The last couple of shows I've played, I've been having some weird power issues with my pedalboard. I'll get it sorted eventually but for tonight's gig, I decided to quit messing with it and just ran straight into the Trace Elliott amp that was provided for backline. For this band (5-piece afro folk/pop fusion with an additional 4-piece string section), I just run a super minimal board that includes only a tuner, my OptiFet, and an always on HPF.
You know what? I didn't miss my compressor at all! I mean, not even a little bit. It got me thinking: I've been using a compressor on my pedal board for something like 6-7 years... I almost don't even remember what my basses sound like without one. But tonight, I still sounded good - with no compressor and no HPF... Do I even need the thing, really? Why do I use a compressor at all? Ostensibly, it's to even out the string-to-string response but upon reflection, it's really just the low string (be it B or E, depending on the bass I use) that's the biggest issue. That can be tightened up with the HPF... Why have both?
I'm gonna experiment a bit and see where I end up but at the moment, I'm toying with the idea of ditching the compressor altogether - At least on my live board. I can still see a need for it in recording situations but maybe it's overkill in a live performance context. Heck, maybe I don't even need it for recording, since there are a gazillion compressor options "in the box" when I'm tracking anyway.
Really, I'm just thinking out loud here... But have any of you decided to ditch your compressor pedals? If so, why? What was the situation that got you to consider getting rid of it? Did you use an HPF as well? Do you still use one but not the other? If so, which one and why?
You know what? I didn't miss my compressor at all! I mean, not even a little bit. It got me thinking: I've been using a compressor on my pedal board for something like 6-7 years... I almost don't even remember what my basses sound like without one. But tonight, I still sounded good - with no compressor and no HPF... Do I even need the thing, really? Why do I use a compressor at all? Ostensibly, it's to even out the string-to-string response but upon reflection, it's really just the low string (be it B or E, depending on the bass I use) that's the biggest issue. That can be tightened up with the HPF... Why have both?
I'm gonna experiment a bit and see where I end up but at the moment, I'm toying with the idea of ditching the compressor altogether - At least on my live board. I can still see a need for it in recording situations but maybe it's overkill in a live performance context. Heck, maybe I don't even need it for recording, since there are a gazillion compressor options "in the box" when I'm tracking anyway.
Really, I'm just thinking out loud here... But have any of you decided to ditch your compressor pedals? If so, why? What was the situation that got you to consider getting rid of it? Did you use an HPF as well? Do you still use one but not the other? If so, which one and why?
