Best Bass Guitar Compressor (2024 Update)

This thing is absolutely worth the price. The compression doesn't deaden the sound in the name of compressing. I'm constanting impressed at how much the dynamic range is still able to breathe through it. The dials are also very easy to understand and tweak with satisfying results. I really enjoyed tinkering to establish the levels of compression I wanted based on the purpose for which I was using the pedal. It's great. BUY IT.speimb-46

Great manufacturer with an excellent track record in compression. Easy to use. Good quality pedal. Has no effect on bass tone between ON/OFF. Works really well. Only downside is having to remove / replace 4 screws on bottom to access the battery. One centre screw would be much easier. Not a big issue as i intend buying a decent power supply for it. Would highly recommend.David M.

OK, why wasn't this mentioned in the description . Because eveyone has a 9V 100ma power supply with the correct adapter size laying around . . . right? WRONG! . There is no option for using a 9V battery . So, you need to know this up front . because when it arrives, if you don't have the correct power supply, it's dead in the water until you can buy one .Jambalaya

As a bassist, I've been using compressors in my signal chain for live performances (and recording) for decades . . . I have always used rack units VS pedals . Being able to set the Ratio, Threshold, Attack, Release is an advantage on a full scale unit. I find this pedal, click ON, click OFF to be extremely limited in effectiveness . And, I'm not comprehending the "individual string" compression algorithms that TC touts, also, the sound is not all that clean . But for a quickie, (i.e.I want some compression on my guitar or bass) ok, cool, plug it in! . . . but be prepared to " grin and bear" it you feel you need to adjust it. because, you do not have that capability with this box . It's extremely limited.Guntherprobe

Great little compressor pedal for bass – very simple to use but just makes everything sound smoother and better. A small package but a huge punch! Great work from the guys at TC Electronic and top service from GuitarGuitar! Thank you!Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

Electro Harmonix has been "Rockin the House" for decades. At first I wasn't sure I wanted this unit, bought it any way. Here is my signal chain: guitar – Bass preacher – Tascam 2488 neo. boom. ..1997 Squire 5 string P Bass – Bass preacher – Neo …boom. Ive tried a number of others, eg; dyna comp; too heavy handed. Boss limiter enhancer: quite good. This puppy is easy, effective and as heavy handed as you want it to be. Heres the thing; the toggle "attack " switch settings, makes you think. It changes your strumming and picking methods. I believe its made me a better player. MADE IN THE U.S.A..!angel

First up: You're not going to get tonnes of features for the price. What you'll get is a solid little compressor, that's a good start point for getting used to using them and understanding what they can do to your sound. Secondly: Individual pedals are much, much more intuitive and immediate to use than those multi-fx pedals, which light up like Christmas trees and have a gazillion settings. I use this as my 'mostly always on' compressor; to even the dynamics out a little before my distortion-type effects. It's not really versatile enough to use as an effect in itself (though the attack options are nice). If you want all the 'bells & whistles' you'll have to shell out about twice the price. For anyone just dipping into bass fx, on a budget or just curious, I'd recommend giving it a go.bigrichie69

Easy to use with only 2 knobs. Does exactly what its supposed to do. The level of compression is subtle between low and medium. The sustain knob controls the blend. Personally I have high compression, sustain around one o'clock. It brings out the hight notes that get lost in the mix in a live situation. Great pedal.Chris

Worth big money? Yes, it is that good. Everything works like you'd think based on the 1170, and it's simple just to listen and dial in. I use it primarily on acoustic guitar in live performance, and it's done stellar work for me. High-end build quality matches the cost of entry—high dollar but also excellent results.Scott

True to the many reviews I read online before purchasing, this preamp is very transparent, providing boost and EQ without adding its own color/flavor to the sound. Great for matching a passive instrument's output to that of an active one when switching between. So if boost and a bit of EQ are what you're looking for this may be the pedal for you. If on the other hand you're seeking a massive tonal change beyond boosting what's already there this one will probably leave you wanting.duneindy

I purchased this to compliment my Yamaha BB425x which, for a passive bass, has a hot output. The EQ parameters don't have a wide enough range to be very versatile. I found myself having to run at 3 o'clock just to get much of a difference and at full for a obvious difference. With an active bass I could compensate for that but, I bought it to compensate a bass, not the other way around. On the plus side it is very quiet, and like all MXR products well built.markm13

Perfect for when you want an onboard preamp for your passive jazz bass, but don't want to modify the bass. Really like the voicing of the sweepable miss, wider filter than a lot of eq, great for filling out jazz bass mids. The bass is perfect for adding definition to the lows, salt to taste with the treble. Transparent, low noise, good headroom. Build quality you'd expect from MXR. Part-ex'ed my first one and missed it so much I bought a second.Graham B.

I'd used a Boss M50B for a few years, and it had the potential to everything one could ask… but in reality I simply used the compressor function and as a tuner. I also play keyboard and guitar, and real estate on my pedal board is at a premium. So I got this and a Peterson tuner, and I have to say the compresspr has exceeded my expectations. The tube setting provides a really warm sound, and the compression is better than the Boss. All in all I sound better, and have reduced the footprint of my gear in the process. Yes, I'd buy it again. Quality seems top notch. Value… its expensive for a single stomp box, but worth every penny.maineprivateer

I'd used a Boss M50B for a few years, and it had the potential to everything one could ask… but in reality I simply used the compressor function and as a tuner. I also play keyboard and guitar, and real estate on my pedal board is at a premium. So I got this and a Peterson tuner, and I have to say the compresspr has exceeded my expectations. The tube setting provides a really warm sound, and the compression is better than the Boss. All in all I sound better, and have reduced the footprint of my gear in the process. Yes, I'd buy it again. Quality seems top notch. Value… its expensive for a single stomp box, but worth every penny.maineprivateer

Fantastic compressor with side chain. I'm using it for a live electronic setup where I want the bass synth to duck when the kick is playing. Basic really but since I'm using different machines for each sound the Emptess Comp has been a life saver. Great build and relatively easy to use although the side chain output needs strange cables. But you can get around it.Reviewed by SX Pro customer

Great compressor with LED lights to aid sound choices. Will have to be more careful with this one as the power input is a bit fragile.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Amazing compressor, super transparent but allows for some tone sculpting if transparency isn't your thing. Sidechain works a treat (you need a stereo breakout cable for it).Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I bought this compressor intending to use it with both Fender Strat and my bass guitar. I am a professional music producer and listened to the unit carefully in the studio headphones. It is a great tool if you know what to use it for. When used with a strat it makes the sound crisp and places the funky clean tone perfectly in the mix. The tone is somewhat on the colder side, with bright fluid sustain added to the sound. Think about it as a sustainer first and then compressor. Great tool in the pallette. However, there are a few things to keep in mind: – the unit makes a sub low cut when engaged even with the minimum effect added to the direct signal. Bassists bear this in mind (unless you are a hardcore punk bassist playing with distortion and a pick and don't care much about your sub bass tone). It can also be felt on the clean electric guitar sound (if it's funky tone in the band setting you would cut off the low end of the strat anyway). – with higher compression ratio settings you get more sustain but some noise is also added. – if you want to use the 9V battery with the unit keep in mind that to change the battery you need to use a screwdriver for 4 screws to remove the back panel of the unit.J

I love this pedal. I play an Epi Les Paul Classic, into my pedalboard, and into a 90's Peavey Bandit. The amp has a Jensen Mod soesker, not the original Scorpion speaker. The Bandit with this speaker has a great clean channel. I'm a long time Fender guy. Strats and Teles. I like a clear, bright fundamental tone. I found myself compensating with the LP and using the bridge pickup a lot. But still not satisfied with the clean tones from the LP. That changed when I put the Keeley Compressor Plus on my board. The conbination of the Blend control and the Tone knob gives me what I want. The Tone control is, to my ear, an exceptional circuit. I get the bright, clear tone I need and superb sustain. This pedal is a godsend for playing slide. The compressor goes before my dirt pedals with beautiful results-1-. I use a Boss SD-1 overdrive and a Donner Dark Mouse – a Rat clone. I'm very impressed with this compressor. I put all controls at about 12:00, which the manual recommends for humbuckers. Minimal tweaks from there to get what I want. I love that it doesn't squash the life out of my pick attack. It is always on. Works great with acoustic/electrics as well. Great, musical piece of gear. Well done, Mr. Keeley.Mister G.

I bought this compression pedal to boost my acoustic signal as well as fatten the sound a bit. I love the size as it fits on my board perfectly. I leave it on all the time so it neatly fits up top. I mainly lead worship at my church and was looking to make my Martin D-15 sound more like it is supposed to plugged in.Mark

The Xotic SP Compressor is without a doubt a 5 Star product! For many years I used a 1953 Gibson ES 175 or 1966 Telecaster plugged into a MXR Dyna Comp and grew to appreciate the warm squash this device had to offer as I lost the taste for most all distortion devices on the market. The Dyna Comp was a simple two knob device that squeezed my signal rather nicely to which I still have 3 of them floating about the house. I also have the more expanded version, MXR Limiter dating from the early 80s that also does a nice job modifying my signal. The only initial down side to the Dyna Comp was a little bit of noise. However the real down side to the old Dyna Comp was sometime in the early 90s, after Dunlop acquired ownership of the MXR Product, decided to reduce the cost of production by having all the jacks, pots, and switch connected directly to the PC Board via solder bath. Not only did this process of assembly affect the durability of this classic old compressor, it also compromised the tone and performance of a one great pedal. The vintage Dyna Comps wired point to point are far superior product. If you have one, keep it! In the wake of the cheapening of the Dyna Comp came the Keeley Compressor. I bought a Keeler Compressor somewhere around 10 years ago a noticed an improvement in performance over my old Dyna Comps with less noise. And with going into great detail, every guitar, from my old 1951 L5 to any of my old Fender sound great through this compressor. So now a new and somewhat revolutionary compressor has hit in the market by way of the Xotic SP. These guys are making some of the best pedals that I?ve run across in years. By the time I got my SP I was already the proud owner of an EP Booster and SL Drive. To later I have to say it is the only distortion that has come out in the last 30 years with a decent sounding tone that does not narrow the bandwidth of your signal path. Not to mention these pedals just happen to be the cutest looking signal devices on the market. What really makes the SP Compressor outstanding is the 3 position Hi/Mid/Low switch. The versatility to this pedal via of this switch is just amazing. In the Hi mode I can match the performance of my Keeley and Dyna Comp compressors for Jazz applications. However, I have taken using the Mid position for a great Blues/Rock tone. In this position the pedal allows me to play over the top of the compressor for soaring highs. This works in great combination with my 1960 Telecaster with Barden pickups. Anyway, I highly recommend the Xotic SP Compressor with its advantage in versatility over other compressors on the market. And here?s the bonus, this pedal is priced about $100 less than the Keeley. My hat?s off to you folks at Xotic for manufacturing a fantastic compressor at an affordable price that will thousands of guitar players sound better and better. Now if you can reinvent the Sola Sound Tone Bender in one of these small bud boxes, that would be fantastic!David A

I tried the Wampler and it was too much going on and I could find a sound I like. That was my first compressor so i'm Sure it was me. With this one I set it to Humbucker setting per the manual and it was fantastic. I just made the volume a little lower so that it was the same as my OD and TS pedals so that I control the gain there not with the compresssor. I leave it on all the time now. I never realized how much better the sound would be from just this. I always thought of it just pushing down the high parts but the making the lower parts a little louder made a big difference. This is going to be on permanently. Crystal clear sound wise too.Mike CT

Bought this alongside a fender trapper distortion, with the idea to try and bring up some of the higher register (used with bass) notes I play. Unless setting the compression quite high, it didn’t kick in much on the higher notes so just made everything sound a bit flat rather than getting the overall boost I was hoping for. Also had a high pitched whining noise, which got worse the more pedals I added to the chain (only the distortion and a boss tuner). May have been the power supply, but I didn’t have this problem with the other two pedals at all.Tom B.

I'll try to keep this short. I was looking for a 'Trey tone' type compressor that could give me that dynamic attack that Trey's Ross Compressor gives him. This pedal does that very well. In fact, this is a damn good compressor, slightly different than the Dyna Comp and not just because of the attack but an overall slightly different flavor.I put the Super Comp after my Barber LTD (Sliver=Awesome) and wahla! Instant Trey tone.. kinda, you gotta fiddle with the Overdrive and EQ on your amp to get close to that tone. But overall this is a good compressor.Huge CON: Its terribly noisy. Its very difficult to tame this noise because i like to keep the compressor on all the time (except with the Q Tron on). I have to use my Volume pedal to silence my signal when im not playing or else deal with feedback or noise. (Not feedback due to other effects on as well, just w/. compressor on)Other than the noisy-ness, this is a pretty good compressor. Attack nob is very useful, you can go from Trey Tone to complete transparency. Check one out and fiddle with it, it takes some real fiddling if your gonna use it with other pedals to get your sound.Jesus-i9BdY

Overall: I was building a 'short board,' and I got a Super Comp. It is really priceless at the beginning of my chain. I have a DynaComp, a Soul Preacher, and a couple of digital multis that do compression. Sould Preacher is by far the best. Edges out the Soul Preacher on having a really fine attack adjustment. The EHX comp is just lacking. DynaComp is okay, but it is NOISY. The noise difference alone is enough to justify the $10 to step up to a SuperComp. It's maybe a little bit better sounding than DynaComp, and slightly more adjustable with the attack setting. SuperComp is for sure my favorite comp right now. I know I will draw some complaints with this one, but I would see absolutely no reason to own a DynaComp with the SuperComp available. $10 gets you soooo much…. IMO of course.Michael

I can't profess to be an expert on compressors but I understand the concept. I wanted to add a ringing sustained fullness to a fairly full sounding rig and browsed myriad reviews of the MXR line. [Going to MXR was a no brainer. They are analog – Boss and most others are digital.] The Super Comp seemed to best suit my needs and it has made a remarkable improvement in my overall sound. Having the attack control knob is a huge plus. I play a lot of sustained notes and placing the Super Comp between the MXR 10 band EQ and Dist.+ creates a creamy fluid sustain that oozes for several full measures – it can begin to feedback but that isn't entirely bad, is it? The compressor isn't a drastic pedal like an OD or distortion but once you find your 'right' setting, it is a pedal you will turn on and leave on. Attached is a photo showing the FX chain with the settings for the Super Comp. and the Dist.+ highlighted. [Not shown is a reverb and Bad Horsie wah. The wah goes in between the Super Comp. and Dist.+] (For more "zing" bump up the gain slider on the EQ to a +3.) A Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone Les Paul, and Fender Tele and Strat were all used and all sounded more powerful and dynamic. A Kustom KG210FX 20w was the amp I used. I first used my vintage 6 watt 1979 Fender Champ and quickly learned that you could blow up a small amp with this rig. I built a home studio in a spare bathroom and a compressor is a must-have piece of equipment for recording, especially undistorted sounds. I didn't notice any coloring of tone on clean settings, the Tele lead pup is a Duncan vintage model and it rings like a bell and sustains almost like an organ. Almost. I have one of almost every type of pedal and a compressor was the last effect I bought. Hindsight being 20/20, I would have bought it years ago. Oh, and make sure you get the Super Comp. The attack control knob is worth its weight in gold.Les Paul Disciple

Studio grade compressor in a pedal. Can be as subtle or extreme as necessary. The auto switch and Hard/soft switches are very clever and really work. Very well built. Small footprint fits easily on a pedal board.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I’m more of a Keeley Compressor Plus fan, when you turn one of those in it’s like oh yeah! The Pulp n Peel, however is much more subtle and more of a tone-shaper. I have a Katana boost immediately after and they work well together. The dirt switch is useless for me. It has a strong bump in the midrange that colors the tone too much. Maybe if you don’t have an overdrive.. All in all it’s a great pedal, but given the choice again, I’d probably go with the Keeley again.Michael R.

I can get this pedal to do three things: a very subtle reverb that adds a touch of space, a room-like reverb, and a super long-tailed ambient reverb that's so expansive it almost sounds like it's mixed with delay. There are other reverb pedals for a bit more money that have more options built into them-spring, plate, hall, room, shimmer, modulated reverb, and so on. With this pedal I find it difficult to switch between the different sounds since it's a lot of knob fiddling. It does sound absolutely killer, which is why I gave it 4 stars, but I don't recommend it if you want to easily switch between different types of reverb. For me it will be more of a "set and forget" pedal for long ambient reverbs.Andrew

I was recently using one pedal board for all my guitars, and the chorus I had was mainly designed for use with acoustic guitar. Now I'm rearranging things to have one board just for my electric guitars and all I needed was a basic chorus pedal of quality build and tone. I knew from reviews the JHS 3 series was perfect for me. I've been playing for 57 years and have owned pedals in the $100 to $500 range to provide my chorus effects. No matter if I had mulitple options in some stomp boxes I usually settled on a good subtle setting, so I knew there was no need for me to get anything fancier than the JHS. It sounds are good as the little blue Boss Chorus I bought way back in 1980.Jon

I originally bought this effect pedal because I play keyboards on Saturday morning/afternoon at a local restaurant and the way the sound system was set up, there were a lot of peaks and valleys in the sound. The waitresses would come over and ask me to turn down (and rarely, turn up) the volume. Remembering that I used an MXR DynaComp before in one of my Top 40 groups to smooth out my synth solo lines and add "punch" to certain sounds, I located one on Ebay and bought it. At first my intention was to run it on the effects send/return lines of my Yorkville KB-50 keyboard amplifier, but when I did that, I noticed that there was noticeable distortion in the resulting sound output. Taking the signal straight from the keyboard mixer into the MXRs input solved that problem. I also now get rave reviews from nearly all my performances- not that I have gotten any better, but the sound quality has been markedly improved with my addition of this effect pedal to my setup. One quirk I did notice is that the device powers on when you plug into either the input or the output jack. The MXR DynaComp I had years before only came on when you plugged a cord into the INPUT jack. I'm not sure if they changed the wiring design or if something might be miswired somewhere. The pedal is solidly built and all the controls have a rugged, professional feel. The OUTPUT and SENSITIVITY knobs move smoothly, with no clicks or hangs and I love the rubber grabber rings on them that respond to your toe's lightest touch. One alkaline 9V battery lasts for many many gigs (months) so you're not always spending money buying batteries.so_kuhl56

The Dyna Comp deserves its reputation as a classic, an industry standard. The compression is natural, not too obvious, and with minimal tone coloration. There are just two knobs: 1) the Output control, which is equivalent to the make-up gain control on other compressors, and 2) the Sensitivity control. The latter combines the typical threshold, ratio, attack, and release controls into a single knob optimized for guitar. It makes finding the right setting a breeze. If you're looking for more extreme compression for a more "squashed" sound, this unit won't do, but for most applications, I recommend it. I've had a Dyna Comp in my studio for years. I never turn it off when I'm recording electric guitars. (Doesn't matter if it's clean or overdrive; single coils or humbuckers. They always sound better when the pedal is engaged.) Now I've added a second Dyna Comp, this one for my live rig.Gordon the Pro

I've played as a very avid hobbyist for most of my life. I recently decided to try out a compressor and did a ton of online research. I thought I wanted one with a parallel blending function but that added a bit more cost and this (basic) pedal was sort of the "standard choice" so it seemed like a safe purchase for my first compressor. I had a chance to try it out last night and was very impressed with its effectiveness. It very powerfully evened out the volume to a desirable consistency. I gently fingerpicked a bit, then took a pick and strummed very aggressively – they were very consistent volume. There was a little more sustain – not a huge amount but a nice added bit. I did notice the pedal settings might seem "finicky" but there is a "sweet spot" where it just works like magic – so the trick is to play a bit and adjust the controls until you get the sweet spot for you. Once you find that setting it's a really wonderful pedal and I wish I would have done this years ago. Now, it's not perfect and it tends to add a little noise to the chain. Again, this is more/less noticeable depending upon the settings – once you fiddle with the settings you can minimize the noise. Also, I read that it is recommended to put this first in your pedal chain, which makes sense, since you are evening out the guitar's signal and sustaining right from the guitar into all the other effects. Doing so, made this a much more transparent effect without that weird "squished" sound people talk about. I did not find this to be a tone killer at all – Again, if you use it as a subtle evening out of your input volumes it won't be noticeable. If you heavily compress your signal then, yes, you will get some tone loss.fazool

I bought this pedal hoping to get the old Ibanez sound without spending a lot of money. Although it didn't cost much it doesn't get the old Ibanez sound. It's easy to use and fun to play with but I really wouldn't recommend it. You can get a different Behringer compressor pedal which is much better than this one. I would recommend doing that.motocross824

I have used Behringer effects for years now, and have never been disappointed. This Compressor does what it is intended to do, smoothing out the notes from guitar, and evening the output for a pleasing musicality.will_bush312

It is a great pedal except for the fact it's plastic. I wouldn't use my foot to stomp on it. But if you treat it gently it's actually really cool. Just use your hand to put pressure on its button and it will be gracious and give you exactly what you expect from a compression pedal.rmc.rtk.xrzsxdqx3