Watch this guy blow up. Such a good communicator, solid videos, not pretentious. So much care and detail in each video. Everyone involved in this channel understand their audience!
I've been using a markbass compressore for a while now and I love it. With the gain high enough you get a bit of tube distortion, which is compression in its own right. The rest of the compression is mainly to clean up my playing. I love the sound of that pedal, I highly recommend them for both soul/funk and rock/stoner types of music.
I use the Darkglass Hyperluminal Compressor for everything. 3 compressors in one (although I'm partial to the 1176 ALL IN setting). My favorite thing about compression is the way it makes my fingers feel. I play different. I slide different. I hold notes different. It also doubles to clean up some flubs too. Your band, engineer, and audience will thank you too. Great content as always Philip.
Just got a knockoff of the yellow Mooer compressor because at 6 years of playing I barely heard I’ve been missing out… Now I just gotta figure out how to use it. Introducing a pedal board to my live rig for the first time at a show next month!
I like to stack multiple compressors, especially for recording. I find that using one and hitting it hard can be unpleasing but if you do 4 compressors that do 2 db each it's much more pleasing. Parallel compressions is also a game changer.
I’ve finally found a channel worth subscribing to. Brilliantly articulated. The ability to understand and disseminate wisdom is an extraordinary and extremely rare gift. Thanks man. I would add that “gain” is considered the lift (expansion) of an effect and can be attenuated irrespective of output volume. And, your playing is seriously top tier.
I used to have a Markbass Compressore but it was too big and needed a different power outlet. Then I got the Boss BC-1X and I couldn't be happier. Never leaves my board and it's always on.
Your analogy for compression was one of the best I've heard to clearly explain each of the aspects of a compressor. For me, I use it on my board and use it for consistency. I'm currently running an Orange Kongpressor.
Well my only dedicated bass compressor is the Darkglass Hyper Luminal but I think it's wonderful - has everything you could possibly want or need in a compact and light package, and a huge range from totally transparent to obvious tone-shaping! I think I just need to spent the huge amount of practice time to 1) get great hand/ear technique first and foremost and 2) train my ears on the subtleties of the compressor settings so I instinctively know how to dial it in for different situations
Great explaination! Im guilty of using the gain on my EBS MultiComp to boost the signal....but I'm gonna try your suggestion and clean up a little. Thx!
Hi Phillip, really enjoy your videos. I have question on compression. I watched your video on the UA1176 pedal and absolutely loved it! However, I've spent some time talking to a few touring and pro bassists and for whatever reason, they hated that particular pedal!? In your honest opinion. How do you think the UA1176 stacks up against the new Cali76?
No rules! Some people like to use one compressor to tame the transients and another to fatten the sound. Experiment and have fun; I hope you find the sound you are looking for! ⚡️
your explanation of compression is incorrect. compression does squish louder noise down but it doesn't squish softer noise up. this is where gain comes in. because compression lowers the overall volume of the original signal, it is often raised back up with gain. so compression squishes signal down like squishing a sponge to the floor and gain raises the entire squished sponge higher off the floor. gain does NOT mean that you unsquish the signal.
You are exactly right that makeup gain brings the signal back up, raising the volume of the quieter things. I think we understand and believe the same thing here. Thanks for sharing ⚡️
@@philipconradmusic i'm not sure if i'm convinced. what you said in the intro can be considered correct if you're talking about raising quieter sound via gain but it is still misleading and based on what you said towards the end about not using gain, i'm not sure if that's what you meant. what you said during your tip portion about squishing the sound with compression and expanding it again with gain, thereby negating the compression, is absolutely incorrect. i advise you search youtube for "Compressors Explained - Sound Basics with Stella Episode 3" and watch the video. if you agree with what that video says, then your explanation is either wrong or misleading. it cannot be reconciled in my opinion. that being said, i do like your analogy about the mom knocking on your door. this is otherwise a good video. i just wanted to point out the technically misleading/wrong facts about what compression does. i'm not trying to be a jerk, i just want you to be better.
You’re very quickly becoming my favourite bass educator on here 😊 Your videos make me feel like I’ve sat down with a friend who’s explained something to me and I understood /learned something (whereas some of the other bass channels you can come away with a feeling like “what’s the point I’ll never know anything 🤯” haha). It was your D.I shootout video that brought me to your channel - keep it up man, really enjoy your stuff 👍
Compression is BUTTER. I had the MXR Bass Compressor on my board for almost 10 years. First in the signal path. Set it and forget it... Always on. I used it transparently because I didn't want it to effect my tone too much. Just enough to sweeten and tighten everything up. I often switch from finger/muted thumb/picking throughout a set so it really helped with dynamics. It wasn't until recently that a FOH engineer told me to take it off because he was doing a lot of that on his end. I've felt a little more control and life back into my playing now that it is off my board. I guess I had been using it as a crutch for a while. Happy to use it as a tool for a specific job now. Great perspective shift for me.
This is similar to my recent experience as well - used it more when I needed it more to even me out, now the FOH hates it so it’s out. It sometimes added a weird hum anyway….
Same here, I never use a compressor when playing at my church since I like having a more stripped back plug n play set up every Sunday (literally tuner + preamp lol). I keep my compressor on my gigging pedalboard, it really helps you sound just a bit more consistent across different venues
One of the things that rarely get talked about with compression is that by using compression judiciously, you can actually use it not just to reduce dynamic range, but to increase dynamic range, in which case, the compressor is actually acting as an expander. This is typically done by using a relatively long attack time and a relatively short release time, the reverse of what you would typically use to control errant loud notes (which of course, as a competent bassist, we never would in the first place, right?). What this does is allow the initial attack of the note to pass uncompressed, then clamp down on the body of the note, making it quieter. This increases the relative difference between the peak amplitude and average amplitude of the envelope. And makeup gain is an extremely important part of all compressors that is virtually always used to boost the compressed signal back up to unity gain after processing, so telling people not to use makeup gain is self-defeating. For most people, it's going to be a good idea to have the makeup gain set just slightly higher than unity gain, so that you can tell when the compressor is active, but it's not so drastic a change that if the compressor fails for any reason, you don't sound completely different for the rest of the gig without it. Best of all for bass is a parallel multiband compressor that allows one to tailor the compressor's response to low, mid, and high frequencies independently. Bass frequencies have so much more energy than treble frequencies that using a wideband compressor on a bass instrument is almost always going to be suboptimal, because the bass frequencies will trigger the compressor first, killing the treble response, so if you then adjust the compressor so it doesn't kill the highs, you end up with not enough compression on the lows. That's why the Cali76 has that HPF control on it; it allows you to filter out some of the low frequencies that trigger the compressor too quickly; most analog wideband compressors don't have this type of feature. My personal recommendations for compressor pedals for bass guitar are the tc electronic SpectaComp and the Boss BC-1X Bass Comp. Both of these are multiband digital compressors. The SpectraComp is more flexible, but you need to be able to competently program the unit to get the best out of it. If fiddling with software is not your jam, the BC-1X is much easier to use. These two units are, in my opinion, the two best on the market. I have not had the opportunity to use the Source Audio Atlas, which can do two-band digital compression, but that's better than one band. The Atlas, however, is significantly more expensive and just as difficult to program as the SpectraComp.
I also own the Cali76 and it's preety good in my opinion. Again a very informative and entertaining episode by you. You're sooner or later becoming the Rhett Shull of bass my friend! 😄
I just found your channel at a very opportune time. I've been considering a compressor for some time, and this video is moving me ever closer. I've been reading where some compressors are noisy. My playing is only at home, mostly jazz and Manouch Jazz. I know no pedals are necessary, but in your opinion do you think I would notice a difference? The pedals I've been considering are the Universal 1176 (saw your video on that one), MXR M282, and the Keeley Bassist Limiting. Really enjoying the information your channel provides!
I guess my problem is that I can't hear compression. I've got the HX Stomp, which models like six different compressors, and they all sound the same to me. I try to tweak settings, and again... Can't hear what difference it makes. It's really frustrating.
I'm not oldschool at all when it comes to playing bass. I'm happy to use preamp gain to compress everything and just be really careful to mute very very efficiently. But honestly? it is cool to use a compressor along with that. I use an MXR bass comp and I shoot for unity gain with the lowest ratio, slow attack and a quick release. I've been thinking about the optical EQD Warden to either upgrade to or maybe use one into the other.
I have a Bass Preacher compressor, which only have volume and sustain, yet I can't really notice the difference. Is there a better compressor type you think I should look for, or am I doing something wrong?
On stage I only like to use a bass DI Along with my Amp, not many to choose from that have compressors I have found that the LR Baggs Stadium Di has a multi band compressor that is very transparent and seems to work out OK for me… I have had several other compressors but fumbling with all the knobs it’s not my thing I would suggest you give it a try and perhaps do a video on the whole pedal
I like to use compression to either increase or decrease aggression. A faster attack will decrease the aggression by compressing the transient while a slower attack with increase aggression by letting more of the transient through.
I compress for tone (parallel compression). This brings up the subtleties of the sound (increases the quiet bits) whilst louder notes bypass the compressor. I’m using a Seymour Duncan Studio Bass pedal for this and setting the blend control so that the dry and compressed signals are about the same level when I’m playing comfortably.
I do the same thing with my bass compressor. I set it harder than I like, then dial the mix back so I have the best of both worlds. I get to keep my dynamics with the fat sustain and note support from the compressed signal
Phily Phil!!! What up dude, this is Bobby from AIM. So I just got one of these and its the '64 black panel version. Is there any difference in this unit from the other ones Ive seen or is it purely cosmetic? I havent found any info so far. Killer channel, my friend🤙🤙🤙
Hey dude!! Good to hear from you! The 64 Black Panel is a preamp based off the Fender Bassman and it sounds killer. Different vibes from the 1176 entirely but both are great and I love both for different applications!
I ordered your course and I’m glad I did. I’m using a keeley at the moment. I’m playing in a worship band at the present. I like the way it sustains a single note especially when there’s an 8 count between notes. It also smooths things out.
My favorite bass compressors are without a doubt the EBS MultiComp and the Darkglass Hyper Luminal. Hyper Luminal for rock/metal and MultiComp for everything else.
What I often do in Studio: I use a CL-1B as some kind of preamp for the DI-Signal. The comp has a lot of input gain and also does one of the most 3D and easy to dial in compression. You really can go hard on this.
Great analogy!!! & i love the cali! i use both the empress bass compressor and the cali 76 on my board. The Empress does a great job at having an extreme punch when i crank the input all the way up, with slowest attack and fastest release. i leave the cali with more natural settings, and its better at giving more of a warmth or vibe rather than punch. both the input and hpf at noon, attack/release all the way right or sometimes at 3:00, and ratio set at its lowest. what really helps with using the two comps at the same time is the dry knob. i like to have my dry signal remain like 30-40% with in the volume.
30 years ago I was a guitarist that used to leave my pedals and mic on the stage overnight on a gig, and in San Jose Calif they all got stolen. So my then new girlfriend, now wife, bought me a compressor. She asked the Music Store for the best one, and gave me a DBX 160X rack compressor. I still have it, and still have my wonderful wife. Bass is my primary instrument now, and I think I use the compressor in a subtle way, sometimes I even bypass it. Thank you, great video. Liked and subscribed.
Really good description on how compression works. I use it for both taming the peaks and also for tone shaping. I like a bit of a squashed sound. Especially how that sounds with a pick. It adds a new nice percussive tone. I have a Keeley Bassist Comp. I like its simplicity of three knobs - ratio, threshold and gain.
Although I mostly agree with everything you said, specifically in bass for certain genres of music a very compressed and "lifeless" bass is what you want. Examples would be very produced modern metal and EDM or other styles where you mimic a synth bass. As for compressors, I have used the MXR Bass Compressor for a VERY long time, the ART Pro VLA is awesome specially at the price point and plugins I usually use the Logic Optical compressor or the Focusrite Red Comp
Well said! Extreme compression can be totally appropriate in some situations, and there are no rules. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and watching this video. Glad to have you here ⚡️
I have done it both ways. It depends on the producer/mixing engineer/workflow. I tend to just do more creative style compression in the studio if anything and let the engineer do their thing. Thanks for watching!
My understanding of compression is that it does NOT raise quieter sound levels but only squashes down peaks/high levels. To achieve raising lower levels is rather a matter of raising overall level and lowering (compressing) the higher levels back down. I may (probably) be wrong but your explanation states that a compressor in fact raises the quieter levels. Any comment on this?
@@philipconradmusic Thanks for getting back so fast :) I thought makeup gain was to, well, makeup the lost gain on the compressed portion and bring it back up to unity or boost if desired. I guess that's where my misunderstanding comes from! Fully understanding what compressors do is not as simple as it seems :) Thanks for the vids and explanations!
Probably not live because of feedback, but recording absolutely. Although I would probably mic up the bass and use an outboard compressor instead of a pedal with the pickup.
Up to 1:22 - compression sounds like contrast ie you want the waveform to be fuller, but not ‘clipping’, and on top of cleaner sounding you also want the waveform to be less distorted whilst retaining volume EDIT: I know photography (and some words), I don’t know music production or playing
The thing is I want to drive the compressor for character and subtle distortion. I run my Cali with Out and In set as high as I can without getting too much compression. A medium attack/rel. setting, 4:1 ratio, and a bit of dry mixed in. It's not so much for the compression as it is for sound it adds to my bass. But by definition almost my compressed signal winds up being 3 to 6 dB higher than uncompressed. I use it always on.
Another great video brother. So maby flavors in there with compression but I've always basically divided it in 2 categories.. The intended use purely as dynamics control and, "effect" compression where it's leaving a sonic footprint on the tone (IE McCartney through cascaded Altec 436's).
for beginners, start with extreme settings, then dial them back until you get what you want. threshold= when to start compressing / ratio= how much to compress / attack= how long until full compression is reached / release= how long until no compression is reached / the most common way I use bass compression is to keep the notes sustained longer, so the track doesn't feel like its losing weight.
I’ve read about compression, I’ve asked pro musicians, technicians and I’ve surfed internet trying to understand it. Your analogy is perfect. Thanks man. Also, I know some people hate this, but I'm beginning this journey and I'd like to ask if there's any chance to know more about the intro baseline? TABs? Thank you.
I really enjoyed my old Maxon CP-9 Pro plus and Analog.man Ross clone. Currently, I only have an Orange Squeezer clone modded for bass on my board. It is for 'Effecty' type compression. I was thinking about upgrading to the BiCompROSSer from Analog.man, since it has an OS clone side plus a Ross/Dynocomp side.
Well explained...not easy explaining compression... some compressors or limiters do not have attack & release pots..some have a 3 position knee switch, fast, medium & slow...i use a Boss LMB 3 bass Limiter/Compressor...it has no attack & release settings as being a FET compressor it kicks in extremely fast..it has a level, ratio & threshold pots as well as an enhance pot to boost the hi-mid & treble,a kind of bass 'presence' pot...no lights or led strips to tell you anything...it only took me 5 yrs to get the thing to work properly...i put it through a DAW to find out the optimum settings depending on the music being played...now i can see it on a screen it makes it easier to find the right settings,lots of coloured dots round each pot to let me know where i am..lol..it works..Boss LMB3's are not the easiest compressor/limiter to figure out how to get the best out of them but when you do it gives a very transparent tone with an extra thickness yet is easier to cut through the rest of the band live or in recording keeping the bass tone more level in output...i swap between the Boss LMB3 & an Electro-Harmonix Bass Preacher, a simple 2 pot bass compressor, a level pot & a compressor level/ratio pot with a 3 position toggle switch ,fast,medium & slow, for knee setting & attack speed, simple but works very well especially when used along with my amps compressor, a Warwick WA300 class A solid state bass head...amazing bass amplifier with a built in compressor...a transparent beautiful bass amp tone which can play at very loud levels without breaking up,i use an Eden Glow Plug to get that overdriven grinding valve bass tone when needed...compressors, you can't live without them if you play bass, well you can but it won't sound so good...
Understood. Yes that is a reaction that many have until one learns to hear compression. Once you recognize it you won't miss it again. Compression is probably harder to recognize on bass because its a darker sound , drums and cymbals are easier.
Loved this video, Just subscribed! PLEASE continue to word things the way you do I like your analogies. A lot of other RU-vidrs act like the viewer knows as much as they do… spoiler alert I don’t…
Thank you. Very much like the 'chopping mountains and filling valleys' analogy, now I get what all the producer reacts to... vids mean when they say over compressed. Can I use the limiter on these things to kill the string rub noise, do people use it this way? Would this stop it sounding like a stringed instrument? Currently only have the compressor built into my amp head, that only has gain and boost which is as useful as you'ld expect on a 500W rig set to 0.5 out of 10 on the level control to protect the neighbours; must buy a practise amp for home use.
I have a Cali76 and I run the input super high, (so low threshold) but with pretty minimal ratio. This way everything is compressed a little bit. I do love notes that just ring out forever, and I can get that with these settings too. For reference, on the Cali, I go clean at 9:00, output at 10:00, input at 3:00, ratio at 9:00, A/R at fully clockwise, HPF at 1:00
Where do you put your compression pedal in the signal chain? I put mine (MXR comp) right behind the tuner at the front of my signal chain because I want an eqaul signal across my other pedals. However, I know other people who perfer to have the compressor at the end of the their signal chain because they don't want certain pedals compressed that they change their sound. I like to use it to emphasize the notes that are quieter compared to other loud notes so that my sound is equal for FOH. When I show up to a venue, I ask if there is already compression on the bass channel and if so, I ask them to take it off because I want the control of my sound.
I tend to use comp more for dynamic control and not so much for note lengthening. Lately I've been waffling back and forth with a Diamond Bass Comp Jr. It's definitely a "color" optical compressor, but I don't always love the low mid bump that it imparts. It does have a tilt style EQ that gets back some of the sparkle but sometimes I feel it loses a bit too much of the low fundamental. As an alternate however I have the cheap Klark LA-2A and 1176 clones that do the job just fine!
Hey Phillip - great video! I use the @mozztronics Opto-Comp on my (upright) bass - always on when playing every gig! I generally use a lower ratio, with a low threshold. This tames the inconsistencies between pizzicato and slap playing - and gives me a GREAT stage-sound in every situation. At times I'll even over-compress, and use it in conjunction with a Boss OC-2 Octave and EHX Bass Muff nano fuzz to get a big, dirty synth-esque sound for some songs. Since getting the compressor, it's changed my life - and makes my playing, the sound and the signal for the FOH engineer all much more fun, interesting and consistent. Happy days! :)
Just before you mentioned, that your wife is a designer, I wanted to comment on the nice and not so common font choice and the overall look of your videos. I like it! That being said said, the explanation was a good analogy to memorize.
i see it as a 'clean' drive) same setting on bass and guitar give me that extra something, like subtle overdrive does my guitars are very well set up, so there is not much evening out
Cool video. I need to study my compressor a lot more. I been using a Boss CS-3 that I borrowed from the guitar player from one of my bands (in exchange I lend him my OC-2 and my BFB-2; seems kinda one-sided, but it's a win-win situation because he uses them in our band). I know it's cheap and most people despises it, but it has been quite useful and opened a lot of tonal possibilities, like you said in the video.
In a recording rig, I have a dBx 266XL rack mount dual channel compressor. The only pedal that I use is a Zoom B3n, which has some different type compressor options; simple and inexpensive, but effective to tailor any sound I need with different basses, heads, and cabs. 🎸🥳👨🏻
