Empress EffectsBass Compressor Effects Pedal, Blue CPBB

I have always been vaguely skeptical of compression. I understand intellectually that it helps, but I have always felt that compression took away from the sensitivity of my hands. Relying on compression seemed like a skill issue to me and compressed tones seemed limited in application beyond super slick pop.This pedal completely changed my mind. It doesnt change my tone, it doesn't take away from my dynamics. Instead, it helps elevate things like harmonics and drae out the notes in slap vs the more percussive ringing strings. It is my "make things sound better" pedal and I keep it on 100% of the time. The different compression rates and ability to blend tones is incredible, making this pedal flexible for any genre or gig.

I am able to achieve a bass tone that cuts through the mix and maintains a very consistent level with the Empress Bass Compressor Blue, I am very satisfied, no hiccups and works as intended.

tl;dr: this bass compressor is AMAZING! Buy it! If you're in the market for a bass compressor, get this. PERIOD.Rest of the review:You can pay more, sure, and basically get the same features, or you can pay less and be sad, because it's just a re-badged guitar compressor that doesn't work for bass . <cough MXR.>I've been playing bass since the '80s. I'm a composer/producer/instrumentalist, so I only really use bass when things I've written call for it. I've never actually had a REAL bass rig, because I've never played bass live; I just plug into the mixing board, as required, through a bunch of gear.But, recently, I've started jamming with a fellow oldster who happens to be an ASTONISHING professional drummer. (Mostly retired.) I bought a nice bass amp just to play with him. But my bass sound made me sad.BUT: It wasn't the bass, it wasn't the amp, it was *the lack of volume and transient control.*See, I'm used to playing through an entire recording studio, and having control of every aspect of my sound...and just plugging a bass into an amp doesn't get that sound.So I started looking for a bass compressor, and that's along story......so let's cut to the chase: I tried a bunch of pedals and sent them all back because they were lame, not appropriate for bass, or totally overpriced, and didn't do what the promised.Why? I'm used to sculpting my sound in a studio. And that's a high bar... [insert nerdy discussion of side-chain frequencies, EQ, and how they interact with compression, etc... and stuff you don't want to read about except the lack of side chain HP filter and the mix knob.]FIVE "bass compressors" later, I hit on the Empress Bass. AND THIS THING IS AMAZING.Why?First: you need to have a High-pass side-chain filter to make the lows really punch, else the compressor is just killing the lows; Second: a mix knob lets you dial in your transients exactly how you want them to get the best of both worlds, both compressed and dry.It gives me every feature I wanted, with plenty of control of the parameters; the "tone + color" switch gives you *exactly* what you need to color your sound without obvious dirt; (get that from something else) and the EQ cuts and boosts are right where you want them to be without fussing around.The controls are logically laid out, work as expected, and the metering is perfect--there are literally NO surprises for an audio pro who knows how to use a compressor on bass. It sounds great, the coloration switch is right, and you have all the control you need on everything else. Solid and quality build in all ways. A great piece of gear!Anyway, as I said at the top, if you're in the market for BASS compressor, this is the one to buy!

What an incredible pedal. Its got what you need and the tone from this pedal makes your bass sound so good. I appreciate the amount of control you have with this pedal, its a great investment.

10/10. Buy once, cry once, be happy forever. This is a forever pedal and amazing investment.

I replaced a faulty MXR with this wonderful little box. Didn't know that I was missing this on my board. It's a bit spendy but well worth it. I'm very pleased with it. Same size as most pedals, laid out well and it handles my BTB 5'r just fine. No problem.

A/B’d this with cali76 bass compressor after watching countless reviews. Versatile pedal that is insanely tweak-able from subtle to smashing. Super easy to dial to taste without loosing real compressor parameters like many pedals do! Audio heads and pros will not be disappointed - give it a shot!!

After lots of research and an at home shoot-out between the top contenders for bass comp pedals, I kept this one. The only reason I think you would grab something else is because you NEEDED a multiband as a crazy slap pop player.For me as a regular bass player - this was it. Crystal clear. Plus it's just wild that they include an option to side chain it to something else in a pedal format. I've never done it but it's impressive forward thinking by the designers. You can saturate a bit with it and "warm up" but I like my bass cold out of my floor comp and do all the tone shaping with my amp. (Plus a P Bass with hot pickups is like *the* sound. Don't fix what isn't broken)I bought this strictly for dynamics control when playing live and once you have it dialed in to your personal playing style it's so good at what it does without messing up your tone at all. Mix with your ears and not your eyes and all that too but having the LED meter on it is nice as well. Keeps you from going overboard.Feels quality and solid built. Knobs feel like tanks. Switch is nice and smooth. Never had an Empress pedal before but I will definitely look to them again for future needs! Impressed!