Compressor Pedal - Cheap or Not?

[Linus27]

I pretty much only play fretless these days and I've started to experiment with pedals. Got a chorus, reverb and octave pedal so far and apart from the octave, the chorus and reverb I'm enjoying using. I'd like to try a compressor pedal and wondering if the Behringer CS400 is worth a shot for a cheap effort or I should avoid and go for something like a Boss CS-3, Keeley or other? My Ampeg PF500 does have a compressor built in but it doesn't seem to do much but that might just be me 😁

I play in a 3 piece acoustic band with singer/acoustic, drums with brushes and me on fretless. Its chilled laid back songs so the bass is very melodic and doing some lead parts. 

Any advice on compressor thoughts appreciated.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Linus27

[Lozz196]

I’ve just bought a used Zoom MS60B multi effects unit. I only bought it for tuner & compression in the hope it would be ok, but having used it with my band last night I was blown away by just how good the 160 Comp (simulation of the DB160A) was.

 

I’ve had some pretty decent compressors but this is the first one that I’ve really liked - prob as it was preset rather than me with no clue trying to set up a stand-alone pedal!

 

The cheaper (and apparently easier to use) Zoom B1 Four has the same compressors on it.  At around £60 it’s got to be worth a try, and given it’s a multi fx pedal as well as tuner could make life easier too.

[Boodang]

I mostly play fretless and EUB and have been experimenting with compressor options myself recently. It depends on whether you want something that you're going to change settings on during a set or if it's a 'set it & forget it' type, but this recommendation is for the latter; a TC Electronic Spectracomp.

I was surprised by how well it sounded and now it's always on. The main reason for this is the toneprint presets you can download. Tried them all and found the Nathan East settings to be spot on. The Spectracomp is a 3 band compressor and what I love about the toneprints is that someone who knows what they are doing has effectively programmed it for you and there's enough to find one to suit.... provided it's a set and forget thing you're after. And the bonus is it's not expensive. 

[skidder652003]

When you say your compressor on the Ampeg doesn't seem to do much, that's kind of what they do. There's a very subtle change in most compressors (that I've used). I'd avoid the Boss CS-3. Here's the best site to find out about all things err "compressory"

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/

 

I use the Boss LMB 3 after reading the reviews, cheap as chips and much better than the CS 3

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/bosslmb3.shtml

 

Alternatively as above the spectracomp gets great reviews.

Edited October 9, 2021 by skidder652003

[Linus27]

5 hours ago, Boodang said:

I mostly play fretless and EUB and have been experimenting with compressor options myself recently. It depends on whether you want something that you're going to change settings on during a set or if it's a 'set it & forget it' type, but this recommendation is for the latter; a TC Electronic Spectracomp.

I was surprised by how well it sounded and now it's always on. The main reason for this is the toneprint presets you can download. Tried them all and found the Nathan East settings to be spot on. The Spectracomp is a 3 band compressor and what I love about the toneprints is that someone who knows what they are doing has effectively programmed it for you and there's enough to find one to suit.... provided it's a set and forget thing you're after. And the bonus is it's not expensive. 

Thank you. I was kind of thinking leave on and forget rather than change during the set. I will look at the TC one as it does sound good and make sense.

Edited October 9, 2021 by Linus27

[Linus27]

41 minutes ago, skidder652003 said:

When you say your compressor on the Ampeg doesn't seem to do much, that's kind of what they do. There's a very subtle change in most compressors (that I've used). I'd avoid the Boss CS-3. Here's the best site to find out about all things err "compressory"

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/

 

I use the Boss LMB 3 after reading the reviews, cheap as chips and much better than the CS 3

 

http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/bosslmb3.shtml

 

Alternatively as above the spectracomp gets great reviews.

Thank you, I will certainly look at the at the TC and Boss pedal you recommend. 

[Osiris]

Definitely give the CS-3 a miss, it's very squashed even at minimum settings, it's more for adding shed loads of sustain than a proper compressor as such. If you want compression as an obvious effect then it's a good choice but if you want something more subtle and controlled then avoid it.  But as has already been mentioned the Boss LMB-3 is a great, inexpensive, simple to use and great sounding pedal. The TC Spectracomp also rightly gets a lot of love and can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Even if you narrow things down to a choice between these 2 you'll end up with something great. 

[javi_bassist]

I've used a lot of compressors in my years playing. As a cheap comp pedal, I'd go with the TC Electronic Hypergravity. I've used one for many years with really good results. I've also used the EHX Bass Preacher and I really liked it. It'd be my second choice. 

 

[Bobthedog]

Darkglass Hyper Luminal. Not cheap but closes off the thread nicely. 😀 Much preferred, to my ears, to the Spectracomp and MXR mx87 I also have. 

[bassman7755]

17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

The cheaper (and apparently easier to use) Zoom B1 Four has the same compressors on it.  At around £60 it’s got to be worth a try, and given it’s a multi fx pedal as well as tuner could make life easier too.

 

Just bought a B1 four myself, fantastic bit of kit, cant understand why every bass player on earth doesn't own one really, at change from £70 delivered its a no brainer, even if you use to just audition various types of compressor then buy the dedicated pedal (although I recon the models are as good as the real thing in most cases ...) .

Edited October 9, 2021 by bassman7755

[garyt]

Asking for advice on compressors on a bass forum is like … actually there’s probably no comparison, but it’s funny.    I’ve played a few, and owned three, but the Hyper Luminal is definitely the last compressor I’ll ever buy.  

[Downunderwonder]

Unless you are playing very aggressively you won't notice a compressor. That is until it's flattening your dynamics, which you most likely wouldn't like with your melodic playing.

[Boodang]

13 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Unless you are playing very aggressively you won't notice a compressor. That is until it's flattening your dynamics, which you most likely wouldn't like with your melodic playing.

There's a good YouTube video from Andertons where they compare various compressors, they get to the most expensive one and can't hear much difference commenting 'is it a good thing or bad thing that it's so transparent'! 

Having said all that, a decent compressor is the one pedal I wouldn't be without on my board.

[Downunderwonder]

51 minutes ago, Boodang said:

There's a good YouTube video from Andertons where they compare various compressors, they get to the most expensive one and can't hear much difference commenting 'is it a good thing or bad thing that it's so transparent'! 

Having said all that, a decent compressor is the one pedal I wouldn't be without on my board.

YouTube is very compressed!

[uk_lefty]

For fretless I found the Boss LMB 3 good but used it as a limiter rather than compressor. There's some recommended settings in the leaflet you get with a new one and one of those really helps bring out some character when you're sliding notes. They're very cheap second hand and Behringer made an even cheaper clone version.  I'm now using a Helix Stomp for almost all effects and compression so as some have suggested using a multi effect like a Zoom or the TC Spectracomp you're likely to find one that suits your set up and the sound you want without having to tweak it much if at all.

[Bobo_08]

I'm using a TC SpectraDrivePre-amp which includes Spectra comp.. albiet with only 1 knob... My preferences are the Nathan East 'Captain East' as already mentioned as well as the 'butterknife' Andre Bowman. 

 

It works for me... Whether it's equally as as a standalone pedal, I couldn't say, I'm still very new to playing. The SpectraDrive is a great little box for the price. 

[SumOne]

I know this sounds like overkill but from the compressors I've tried the cheaper and mid range ones are fine - get the job done sort of things but nothing to get excited about. But higher end ones are what players often swear by as one of their most important pedals, the difference is subtle (especially to listeners) but there is a difference. 

 

As things like the FEA, Diamond, Empress, Cali are all a bit timeless and built to last they hold second hand value well - so get one second hand and it's basically a refundable deposit if you re-sell. Free high-end compressor! 

Edited October 11, 2021 by SumOne
Always typos!

[Bobo_08]

24 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I know this sounds like overkill but from the compressors I've tried the cheaper and mid range ones are fine - get the job done sort of things but nothing to get excited about. But higher end ones are what players often swear by as one of their most important pedals, the difference is subtle (especially to listeners) but there is a difference. 

 

As things like the FEA, Diamond, Empress, Cali are all a bit timeless and built to last they hold second hand value we'll - so get one second hand and it's basically a refundable deposit if you re-sell. Free high-end compressor! 

I heard and read a lot of good things about the Cali76.

[ped]

27 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I know this sounds like overkill but from the compressors I've tried the cheaper and mid range ones are fine - get the job done sort of things but nothing to get excited about. But higher end ones are what players often swear by as one of their most important pedals, the difference is subtle (especially to listeners) but there is a difference. 

 

As things like the FEA, Diamond, Empress, Cali are all a bit timeless and built to last they hold second hand value we'll - so get one second hand and it's basically a refundable deposit if you re-sell. Free high-end compressor! 

It’s this sort of amazing ‘man maths’ that I firmly subscribe to! And it’s true! Personally I have found the higher you go in the price stakes, generally the quieter (less noisy) and more ‘musical‘ sounding the comp ‘can’ be. I gigged an LMB3 for years and only came to replace it when I started recording a lot more where I appreciated a quieter pedal and something which acted as a limiter but with some more flexibility around attack and release. 
 

Current fave pedal format comp is the MXR M87 which I think is the best for the price (again, buy used and sell for virtually no loss) - it offers a wide range of controls and would be a great way to learn how to use one, especially as the LED strip gives a visual indication of what’s happening. 

 

[PaulThePlug]

Huge choice of Modulation type flavours...

Up to 5 effects in a row...

Umpteen Banks n Patches... Build a patch per tune?

Swam em about via PC

Amp and Cab Sims

Tuner

Headphone Amp

 

Had a B1Four but sold it on as i wanted the earlier B1On version as it has a Marshall Amp Sim.

 

Edited October 10, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[SumOne]

3 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Up to 5 effects in a row...

Umpteen Patches

Build a patch per tune?

Amp and Cab Sims

Tuner

Headphone Amp

 

Had a B1Four but sold it on as i wanted the earlier B1On version as it has a Marshall Amp Sim.

 

It contradicts my earlier post, but as I'm selling the B1 four I now fully endorse this post! (it certainly gets the job done well enough for compression, just not quite as well as my FEA - but that's me being overly picky and there is a big price difference, and there's all the other good stuff the B1 four does). 

[PaulThePlug]

If ya not tap dancing like the 6 string brethren... and dont need to be turning effects on off all the time where single pedals are easier.

The approach of a set of std base (bass) setting patches in one bank...

then build on these, a patch of 2 per song... can all be done on the unit but 'Snipping' and 'Setting' can via the PC or Tone Lab Phone App is also quick and simple... With the Amp n Cab sim options, i also think they can feed a mixer to PA, In Stereo if ya like... so potentially go amp free. For some these Zooms can be an all-you-need.

Edited October 10, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[MartinB]

19 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

YouTube is very compressed!

The audio/video is compressed to a smaller file size, reducing the bitrate and perceived "quality". I don't think YouTube also applies volume/dynamic range compression to the audio though, i.e. like a compressor effect.

[SimonEdward]

On 08/10/2021 at 22:21, Linus27 said:

I pretty much only play fretless these days and I've started to experiment with pedals. Got a chorus, reverb and octave pedal so far and apart from the octave, the chorus and reverb I'm enjoying using. I'd like to try a compressor pedal and wondering if the Behringer CS400 is worth a shot for a cheap effort or I should avoid and go for something like a Boss CS-3, Keeley or other? My Ampeg PF500 does have a compressor built in but it doesn't seem to do much but that might just be me 😁

I play in a 3 piece acoustic band with singer/acoustic, drums with brushes and me on fretless. Its chilled laid back songs so the bass is very melodic and doing some lead parts. 

Any advice on compressor thoughts appreciated.

 

The BOSS CS-3 is a good starting point. Also, experiment with a comp near the front-end of your chain - And at the end, to see what sound you like?

 

I'm very old school, and still have an old TC Nova Dynamics, which if you can find one pre-loved on-line is fantastic. And TC's Hypergravity - which I do not like at all. 

 

At some point (not any time soon though), I'd like to try the "CompIQ" mini by Becosfx, but at £169 it's expensive: - 

 

https://becosfx.com/product/compiq-mini-pro-compressor-pedal-for-guitar-bass/

 

[Downunderwonder]

23 hours ago, MartinB said:

The audio/video is compressed to a smaller file size, reducing the bitrate and perceived "quality". I don't think YouTube also applies volume/dynamic range compression to the audio though, i.e. like a compressor effect.

Dunno, but this was big news some years ago:  https://www.wired.com/2008/07/new-youtube-aud/