To Compress or not?

[mwm70]

I am trying to gain some umph for my D and G strings and was wondering if anyone has used a quality compressor and what results they found? I am using a BX3000T head with a Hartke 115XL cab currently, planning on adding a 2.5XL cab shortly to help with the highs. Thanks.

I know this should be under amps and effects but i am trying to make sure they don't kill the bass forum. we get no respect. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Guest]

Re: To Compress or not?

Have you tried an Aphex bass exciter DI?
What kind of bass are you using out of curiosity.

[mwm70]

Re: To Compress or not?

Charvel 3B, P and J pickups.

[Guest]

Re: To Compress or not?

stock pickups? active or passive?

[mwm70]

Re: To Compress or not?

Active emgs, tweaked the pickup height and it helped a little. EQ'd in significantly more mids then I like and that helped some to. New strings going on today with a heavier gauge D and G.

[Guest]

Re: To Compress or not?

I see your tagline, 87 3B, didn't quite catch that at first.

Well my bassist swears by sans amp. He uses Lakeland and Warwick basses which have very dynamic but smooth range.

He's also noticed that many direct boxes don't have a very fast slew rate, that the signal's rise and fall time is slow and the sound on the attack of the top end is often diminished - not due to the tone of the instrument, but the inadequacies of the box, meaning a box is not a cure all if other elements aren't cutting it. Try several models of compressor/limiters if you have the time and the availability. Different makes have a differing range of sounds. I would think actives would respond well but you're talking with a bass layman here. Guitar is primary in my world.

A box with 3:1 ratio, fast attack and slow release could suit you depending on the rig. A little higher ratio will give you more "punch" - too much compression will make the bass sound squashed obviously. Experiment to finding what you like. Tubes can make a difference also.

[Newc]

Re: To Compress or not?

Try some Bartolini pickups instead. A Compressor isn't likely to help anything unless you use it as a peak limiter, but then if your strings don't have enough oomph, then there's no need for limiting. A bass doesn't need a sustain box, it's got all the sustain you'd need.
What you might be needing is better bass pickups. Bartolinis or a set of Fenders might do it. Maybe even a set of Duncan 1/4 pounders, but I've not tried those. I did have genuine Fender pickups and they definitely had enough power.

[thor]

Re: To Compress or not?

Sans Amp bass Di is a really great pedal. I recommend it.

[Inearthed]

Re: To Compress or not?

Is this for a live rig or for recording? If you're recording, definitely go for the Sans Amp Bass Driver (I think that's what it is called). Well worth the $. I know that with all the recordings I've done with my bands we usually end up running the bass through a hardware compressor and then right into the board. Not sure on the settings, but we usually tweaked until we found something that sounded decent.

As far as live goes... Some basses that I've played on have a tendency to have a thunderous low end and a terrible high end and I've found that running the bass through a compressor and then into the normal input on your bass rig usually evens everything up quite nicely with the proper tweaking. I might get crucified for it, but I used one of those cheapy Behringer compressors in my live rig when I was playing on an MTD four-string and it really evened up the notes.

[mwm70]

Re: To Compress or not?

Thanks for the input.

It is a live rig and i think I am going to try Inearthed's suggestion running through the compressor into the input.

[Inearthed]

Re: To Compress or not?

[ QUOTE ]
It is a live rig and i think I am going to try Inearthed's suggestion running through the compressor into the input.

[/ QUOTE ]

Experiment with the dials a lot. I read the manual but found that it didn't help explaining exactly how to get what I wanted, so I setup my compressor by sitting in our practice space playing through stuff and every so often adjusting the knobs to find out exactly what each knob changed and went from there.

Additionally, I noticed that you're just using a 15 inch speaker. That might have a lot to do with it. When I first started playing bass in a band I played through a rig where there were two 18" speakers (yikes), and as you can imagine; thunderous low end but not so much high end. When I switched to my Peavey 4x10, I was much more pleased. I've found that a for the bassist on a budget, a 4x10 usually gets the best balance of low end and the higher strings.

[thor]

Re: To Compress or not?

Inearthed makes an excellent point about what cabs to use. I, too... started with just a 15". I added a 4x10" to my setup and with both cabs I now have a good range. I eventually want to add a 18" sub to complete the tonal range.

[Inearthed]

Re: To Compress or not?

[ QUOTE ]
Inearthed makes an excellent point about what cabs to use. I, too... started with just a 15". I added a 4x10" to my setup and with both cabs I now have a good range. I eventually want to add a 18" sub to complete the tonal range.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh man.. A 4x10", 1x15", and 1x18"

That would probably sound so awesome. I'm not a fan of the 8x10s even though they sound great. They're waaaay too big.

[thor]

Re: To Compress or not?

Yeah, the 8x10" are as big as refrigerators and equally hard to transport. I like being able to stack my cabs or spread them out according to which suits the venue the best.

[mwm70]

Re: To Compress or not?

Since that first post I've added a 2x10 which seems to have helped out along with boosting the mids.
I had an 810 svt cab and there is nothing that compares to that cabinet's ability to move air. I agree with the transport issues. In my youth when I owned that cab, everyone would run like cockroaches when you turn the light on when it was time to unload that thing.