A compressor pedal reduces the dynamic range of your bass guitar tone. This helps prevent those sudden volume spikes when you slap hard or pick a harder note.
Look for a compression pedal that offers the following controls: A slow attack, a fast release and a ratio setting that will match your guitar or bass.
Adjustable Threshold
Compression is one of the most misunderstood pedal effects on the market, but it can help you achieve a very tight and controlled bass sound. A compressor works by detecting and reducing peaks in the signal above a set threshold. The threshold is usually adjustable to allow you to choose how much or how little compression is applied. It also allows you to control the amount of signal that passes through the compressor at all times, so you can prevent distortion or over-compression.
The first control on a compressor is the threshold, which determines how loud or how soft your signal must be for the compression to kick in. The threshold can be adjusted for different styles of music and playing, but a good starting point is about 1 dB above the level where you would hear the problem frequencies. Some units have fixed thresholds that cannot be altered, but even with these the compression can be controlled by raising or lowering the ratio and attack and release settings to control the effect.
A fast attack setting will compress a sudden burst of sound quickly, while a slower setting will allow some uncompressed signal to pass through before the compression kicks in. Changing these two parameters will affect the tone and feel of your bass guitar, so it is worth trying a few different combinations to find the best setting for you.
Depending on the type of music and performance you might want to use a high ratio like 6:1 or even 10:1. However, a compression ratio that is too high can lead to pumping or breathing sounds, which are obvious and undesirable compressor artifacts.
The release setting, which controls how long the compression lasts after a note has passed below the threshold, can also have a big impact on the sound of your bass. A shorter release time will give your bass a punchier sound while a longer release will increase the amount of sustain. A longer release may not be necessary with a pick that has a very quick attack as it could overpower the initial transient of the picked bass note.
Adjustable Ratio
As a bass player, you want to have the ability to hit your notes as hard as you can but also maintain control of your volume. That’s where a compression pedal comes in handy. By sonic squeezing the louder parts of your signal, a compressor allows for quieter notes to remain at a constant volume without getting drowned out or being too overpowering.
Choosing the right settings for your compressor pedal can be a bit tricky. A compressor will typically have a threshold and ratio setting that can be adjusted to suit your playing style. The threshold is the point at which your signal begins to get compressed and the ratio determines how much of your signal gets squashed. A good starting point is usually around a 4:1 ratio, as this generally sounds great with bass guitar. However, experiment and find the perfect balance for your own rig.
Another important feature to look for in a bass compressor is the ability to tweak the attack and release settings. The attack setting dictates how quickly the compressor will engage when your signal hits the threshold. For example, a fast attack may be more effective for rock or blues-style guitar where you need to keep your pick attacks crisp and sharp. A slower attack, on the other hand, can work well for funk or slap-style playing and will allow your pick to vibrate more freely while keeping the tone of your note intact.
The release setting is the length of time that it takes for your signal to stop being compressed after hitting the threshold. This is a critical adjustment that can have a major impact on the sound of your bass. A slow release will give your signal a pumping or breathing effect which is ideal for some styles of music, while a fast release can cause unnatural, buzzy compression that can be distracting and take away from the overall feel of your bass performance.
You should also consider whether or not you want to use your compressor in conjunction with other effects like overdrive. Compressing your signal after overdrive can help you achieve a fatter, more full sound as the compression will compress any extra noise generated by your amplifier. Alternatively, you can place your compressor before overdrive to effectively tame any peaks in your signal and preserve the dynamics of your playing.
Adjustable Attack
Depending on your style of playing or the song you’re working on, you may want to use a compressor with a fast attack speed to make the sound punchier. Alternatively, you may want to use a slower attack speed to give the bass guitar more articulation and definition. The attack setting will determine how quickly the compressor reduces the peak. A fast attack speed will cause the peak to be cut in half almost immediately, so it’s great for taming unruly volume spikes and giving a sloppy performance some polish. However, if you set the attack too low, it can suck the life out of the bass tone, making it sound dull and flat.
The release setting will decide how long the compressor keeps the signal at a constant level after it’s been reduced by the ratio you chose. A fast release time will cause the bass to pump and breathe along with the tempo of the song, but it can also sound unnatural and digital. A slow release time will keep the bass sounding natural while still taming the loudest transients.
A compression pedal’s make-up gain setting is used to compensate for the loss of volume due to the compressor’s operation. This is particularly important for bass guitars, as the dynamic range of a bass can be quite large-the low strings can easily shake the floor, while the high string pops can have a big impact on the overall sound. With the proper settings, a compressor can be an invaluable tool for slap bass players to help the slaps stand out without getting lost in the mix, while rock guitarists will appreciate the ability to tame those high string pops and give their bass some extra heft and energy.
Another useful setting to play around with is the side-chaining function, which allows you to trigger the compressor based on certain frequencies. For example, if you have a kick drum in your track, you can use it to trigger the compressor so that every time the kick hits, the bass will be momentarily compressed. This can help even out the dynamics of a mix by reducing the masking effect of one instrument by another, and it’s especially helpful for bass guitars that sit in the same frequency range as the kick drum.
Adjustable Release
The release setting controls how long the compressor is engaged after a signal has passed its threshold. A long release will allow a note to decay naturally and may even lead to a little sustain – a desirable effect for bass guitar. A short release can make a compressed note sound very squashed and unnatural. For this reason, many guitarists prefer a medium release on their compressor pedal.
Almost every compressor pedal has a control to set its threshold level. This determines how loud the signal has to be before the compression kicks in. However, if you want to change the threshold for your pedal, it is important to note that the ratio will also be altered at the same time. This can be a problem for some pedals that only have a two-knob design where you must adjust both the threshold and the ratio to change it.
Many pedals have an attack setting, which allows you to decide how quickly the compressor will start to apply pressure on a signal. A fast attack will cause the compression to kick in very quickly, which can be useful if you want to tame wild peaks and keep your volume steady. On the other hand, a slow attack will allow the initial transient and pick attack to pass through without being compressed, which can give you a fuller tone.
You can also find a number of pedals that offer a sidechain connector jack, which lets you insert another pedal to trigger the compressor. This is a very useful feature that can be used for EQ pedals, drum compressors and other types of gear that you would like to control via the compressor. This can be an excellent way to use a compression pedal for some applications, as it can allow you to achieve some very unique effects.
Overall, using a compression pedal on your bass guitar can be extremely beneficial. It can help smooth out your dynamics so that you don’t have big volume spikes when playing softly and it can also increase your sustain by allowing notes to ring out longer. It’s no wonder that this type of pedal is a must-have for any bassist, and with so many options out there, you can find one to suit your specific needs.