What comp would best warm up the sound of a solid state amp? Bonus for working on bass and guitar.
http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/toppicks.shtml warm means a lot of things to different people. Origin Cali76, optical comps, Effectrode seems nice as far as commercial comps go
I've got boards for the a Afterlife and the Engineer's Thumb...
The Engineer's thumb is great. I haven't been able to dial in a warm tone though. I find that it doesnt colour my tone much
I finally realized that warmth is what I'm after. I had an EBS multicomp that I liked that had that quality.
Define "warmths". Is that loss of highs, or something else? People even use the term to describe distortion, even though that adds treble content. I don't understand that term at all.
If you just want a treble cut, you can mod any compressor to do that. E.g. put a 220pF across the LDR side of the vactrol in the Afterlife (this will have less and less of an effect the more your signal is compressed). Almost any compressor will produce a perceived loss of treble. You can also easily add a tone control to just about anything.
Quote from: thesameage on June 01, 2014, 03:00:19 AM
I finally realized that warmth is what I'm after. I had an EBS multicomp that I liked that had that quality.
The EBS MultiComp is my favorite «brand» comp ever, you probably used it in «Tube» mode. I understand the kind of warmth that you are looking at.
I think a 2 knob ET with a tone stack or what is suggested by Jon, would do it.
Yep, EBS in tube mode is exactly the sound I'm looking for!
I wouldn't call the Engineer's Thumb 'warm.' I might call the Ross/Dyna comp warm, and I really like it.
Jacob
I've built the Flatline, Engineer's Thumb, Ross to Keeley specs, Bearhug, and Compulator. The Compulator is on my board, even though it is noisier than some of the others (at least for my builds), but sounds warmest to my ears at least. Fairly simple build as well.
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 03:57:25 PM
I wouldn't call the Engineer's Thumb 'warm.' I might call the Ross/Dyna comp warm, and I really like it.
Jacob
Isn't the ET essentially a Ross/dyna?
I'm with Jon on this one, you need to define what you mean by warm. If you are looking for added harmonics, which I'm guessing because you want to use this with a solid state amp, then the EHX Black Finger is good. It's my favorite compressor at this point. It would be a bit of an effort to DIY it though.
You could also use a tube pre to get harmonics and then use whatever compressor you want to get the compression response you are looking for.
Quote from: RobA on June 01, 2014, 05:54:20 PM
I'm with Jon on this one, you need to define what you mean by warm. If you are looking for added harmonics, which I'm guessing because you want to use this with a solid state amp, then the EHX Black Finger is good. It's my favorite compressor at this point. It would be a bit of an effort to DIY it though.
You could also use a tube pre to get harmonics and then use whatever compressor you want to get the compression response you are looking for.
I hear you. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I need and some of it is theoretical at this point. The project is this: I'm getting a Tiny Giant amp from someone here. If you don't know, it's a tiny, full-range solid state 20 watt amp. It's for home use for guitar and bass through an 8" speaker cab that I'm putting together. I've heard that the Tiny Giant is not the warmest amp in the world and I'd like to compensate for that somewhat. I understand that it will never have a true "tube" sound, but I'd like to do a little bit for it. I'm considering putting a Valvecaster type pedal in front of it to warm it up a little bit, but I'm wondering if a comp would help towards that end as well.
I guess I'm not totally sophisticated in expressing what I want in terms of "warmth" and that's part of this journey. I know that I like the EBS multi-comp. It just makes everything sound better and warmer. John, as always, makes some good points, which are helping me to figure this out. If anyone else has input, I'd love to hear it. Like I said, I have the ET and Afterlife boards already. I also have a Six Shooter for EQ.
Quote from: thesameage on June 01, 2014, 05:10:24 PM
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 03:57:25 PM
I wouldn't call the Engineer's Thumb 'warm.' I might call the Ross/Dyna comp warm, and I really like it.
Jacob
Isn't the ET essentially a Ross/dyna?
No.
Jacob
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 07:10:20 PM
Quote from: thesameage on June 01, 2014, 05:10:24 PM
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 03:57:25 PM
I wouldn't call the Engineer's Thumb 'warm.' I might call the Ross/Dyna comp warm, and I really like it.
Jacob
Isn't the ET essentially a Ross/dyna?
No.
Jacob
Hehe, this is the best answer. :)
Quote from: midwayfair on June 01, 2014, 07:36:01 PM
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 07:10:20 PM
Quote from: thesameage on June 01, 2014, 05:10:24 PM
Quote from: jkokura on June 01, 2014, 03:57:25 PM
I wouldn't call the Engineer's Thumb 'warm.' I might call the Ross/Dyna comp warm, and I really like it.
Jacob
Isn't the ET essentially a Ross/dyna?
No.
Jacob
Hehe, this is the best answer. :)
:)
My advice is to build up a few different types and do head-to-head tests with a test rig. Here's what I like:
FET: Bearhug (1776 effects)
OTA: Engineers Thumb (JMK - no contest, far above the Ross/Dyna)
Optical: These seem to vary these least and you can try: Afterlife (MB), Compulator (Rully), Mictesters really cheap (Vero) and the DOD280 (Tonepad)
When I was looking for ideas what compressors to build I red up here.
http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/comptypes.shtml (http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/comptypes.shtml)
Great information.
Cody
From what I've built so far:
Compulator
4 Knob Ross (Pickdropper)
Engineer's Thumb
Afterlife
Philosopher's Tone (vero)
Rotten Comp (GrindCustoms)
Dynacomp
I'd describe the Compulator as the "warmest" subjectively speaking, without too much actual treble attenuation. It's also very simple to dial in...
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
Quote from: rullywowr on June 02, 2014, 01:35:18 PM
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
Just to give some unsolicited press coverage, I just ordered one of Rullywow's Demeter boards...cannot wait to build it. Looks very simple (low parts count) and all the reviews of the Demeter Compulator have been nothing short of stellar. Can't wait.
Quote from: ckim715 on June 02, 2014, 06:57:08 PM
Quote from: rullywowr on June 02, 2014, 01:35:18 PM
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
Just to give some unsolicited press coverage, I just ordered one of Rullywow's Demeter boards...cannot wait to build it. Looks very simple (low parts count) and all the reviews of the Demeter Compulator have been nothing short of stellar. Can't wait.
Just a heads-up: I got distortion with the ST branded 353 opamps. The Fairchilds worked great.
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
Quote from: jubal81 on June 02, 2014, 07:20:32 PM
Quote from: ckim715 on June 02, 2014, 06:57:08 PM
Quote from: rullywowr on June 02, 2014, 01:35:18 PM
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
Just to give some unsolicited press coverage, I just ordered one of Rullywow's Demeter boards...cannot wait to build it. Looks very simple (low parts count) and all the reviews of the Demeter Compulator have been nothing short of stellar. Can't wait.
Just a heads-up: I got distortion with the ST branded 353 opamps. The Fairchilds worked great.
Thanks for the heads up, I haven't ordered the components yet, will make sure I get fairchild ic's.
Quote from: rullywowr on June 02, 2014, 07:35:40 PM
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
I'm going to open myself up to look noobish again :)... but would the Demeter and Afterlife be "that" different as they are both optical?
Quote from: thesameage on June 02, 2014, 08:05:37 PM
Quote from: rullywowr on June 02, 2014, 07:35:40 PM
I agree that the Demeter is a unique compressor and adds some nice sparkle.
I'm going to open myself up to look noobish again :)... but would the Demeter and Afterlife be "that" different as they are both optical?
The method of gain reduction is different (feedback loop gain in the afterlife vs. voltage divider in the compulator), the compulator relies ENTIRELY on the vactrol's on/off times for the attack and decay vs. an envelope detector circuit in the Afterlife, and the Afterlife is capable of a higher ratio (but the way it's set up by default is going to be about the same).
There's a three knob version of the Compulator floating around on OshPark as well that has an external gain control which is quite interesting. Don't know that it makes it "warmer" but definitely makes it different.
But the truth is, once the compressor monster gets ahold of you, you're going to be building all of them anyway for their various nuances. I was never a big compressor guy, I was quite happy with my Tone Press. And now I've built four Bearhugs, two ETs, three Dynas, two Rosses, three Afterlifes, two Compulators, a Love Squeeze, etc, etc, etc. It's a lot easier if you just don't fight it.
You definitely have a problem! I may end up just sticking with your afterlife/efx loop/eq/fatpants idea, though.
Quote from: thesameage on June 02, 2014, 08:43:18 PM
You definitely have a problem! I may end up just sticking with your afterlife/efx loop/eq/fatpants idea, though.
It's not a problem if I'm OK with it :P.
But yes, that's a great combo.
Quote from: GermanCdn on June 02, 2014, 08:33:56 PM
There's a three knob version of the Compulator floating around on OshPark as well that has an external gain control which is quite interesting. Don't know that it makes it "warmer" but definitely makes it different.
But the truth is, once the compressor monster gets ahold of you, you're going to be building all of them anyway for their various nuances. I was never a big compressor guy, I was quite happy with my Tone Press. And now I've built four Bearhugs, two ETs, three Dynas, two Rosses, three Afterlifes, two Compulators, a Love Squeeze, etc, etc, etc. It's a lot easier if you just don't fight it.
I found it for ya guys.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7llfrc9pxy94gne/Optical%20Compressor%20Build%20Guide%20v2.pdf (https://www.dropbox.com/s/7llfrc9pxy94gne/Optical%20Compressor%20Build%20Guide%20v2.pdf)
https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/2ZeUH1uG (https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/2ZeUH1uG)
Cody