DigiTech X-Series Bass Squeeze

If you are familiar with compressors, very easy to use. If you're not to familiar with them, its easy to overdo. Take the time to learn to use it properly and you'll be rewarded.

Nice and transparent at lower compression settings. Can really mangle your tone (in a good or bad way) depending on how you use it. Some reviews I've read complain about hiss. I have tried this pedal on a couple instruments, and it only hisses with lesser pickups or a long chain of effects. Its a compressor, if your setup is noisy and sucks it will make it worse.
The mixer output actually sounds pretty good straight into a board for recording. No, really. Other than that - does your bass rig sound bad? If it does, this won't help. If your setup is good but you just need a little more control or if you want to record with it- this is your pedal. Also works well messing with guitars to add a little beef to the low end of that 7 or 8 string, but leave the highs out of it for that.

Knobs feel a little cheap, otherwise built tough.

Haven't had to use it yet.

Portable,great sounding, 2 band comp with selectable x-over for under $100. What more do you need?

Like all compressors, if you dont know how to use one, you will struggle. But this is fairly intuitive, and it only took my a couple of minutes to find the sweet spot. I got it used, so I dont know if it came with a manual. If you have experience with compressors, you certainly dont need one. But, since not everyone has experience using a compressor, I'll give it an 8.

I find this to be a very quiet compressor. My favorite feature of this unit, and the selling point for me on it was the dual band feature. I play with my compressor set pretty high, so I was having a problem with glassy highs. The dual band controls enabled me to find the sweet spot, and then bak away the highs, gradually until I found the really sweet spot. The only compressor I've used that was more invisible was the Aphex Punch Factory which lacked the level of control that I was looking for. I know that there are better compressors on the market but, since this one is EXACTLY what I was looking for, I cant justify giving it anything less than a 10.

These Digitech pedals are built like tanks. They are heavier than Boss, and built basically the same way. They were meant to be used. Since a compressor is such an important aspect of my tone, I wouldnt gig without a back-up, no matter what the quality of the unit is. That's just common sense. (You dont go on a road trip without a spare, just becasue you have good tires.) But, I am not concerned that this unit will not perform.

I've never dealt with customer support. As I said, they are dependable units.

I play a bit of everything, but I have a funky style. A little slapping and popping, and a lot of hard plucking. This unit does a great job of making those sounds very dynamic and defined. I use it first in line in front of a Digitech Bass Multi-Chorus, and a Boss Bass EQ, running into a Peavy combo with a 15" driver. If this were lost or stolen, I'd scramble for another one. No question.
My only complaint is that it eats batteries like popcorn. Get a power supply. I used to use the Aphex Punch Factory, which is a very good unit at twice the price, and the Aphex is now my back-up. I've also used an Ibanez Soundtank, which is a crappy little compressor. I still have it, but dont use it. In the 90's i used a Boss Micro rack compressor. I can honestly say that I like this one best of all of them. As I mentioned, I chose this one for the added control of the dual bands. It doesnt have all of the bells and whistles that the Aphex has, but since I didnt use those bells and whistles anyway, I cant really think of anything that I wish it had. As I've said, it may not be perfect, but it's perfect for me. There isnt a better bass compressor on the market for under $100. (In my opinion, there isnt a better bass compressor on the market for under $200.)The way this unit chews up batteries and spits them out, keeps me from giving it a 10. (It isnt always convenient to plug in your effects).

Basically 2 simple compressors in a box. Level for the amount of compression you want, the crossover between lo and hi bands, and then lo and hi band level. No need to tweak attack and release or threshold. The 4 "presets" on their website are a great place to start from.

I love this effect! Brings out a lot of POP in my P-bass. dbx compression algorhythms, no noise, and I don't have to turn the level down so I don't hear the compressors working. On bass, this sounds better than the Rane and Behringer rack compressors I have in my studio.

I haven't tried the "mixer" out with 4x10 cab emulation, the normal out sounds so good.

All metal shell like a Boss effect, so it's built like a tank, though the spring loaded clips on the battery compartment look a little flimsy. I've had a Digitech rack effect (TSR-24) for about a decade now, and it's never blinked in terms of reliability. Treat the Bass Squeeze with a little drop of respect and it'll last forever I think.

Digitech is part of the conglomorate Harmon group, so I wouldn't expect a whole lot from their customer support people. That said, and as I said, this thing is built like a tank and I hope not to have to get support.

Buy this! It's a fantasic compressor for bass.

This is an up-dated review for this product. No patches to edit, produces usable sounds, manual is very easy to understand, and I think this is the latest one. It says 'made in China' at the base, for whatever that entails.

The sound quality is exactly like first one. Very Good, if you are knowleagable about tweaking fx pedals. I don't use this pedals for bass or guitars at all. I use them to 'mangle' synth and drum (acoustic and electric) sounds in weird ways to get some interesting sonics.

Very dependable. Do't gig with them anymore. They stay home, permanently attached to the out-puts of my Emu Procussions. These are drum modules that lend themselves very well to my 'mad' experiments.

Digitech customer support has always been great. I can't say that for Boss, Line 6, etc.

The units are used in the studio for all kinds of stuff, especially 'hard-sounding extreme' stuff.
I used to own Boss SYB-5s, but not anymore.
I am getting to the point where I really believe that Digitech pedals have overtaken Boss in quality and usability. I think Digitech's AUDIO-DNA technology is walking all over Roland/Boss COSM. You be the judge.

It's pretty easy to get a good sound out of it, if you know what you are doing and what you are trying to achieve. This is not a 'fix' effect or 'nice' control, it's a compressor, you're not supposed to hear it working as an effect, and it won't turn you into a seasoned pro. Many words over the years have been writted on the complicated art of compression, too much to go into here, but it does what it says on the tin: It splits teh sound into 2 bands and allows indiviadual compression of each.
The bit I'm most pleased with is the sweepable crossover, allowing me to choose the split between the 2 bands. I had previously used the Ashdown dual band compressor who had kindly decided for me where the crossover point should be, unfortunately it was in teh wrong position for what I wanted and and can't be changed. The Ashdown also has a pointless input control so you can see it in action (which if you understand compression, you don;t need to, you're dealing with sound, not vision), and a pointless tone control, basically a bass/treble balance, in which place a crossover control would have been much more useful.
I did however feel that individual attack control may have been a useful addition on the digitech, but they seem to have got these settings pretty much spot on for me anyway. But I will have to dock a couple of points for this as it would have been a useful addition, even if it were control you could tweak directly on the circuit board like some other manufacturers offerings.
The only issue I do have, as I do with all X-series pedals is it's power draw. I leave this pedal on all the time, and only get a couple of hours out of it on batteries, ok for the odd short gig, when there's lots of band playing and little set up time, but you really need to run it on mains.

I used to use a Behringer rack compressor, a dual band one, (along with a GT6B for effects, and a rack exciter) but only single band. This is where I learnt anout compression and would it could and couldn't do for me. After watching a Billy Sheehan DVD, I realised dual band was the way to go, as I was after getting a clear high end for tapping and harmonics, but without losing the low end. I tried using my bass v-amp in bi-amping mode to split the signal into both channels of the rack compressor then combine them into the rest of the chain. It worked to a certain extent, but was a messy solution, and too much gear to lug around.I also realised that I was addign more and more to the signal path to improve the sound but was in fact destroying it. I then tried out the Ashdown for a while and dumped the whole rack unit, but quickly found it's faults, then came across the Digitech.

Needless to say, I have also dumped the GT6B in favour of a few stompboxes, and my whole rig (bar the amp) fits into my gig bag, so I'm a happy bunny.

I am using this in conjunction with a Warwick Thumb BO and the sound is pretty much close to what I'm after, that Billy Sheehan smoothness, flatness even across the whole frequency range. I'm not trying to emulate Billy's sound, but I am trying to learn from what he does to get 'that sound' and cut though. I always used to have trouble cutting through the mix playing up the neck, or tapping, but not anymore.

For setup I boost the high band and sweep the crossover till get a guitar like tone, without the bassiness, then tweak the high compression till I can tap and pluck ant more or less the same volume.
I take a note of the high band position and turn in right down, then boost the bass control till it even out the low end playing. This should pretty much sound all bass and very little high or mids. I then raise the high end again and the sound is pretty much there. As I said before the crossoever for me is key.

The other key concept is not to over compress and lose all dynamic range, I still want to be able to play softly and sound quieter. What I'm really trying to do it get the same sound plugged in as unplugged. The unplugged bass has a lot less dynamic range than an amplified one. I sometime practice unplugged and can do certain things that would otherwise vanish when amplified without compression.

To sum up, yes the pedal does what I'm after, it's still not perfect, more to do with the lack of deeper control, but it's ball park.

It is built very stronly, just like a Boss really, but sounds better. Although it is bigger and considerably heavier than Boss pedals, not a great thing when they are stuffed in your gig bag.

I have heard about the CPU's frying on digitech pedals, but I think these are few and far between.

I have gigged it without backup, and although compression is an integral part of 'my sound' these gigs I could have coped without it if it broke, I would just have had to play less fancy stuff.

nothing to see here yet...move along

The pedal does what I've been after, and has helped me considerably cut down my rig, which has helped both setup/breakdown time, tone and my back.

I used to find with so much gear and control going on that it was easy to get very anal to get 'that sound', creating patches for every song, trying to emulate the original. I now have a very much stripped down rig, and have got back the sound of my bass and my amp, tweaked to my liking. It's my sound.

I actually bought it from Thomann, who even with shipping to UK, worked out cheaper than buying over here, the delivery was very quick too, so if it broke or was stolen I wouldn't hesitate getting another.

Very easy to get a sound out of the only problem is its the same sound the bass makes without this $80.00 volume control.

I'm using a 1967 Fender Jazzbass through an Ampeg BA115HP amp.
There is a distinct frying sound when compression is set to max on both bands.
The effect of the pedal on the overall bass sound is limp and slushy.
The pedal really should do more for the price.
Twiddling with the knobs reveals that the range of sound is very limited, and to be perfectly honest, the bass sounds better without it.
Don't expect to plug into this pedal and start sounding like Jack Daley or Nate Mendel.
In other words the pedal will have a very hard time living up to the promises of the advertising department.

The pedal is very sturidly made and should last through many gigs. I would definately use it for its output to the sound board. I would also use it on a gig without a backup because it could be taken out of line and hardly missed. be sure to get a power adapter with it or else buy stock in a battery company. It uses approx. one battery every three to four hours.

I havn't had to deal with the company. I understand they have good tech support.

I play mostly country rock, shuffle and ballads. I've been playing for nearly 20 years. I also own a fender stratocaster guitar and twin reverb amp. If it were to come up missing I'd say good luck to the chump that took it. I'd most likely try something else. I bought the Digi-Tech pedal because of the glowing advertising and raving user reviews, I kinda think now that some of those reviews were a little less than honest.what I like most about it is its good looks and sturdiness. I really don't hate anything about it. My favorite feature is the very clever way the battery is stowed under the switch lever and the way it is accessed with the tip of a guitar cord plug, no special tools needed. My only wish is that it would perform up to the advertising promises. I mostly leave it at home if there is not a good sound system the pedal can plug into at the gig.

Basically this is a two band compressor simple as that ! If your looking to create compression charactoristics of higher end rack mount compressors,, you've bought the wrong tool... This pedal makes use of the dbx Overeasy technology, which has it's own pre-programed compression attack & release algorythums.. All you can do here is simly make a decicion where you want to split the two bands, then set your compression ratio for each.. You only have independent ratio control across the two selected bands.. Like I said, the attach and release is controled by the Overeasy modeling.. If you take your time and play around with it,,you'll most certainly get this thing to do what it was designed to do,,, no more or no less .. I've used it, and have come to discover,, it does what it's intended to do just fine.. This is not a dbx 160,, so headroom is most certainly a restriction... Just don't over push it to the max , and you'll be fine.. If your looking for thundering bass or sharper edgy highs that you currently just not getting anything close to,, you might want to to go back and take a good look at your equipment first ? Pedeals don't make entry level instruments and amps sound like top of the line pro gear... at least not in a real world.

Like I said,, this is not a dbx160 by no means.. as long as you don't over push this thing to max... you'll be fine.. I find it has just enough headroom in the circut design to do what it's intended to do..

Well,, by judging by the rock solid design of the case,, looks pretty bullet proof to me... What do ya want for $100 bucks ??

Dunno,,, never had to deal with them..

Actually bought it for my 15 year old Son,,, he plays a Fender 'P' into a Traynor/ Yorkville amp. Pretty well plays top of the charts Pop & Rock music. If it were stollen ?? I assume we'd replace it.. What he likes about it... Its nice and small like all the DigiTech & Boss pedals..

You must have a litle knolage of how compressors work and read the manual a litle!
other vise it is straihgt forword!

overall the sound coming out is good! But any extreme setings are some what distorted or fuzzy! But it isn't intended to go to extrems! No compressor was!
if you need compression then you aply it in little mesoures if too much is needed then some thing is wrong with your other equiptment! This is a general rule even in mastering!

i like how it brings deep tones to life out of my 77'Ibanez Jazz!
for the price nothing comes close!

solid as a rock!

I play all kinds of music except ROCK! I hate rock!!!
mostly i play Jazz, classical and electronic!
this device brought me controled deep tones. for most of the bass players it has an excelent slap sound but i prefer some overdrive for this job!
best bang for the buck i would say in the concludion!

Very easy to use... 4 knobs only, Volume, X-over, Lo/Hi Bands. You'll get the desired sound out of it after a few minutes... Digitech has some presets in the Manual but they actually dont do what they promise, just try to find some nice settings on your own i'd suggest.

I play a cheap Warwick Streamer Rockbass (China) w/ an ancient Simms-Watts MK2 and some Simms-Watts GE Boxes i think. The overall sound so far was lousy, I think the Amp or Boxes are somewhat broken... no idea.

The pedal does exactly what i needed: it really thickens up my sound adding some serious beef! At high volumes, the pedal will provide a sweet Overdrive which is very welcome. It's not uber-present and therefore is great for some really hypnotic lines. The effect is very subtle, i wouldn't even consider it an effect... it's more like tonal shaping.

Our band is into Indie/Stoner/Noise-Rock with some Drone influences (Sonic Youth, Pumpkins, Kyuss, Electric Wizard, Sunn0)))...) and the pedal offers me the low-end growls that my other equipment wont produce. Since i can't afford better gear, this pedal is just great at an unbeatable low price.

I've been told that the pedal is also great for cutting the bottom if you wanna play funky slap-sound. Since i'm not into slapping and funky sounds at all, i can't comment on this.

The only noises it produced so far was when the battery it came with went down... nothing to worry about since nobody uses batteries anyways i guess.

No problems so far. I own the pedal only for a week, so i guess this is what you would expect from any new pedal. I have some other Digitechs pedals though and they NEVER failed me. I'd certainly use it without backup.

My skills are rather low since im playing the Bass for only like 8 Months or so. My technique is rather poor i guess. This pedal is great if you have poor gear and poor skills. High End equipment will make this pedal obsolete of course, but I'd highly recommend it to people with rather crappy gear who want to beef up their sound a little. I would replace the pedal if it were stolen, since I wouldn't want to play without it.

There are lots of decent sounds available, and it's fairly easy to dial in a tone that's good for the style at hand. The presets in the manual are pretty right on and even beyond that, things are pretty intuitive.

I play a mia fender jazz bass into a behringer 300 watt head and 15 inch trace elliot speaker cabinet. I use a stage tuner only, and while I had this pedal put it after the stage tuner. The pedal makes a small amount of noise when powered with AC, but not enough to be prohibitive. Turning up any one control too far can create some unpleasant noises, but you learn quickly not to crank anything. It's a subtle effect, and it's all about tone.

It is built very solidly. I would not hesitate to gig without backup.

I play country and americana music. I play in two bands, gig weekly, and have been doing so for years. I own three fender jazz basses, the amp and speaker mentioned above, and a 100 watt carvin practice amp. I ultimately found this pedal unnecessary for my style of play and returned it. I didn't find many usefull tones I couldn't get just with my amp's eq. I think it's probably a good way to get a second tone on demand, for solo's, etc., but I generally just set things and leave them for the whole show, so that isn't necessary. Esseentially I was looking for something that would tighten up my sound by squashing errantly loud notes and bringing the volume of different frequencies more in line with each other. I guess it was foolish of my to think this pedal would do it. Probably not a bad pedal, but not was I was looking for.