Jim Dunlop MXR Bass Compressor Pedal

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With that said, I dug through a bunch of compressor pedals on the market today to bring you 7 awesome options you should consider adding to your own board… Walrus Audio has been making a bunch of really cool effects for the last couple of years, and the Deep Six is no exception. They are very sensitive to micro-dynamics and transients making them ideally suited for percussive instruments, but you’ll commonly find them used with basses, guitars, and even vocals. If you are looking for a transparent compressor with low distortion, to even out your signal when switching from fingerstyle to slapping or popping, this could be the best choice for the task. Optical compressors

In essence, there are four types of compressors based on the technology they employ to compress your signal: VCA, Optical, FET, and Valve. Each type has its own characteristics and performs better with some applications and worse with others. VCA compressors It’s new-gen, versatile, and highly regarded in the community. But high regard comes with a high price – and two color options (blue and silver). Before talking about compression we’ll need to discuss “Dynamic range”. Dynamic range in music is the change in volume from the quietest to the loudest sounds you can produce on your bass and is expressed in decibels or dB. One of the toughest things to understand about compression is that it is inherently a very transparent and subtle effect. A good rule of thumb is that you almost shouldn’t be able to hear the difference between an uncompressed and compressed guitar signal, except that the compressed signal generally just sounds better or clearer.

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Set your compression ratio to somewhere between 2:1 and 4:1 (too much compression can lead to a lifeless sounding bass as the dynamics are reduced too much) Tone-wise, the Empress bass comp is as clean and natural as it gets. The sonic character is transparent and there are no dips or swells in the smooth action. The MXR M87 is a very versatile pedal that can easily tighten up your sound. It’s designed for use both in the studio and on-stage, and is constructed to be very durable and compact. The pedal may look quite intimidating at first due to its appearance, but it really doesn’t take too long to figure it out with the help of the product manual that’s included with the M87. Treat them right and they take your tone to the next level, giving you the right amount of consistency in dynamics without destroying the groove. That’s something everyone can appreciate, especially a gigging bass player consistently subjected to sub-par PA systems. It does it slightly better, with the controls being more responsive, adjustable, and the sounds are inspiring. The price is astronomical but once you witness it, you can’t deny that it’s one of the top compressor pedals out there.

I used a Compressore with a Fender Custom Shop P-bass and Thomastik flats. Fat, choppy, staccato bass lines with a great thump, what more could you want in a compressor pedal? Verdict The dimensions are identical to M87, features true bypass, and has a 9V DC power requirement. An LED indicates if the pedal is on/off but there is no visual metering. Going through these steps should set you on the right path, just remember to listen to your sound and keep tweaking until you like what you hear.GAIN REDUCTION METER –precisely displays gain reduction level and compressor response time when the input signal reaches the compression threshold

This pedal aims to replicate how a studio-style 1176 compressor would affect your bass signal, with some added clarity on that precious low end. It’s incredibly musical and very versatile, plus it’s built like a tank, so it’s impressively road-worthy. The Blend allows for a clean/parallel mix that can be used for compression adjustment or reclaiming the natural bass tone in aggressive compression settings. The Aguilar Bass compressor is a rugged pedal (read: tour-grade) with the typical Aguilar styling and a sliding-drawer compartment for a 9V battery. It is clean and dead quiet but equally capable of tone coloration. Yeah, it costs a pretty penny, but the compressor still offers an excellent cost-benefit ratio. As with any pedal, size can matter. We’re all looking to make gigging, practicing and recording easier, and a more compact pedalboard can aid this. A smaller pedal means that it takes less space on your board, so you can either have a smaller board (less to carry), or more pedals (more fun). If space isn’t an issue – maybe you’re only after one or two pedals, or you’ve got plenty of room in the van – or someone carries your gear for you (that’s the dream), then you don’t need to worry about size. You’ll probably find that the bigger pedals will have more functionality and flexibility too. How we choose products

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This helps keep your initial note definition and sparkle while helping add sustain and evenness. There is also a 3-way switch that allows you to have “low,” “medium,” and “high” amounts of compression added to the signal, which gives you multiple flexible types of compression settings for different guitars and styles. You can expect anything from a pedal with a one-control-does-all approach to a unit with as many knobs crammed on to one box as its electronics will allow. Let’s look at the different controls you may find and help you choose useful settings for each. Turn your compressor on and off while tweaking the make-up gain until you stop hearing a difference in volume between the compressor being on and off Target Customer: The MXR M87 can be harder to properly set up for the uninitiated when compared to a 1 or 2-knob compressor, but the versatility it offers is unquestionable. Few other bass compressors on the market let you have as much control over your compression parameters. Featuring a blend of analog and digital technology, the Darkglass Hyper Luminal Compressor is functional, versatile and comprehensive, and affects your bass signal in a way that’s musical and dynamic, making it one of the best bass compressor pedals out there right now.

There’s no rule as to how much you should spend on a bass compressor pedal. More expensive models tend to have more features, or will yield a slightly better tone. Really cheap pedals might do the job, but they’re likely to break or fault sooner. Some trustworthy brands to look out for include Boss, MXR, Electro-Harmonix and Aguilar. Despite the size, any standard 9V DC can power the pedal. The pedal is ‘almost’ transparent, but with some tilt to the bass side. Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we testeach product. Related buying guidesInput level governs the level of signal into the compressor circuit, which can affect the action of the compressor itself too. Pushing the gain up will hit the compressor threshold sooner. There is no signal degradation when the compressor pedal is off. The visual metering isn’t as sophisticated as the competition but it gets the job done. The Empress Bass Compressor reminds you how it’s feasible to get studio-quality compression in a delightfully small enclosure. Color me biased, but the pedal is the best bass compression pedal you can find in a pedal format. While the things I outlined above are really only scratching the surface on how compression works and why it’s useful on pretty much any sound source, here’s a list of great guitar compressor pedals you can utilize to enhance your tone and increase your guitar’s sustain. I Can’t Hear What A Compressor Is Doing. Is It Just Me?