Great job on this demo. Most bass players aren't really sure what to do with a compressor at first, especially since it's not really meant to be a 'noticeable' effect. Even though this one is designed specifically for us, it still has a lot of settings that are tough to figure out. This is a great set of suggested settings, so thank you.
i dont really comment much on videos but honestly i have to say this video was amazing and helped me understand compression so much better. thank you man
Great video!! Thank you Ivan! This really helped me dial in my Cali76. Your explaination for how each of the setting funtion was perfect for helping me understand how the pedal works. I have saved this for future reference.
Ivan, your video has become a referrence for this pedal! Thanks and congrats. I recently purchased it, and after playing bass for about 30 years, it has changed my view on compression. This is the real deal and worth every Euro spent. Cheers.
Thank you for making such a useful video with easy to understand explanation of not just how to dial in the compressor for bass but also what the controls do!!! I’ve been playing guitar for decades but dialing in a compressor for me was always difficult. I feel like many tutorials online are explained from a very “studio tech” angle and not necessarily a guitar/ bass perspective.
Dry at 10, output at 10:00 imports at 12:00 now I'm running a fender jazz Bass with Lindy fralins. My ratio run at the 9:00 position which is from what I measured on the computer about 2 to 1 or ratio the attack now by run all the way to the right. The high-pass filter sounds probably the best at 12:00 to 1:00 I set the compressor so it's blinking from yellow to red constantly. I'm a pretty clean player I anchor point my fingers and play the constant
Well explained ,i use a Boss LMB-3 Limiter/Compressor that does not have attack or release pots,being FET it kicks in fast, i use the ratio about 9o'clock position, roughly -6db to -10db max, depending on song being played...normally just enough compession to hear the tone fattening up but i use the threshold pot set pretty low/fast at 9o'clock to 11o'clock,again depending on what's being played... took me ages to get my settings right ,a very transparent Limiter/Compressor..it does have a handy 'enhance' pot that puts back some upper mids & treble that can get a bit lost if heavy compression settings...it actually works really well...i've used the Boss LMB-3 since they started making it after the LM-2 compressor was dicontinued..not a very good bass compressor, sometimes i will use a simple Electro Harminox 'Bass Preacher'...simple but sounds really good...the Cali76 is a good compressor, i borrowed 1 for a local gig when they first came out, great tone & a very handy HPF pot...
That's really a good idea to use a bass compressor. I guess a compressor is more important to use for your bass pedal. I'll give it a try. I should try a fender downtown express. I heard these fender have a compressor with eq and overdrive selling on the guitar store. 😊👍
@@IvanBassist Yes you're right, Sir Ivan. That's what I read on the internet source. It is worth to experiment a bit for your sound. Thank you, Sir Ivan. 😊👍🙏
I have an optical compressor at the front of my pedal chain to help my octaver track and a multiband after my drive pedals at least. The Pulp N Peel or any other Orange Squeeze variant is also good right at the front, they'll preserve a certain amount of dynamics. This one, or any other multi band comp I'm using, usually lives after my preamp and before modulation because it changes the effect of dynamics sensitive lo gain drive pedals like the o.g. Blueberry, Barbershop, MTN-Bass & etc. and will change the way your preamp is driven as well. Admitedly I dont really slap and Im much more of a drive/over-drive notivated player
Great material. I am trying to get one of these. I used to have a Symetryx rack compressor wich i miss now, but I like the ideea of tweaking my tone with my pedals. Though I know the sound guy usually adds compresion from the console, that is the main reason I did not used a compressor until now.
Yeah. FOH usually applies compression anyway. That’s the reason why I try not to compress TOO much on the way out, unless they tell me they want more compression from me
Thank you for this usefull and understandable video. I sold the seymour duncan compressor which is a good pedal but quite noisy and coloring the sound. I order this Top quality compressor for the transparency felt and the versatilty ! Thanks
Great material... I Always learn so much from your Bass Tone Tuesdays! I use a Diamond Jr. for bass and I keep it on a very low setting and always on. I’m not really good with too many knobs, so the simplicity of the diamond fits me quite nice. It fattens the sound of my bass (a passive fender P/J) just the right amount, although is hard for me to describe exactly what is it exactly doing. The are a few other controls that are quite helpful as well. I use the volume knob on it to push my overdrive pedal a bit mor if I need more grit, and the shelving eq helps a lot to shape the tone that goes into the overdrive as well, to make the tone darker or more sparkly depending of what I need. It feels like a different sort of beast than the Cali76, which now I’m quite tempted to try. The quest never ends. 🙂
Very helpful video. I also use the Cali 76 and use similar settings to keep the sound more natural. My takeaways from the vid are for me to not be afraid to try higher settings on the HPF control (which I've been running close to minimum) , and to try turning up the ATT/REL control, which I keep near 12 o'clock.
Hey Ivan, I use the Cali76 Compact Bass since several months. With your Videos i found the perfekt settings. So you know, how the HPF works exactly? Is the increasing the knob change the intensity or the frequencys?
Glad to hear that! To put it on simple terms: the HPF (=high pass filter) is a side chain HPF, which means that the compressor is sort of doubling your signal. One is going out of the output jack and the other one remains muted. When you increase the HPF you are removing bass content from the signal that is muted, but at the same time you are telling the compressor to react to that signal and not the other one, which results in the compressor reacting only to higher frequencies and freeing up bass content. Hope that i explained that clear enough :)
@@IvanBassist Many thanks for your answer. OK, do the increasing of the HPF Knob open the frequencys or the amount/ volume of the lower frequencys? I hope, You know, what I mean?
You could say it “increases” the volume of the lower frequencies, because the pedal is not compressing them. However, in reality they remain the same as your input signal
Usually right in the beginning after the tuner, but it depends on the type of gig or recording. Sometimes I place it after distortion or overdrive pedals
This is a very helpful video ! How would you use it wih a tube preamp amp given the natural compression of driven tubes ? Does this standard procedure still apply? Thank you Ivan !
Hey Reno! Well, tubes do compress, but having a compressor as a pedal or a rack unite lets you dial in more parameters (depending on the compressor, of course). You might want to get a LOT of sustain by making the release longer or get a very "in your face" sound by having a very slow attack to make the initial transient larger. It all depends on what you want the compressor to do :)
@@IvanBassist Thanks so much for the answer Ivan. I will dig into that as soon as I get the pedal. Sooooo much to learn ! It's like walking through the universe (and I mean by that at a "walk" pace). It's huge !!!
Ivan! What are your thoughts on the cali versus an optical comp for bass? I have both the large cali76 which seems subtle and the walrus Mira which seems that I can get it more punchy than the cali. I guess it depends on which style of music you play but I’m curious about. What your thoughts are. 👌
I’ve no experience with the Walrus, but optical compressors are pretty nice. Take the legendary LA2A for example. The compression is more subtle and “warm” compared to the Cali. The 1176 style compression is much more “in your face” and makes everything stand out nicely in a mix. It depends on what you want to achieve with the compression :)
Can you do one of these on the MXR 87 compressor? That's the compressor I have, but I would like to know how you would set it up just like you did with the Cali 76 here.
Both of them are modeling the Universal Audio 1176. You can take the principles shown here and apply them to your setup. I know the Cali has some other features, but attack, release, and input settings are something that you can adjust :)
I used to own the Hyper Luminal, which was GREAT, but i like the cali a bit more, because of the sound and because I don’t need my laptop to change some settings. The advantage of the Cali vs the MXR is the HPF and blend control
@@IvanBassist you rock man, thanks for the response. I've been going back and fourth between these three for almost a month now, that provides some clarity. Thanks, brother.
Hey Olando! Blending in the dry signal creates a similar effect, but it's not the same. By blending the dry signal you are just stacking up the dry sound together with the fully compressed sound. That way you do get back some more dynamics, but the compressor is still reacting to the full frequency range. On the other hand, by using the HPF you are telling the compressor to avoid reacting to the lower frequencies as much, which also makes the compressor feel more natural, but you are not compressing the lows as heavily. This has a different sound/effect than just adding the dry signal
Both are good, but they do sound different. The cali would give you more flexibility, but the diamond is more “set and forget”. What are you trying to achieve with the compressor?
@@IvanBassist recording and live playing situations also i use a tube preamp Toncraft often and like some light to mid overdrive . Also using a 70s fender bassman and v4b . Trying to keep levels nice consistant
Great video....thats a perfect sound. It's too much work fo me to mess with...i use the KEELY COMPRESSOR PRO : THRESHOLD + 4 DB , KNEE SWITCH : SOFT , AUTO ATTACK / REL. SWITCH : ON , COMPRESSION RATIO : 1.5 TO 1 , OUTPUT + 3 DB . THIS IS A LIGHT LEVELING COMPRESSION SETTING ...IT BRINGS EVERYTHING TO SAME LEVEL WITH OUT SQUASHING SHIT !!!! VERY NATURAL BUT TIGHT / PUNCHY (LIKE MY WOMEN ) . THE METERING REDUCTION LIGHTS DON'T EVEN LIGHT UP ..BUT THEY DON'T HAVE TO WHEN IT'S A SUBTLE LEVELING ....IT'S ONLY 1:5 TO 1 BUT REMEMBER , YOUR AMP AND OTHER EFFECTS ADD SOME COMPRESSION ALSO . When playing live you don't wany heavy bass compression... just 1.3 to 1 or 2 to ratio . When recording you can squash it more my brothers of BASS .
Do you get compression with the ratio at zero or does it work in reverse...?with my Boss LMB-3 i cannot leave the ratio at zero or no compression... they all work differently, i have a couple of compressors,an EH Bass Preacher but the ratio knob set at zero does not compress as pot is 1:1- infinity , the Boss LMB-3 being a limiter as well as a compressor is the same .....cheers
