Good question Joey. I've just bought a second hand rack mount compressor to slot between my pre and power amps in an attempt to tighten up the bottom end a bit so I'd value anyone's insights. - No hurry though - this thing has 8 knobs, 8 buttons and 30 LEDs per channel so it's going to take me a while to figure out how it works :-)
 
Graeme

J o e y,
 
In Italy this month with James Taylor and a small band; just Steve Gadd, Jeff Babko (to be traded for Larry Goldings in 10 days), and me.  I can't complain about being away from home when THIS is what I get to do!  Even the wife agrees.  (Luckily!)
 
Good question about compression.  I generally don't like it in a live context, preferring to have all the dynamics available to my fingers.  I like the note to have a shape to it, think piano string or even upright bass.  Even with the sustain these basses have the note still has a natural decay.  If you compress that out I miss it.  I've been in clubs where the FOH guy will squash the daylights out of it and when the ballad comes up your bass is blasting away at the same volume as the previous metal song.  OK, so maybe those two musical extremes never go together, but you know what I mean.
 
But a recording engineer can do wonderful things with this audio tool.  It's almost hard-wired to the bass channel in many studios.  Maybe the best sound I've ever heard was running through a Neve 1073 pre and a UA LA-2A compressor - not doing too much compressing / limiting, but that combination made the bass sound amazing, in my opinion.
 
You've jogged my memory - I once owned two Inovonics compressors as part of my LARGE live rig.  They were in the audio signal path but in fact NOT doing any compressing.  I just liked what they did to the tone.  In the end, it was probably the input transformers that I was digging and not the actual processing.  HA!  
 
So I don't know enough about compressor / limiters to really know what I'm talking about.  I'd be interested to hear how you guys use them.
 
thanks,
Jimmy J

I prefer using it in parallel with main signal (running through a bus). That way I can mix it to the clean signal to taste, what gives me any pressure increase I may need while preserves the original transientes of the bass.
 
But compressing always changes something in Tone and Shape. I avoid heavy compression, even in that new york fashion...

You know you've got it made when your wife trusts you in Italy with three other musicians, bella fortuna and Ciao, JJ !
 
J o e y

Jimmy?that?s an excellent point, that people on one side will miss the other PU?(funny you mentioned ?All My Lovin???we actually do that song!). I know the bass already sounds amazing out front (much better than my playing!)?.I guess my case of G.A.S. got the best of me!
Maybe I should just go practice more!! LOL
Thanks again?great to hear from you!
Michael
P.S. Let me know if/when you tour through Colorado...I'd love to come out and catch you playing!

Here was some discussion on compression that was helpful.

....Scaraboro!!....I know it was you!!!.....Harp soloing.....you......Shit!

Hey thanks for all the stuff on compressor / limiters, that's good info.  And oddly, I am uninterested in pursuing it any further.  As I said, for the amp rig I really prefer to have the full dynamic range available.  And in the studio it seems this is where I draw the line and turn the trust over to the engineer.  I go as far as bringing my own DI box and then I leave the rest to them.  Great explanations though.  The parallel processing is an interesting twist too.  So thanks for all that.
 
Gabriele,
Sorry, I don't understand your latest post...  Or maybe you're responding to somebody else?
 
Jimmy J

Tnx for yesterday Jimmy, great show. I forgot to ask you... the red box in front of you? Is it your DI connector to the PA or any else?
F

Hey Franco,
 
Good to see you last night, thanks for coming.  Yes, that's the small rig I put together for this EU trip with a REDDI, a headphone amp for my in-ear monitors, and a tuner, all with voltage selectable power supplies.  It's a bit homemade looking but it's working!  I'll try to post a pic in the next few days.
 
Jimmy J

Hi J,
sorry, I could not make it last friday with Franco, it would have been so great to share some time with you all.
 
About my latest post.....I just happened to listen to Billy Childs Chamber Jazz Vol.1 , and I liked expecially that version Scaraborough Fair, with a real harp soloing over your bass, and you're totally amazing as always even in that context.
 
Gabriele.

Aha!  Thanks for explaining Gabriele, now I understand.  Yes, Childs is another crazy composer and player I've had the pleasure of working with on and off for years.  He has a strong left hand and tends to write some difficult unison bass lines.  Challenging music for the whole band!
 
Franco said you two may get to LA again this year so maybe I'll see you at the Potato again.
 
Oh, have I ever shown you guys my Series Umbrella?  Sadly, no LEDs.  HA!
 
Jimmy J

So is it more than just an umbrella

I can see how plugging that into your bass would help if you prefer a dry signal for recording.

I cannot tell you how many great tips I pick up from you guys