bassbiscuits Posted March 13, 2022 Share Posted March 13, 2022 (edited) Acquired this from my friend who was selling it in favour of the big version. I’ve not long got into compressors after 30+ years of managing perfectly well without, but I’m doing more theatre-type gigs with IEMs etc and there was room for improvement in my sound. I was quite daunted to be honest by all the parameters you can alter, and hated the idea of being mister “all the gear - no idea” However I’ve quickly realised that a) the parameters are all useful things to tweak to really refine how your compression is working for you, and b) it sounds absolutely stellar live. A proper pedal I can just leave on the entire time now. The acid test for me has been the last song of our set where I go all 80s slap bass and chorus pedal, which prior to the Cali76 tended to vary between horribly piercing thru IEMs or just completely neutered by my attempts to rein it it a bit. But the last two gigs this weekend the sound has been sparkling, punchy and bright, but tamed and controlled and just frankly excellent sounding. It’s not cheap but it’s added a whole extra dimension to my onstage sound. Love it. Edited March 13, 2022 by bassbiscuits Edited for typo 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markorbit Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Are you running it at 9v or 18v? I'm seeing one of these in my future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted March 15, 2022 Author Share Posted March 15, 2022 9 hours ago, markorbit said: Are you running it at 9v or 18v? I'm seeing one of these in my future. I'm running it at 9v as they are the only adaptors i have at the moment from my Boss pedals. I'm plugging it directly into an adaptor though rather than daisychaining it off my Korg Pitchblack tuner - figured anything to remove potential sources of unwanted noise was worth doing (not that the daisychain method has given me any problems either in fairness). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted March 15, 2022 Author Share Posted March 15, 2022 In retrospect, I've dialled the Att/Rel back a just a hair (anticlockwise towards a slightly faster attack) for subsequent gigs to ensure the compression is catching the initial attack on the songs when I really dig in. It looked overly complex for me at first but its actually quite intuitive and easy to use. I tend to just leave it on the whole time, but that's just me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 One of these is definitely on my Christmas list too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo m Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) These compressors are Stellar units in the respect that they add a superb sublte' warmth & girth.. to our exsisting bass tones. The H. P. F side chain is an excellent addition in that it allows the lower frequency's to pass through unaffected while compressing the mid's & upper register.. together' I've owned mine for four years. It's always on' & infinitly tweakable but always in a musical way' I place it first on my board' & I don't employ 'Squash' I always want to hear fingers on strings ( That Attack' even with a plectrum the Click needs to be heard) I myself also favour the fast release & lower 4 to 1 ratios... Edited March 18, 2022 by paulo m 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I had one for quite a while. The magic is in the HPF control. That is very clever. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 the holy grail of compressors.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Welcome to compression/compressors. Taken the time to properly understand and tweak they and especially this one is phenomenal and improving the balance of your sound to a level where no one knows something is working, but everything is working because of how it makes it sit. You are correct as well, it’s not that daunting and very intuitive 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 In the end I moved mine on - in fact all my compressors went when I got the Boss BC-1X. That's certainly a dark horse. It's multiband so there's a lot going on behind the scenes but I found it much easier to dial in and it suits my needs a lot better (I'm not a fan of using the words "best ever" type nonsense). The only downside about the Boss is the battery drain is horrific so it's really a power supply only option with a battery for a backup. It should definitely be mentioned in the same sweaty GASsy breath as the Cali76, Empress, Keeley Pro etc though. It's just a great compressor and a massive step up from the older Boss offerings. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 My journey down the pedal rabbit hole started with the more extreme/obvious effects like fuzz, envelope filters, synth, modulation. It took me a while to really 'get' the more subtle things like preamps/EQ and compressors, I think I needed to use them in a band situation to fully realise the value they bring but now I have seen the light they are what I nerd out on and other pedals hardley get a look in. I'm currently usign the Fishman Platinum Pro's single dial compressor which generally does well (and it's nice to simplify things/reduce the risk for things accidentally being set in the wrong place/extra cables and noise etc) but I did notice that playing at volume through a 212 cab my D and G strings were sounding a bit weak, they don't sound weak at lower volumes/home practice though....I'm not sure if that's down to technique, compression, preamp/EQ, Cab, or something else (anyone with any ideas?) but I've got a feeling a more tweakable compressor might be the answer. I had a FEA Opti-FET which was great and perhaps I should have kept it, it's good to play the compressor field a bit though!......So long story short, I think a Cali 76 is right at the top of my shopping list, along with Diamond Comp Jr, Empress, and it sounds like I should consider the BC-1X too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 One of these is top of my list as well although I also hear really good things about the Keeley Bassist pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) Has anyone here tried both the Empress and the Cali 76? I'm after something for Reggae/Dub - to even out the volume and tone between strings, making the D and G strings sound more bass heavy where they can seem a bit weak right now compared to playing the same notes on lower strings, and making the B less boomy. They are similar price and features and both get excellent reviews. From what I understand the Empress is slightly more transparent sounding and has better metering and a few more controls, Cali is a bit better if you want a bit of tone enhancing. Neither seem to appear very often second hand (and when they do they're not much cheaper than new) so I'm tempted on payday to get both new and return one. Edited March 17, 2022 by SumOne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oomo Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I'm currently torn between this and the Darkglass Hyperluminal, that also gets excellent reviews, though the Cali 76 seems to be a bit more established. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 13 hours ago, SumOne said: My journey down the pedal rabbit hole started with the more extreme/obvious effects like fuzz, envelope filters, synth, modulation. It took me a while to really 'get' the more subtle things like preamps/EQ and compressors, I think I needed to use them in a band situation to fully realise the value they bring but now I have seen the light they are what I nerd out on and other pedals hardley get a look in. I'm currently usign the Fishman Platinum Pro's single dial compressor which generally does well (and it's nice to simplify things/reduce the risk for things accidentally being set in the wrong place/extra cables and noise etc) but I did notice that playing at volume through a 212 cab my D and G strings were sounding a bit weak, they don't sound weak at lower volumes/home practice though....I'm not sure if that's down to technique, compression, preamp/EQ, Cab, or something else (anyone with any ideas?) but I've got a feeling a more tweakable compressor might be the answer. I had a FEA Opti-FET which was great and perhaps I should have kept it, it's good to play the compressor field a bit though!......So long story short, I think a Cali 76 is right at the top of my shopping list, along with Diamond Comp Jr, Empress, and it sounds like I should consider the BC-1X too. Opti FET is stunning - i use that and the CaliCB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 Change in plan, I'm going to go for the Markbass Compressor that's for sale on here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I’m liking my Ampeg Opto Compressor Very natural sounding with a warm vintage vibe. Low price too makes it a winner in my book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 On 17/03/2022 at 12:54, SumOne said: Has anyone here tried both the Empress and the Cali 76? I'm after something for Reggae/Dub - to even out the volume and tone between strings, making the D and G strings sound more bass heavy where they can seem a bit weak right now compared to playing the same notes on lower strings, and making the B less boomy. They are similar price and features and both get excellent reviews. From what I understand the Empress is slightly more transparent sounding and has better metering and a few more controls, Cali is a bit better if you want a bit of tone enhancing. Neither seem to appear very often second hand (and when they do they're not much cheaper than new) so I'm tempted on payday to get both new and return one. I've had them both. Again, both very good. I think the Empress has a cleaner sound to it whereas to my ears the 76 added a bit of warmth. The Keeley Pro is up there too - lots of fine control. I'm tempted with another Empress now that the enclosure has been updated. The original one, being a wide box with side mounted jacks making it take up even more board room was quite annoying. If it hasn't had been very good I would have sent it straight back when I got it. The new slimline one has solved that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwilym Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I have the Empress and Cali76tx. I like the Empress, sounds great, but as mentioned above, it's a little more of a clinical compressor. i.e. it's not colouring the sound much if at all. The Cali76 does add more colour in a nice way, especially when running at 18v, which is when the TX kicks in. Special mention to the Durham Sex Drive, also sounds lovely to my ears. Can you tell i spent more that a few hours reading all the Ovnilab reviews a few years ago? 😂 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 9 minutes ago, Gwilym said: I have the Empress and Cali76tx. I like the Empress, sounds great, but as mentioned above, it's a little more of a clinical compressor. i.e. it's not colouring the sound much if at all. The Cali76 does add more colour in a nice way, especially when running at 18v, which is when the TX kicks in. Special mention to the Durham Sex Drive, also sounds lovely to my ears. Can you tell i spent more that a few hours reading all the Ovnilab reviews a few years ago? 😂 I love Ovnilab... Am I right... 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 13 hours ago, SumOne said: Change in plan, I'm going to go for the Markbass Compressor that's for sale on here. Good call - that was the other one I was looking at when the Cali76 came up locally. The Markbass has good reviews too and I fancied trying the valve compression. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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