Ashdown Dual Band Compressor

For people familiar with compressors, this is a cakewalk. For bassists who bought the thing because their guitarist said all bassists use a compressor, it's still not too bad. The input and output level controls are nice, especially with active basses, although it still has some difficulties when you're setting it for high-output basses. I don't understand why it needs a tone control...I would much rather have a release control or something a little more useful (for the compressor-challenged, setting the input level is the substitute for setting the threshold).

I'm running a Godin Freeway 4 (passive) or Schecter 5-string (active) into this, through a number of other pedals, and into an SWR LA15.

First issue I had with this compressor is noise. It's not a terribly noisy compressor; that said, it's not a terribly quiet compressor either. I'd say it's mildly noisy (a high hiss rather than a hum), but not any noisier than most compressors I've used. It's enough to bug you, but not enough to notice over your playing.

As for how it sounds, it's quite the tone factory. You can get anything from low, boomy smooth-jazz type bass (comping the high end) or you can get a sharp trebly attack. The tone control feature is useful in this regard as well. If you're looking for an 'always-on' compressor, it can do that too, but it's more suited for a tone-changer than anything else. That said, the compression ratio is actually only 8:1, so it won't compensate a whole lot for crappy technique (if you've got terrible technique, a limiter is much more suited to you).

Also, NEVER clip this pedal. It sounds like crap if you do.
The switch is true-bypass, so if you're into that, you'll like that part too.

It's got a fancy sturdy chassis, the knobs are counter-sunk in that little channel, and it's practically solid metal. I also took a gander at the inner workings, which are sturdily reinforced and well-soldered. Mine rattled around in the back of my car all the time, and never once crapped out on me.

Never dealt with them. I have heard good things about them, though.

I play funk, jazz, and alt. rock on a regular basis, and this functioned fine for me. Eventually, I sold it as my technique grew better and I had less need for a compressor. If I ever come back to a tone-altering compressor, it will probably be this one.

It really couldn't get any easier when it comes to compressors...

It seems a lot of people don't know how to use a new pedal as they complain about too much clipping... hmm, you are playing the bass (more than likely an active bass at that... hello preamp!) I think it was great of Ashdown to allow us to adjust BOTH the input and the output levels. Start out with them both all the way down and go from there.

As other people have said, DO NOT USE THIS PEDAL WITH A BATTERY.

Getting a good sound was easy for me. I love boomy, warm, deep make her drip like bleep lows, smooth mids and chimey highs with the right sustain. I play an active Music Man SUB 4 string through a GK 1001RB hooked up to a Hartke 215XL cab ( 2 15"s). I play soul/groove bass most commonly associated with hip hop, reggae, funk and psychadelic music. I know it's hard to believe, but my GK actually got even QUIETER than it already was with this pedal and my lows got deeper WITH MORE definition. Not bad for $100.

Who needs the manual? If you need the manual you should start with an Intro to Effects 101 book or something.

I give the pedal a 9 here since you do have to buy a power supply to use the pedal.

Low noise with a VERY, VERY wide range of tones to work with.

I listed my equipment above.

I have to give this pedal a 10 here, Ashdown really hit the spot for the price tag. Don't expect a $100 pedal to be a $2000 studio, rackmount compressor. This pedal WILL give you your money's worth in gigging time and sound quality. I'm even willing to check out more Ashdown gear now.

Hmm, built like a tank. I would gig without a backup if I was active right now. Give me another 6 months or so to relax.

10

I've owned it for 4 months, no problems yet and I don't forsee any.

I e-mailed them with a few questions (I always do this to test companies out that I have not used before) and they not oly responded... they answered EVERY question directly and even offered to go the extra mile (offered a pedal mod for free under warranty if it didn't work with my active music man) so I'd say a 10!

I would replace it if it went missing just because the price just dropped down to $70. More people need to give this pedal a good chance. Sometimes it can take months for some people to find the perfect settings on their equipment. Give it some time and keep an open mind.

This pedal improved my overall playing and live sound. My slaps stay consistant, my attack is well rounded and my tone is desired by many...

10

Child play, for a compressor. Minimum controls, maximum tone.

Dont use it on a battery though! The input starts to clip way too early on battery power, use a good 9v adapter - It then has ample headroom and output. (I don't know why they even included a battery compartment, it obviously draws too much power, at least for the dying battery included...)

Would have given a 10, but if you try and use it with a battery it's very difficult, nearly impossible to get working properly! (as others have discovered)

The sound is ideal, exactly what I was looking for. My bassists Peavey Firebass stack now sounds like an Ampeg - before it had way too much attack and a nasty, spiky top end which needed smoothing out.
With the Ashdown comp, it now sounds just right- really warm punchy lows and lovely growly mids. It can totally smooth out the hard attack of his (powerful, but very un-compressed) amp, and it now sits nicely in the mix and just drives. It actually changes the tone quite drastically, especially on a battery! The distortion you get when it clips is still quite nice, though (!)

Tweaking the EQ balance even slighly away from 12o'clock accents the upper or lower bands of compression. You can hear each band's sound in isolation, then recombine them to achieve the correct balance, compensating for any difference in output between the two2, which usually isn't much as the compressors are the 'auto make-up gain' type, like a vst plugin.. However, it does add huge scope for sonic exploration

Would I use it on a gig without a backup? I guess I would be forced to, like I do with everything else - who can afford back ups?!
I have had it a day or so, so no comment on its longevity, but
it looks solidly built, and stylish with it. It does make an audible 'clunk' switching it off or on, however, hinting perhaps at the cheaper quality components, switches, etc. It is very reasonably priced, after all... for such a professional sounding unit. World class sound from almost any rig (at least much improved IMHO) for under a ton?

Oh, did I mention :
NEVER USE IT ON A BATTERY!! unless you particularly want a totally distorted bass sound that keeps getting quieter...
(It's ok, you can still get it to distort on a power pack, just with a lot more gain dialled in)

Good,
Had chat with a guy there who explained to me why these early ones didn't have lights on the VU meters. Power issues, apparently now resolved.

So I'm sending mine back! and getting a new one with a light on the VU meter. (The retailer's idea BTW. I'll let you know if the new one has more headroom on battery power. I suspect not, with the added drain of the light on the VU meter... time will tell.)

Provisional rating of 10, pending follow up.

Funk drum&bass grunge jazz ska fusion dub thrash.
Thing thing will never be turned off.
nuff said?

This is the only pedal i really use (besides a distortion pedal ocasionally). I bought it to even out my sound and it does, especially obvious when clicked off. Two compression knobs, high and low. No attack and release, ratio etc. Easy. Only problem would be a bit of clipping when setting the input. Quite annoying.

VU is useless. Says its getting nothing but its distorting like hell.

Easier than a rack unit (and cheaper).

Hard not to clip the input. The knob wasn't even a quarter of the way round and it still distorted. Too sensitive and quite significant to the sound.

No hiss. True bypass. Sounds alright overall, even at extremes.

I've dislodged the input metre a bit, but its useless anyway. I feel confident kicking this around (and have done). Haven't seen it take an amazing amount of damage but i recon it could. Batteries last long enough. No problems really.

Duno.

I play mostly grunge in a band and like to mess around by myself on the bass. Definatly helps the bass sit better live. You can jump around and not worry about how your attacking the strings, it stays even.

I play through an ashdown amp and so trusted them to make a decent pedal. I'm slightly dissapointed that the input is so low and i can't get more out of it without distortion.

Not really happy with the input, but ill let that slide.

Unusually intuitive for a compressor. Takes very little tweaking to familiarize with what the controls will do. Very touchy knobs. The range of the controls is really far beyond what is necessary, Ashdown could easily give up a little taper for finer response.

Absolutely excellent. I have been waiting twelve years for this compressor. The least noise I have heard from a pedal comp. Perfect preset parameters. I wouldn't play without it. It's actually very useful to change tones. Simply turning the eq knob will bring it from a smooth deep thunder to a tight aggressive growl.

This thing has hit concrete for six feet and didn't even notice. Has the weight of a solid chassis, and the rollbars around the vu meter are not just decorative.

The best customer support: unnecessary.

I am blown away by this compressor. Ashdown have taken one of the hardest effects to apply effectively and made it simpler and more effective for the casual musician than any other effort I have seen.

While it is possible to get a good sound out of this unit, it definitely takes a lot of tweaking. I found it difficult just to keep the unit from clipping, and the VU meter really doesn't help much with transient clipping. It's rare to turn the compression controls any further than halfway (one quarter way for the low frequency one), and I would have preferred if they had a finer control over just that range. The tone control is interesting as a coloration effect, but not sure why it makes sense on this box.

It is too easy to clip this box, known production issues notwithstanding. This is the only compressor that I've had this problem with.

Mine became intermittently dead after just three months of non-abusive use. Ouch. Still works - sometimes, but sometimes isn't good enough for gigging (or anything, really).

Ashdown gets three points for initially responding to my question as to whether my unit was one of the ones with a practically unusable input gain range. No more points because they have ignored both of my emails regarding failure of the unit. Not what I would have expected from a rather pricey stomp box. I guess I'll see if I can get some service from the retailer.

This might be a good compressor to have as a third or fourth option in a studio setup, as it does not seem practical from either a sound or reliability standpoint as a primary compressor. After mine crapped out I spent considerably more money on an EBS Multicomp and have been much more satisfied with it in almost every regard (sound, ease of use, etc.).

5 Knobs to work with.
Input
Output
Low Compression
High Compression
EQ Balance

Has the nifty Ashdown Input dial which makes it really easy to dial in the right amount of input.

Sounds very sweet. Nice warm tone. Don't really notice it except when you bypass it and then you really notice how much it is bringing to the sound.

Have managed to dial in some nice sounds. Really helps reign in any distortion in the chain without killing it.

Built like a tank. Solid and the good old Ashdown Input Meter is protected by a couple of roll bars.

Haven't had it long enough to be sure it's bullit proof but can't see where it can fail.

N/A

Good value for money. Solidly built. Sounds great. Better than other compressors I've used.

It's not the smallest of pedals and bigger than some other compressor pedals out there, but better than having to haul round a rack mounted unit

Looks fantastic.