MXR M282 Dyna Comp Bass Compressor Pedal, White

Product Information

Looking for a powerful tool to completely alter the sound of your bass? The Electro-Harmonix POG2 (see price on Sweetwater, Guitar Center) is a time-tested solution for tone-shaping.

Synth pedals can be incredibly tasty if you’re playing in a group that has more of an uptempo electronic sound. They are also perfect for pushing a band’s sonic boundaries beyond the ordinary. The M81 makes it apparent just how flat and boring a clean, unaffected bass tone actually is. Engaging the M81 is the equivalent of allowing your tone to drink a cup of coffee: it comes alive. If there was just one pedal that you should buy for your bass rig, it’s the MXR M81. In fact, this pedal could easily be considered the best bass pedal overall. At first glance, the POG2 likely seems a bit complicated to the untrained eye. However, spending just a few minutes with the pedal will give glimpses of the true capabilities it has to offer.Bottom Line An affordable, no-nonsense, straightforward compression pedal that does a great job without taking up much space. Key Specs: The Multi-Comp is an analog multi-band compressor pedal with a simple 2 knob layout. The Comp/Limit knob sets the desired compression ratio from 1:1 up to 5:1, while the gain knob sets the output volume or make-up gain of the pedal. The 3-way mode selector switches between compression modes: TubeSim, Multi-Band, and Normal. The threshold can be adjusted via 2 Internal trim pots for each of the 2 frequency bands. There’s an active/passive switch on the left side of the pedal, used when playing active or passive basses, and it features true bypass switching. It can also run on a 9V battery or 9V-12V PSU.

Time-based effects utilize increments of time to create their distinct tonal characteristics. Effects in this category include both delay and reverb. Or maybe you’re looking for that sort of gritty, yet, fat-sounding bass from the funk-jazz of the 1970s? The Acid mode is going to be the key to the kingdom when it comes to that sound. The “distortion” family consists primarily of overdrive and distortion pedals, though fuzz can be lumped in here. These effects add clipping to the bass guitar’s signal output, thus making it sound “dirty” and distorted. In a nutshell, a bass compressor pedal takes your signal and levels it out. Your quiet bits will be made louder and your loud bits will be made quieter so that the whole thing is more of a general volume. Of course, how much the pedal squashes your signal is down to how you set the compressor. Some of the best bass compressor pedals have a range of controls on board to help you tweak different parameters, giving you complete control.

Tech Specs

A compressor will take your dynamic range and compress it into a narrower band. As a result, your quiet sounds will become louder while your loud sounds will be quieter. Why Do You Need a Compressor? A standard 9V DC power supply is required for operation but does come included with the pedal. Is The Electro-Harmonix POG2 Worth Its Price?

Ratio– The ratio setting will determine by how much your signal volume will be reduced. The higher you set your ratio, the greater the amount of compression that will be applied to the signal that passes above the set threshold. A ratio of 2:1 means that the signal will be attenuated by 2dB for every 1dB above the threshold, at a ratio of 4:1 it will be 4dB lower for every 1dB above, and so on. At higher ratios, you’ll have the most consistent volume, but the tradeoff is that your dynamic range will be squashed. If you want to absolutely limit your volume(to protect your speakers for example), you can set the ratio to :1, meaning that your signal will be cut off after reaching the set threshold. Most bass players usually choose a ratio ranging from 2:1 to 4:1 to benefit from some peak reduction without losing too much of their dynamic range. Right away, you’ll notice that, despite being a pedal of standard size, the M81 offers many adjustable parameters. The first to note would have to be the pedal’s input and output level knobs. The POG2 is incredibly iconic, although it’s probably more identifiable by looks than by sound. However, chances are more than likely that your ears have encountered the POG2 without you knowing it. You don’t have an infinite amount of tonal possibilities here, and it’s going to cost you a small fortune. Sure, for most people, a pedalboard addition like this won’t make sense on paper. This pedal aims to replicate how a studio-style 1176 compressor would affect your bass signal, with some added clarity on that precious low end. It’s incredibly musical and very versatile, plus it’s built like a tank, so it’s impressively road-worthy.You would think that something with this kind of capability would take up the size of a gigantic pedalboard. If this was the year 2006, you could make a safe bet that it probably would have been that large. There’s no rule as to how much you should spend on a bass compressor pedal. More expensive models tend to have more features, or will yield a slightly better tone. Really cheap pedals might do the job, but they’re likely to break or fault sooner. Some trustworthy brands to look out for include Boss, MXR, Electro-Harmonix and Aguilar. At the core, the C4 is essentially a synthesizer pedal, with 6 different preset functions pre-programmed at the factory. These 6 presets are divided into 2 banks, selectable by pushing the “Alt” switch at the top of the pedal. Phasers work by providing the illusion that the sound is actually moving around in the speaker image. Pitch shifters essentially work by forcing the signal to take on a different pitch (such as a lower/higher octave). My Review: TC Electronic is known for its simple to use, high-quality pedals housed in the tiniest enclosures, and the Spectra Comp is no different. It is a digital multi-band compressor crammed into their “mini” enclosure. It only has one control knob that takes care of your compression needs. The way a 1-knob compressor becomes a versatile tool in TC’s book is by having it support their TonePrint feature. This functionality lets you beam one preset compressor from your iPhone or Android, directly to the pedal, it’s like having dozens of compressors at the touch of a button. Using the TonePrint Editor on mac or PC gets you access to a multitude of parameters enabling you to tailor the compression settings of the Spectra Comp to your liking and loading it to your pedal. How it sounds depends on the TonePrint you have loaded into it, but generally, the sound quality is excellent with a very low noise floor.

Input level– The input level determines the level of the signal going into the compressor circuit. The input level also influences how the compressor will react(the threshold being dependent on the volume of the signal). High input levels will make the compressor hit the threshold sooner.

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Think about a time when you heard some nasty womp bass in an electronic song. With an expression pedal on the Wub mode, you can easily emulate that pulsing oscillation sound. Today’s bass players have the benefit of options when it comes to buying effects pedals. There are quite a number of manufacturers producing worthwhile bass guitar effects in today’s market. The C4 requires a standard 9V DC power adapter for operation. Source Audio does include a power adapter with a more-than-suitable current supply. Why Is The Source Audio C4 The Best Bass Guitar Pedal? More often than not, it’s been the bass players in my life who have had the largest pedalboards. Some of these pedalboards have been comically large, like a trophy fish from the deep blue sea.