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Compression, anyone else here like using a tonne of it?


shoulderpet

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I haven't owned a compressor in eons but the place my band rehearses in has an Ashdown rm-500-evo ii and whilst the general tone of that amp is a little wooly for my tastes the compressor on that amp is a game changer for me, last rehearsal I had the compressor maxed and whilst it might have sounded a bit squashed on its own as soon as the rest of the band started playing my bass tone was really punchy and the more staccato bass parts sounded fantastic, there is literally only the one knob for the compression but whatever preset settings they used sound great

 

Probably worth noting though is that I didnt have the input section of the amp turned up that high and it was not going into the red but still high enough that the compressor was triggered with whatever I played

 

I know a lot of people say that you should not be able to hear compression, is there anyone else here who finds they like a lot of compression?

Edited by shoulderpet
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I've joined a rock band and it means I have to play some songs with a pick. I've just bought a multi effects pedal, as my pick playing is a bit uneven and I'm hoping the compressor on that will smooth it out.

 

Of course I could just get better at playing with a pick?

 

Nah....

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On 22/03/2022 at 10:27, gjones said:

I've joined a rock band and it means I have to play some songs with a pick. I've just bought a multi effects pedal, as my pick playing is a bit uneven and I'm hoping the compressor on that will smooth it out.

 

Of course I could just get better at playing with a pick?

 

Nah....

 

In that type of situation it's not just a case of smoothing it out. By setting the attack/release parameters appropriately you can make a compressor 'pump' deliberately to eg increase the transient clarity of your eighth note lines.

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On 22/03/2022 at 10:05, shoulderpet said:

I haven't owned a compressor in eons but the place my band rehearses in has an Ashdown rm-500-evo ii and whilst the general tone of that amp is a little wooly for my tastes the compressor on that amp is a game changer for me, last rehearsal I had the compressor maxed and whilst it might have sounded a bit squashed on its own as soon as the rest of the band started playing my bass tone was really punchy and the more staccato bass parts sounded fantastic, there is literally only the one knob for the compression but whatever preset settings they used sound great

 

Probably worth noting though is that I didnt have the input section of the amp turned up that high and it was not going into the red but still high enough that the compressor was triggered with whatever I played

 

I know a lot of people say that you should not be able to hear compression, is there anyone else here who finds they like a lot of compression?

That’s interesting and I can’t recall if I liked the onboard compressor on my Rm800 

 

The Compressor on the ABM600 which I guess is the same works but it sounds like it 1: drops the amp volume slightly and 2: removes some of the top end. 
I would love to us it but I found it more restrictive than a benefit 

Ive now got the Ampeg Opto Compressor but I’m not sure if using it is helping anything ( I play rock in a band ) 

I understand what Compressors do but I also find that I’m using it more as an amp limiter so my VU input isn’t pounding into the red when loudest notes are struck 

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I've been all around the houses several times with compressors and have in the passed used them set over the top, more as an effect, but back in a dad rock/sensible end of the metal spectrum band many years ago it was just the thing required when underpinning a pair of Marshaled up guitarists. These days I use much less compression but I always have some going on, more as a feel thing than an obvious effect, as my bass sound just doesn't feel right or sit where I want it in the mix without any compression whatsoever. 

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6 hours ago, Osiris said:

I've been all around the houses several times with compressors and have in the passed used them set over the top, more as an effect, but back in a dad rock/sensible end of the metal spectrum band many years ago it was just the thing required when underpinning a pair of Marshaled up guitarists. These days I use much less compression but I always have some going on, more as a feel thing than an obvious effect, as my bass sound just doesn't feel right or sit where I want it in the mix without any compression whatsoever. 

 

It's really a question of context - useful to bear in mind that any bass guitar you hear on a recording has almost certainly been compressed in some way. Similar with any signal going to PA via FOH desk.

It's sometimes better to leave this stuff to the 'SoundGuy/Gal' who is listening to it in context. Also to reflect on studio experience and what was done there.

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As you say, it's about context. My band are weekend warriors, we carry our own PA and do our own sound. And while we all have enough knowledge and experience between us (150+ years collectively) to get what we think is a great, well balanced, and not stupidly loud sound from the PA, none of us are qualified sound engineers. But between us we've picked up a few useful tips and tricks over the years from performing and recording, with 2 of the band members having worked at professional levels. So what works for me in the context of my band is having my bass signal hitting the desk as ready to go as I can make it e.g. EQ'd to fit in with the other instruments, a touch of compression and HPF and that's pretty much it. That allows me to control my sound, including the compression, so that it's giving me what I want with little, if any, additional processing added by anyone else. We use a digital desk so the levels are saved and the PA usually only then needs to be tweaked to the room. But I appreciate that this approach won't work for everyone. 

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I've been using a comp for ages to just even things out rather than address any technique issues, I'm not heavy handed and can be as dynamic as I need to be with my right hand where appropriate. I rarely use a pick but have been more so recently just to get a certain attack when using drive pedals for a more pronounced tone as opposed to what I can get finger style and the comp has helped with that in it's own way, a bit crisper on the top end and a nice punchy tone toon.

 

I have been messing with adding more compression then I normally did and I think it's due to picking up a new to me pedal (DG Hyper Luminal) which has different controls to my last unit. It's been fun trying out some different sounds and on some tunes having the clean blend at set to 'all compressed tone' does add something different. I guess being used to a certain sound then hearing something new/different is pleasing. I'm enjoying listening to the differences in tones and figuring out what works best for me.

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On 28/03/2022 at 18:42, Dood said:

I'm a multi-band (Parallel) compressor kinda guy. I like to hear a bit of compression as an effect, but maintain the fullness and clarity of my original bass signal. 

I think this is the way to go - you can massively compress and then blend back in the uncompressed signal - gives you liveliness *and* punch. Some compressors have a blend knob. Blend - also good with overdrive!

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47 minutes ago, bloke_zero said:

I think this is the way to go - you can massively compress and then blend back in the uncompressed signal - gives you liveliness *and* punch. Some compressors have a blend knob. Blend - also good with overdrive!

 

Yes! Exactly! - I tend not to limit my bass signal at this point in my signal chain, so the clean blend allows the transients to come through, but rather I use my compression to lift the quieter content (from a multi-band point of view) up in level. It really does work well with overdrive too! I've always been a fan of riding that edge of drive to make an instrument sound a bit more gritty without going in to full distortion. Parallel compression helps me to do that, but I can still make it bite if I dig in.

 

My other favourite setting is a band-pass style distortion which I would describe as a more "bow on double bass strings" type sound, a very smooth distortion that is also possible using really high compression settings but blending that direct signal in to both the compression and the drive. In this case, I may turn the treble down on the clean signal too, because some settings tend to sound like two separate instruments rather than one cohesive sound. Then there's the option of some cheeky bus compression at the end of the chain set to "glue" mode ha ha! 

Edited by Dood
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  • 4 months later...

Muktiband parallel compression chap

 

If you didn't know you wouldn't think it was even on, until you turn it off in the mix.

 

Use it to control the transients and also add some thump.

 

It's subtle, and not so subtle, depending on what I'm playing at the time.

 

Best of all worlds really 

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