Empress vs. Darkglass Hyper Luminal

#81
scubaduba said:
If you are interested in the Empress I would also encourage you to investigate the Keeley Compressor Pro for these reasons:
1. It is in the transparent compressor camp like the Empress
2. Incorporates gain reduction metering like the Empress
3. Is highly configurable like the Empress
4. Depending on what settings you are intersted in the Keeley can be more flexible than the Empress. I.E. control of ratio and hard vs. soft knee which can make a big difference in how the compressor "feels". That being said, the three ratio settings on the Empress will probably be enough for almost anybody but you can fine tune with the Keeley's knob.
5. The Keeley can also be used as a limiter more effectively than the Empress.

But the perk of the Keeley that impresses is the Auto Mode which is great for those times when either you switch between basses or are having a hard time dialing in. Auto Mode almost always just plain works and sounds great.

While it is almost identical in size to the Empress, the Keeley has top mounted jacks which may be helpful for your pedalboard setup too.

Not trying to throw a wrinkle in your decision process but I'd be remiss not to mention it for consideration.

Here's my review of the Keeley Compressor Pro: Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more
Click to expand...
I appreciate the input for sure! I looked at the keeley but something just didn't sit right with me. I'm not sure if it's the looks of it or what. I'll have to give it some fresh eyes.
 
#82
scubaduba said:
Hmm... with plenty of hours of use my perspective is the attack and release audibly sound fantastic with plenty of range.
Click to expand...
There is a possibility of a different revision. The ones you've tested was with the bold "Compressor Pro" letters. Mine was with more kind of.. curved ones.
But the answer from the support was clear.
I appreciate the time that you took to
troubleshoot your Compressor Pro. I have tested out another unit and I
do believe that your unit is working correctly as I observed similar
results.
Click to expand...
So as much as I liked it, I wasn't feeling like trying another one just to see if it's different or not.
 
#83
scubaduba said:
If you are interested in the Empress I would also encourage you to investigate the Keeley Compressor Pro for these reasons:
1. It is in the transparent compressor camp like the Empress
2. Incorporates gain reduction metering like the Empress
3. Is highly configurable like the Empress
4. Depending on what settings you are intersted in the Keeley can be more flexible than the Empress. I.E. control of ratio and hard vs. soft knee which can make a big difference in how the compressor "feels". That being said, the three ratio settings on the Empress will probably be enough for almost anybody but you can fine tune with the Keeley's knob.
5. The Keeley can also be used as a limiter more effectively than the Empress.

But the perk of the Keeley that impresses is the Auto Mode which is great for those times when either you switch between basses or are having a hard time dialing in. Auto Mode almost always just plain works and sounds great.

While it is almost identical in size to the Empress, the Keeley has top mounted jacks which may be helpful for your pedalboard setup too.

Not trying to throw a wrinkle in your decision process but I'd be remiss not to mention it for consideration.

Here's my review of the Keeley Compressor Pro: Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more
Click to expand...
I just read each review of the Keeley Pro, Empress, and the Darkglass HL and it didn't make it any easier Haha. You said in the Empress that the LEDs are quite amazing and that the HLs are excellent. Which one has better LED monitoring? I'm coming from the Aguilar TLC so I would like one with great LEDs to really learn what compression looks like so to speak. What are your thoughts given that nougat of my needs?
 
#84
The best form of determining how you will use a compressor is your own ear. The true test is how it sounds to YOU. LEDs will only help you see what the compressor is doing but don't let them trick you into something your ear is not hearing.

The LEDs on the Empress are multipurpose in that they can be set to show input volume and gain reduction at the same time or one or the other independently. Is that necessary? That's your call. The LEDs on the Empress are also the brightest.

The HL LEDs work fine though they are only blue in color and smaller. They only communicate gain reduction.

This is also true of the Keeley Compressor Pro.

If you are looking for something super small that includes most of the functions of the others, take a look at this: Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more
 
  • Like
Reactions: SlappityPoppity
#85
scubaduba said:
The best form of determining how you will use a compressor is your own ear. The true test is how it sounds to YOU. LEDs will only help you see what the compressor is doing but don't let them trick you into something your ear is not hearing.

The LEDs on the Empress are multipurpose in that they can be set to show input volume and gain reduction at the same time or one or the other independently. Is that necessary? That's your call. The LEDs on the Empress are also the brightest.

The HL LEDs work fine though they are only blue in color and smaller. They only communicate gain reduction.

This is also true of the Keeley Compressor Pro.

If you are looking for something super small that includes most of the functions of the others, take a look at this: Testing Compressors: Cali, Smoothie, Empress, Diamond, Keeley, FEA, Darkglass, Doc Lloyd, JHS & more
Click to expand...
Man, you're really helpful and I really appreciate this entire community. These all seem like great options. I really like the input gain monitor feature of the empress, but am not sure of it's necessary. I think would help as my passive fretless and my Peavey Cirrus are insanely different output wise. On the Empress doea the input monitoring monitor how much is going into the pedal or the compressions circuit itself via the input knob?
 
  • Like
Reactions: scubaduba
#87
scubaduba said:
The Input LED monitors the input volume going in to the pedal. The signal it is receiving. Not all that useful IMHO but nice to have. Gain reduction monitoring is the more important form of metering. Again, IMHO.
Click to expand...
I think it would be more useful if it monitored the signal going into the compression circuit. That would be cool. That mini pedal sounds like it would be great, but it's almost too small for my tastes lol. I think I'm starting to lean towards the Darkglass because of the separate compressor modes. That seems like an awesome little tool.
 
#88
If you're not sure why you want a compressor (or how you'd use it), then the HL is the one to get. You can explore three fairly different compressors in one box. If however you know exactly what you're trying to accomplish with a compressor, then there might be a better choice out there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scubaduba
#89
nostatic said:
If you're not sure why you want a compressor (or how you'd use it), then the HL is the one to get. You can explore three fairly different compressors in one box. If however you know exactly what you're trying to accomplish with a compressor, then there might be a better choice out there.
Click to expand...
I appreciate that. It makes sense. The MXR keeps entering and leaving by mind too now though
 
#94
Not sure if anyone is watching this thread anymore, but I got my Hyper Luminal yesterday. From the 2 hours I played with it, I can say it's epic. The reviews on sweetwater stated things like "If you're even thinking about it, just do it." so I did. So far, I'm definitely satisfied. I'll be using it live in the next couple weeks both through stage sound and direct to FOH with IEMs so I hope to dial it in then too. Just do it.

Cheers,
Anthony
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hop Jam, imabuddha and Driven Crane
#95
I haven’t compared the Darkglass HL to the Empress, but I did compare the HL to my Smoothie Opto. After a few hours of comparing the two, it was an easy decision to sell the HL. To my ears, the Smoothie had the better tone and functionality. Plus, the Smoothie is the more simple of the two.
I did, however, just purchase a used Empress yesterday, and I should have it within a few days. I’ve never tried one before. We’ll see if it can knock the Smoothie off of my pedalboard. I have tried many of the comps that are the most highly regarded on TalkBass, and my Smoothie has continued to remain my favorite. It’s the only one I still own, other than my incoming Empress.
 
  • Like
Reactions: imabuddha, ferarayabass and SlappityPoppity
#96
Killens84 said:
I haven’t compared the Darkglass HL to the Empress, but I did compare the HL to my Smoothie Opto. After a few hours of comparing the two, it was an easy decision to sell the HL. To my ears, the Smoothie had the better tone and functionality. Plus, the Smoothie is the more simple of the two.
I did, however, just purchase a used Empress yesterday, and I should have it within a few days. I’ve never tried one before. We’ll see if it can knock the Smoothie off of my pedalboard. I have tried many of the comps that are the most highly regarded on TalkBass, and my Smoothie has continued to remain my favorite. It’s the only one I still own, other than my incoming Empress.
Click to expand...
What about the tone didn't you like about the HL compared to the Smoothie?
 
#98
Killens84 said:
I certainly didn’t dislike the tone of the HL. It was really nice, in fact. The Smoothie just seemed to have a little more “mojo,” for lack of a better term. It’s totally subjective, of course, and others may feel the opposite.
Click to expand...
Ah I see. There are a bunch of things you can mess with on the HL, and I'll admit, it can be complicated and intimidating if you're not fully confident. I know I have a lot to learn and I'm hoping this will help me learn. I'm curious to see how the Empress stacks up in your mind! I really liked it, but I felt the HL was a little more versatile.
 
  • Like
Reactions: imabuddha
#99
Northfear said:
Auto mode on it is pretty fun, but manual attack/release is a joke.
After I've plugged it in and played for a minute, I had a "***?" moment. My first thought was that something is wrong with my unit, so I've plugged it into the soundcard, did some measurements and asked support if it's working as intended. And it did, as it turned out.
Attack value is not even close to the mentioned .15ms-150ms range. More like 15ms-500ms for 90% reduction. The fastest attack/release is pretty close to the auto mode. All of the other values weren't that usable for me.
View attachment 3240857

That was a bittersweet experience. I sounded really great, but for a $300 price of a new unit I've expected something more versatile. So yeah.. MXR M87 probably still rules as a limiter.
Click to expand...

OK, that answered my question(s) and confirmed my findings on Keeley Compressor PRO :)

Calculating Compressor Attack and Release Time?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ferarayabass
#100
The input metering of the Empress is a nice feature. Usually when using a different output bass or even when reamping i can ‘see’ how much signal i’m hitting my pedalboard and i can match the levels.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back