compressor for double bass

[layez]

I have a friend who play the upright bass and I wanted to buy him a compressor for christmas. What is a good compressor for live use and that is around 200 dollars or less. I know a lot of people use the 166XL for bass, but would that also be alright for a double bass? Give me some options here... symetrix, ashly, dbx??? the cheaper the better

[J.E.G.]

RNC?

[Jungle Jazz]

I don't perform or track through it, but I use a dbx 163x on upright bass for mixing quite a bit, as long as the setting is fairly low. I like it better than an RNC or 166XL, both of which I have. You should be able to get one for under $100 easy.

[layez]

cheaper than a 166XL eh? I have heard that RNC is not great at compressing bass (FMR audio even makes that claim) so that one is out of the question. I will check out the 163.

Any other suggestions??

[Jungle Jazz]

The 163x is a single channel, and it is a very simple unit: one slider for compressor settings and one rotary dial for level--that keeps it pretty cheap. However, if you want two channels for any reason, you can buy two individuals and there's a connector on the back for linking them together. Or, if you like the dbx soft knee sound, take a look at an older 166 (with colored knobs). They have more mojo than the current 166XL, and you should be able to get one for less than $200 pretty easily.

Another option in your price range could be a used ART Pro VLA.

I've found that the RNC tends to thin out the bass somewhat. It's pretty clean otherwise, but in general, I prefer the older dbx units on bass.

[DeadPoet]

Try to check out the EBS comp pedal, especially for live use..


Herwig

[cpu]

used symmetrix 501?

[layez]

i am keeping my eye out for the 501, i figured that might be the way to go.

Thanks for the EBS tip. Never heard of that one before but it looks interesting. i will certainly research it.