EBS MultiComp

Very easy to use, great solid controls. Just as an update for everyone i live in Australia and bought one of these of ebay new for 215aus, i just had it delivered today which was great but the pedal in the box was not the pedal printed on the box!!!

:) this is because they have finally updated this pedal!!! it now has a push button on the output side for the active/passive function instead of that really trick switch they used to have, and also they have changed the circuit so its TRUE BYPASS!!! apart from that i think its pretty much the same, but these 2 updates just make this great pedal PERFECT

This pedal is excellent, i tried one a while back and wasnt very happy with it sound wise, but now that i bought one and use with my own gear at home ive found that it really is noiseless... i do have some static and hiss but that only because i have atleast 10 electrical items running off the same outlet... but i have noticed that i get a little bit of distortion and crackling if i turn the comp dial all the way up (so 5:1 comp), but if u roll it back a few millimeters it stops? go figure...

Out of all the modes Normal is the most transparent, MB does seem to comp the lows a fair bit so ill have to adjust the threshold later, and i have noticed that Tube sim mode REALLY fattens the bass up, it adds more trebleness and mids harmonics as well as some lows compared to the normal mode. (i use a stingray5). Each mode for me is desirable but i find that the tubesim mode can be hard to use if you want a really smooth mellowly bass sound (so less highs and mids, and silky lows) but id expect is good for a live situation as it makes your tone more aggressive.

Overall the signal is not deteriorated and the bypass tone is natural as the new updated pedals are TRUE BYPASS.

Its very solid and it looks as tho i could through it off a bridge and it would still work, the gain dial is harder to turn than the comp dial so ill assume itll loosen up a little in the future, but they are still very solid and tight.

haven't had to deal with them, and i hope i wont as i bought this off a US ebay store and i live in the sun blessed country...

I tend to play everything, and have been playing for about 5-6 years, i dunno if i would buy it again if it were stolen because im a uni student on a tight budget... but i hope i continue to own it in the future.

Ive tried a few comps and id say this is my favourite, the looks just get me... and the sound quality is amazing.

The main reason i bought this apart from just pure want... is that i also play on stage at church in a fairly large auditorium where i really need the bass to be tight and focused, which is hard to get without a comp and having to constantly eq for every song... also on my stingray the G and D strings arent that powerful live (its not a pickup high issue.....) but from what ive heard so far they have improved quite a lot. Also this comp and get you some great funk comp sounds, and you can get that marcus miller comp sound as well.

Im not to sure how the finger style sound is because i spent the first 2 hours slapping haha, but ill find out over the weekend when i play.

Couldn't be any easier, two knobs and a 3 position mode switch. There's also some treshold adjustment inside the box, never felt any need to touch it.

Outstanding! Impossible to get a bad sound out of it. Compared to most compressors, this unit is subtle, no ugly clipping from this one.

I can't really tell that much difference between the three modes though, but they all sound good. Tube and dual mode are what I use.

In a band situation this unit is a gem.

So far so good. It seems sturdy enough.

Easy to use providing it is what you needed, you could spend hours if you thought you were buying an effects unit and not a compressor. threshold pots inside not easy to adjust and trial. would have prefered a fixed ratio and had the threshold pot on top.

Quiet unless you have the gain adjustment above 9-10 o???clock best set this on your amp if poss. Can produce a lot of hiss, but no hum or interference what so ever other than this

Well made I am not concerned

Build quality, well it???s a chunk of metal with a foot switch, should withstand a train wreck

No opinion they seem well supported

Sound
Its a compressor not an effect do not make that mistake with this product, it has no benefit as an effect unit, If you want a real squashed sound for funk that is audible and usable then go for the new Boss Limiter it is half the price and does a better job for that sound.
This does a good but very subtle job of evening out your string volumes.

Value
Very expensive product for watching over your output level, a good bass and amp and a good technique is as effective. Do not buy this without a trial.

Dual band is better than tube for general playing, tube for ballads is nice. Battery changing would be bad news but I have power supply.
The internal threshold pots are not well explained in the manual. I feel that they should do the reverse of that stated. Threshold (the level at which you start compressing) I feel they should be reduced anti clock wise to bring the compression in at a lower level. So if factory set at zero db and you are playing below this level you would move the pot down to meet your level. They state that these are set at 50 percent half way and the two extremes are off and plus 6db. But they have opted for wiring this for the non technical person who is use to every knob in the world delivering more of something when you turn it clock wise. Is it me!
Remember compressors can work against your expression as a player. Do you need one.

Manual is simple, with suggested settings for desired compression. The pedal is so simple to use though. You don't really need the manual, just fool around with the knobs for a minute and you'll understand the settings.

I have an Ibanez BTB-6 and Warwick Thumb 5 whose output is very hot and whose string-to- string dynamics with a finger style are often unpredictable. This pedal tames it beautifully, without discoloring that signature Warwick punch(now getting that Ryan Martinie sound). I was considering selling the Warwick until I starting using this pedal with this bass. Also, brings up the volume on that high C on a 6 string. Makes tapping and slapping an absolute pleasure. Currently using an Avalon U5, BBE Sonic Maximizer, EBS Multicomp, Carvin B1500 head, Carvin BRX 10.4Neo, BRX10.2Neo. Great Class A tones coming from this rig. The Multicomp complements it perfectly. No pops or clicks when switched on/off. Have not experienced any noticeable hiss.

Seems very rugged; die cast box with deep threaded holes for back screws. Pots and switches feel like high quality. Again, battery change will require screwdriver. Back plate fits VERY snug.
We'll see about long-term reliability . . .

Never called the company. no experiences with customer support yet.
Have owned this product for 3 months.

I play rock/metal and have a fairly heavy finger style most of the time. Definitely will help you lighten up your finger style. I don't like to run the compression setting at full, as it begins to become too squashed. Run it @ about 3/4. Harmonics bloom and ring clearer/longer. Would definitely replace if lost/stolen.

Makes me wonder why they even put an on/off switch on this model. Who would ever want to turn it off!?

Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase and regret that I haven't purchased sooner. Probably the closest thing to the LA-2A without tubes and the $1500 pricetag. Would like to try the Summit Audio comp to compare, but is 3 times the price. Bought this product because of reviews written here on this site.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews; helped me make a great purchase decision.

I purchased this pedal with the intention of getting my Fender '62 American Vintage P-Bass under control. The lows were waay to loud and boomy and the high were weak and would get lost in the mix when the whole band would start playing. I tried everything and had the guitar professionally set-up and nothing seemed to work......until I got my hands on this little pedal. Just some tweaking of the two dials....and my bass was pumping....no matter where I was playing on the neck!

Awesome! Very transparent compression pedal!

Very solid pedal....has some weight to it.

Never dealt with customer support, so no comment here.

Like I mentioned earlier, I was having problems with my '62 P-bass. I know it wasn't my rig (Ampeg SVTCL and 8x10 cab) because when I would use my other basses, I didn't have the problem of such an "uneven" bass. I just love the tone of the '62 P-bass that I wasn't ready to give up on it. This pedal has proven to be just the right thing I needed. I don't know much about compressors, but after doing some research, I figured that was what I needed......something to bring the lows under control and boost the highs at the same time......COMPRESSION! I read other reviews and found this pedal to be one of the best out there. What the selling point for me was the fact that it has only two knobs and a switch to choose which type of compression you want (Tube Sim, Multi, and Normal). I use it on "Multi" where both the highs and lows are being compressed separately. Yeah, it's a little pricey, but I've always been an advocate of "you get what you pay for". Since using this pedal my band mates have described my tone as "smooth".....which is my exact conclusion of this pedal. SMOOOTH.

This pedal is very easy to use, it's a stop box style device with two knobs and 2 swiches. The manual that comes with the unit is very easy to read and it will tell you everything you need to know about using the compressor. The compressor comes with a battery which is a nice thing to include. Battery life seems to be quite good but I'm going to buy an adapter in the future. Changing the battery could be easier because on this unit you have to remove 4 phillips screws and the very tight fitting back cover to get to the battery. The enclosure is very well made and seems to be very tough diecast metal, I just wish it had a battery door.

I bought this unit because I wanted to tighten up the dynamics on my bass rig. The amp itself sounds very good but when I play with different styles sometimes it's just a bit to dynamic. My rig consists of a SansAmp RBI preamp with a Crown Macrotech 1200 driving an Euphonic Audio NL210 cabinet.

The sound quality of this compressor is very good, it's been optimised for bass guitar use and the controls allow you to zero in on your sound very quickly. I'm using it in the effects loop of my SansAmp RBI preamp where it works quietly without any problems. The unit is a multiband compressor and what that means very simply is that it compresses the highs seperate from the lows and then recombinds the signal, this is very effecive because it allows you to use more compression and dynamics control without noticable artifacts like loss of attack or pumping/breathing. It haa 3 modes of opperation, tube emulation, normal and multiband, I use the multiband setting but the other modes are also very useable if you're after some different sounds. I like how the multiband mode allows a suprising amount of compression without drasticly altering the fundamental tone. It does exactly what a compressor is supposed to do.

Nicely built with good pots, jacks, and switches in a heavy duty housing I can see no areas that will cause me problems. I will gig with it and carry no backup.

I have not delt with EBS directly but I've heard that their support is good. They are a Swedish company but their manual was well written so any language barrier shouldn't be much of a problem.

We play a variety of styles in our band and this piece of equipment would be useable in just about any setting where dynamics control in a high quality simple and easy to use box is needed.

20 years of playing experience and I've had several compressors in my rig before, Alesis 3630, ART Levelar and a few other stomp boxes. This is the easiest to use and best sounding unit for bass guitar I've had so far. I've been using this compressor for about the last month or so with great results.

The way the controls are laid out you never really know exactly how much compression you're using, you just adjust it till it sounds right and go with it, nice. The LED on the front serves two functions, it tells you if it's on or off and it also changes in intensity to show when you're exceeding the threshold and hitting the compressor circuit.

This compressor is NOT inexpensive but it sounds very good so you get what you paid for in every way, overall a good value. I tend to keep using my equipment for a long time and so far I think it's going to be around for a while.

Plug it in and play around with it for a few hours till you find the sound you're after, couldn't be easier.

Easy, easy, easy. The small manual tells it all in understandable language. The difference in having this unit on and not having it is like day and night.

Your sound quality will improve at least 50%. No noise from this guy, just great sound.

It's built like a Swedish brick.

Dig the website; it's got info, mp3s, spec sheets and independent reviews of all their products.

I play blues, funk, country, rock and jazz. This one improves the sound on anything you play. Even bad notes sound better.

I really have very little to add to any of the other reviews. Very straightforward. The sensitivity switch between active and passive sources is crucial to the proper functioning of the pedal. I play both kinds of basses and if I forget to change the switch, it doesn't sound so awesome, then I remember and everything is groovy. The switch is somewhat inconvenient to get at, which is why I only give it an 8.

I have been playing a 69 Jazz bass for the last 30 years, and loving it. I recently acquired an Alembic Epic bass with the awesome Alembic pickups and active electronics. Though I love the sound of my Jazz bass, the first thing I noticed was how much punchier, with lower lows and higher highs, the Alembic sounded. It has an in your face presence that is very cool. The youngster who sold me the Alembic convinced my to try compression, something I have never used before. Some research, and in large part because of these reviews, I bought the multicomp. It is everything these reviews say it is. It articulates, and accentuates, and makes bigger, and more even, while still allowing the original sound of the instrument to bloom. I also have a couple of fretless Wishbass' with a very different tone from my fretted basses. They love the multicomp. Does it add a little hiss? Sure, but it's negligable. Does it add distortion? Nope, thats not what it is for. I hear a distinct, though subtle difference between the three modes. I like tube and multi the best. Heres why I am soooo HAPPY, the multicomp has given my 37 year old Jazz bass the equivalent of active electronics. (while maintaining it's original stock condition!) It still sounds like my Jazz bass, only new and improved. The Alembic benefits too, but the Jazz is reborn! I am playing all this through a vintage Traynor Bassmaster Mark II (YBA-1A) driving a 30 year old custom cab with a single 15" Electrovoice EVM-II lead speaker and an Ashdown Mag 210T, 2 - 10" with a tweeter cabinet. I put all this to good use in a boogie blues trio.

It is only a couple of weeks old, but based on the price, the outward appearance, and the country of origin, I have the highest of expectations.

I have only dealt with the local dealer when I made the purchase. EBS has a nice website though.........

It makes me a better player. I don't have to play as hard with this pedal so I can achieve a higher degree of finesse. And when I do play hard, oh baby...... My instruments sound so frickin good through my rig that I am inspired. It's the first time I have ever played with compression and I feel like a fool for having waited so long. With the multicomp in front of my Boss OC-3 Super Octave, the OC-3's tracking and overall performance go way up. I also sometimes use a Dunlop Bass Wah, it doesn't seem to mind the multicomp at all. I see myself never being without this pedal in the future. I'm afraid I have become multicomp dependent.

super easy

absolutely great in tubesim/multiband modes you can get two very distinct sounds. Never use normal. I can't imagine using my stingray/ampeg rig without it on

very reliable except battery wires

quite cool

If you find one used, go for it: you won't regret (especially if you have an active bass). A bit expensive new.

It has threshold, gain and 3-way switch. You get three modes tube, multiband, and normal.

I just wanted to put in a good word for this pedal as a guitar compressor. EBS makes bass gear so bet bet guitar players pass this over. Check it out. it is the best, i like it way more than the carl martin (too tweaky) or demeter compressors (warble on the decay) for guitar.<P> This may be a bit dependent on pickup output though. It worked with a vintage dou sonic (as much as i needed) but it didn't compress as much as with a p-90. There may be an input level adjustment inside that would correct this for low output pickups, im not sure.<P>It does not pump and breath and is completely transparent. No loss of bass (go figure) or trebble response.<P>i think this is the only multi-band compressor pedal out there. It sounds as good or better than a studio rack unit. It is like it's not even there untill you turn it off. Then you want it back on with a quickness. I leave it on at all times.

Looks pretty heavy duty. even by stomp box standards i would call it over built and that is a good thing, plus it is very small.

doubt you'd ever need them.

If you use compression as a "special effect" this might not do it for you, but it you use it to smooth out your playing, improve your note ballance and make you guitar stand up in the mix you can do no wrong with this thing. It's pretty pricey but i think it is allong the lines of keeley and carl martin in terms of price but blows them away for performance. plus you can use it for about any instrument.

This is a supplement to my full review which follows directly.

I saw my review on the "recent reviews" part of the homepage, so I just had to go back and read it! In doing so I realized I may have wrote something misleading.

I wrote in one part that the EBS does not give you a pulsing "PUMPING" compression effect, and then I wrote in another part that the EBS "PUMPS out the full sound of your bass".

This second use of "pumps out" simply means "puts out". I used "pumps out" rather than "puts out" because of the way the compressor gives you the full strength and dynamic range of your bass.

I didn't want to imply that this compressor will give you a thrusting, pumping sound.

I guess I need an editor!

This review is for the most recent BLACK series.

Because my stuff is upstairs and the computer is downstairs, I always screw this part up from memory so I'll quote from the first review on this compressor:

"power on switch, gain knob and compression knob. 3 position mini-switch (normal, MB which means multiband, tubesim).
Also inside are two mini potentiometers to set up the high and low threshold. The led shows when compression happens, it helps the comp setting. You have to unscrew the bottom to change the battery."

EDUCATION: Compressors are, by nature, probably one of the most difficult effects to use. Many of them do not "effectorize" your sound, but simply keep the levels even. I think that's why so many people say that theirs isn't doing anything and they give it a 3! Of course, some do "squash", "pump", "sustain" etc, but the EBS isn't made for that.

You really have to train your ears to use compression and understand how to apply it to what you're doing. Of course, I haven't figured it all out yet. I'm not a sound engineer.

But, this compressor, being a two-knob, three switch compressor isn't necessarily any more difficult than any other compressor. It just requires time and experience--and it doesn't hurt to read up on it.

The EBS pumps out the full, complete sound of your bass.

It doesn't add grit or analog warmth or anything like that. It just produces an ultra clean and full tone. But it doesn't take away warmth either. It's just crystal clear, but this doesn't mean sterile. It sounds damn good. In fact, it really sounds like the best you can sound for less than $1000--or $3000! If you are in need of a compressor and you get this one, you will sound better than you do right now.

There is little difference between the three switch positions. Perhaps they should have added a little more variety for the mega-bucks! For that, not complete satisfaction, so a 9 for sound quality.

I had it on top of the amp, pulled the cord to its full length, and you can guess what happened--it fell about four feet to a wooden floor with a bang. But to its credit, it stayed on and I kept playing away. Seems to be up there with the best and most solid.

For the money you would think that it should last forever.

If it breaks, I'll come back with an update.

Don't know.

My experience: have been playing guitar for about 30 years and bass for four. Do original stuff at home. Have got about 10,000 dollars invested in guitars, basses, amps, keyboards, a home studio, and three shelves full of pedals. Study hard and get a good job!
So put my opinion in this perspective.

The EBS Multicomp puts out the full sound of whatever you're doing. Gets the signal up to full strength for whatever other processing you're going to put your sound through. Will compress anything: bass, keyboards, guitar...

Other pedal compressors I have are a Maxon and a Tech 21 Compactor. The EBS gives a much fuller sound from low to high frequencies than the other two. The Maxon is much thinner. The Tech 21 is much muddier. This makes the EBS the best over the complete dynamic range.

Would definitely replace it--and cuss the cost! Paying for this thing two times would start to suck!

Final thought: EBS makes great products. I've got the $500 EBS MicroBass II also. After cussing the price you really do realize EBS is worth the money. It puts you at a whole different level. All the black label line really seems to be state-of-the-art stuff. If you're willing to fork out the cash, you really can't go wrong. But the cash is the problem here. Impossible to give it a 10 for "fantastic value" in this category so it gets a 9 because it is a fantastic product.

It?s like computer operating systems nowadays; real easy to use on the surface but trickier and more annoying to make things work exactly how you want. After carefully consulting the manual, the awful truth is revealed. The comp knob is the knee (steepness) of the compression, and threshold controls (VERY important parameter for compression) are hidden inside the box behind the screwable backplate. This means you have to dedicate one evening for experimenting with the treble threshold and bass threshold with the backplate off adjusting them with a very tiny screwdriver. After you?ve found settings where the compression behaves the way you like, you screw the backplate back on and never change those settings again, except adjusting the knee and switching between active instrument and passive instrument modes. For some weird reason, EBS doesn?t seem to want you to change the threshold settings. Why? If I want a strong compression I?m entitled to have one, dammit!

Oh, and in the addition to the dual-band compression (which was the reason I bought this) there?s also regular compression and tube simulator, but these are pretty useless features.

Ok, let?s calm down, for this where things begin to look happy. As already someone explained below, the idea of multi-band compression is to prevent sharp trebly attacks from interfering with the low end, and to prevent strong low end from interfering with that sweet roundwound string growl. With MultiComp you can have a compression that lets the tone of your bass shine through in a very convincing way. Listeners won?t even notice you have compression, yet your attacks are smoother, your sustain is longer, your dynamics are under better control. In other words, you sound like a better bassist.

The only worrying thing is that when I set the comp knob to max, and start to play, I can hear a sharp pop when the sound enters from silence. As if it takes a few milliseconds for the MultiComp to kick in. But this is corrected by setting the comp to 3 o?clock or below (softer, more natural knee), which gives much more believable tone than comp to max anyway, so it?s not a biggie.

On the surface it looks good. The chassis, the footswitch, and especially the smooth-feeling knobs ? they seem professional. But on the inside it does not look that convincing. One reviewer had problems with the battery connector cables and it?s no wonder. I fear I break something every time I go there. I try to avoid hassling with batteries, and use a generic adjustable adaptor instead, but not having a separate battery compartment is not good design.

Haven?t dealt with them, but I would guess they?re helpful towards a customer that lives in a neighbouring country.

Good in what it does, but overpriced for what it does. Sadly, there aren?t many small-sized dual-band compressors out there (at least I don?t know of any), so we seem to be stuck with EBS MultiComp.

very easy to use. Maybe there could have been holes in the back to access the useful mini trims that I set differently than 50/50

I use multi for slap as my stingray is harsh, it's very efficient w/o altering the tone
Then I use tube for finger with less highs on the stingray, sounds very cool and tuba+tube like (this is the tone of the bass, too), quite vintage especially when overpowering my mixer's input on high settings: get a cool OD

very solid except the battery's cable that I had to re-solder: weak part of the design: why not an external compartiment like active basses? for the price it should not be

they were cool for question about my neo cab, but when I asked if I can power the pedal with the phantom power of my mixer, they never answered, maybe they want me to buy the fafner head, but I'm happy with my ampeg

used, it's a cool bargain, new... it's very expensive

2 knobs:Comp and gain, both of which are self- explanatory. toggle switch gives you 3 choices of "type" of compression. Tubism and normal sound awfully similar, but tubism seems a little more different when you have an ebs distortion pedal set on tubism, as well.

I play an Alembic Series 1. Other than an LA-2A, I have yet to find a better compressor. Quite simply, it makes your bass sound great. The effect is quite subtle the way I use it, but it could probably be more dramatic, were I to set it differently. I thought it was malfunctioning for a little while, but I eventually discovered the active/passive switch to be set at passive. My bass was overdriving it. It was easily cured. Also, the unit is very sensitive to changes in the basses output. In other words, don't mess around too much with the volume on your bass while you play. This is true of any compressor.

Extremely reliable, although the battery connector cable has come loose. I have 5 ebs pedals, and this has happened to all of them. Get spare 9V connectors at Radio Shack, and carry soldering gear to gigs.

NA

This is a pretty simple box to use. Only really extreme settings will rob your tone. I think it's nice that there are only two knobs and the one three position switch - it makes it much harder to screw things up.

It is a pretty neutral pedal, although some of the settings sound almost like an effect. It can be set so that it is pretty transparent and does its job well. I've used it by itself with my bass and in a long signal chain with my guitar and in both cases it works well.

So far so good, although I mail-ordered it from a store and it was disfuntional out of the box (the store hadn't opened it). I had to wait until EBS eventually sent a completely new circuit board to the retailer then bring the pedal there for them to replace it.

I sent EBS multiple emails to try to get them moving on getting this fixed, but received no replies. I expected better given that it wasn't that cheap.

For bass it's a decent pedal, but given that I've got a very even-sounding boutique bass (Ken Lawrence Associate 5) I don't really need it unless I'm trying to slap (and that's only because I stink at slapping). As for guitar, it's great for leads and to tame the full open treble sound of my crybaby.

EBS Multicomp Black label. There are 3 modes for compression type, a limit/comp and a gain control. The controls and options are simple to use, the hard part is finding the "sweet" setting that works with your equipment,playing style and desired effect. You have to open up the pedal to change the settings for the multiband mode, some patience/experimentation is needed,but this option is what separates this compressor from the others. There is also a recessed active/passive switch, this is a nice option, but if you need to change it in between basses it could be a pain. I just leave mine set to passive mode.

I use this with Fender P basses and a Modulus Genesis Jazz into Eden Highwayman with Eden/Mesa boogie cabs. The compressor built into the Eden amps IMHO is the weakest part of the amps design. The Multicomp allows me to tweak the compression/limit to my tastes. I uses the mutiband mode 100% of the time, it allows me to tighten up the bass with out over compressing the highs. I leave this pedal on all the time, you don't always "hear" the effect until you turn it off, then you realize how it's smoothing and beefing up your sound. It also works well with my EBS Octabass and modulation effects, improves the tracking and overall sound. I find this pedal to be dead quiet.

I use this pedal on every gig and it works flawlessly, I just leave it on the same settings gig after gig. However if you were constantly switching the active/passive switch and the mode switch, IMHO I don't know if they could stand up to long term heavy use. Other than that it's built like a brick.

I've never contacted EBS, but there website is informative.

There are tons of effects out there, but this is the only one I use 100%. Actually it's not an effect it's an integral part of getting a great sound out of your equipment. The dual band compression is made to order for bass. Hats off to EBS for making great products designed for bass players. It is pricey, but not anymore than the "boutique" Ross compressor clones and they are only single band ""old school" compressors.

Disclaimer up front: I use the Multi-Comp for guitar and not bass. Setting the gain and the compression is easy - season to taste. Setting the switch for active or passive pickups is easy too. There's also the 3 position selector for normal, tubism, or multi-band compression. Again - easy to set, but adjusting how you want the multi-band compression to work is a challenge cause it invovles taking off the bottom plate and using a small screwdriver to make adjustments. So you aren't tweaking this too often. As the multi-band is where this pedal REALLY shines, I'll knock the features down some. But this is sure easier than the Guyatone Tube Compressor I previously owned. And I think it's hard to get a bad sound out of it too.

Again - guitar, not bass. Through either a Victoria or Trace Elliott tube amp, and often with a handful of other pedals in-line. I often play an electric 12 string, a beast requiring judicious use of compression. Here is where the multi-band compression just shines. I can finally get the bass on the 12-string to jump out a bit while the high octave string adds some bite. What the multi-band does is allows me to compress the high end and low end at different rates. I believe technically what I'm altering is the point at which the compression starts applying, then the compress dial changes how much the signal is squashed. Whatever. It sounds great and is exactly what I'd been searching for to compress the 12 string.

I also play a good bit of lap-style guitar, and even often play my standard 6 strings fingerstyle. Again, having some compression is essential for evening out the attack and increasing sustain. I mostly use the tubism sound for these styles/instruments, and the EBS both warms up the sound and evens out the attack. Perfect. Even playing with a pick when compression isn't that necessary, that tubism mode adds just a tiny bit more warmth. I'm sure the Normal sounds fine too, but like others, I don't hear much difference. I've found the unit to be very quiet (as others point out - compression can amplify the floor noise). What's great is that this pedal doesn't seem to be what adds the noise. It comes from other places in the chain.

Had it for 7 months now, running fine off my voodoo labs pedal power. Mostly using it for a moderate strech (6-8 hours) in a studio once a week, but have also gigged, practiced, and used for home projects with no problem too. Am however stripping a few points because the dials to adjust the multi-band compression are a little flimsy feeling. I wouldn't want to change their settings often, in part for fear of damage. The rest of the unit feels real solid and is in that nice metal housing.

I haven't ever had to contact EBS. Their manual wasn't too bad though.

Playing 15-16 years now. Electric for about half that time. I'm far from a professional, but try to quality gear (Victoria amp, Voodoo labs Tremolo and Sparkle Drive, an assortment of other stuff). This is a jewel upon my pedalboard. While I would like to be able to tweak the multi-band settings more easily, I wouldn't change anything else, and forsee this one being on the pedalboard for a long, long time. I compared this to the Boss, a Guyatone Tube Compressor, a DOD, a TC Electronics, a Maxon (I think) and one or two other 'higher end' types, and this is what I kept coming back to, especially once I convinved the sales person to let me open up the box and play with the multi-band settings. While I might try one or two different ones someday should I ever have to, I suspect this is what I'd quickly come back to. It's been easier to integrate into my pedal chain than anything else I've ever owned.

Multicomp used daily for 10 months.
Can provide some istantly tighten blend for slap and finger work too.
In my opinion sound quality is good but not the ultimate.
However the first 6 months, and with my old gear I used to like a lot. It took me out of trouble in loud rehersals and pub gigs.
This box will never get fuzzy or anything, since it's of the "HIFI-sh kinda stuff for the discerned bassist" but there is a slight elusive distorsion in the original signal, the better description I can find for is "the electronic sound", but is mainly noticed your bedroom or recording. I believe that devices used with the purpose to make your sound good
are put there to counteract (counterfeit as well) on something else that is poor.

Battery was only lasting for a week, once after many battery changes the red wire came unsoldered.

Being compact and made of thick metal is very solid, sits firmly on the floor or amp top.

Because it's the only compressor that I have ever owned, I cannot compare it to other compressors. I have only evaluated for what it gave me.

They've kept the controls very simple, and except for the rather crucial setting of threshold (see below), it's totally foolproof.

I bought the MultiComp because I was interested in 2 band compression. When we do a sound check our band plays at a certain intensity; but when we're into a gig we all dig in a lot more. Not only does my bass's output go up, the tonal balance changes too. I wanted the balance between lows and highs to stay the same, and separate compression top and bottom seemed like the answer.

So far it's working great. Compared to MultiComp's 2 other options - Normal and Tubism - the middle Multiband mode stops either highs or lows from getting ahead of each other. I'm not aware of another similar solution for live playing, not without getting into rack gear with crossovers. Wait a minute: I think I tried a Digitech pedal that also had 2 bands; but I wasn't impressed with it.

This box is SMOOTH. Although at extreme settings you can choke off most of the bite of your attack, other than that you hear _your_ bass. Hi-fi, baby. I wouldn't recommend it for compression "effects" though, because it's too smooth and transparant. (Try the ElectroHarmonix BlackFinger for that.)

I've read a couple of comments suggesting that this unit can be noisy. I don't agree. The circuitry is about as quiet as you could possibly get out of a little battery-powerable box. I think what people are hearing is the inherent noise of their signal, being _amplified_ by the gain boost that the compressor is being told to give. Just about any on-bass preamp I've ever heard adds way more noise than the MultiComp; but if you set the MultiComp so there are boosts in the signal, then sure you'll hear more noise. And especially if you add highs on the bass. Even if your bass is passive, there can be R(adio)F(requency) noise in it.

I do agree with comments I've read that the Tubism mode isn't very different from Normal. I have to strain to hear a slight thickening of mids. And I sure don't detect one iota of overdrive. But then, EBS weren't suggesting it as a distortion pedal!

A few years ago, Bass Player magazine did a MultiComp review. They liked the unit, but asserted that it's compression was "subtle" at best, even with the ratio control maxed. Again, I don't agree. If they weren't hearing much compression with a ratio of 5:1, then they didn't understand how threshold works.

For those who aren't familiar, in a nutshell:
When a compressor receives a signal, it measures its strength. If the signal is less than the Threshold setting (a preset cutoff point -- usually user controlable), it leaves the signal alone. If it detects a signal that surpasses the threshold, then it goes to work to compress it.

For the MultiComp to work right, you need to be in control of your threshold:

First, A/B the Active and Passive positions of the tiny switch on the side by the input jack. It assumes that an active bass puts out more voltage, and tries to compensate by raising the compression threshold (the level where gain reduction kicks in), so compression only kicks in with a higher bass signal.
Yes, it's counter intuitive: lower threshold gives more compression.
Weird analogy: say bass signal strength = a person's height, and threshold = a ceiling height. If you want to compress an 8 foot tall person, put him in a room with a 6 foot ceiling. If you want to compress a 4 foot person in that room, you'll have to lower the ceiling to 3 feet or so.

But (back to that switch: ) some active basses don't put out any more juice than average passive pickups. Example: the EMG BT system. So how do you make sure your threshold is where your bass needs it to be?

What you need to do is this: Start with the Active/Passive switch set to match your bass's kind of electronics. With your bass's volume at full, and your tone where you usually keep it, and with the MultiComp's ratio knob set to maximum, play your bass through the pedal. Compare the sound with the footswitch on and off. Firstoff: for a medium strength string pluck, equalize the volume between On and Off with the gain kn

This unit is even more solidly built than a Boss pedal (if that's possible). But I've only had it for a couple of weeks, so I won't go above 8

Never dealt with EBS.

SUMMARY: The EBS MultiComp is a smooth sounding, capable compressor that is up to any level of compression I can imagine wanting. It's about as quiet as you'll get without going to rackmount equipment, and the Multiband mode is a rare and genuinely useful feature.

If I could change anything, I would ask EBS for a 3 position Attack switch, so that if we wanted to keep some bite even at extreme compression, we could. And maybe they could make the threshold a little easier to set -- and understand! Ok, and while I'm at it, hire me to write the next manual!
Soft Knee/program threshold would be asking just too much of a humble pedal; but I can dream, right?

It's also very expensive for a pedal. But if you know that this level of performance, quality, and flexibility is what you need, then this is what you have to pay. Frankly, I'm more aware of what I _saved_ by avoiding the rack gear. And how do you put a volume pedal after a rack compressor, without a huge cable loop that pulls in shortwave radio from Albania??

It is very easy to use - as most of the EBS pedals. User friendly!

Well, you don't really want to HEAR a compressor pedal and this is why I have chosen the EBS one. (Have tried numerous others earlier and I always was annoyed by the hearable disturbances in sound.) It does it's job very well and every time I trie to even rehearse without it I wonder what is wrong with my amp.

Well.... Actually mine broke after about two weeks. It started making huge noises in the amp when you pressed the on-off switch (kind of like when you unplug your guitar) but otherwise wasn't working at all. I got it fixed (see customer support part) but now less than a year later it is making noises again when I press the on-off switch - working otherwise though.

However, when it does work it works excellently!

When my pedal broke, at first EBS were very helpful. I sent in the pedal and they had it for about a week. Then I got it back with a friendly note saying that I have to attach the battery properly. (I run on an external EBS adapter.) I don't think they had even tried it! I sent it back again and didn't hear anything from them for weeks. When I started nagging -REALLY nagging - I suddenly got it back with a note saying they had exchanged a part. So, then it was broken after all and I wasn't an idiot after all... Sad though that I had to play without it for such an unnecessary long time!

However, when I have dealt with EBS on other occasions they have been extremely helpful, friendly and all you can expect so I hope the above was just a mistake.

I play in several bands - mostly rock music - and this pedal really does the job for me. I usually play with a plectrum and it smoothes out mistakes nicely. * smile * It also evens out those booming tones you get out of certain notes on some basses.

I've been playing since the late 80's in different bands, don't make a living out of it though.

If I were to loose it I would probably by another one exactly the same because I'm very satisfied with the sound enhancement. They are rather expensive though, on the other hand EBS are experts on making products for the bass and guitar stuff never works as well with our low sounds!

The strong point of all ebs pedals (for weak points see below). two knobs and a 3 way toggle. lots of tonal variations! Great. There is a tube simulator that is outstanding. The standard compression is very nice, and the mutli-band compressor is the least useful for most applications because it's the most radical. Manual is ok to below average.

All ebs pedals are noisy, and that is their weak point. However, by definition, all compressors will increase the noise "floor". As for the effect itself, it has got to be one of the best pedal compressors. It's not completely transparent, but it adds very nice harmonics and warmth to my bass. It is true what others say that you only notice what it does to your sound when you turn the pedal off (you almost always want to turn it back on). I don't think it would be as good in the studio, but live and in rehersals I wouldn't leave home without it. You can get very high quality compression, and it still preserves that all important low end. That's the key to this little gem. Not much in the way of adding sustain though.

It should hold up to standard road abuse, but the paint job is not very good (it chips easy).

Overall, a very expensive pedal that you don't want heard. So, it really is a luxury item of sorts. But, I can't live without it. What a paradox! I'm used to fairly high quality rack mount compressors, but this little pedal really makes the others seem unecessary in a live setting. I would search long and hard on ebay to replace it, but I wouldn't buy a new one again. I think compared to other pedal compressors (Boss, DOD, Ibanez, Tech 21) this is the best - hands down.

very easy to use. 2 knobs. one for the amount of compression, and the other for oveall gain of unit. the Dual-Band may get alittle confussing to some. To work the dual compression, you need to go in the back of the unit (taking off faceplat on bottom) and ajusting the compression for the (High-Band & Low-Band). - very usefull if you want to have a precise compression.

WOW!! i'm very very happy with this thing. to explain it, well its subtle. but notacible from bypassing it. It doesn't take away your punch like other compressors i've bought and taken back (Digitech) :o(
It tightens up your sound very nicley. All styles will be pleased with this effects sound, versatility, and simplicity.
I purchased it based on other good reviews, and a tip from a bass-only store (www.bassnw) -good store/site-
Another point to add that i feel is important is the fact that it cost twice as much as (boss, digitech, sansamp)-compressors. Ya know why? you get twice as much quality. EBS makes very good products with alot more precision, better components, and voicings. Kudo's to EBS-great unit!!!

didn't have it for long. cant say. but its built like a brick

never delt with EBS-

Get this damn thing. Its not just for bass if anyother musicians are reading this. (BASS RULES)- but to fellow bassist' GET IT! you will be typing a report very simular to this one, and you will be please by the tightness your rig sound like. EBS- thanks!

2 knobs, gain and compression, active/passive switch, mode switch (tubesim, normal, 2-band). Very easy.

I play MusicMan Stingray 4 and a Fender JB fretless, amp is a Warwick CL combo. The best thing about Mulitcomp is, that you just don't hear that it's working. You get a desired level of compression, but besides there's no change of tone at all. NOTE - if you want to turn the 'compression' knob further than 12 o'clock you have to use the 2-band mode in order not to hear any unnatural sounds (or not to have natural sounds cut). I use little compression (10 o'clock) and little gain (9 o 'clock) and the tubesim mode, which adds harmonics to the basic sound. The tone is better than the natural, the compression is just as it should be. And still there is no noise whatsoever. For me it's a perfect compression pedal that I use both on stage and in studio.

Have it for over 1 year, lots of gigs, still everything is okay. I use no backup for compression (if it goes wrong, its still possible to play). A cool thing is the material at the bottom of the pedal - once you put the pedal on the stage, it won't move at all.

I emailed EBS guys once. No response :(

I play very different styles in various bands. Rock, soul, jazz, blues. It's a compressor, so it souits all the styles. If stolen, I'd get a new one. Love - doesn't change the tone of my bass. Hate - dunno... Maybe if it showed the input level not on a single led, but on several. I'd like that. Other products - Boss CS3 mostly. EBS is much better (Boss cuts lows, is more complex to use, gives less compression and makes the tone more flat).

It's impossible for this thing NOT to be easy to use. One knob for the compression, one for gain...easy.

I use an American made Washburn four string with the Sans Amp Bass Driver II, SWR Bass 350 head, and an SWR Goliath III (4X10 cabinet)
There is a slight hiss when it's on...but it's very, very slight.
The effect isn't really something that you notice, until you really start playing. I play with my fingers and slap from time to time. The pedal really keeps everything sounding very smooth. I played with it for a while, then played with it off, and I noticed just how much less smooth the sound was without it.

It's very durable.
There's no backup needed.

Haven't used them.

I play in a hardcore/metal band and this pedal is just what I needed. Since I play aggressively, at times fast with my fingers, yet still applying a slap/pop technique, I needed something to keep the sound from jumping so much and the pedal does just that.
I'd definitely replace this pedal.
If you're looking for compression for your bass...something easy to use...that's durable...nice and compact...this is it.