it's better in the mix, but the starting point is a singularly unattractive one tonally for me.

Duplicate post.

(I think you meant B3N at the end?) I still find that some of the individual patches on the B1-4 can be noisy, particularly the drives / fuzzes, which mirrors what happens with many dedicated dirt pedals. However the Zoom noise reduction circuit (ZNR) is really excellent (I recommend detection set to GTRIN) and I use that as a standard final fx slot, going from guitar to speaker in the chain, on most of my patches.

Pete it's a very fair riposte and I really also should have learned my lesson about getting drawn into compressor thread debates by now! And to rising to the bait from certain individuals on this forum, whom I've asked to steer clear (to little effect, excuse the pun), rather than taking Chris' wise advice to "ignore" them, which I shall endeavour to do so once again. I do hope some of us get a chance to come along to one of your gigs and to buy you a beer in the not too distant post-Covid future. And to the kind gent who seems to be stalking my band in order to provide comment on my playing style on a public forum, rather than sending his "constructive feedback" via PM, I promise to let you know in advance if I ever require such feedback again 😂 In the meantime, have a good rest of the weekend.

Pete - you certainly can and it won't be a patch on what you have done and I have a huge amount of respect for you and many others for your real world experience, although I appreciate it doesn't always show in the cut and thrust of some of our exchanges! So please rest assured, my comment wasn't directed at you in any shape or form; it was more at folk who do 2 or 3 gigs a year but are prepared to lecture the rest of us on how we should be playing live. That irks. Maybe it shouldn't. I typically averaged one or two paid gigs a fortnight pre-covid, with about half of them being at a distance where it wouldn't have been possible to get back to the ranch for spares. Here's Scott's advice on what he would recommend for the first five pedals on a pedal board (in addition to a tuner). In terms of his #1 and #2 I totally agree with him. Like you, a compressor doesn't appear to be on his list for someone starting out!

Not entirely convinced this is playing to your strengths?

The funniest is hearing from folk on BC who have comparatively little experience of playing live, lecturing others on what they should do when playing to a live audience and also what spares they need to be taking to gigs. Hilarious.

Excellent and a seriously long list! Are they actually live users on pedal boards or just endorses though? The gear rig videos you recommended checking out does look like a very good shout and not just for compression.

Yup good one. Probably why they replaced Mark Stoermer 😂 The question was a genuine one, it would be interesting / useful to know which world class bassists have pedal board comps for live use and which don't.

Congrats - yeah saw you'd managed to nab one for a very decent price. Worth checking out this thread and there's another one dedicated to just the HX Stomp also. Helix Floor/LT/HX/Stomp Owners' Club - Tips, Ideas & Patches - Effects - Basschat

But apparently according to the OP the comp in the TC amp is pants 😉 If you feel that Paul McCartney is too "old a name" to be considering using a pedal board compressor for his live performances (and I'm not sure why you would think that, given he was touring right up to pre Covid), by all means share more modern day successful touring musicians of similar calibre who are actually using pedal board compressors for their live performances and which ones are they using? Also good to know which ones don't seem to bother with pedal board compressors who, like Paul M, are happy to leave things to venue sound engineer to sort compression out as part of getting a balanced mix. I'll get the ball rolling. 4.23 Mark Stoermer, like John Paul Jones, doesn't appear to be using any pedals live - certainly no compressor in sight. I'm assuming 2013 isn't too far back in ancient history... I guess I should just make clear I have zero objections to anyone using a pedal board compressor (or a £5k bass for that matter) and apologies if, by taking one side of the debate, it seems I am! Please crack on if it's working for you - that's the most important thing! The point I'm making here is that if top / world class bassists don't consider a pedal board comp worth bothering with, and vice versa, then there's maybe a message in that for the rest of us mere mortals also in terms of "misconceptions".

Here's the advice I'd give to a kid starting out: Get a decent bass, amp and cab / combo, there's plenty out there, but you don't need to spend the Earth: you'll get a very decent rig and bass for under £1k particularly if you buy used. Give any one of us a call and we can point you in the right direction. Don't get too distracted by gear, it's a lot of fun but it's not what it's really all about. Get a cheap multi fx if you fancy exploring pedals. A Zoom B1-4 costing £65 will be just fine, it's even got a easy to use tuner built in. Spend as much time as you can practising and get yourself into a band. Playing live can be great, personally I can't think of too much I'd rather be doing. And remember people don't don't give a fig if you have a £5k bass or a £500 one, or about nuances of bass tone, that's what middle aged bassists on BC, like me, spend endless hours discussing. Audiences come to hear you and your band play and to have a great night out. And above all, have a lot of fun making music. Good luck!

Damn, Paul McCartney's post Beatles pedal board apparently comprised a Pete Cornish multi fx with distortion, chorus and tuner. Can't believe he wasn't using a pedal board comp - what's going on?! 😁 I'll get my coat.

John Paul Jones pretty much didn't use any effects live, went straight to amp. Man, what a loser. 😁