Empress Bass Compressor Pedal
zZounds Gear Experts Say...
Smooth, studio-grade dynamic control for low end, Empress's Bass Compressor offers mix, independent attack/release, sidechain HPF, and true-bypass.
Overview
When Empress released the original Compressor back in 2011, it quickly became a favorite among guitar and bass players alike who were searching for something more than the typical oversimplified controls found on most compressor pedals. Although the original Compressor sounded great on bass (and still does!) Empress set out to do even better.
On top of the full range of features and controls normally only seen in high end studio equipment, such as input and gain reduction metering, independent attack and release controls, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain insert, now added a fully variable sidechain high pass filter, and a two position 'tone + colour' circuit which adds gentle tone sculpting and harmonic distortion, giving your bass some delicious character.
- Extremely Transparent - Add dynamic control without altering the original tone of your instrument
- 3 Compression Ratios - 2:1, 4:1 and 10:1 ratios offer lots of flexibility
- Attack and Release Control - allows for ultimate control over the compression characteristics
- Mix - Blend uncompressed signal in with the compressed signal for parallel compression, New York Style!
- Metering - Meter both gain reduction and input on separate meters.
- Tone + Color - Adds mild harmonic distortion with a mid range cut or an upper mid range boost.
- Sidechain Send/Return- 3.5mm TRS jack send and return for sidechain compression.
-… read more Sidechain High Pass Filter - a variable high pass filter that filters low frequencies from the sidechain. The filter frequency ranges from 20Hz to 400Hz.
- Improved Low End Frequency Response - To handle those low low sounds, completely flat down to 20Hz.
- True Display LEDs - Bright multi-color LEDs always let you know what the compressor is doing.
- True Bypass - The Empress Compressor employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it's not affecting the signal when disengaged.
- Small Size - New enclosure approximately half the size of the original compressor, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
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On top of the full range of features and controls normally only seen in high end studio equipment, such as input and gain reduction metering, independent attack and release controls, a mix knob for parallel compression, and an external sidechain insert, now added a fully variable sidechain high pass filter, and a two position 'tone + colour' circuit which adds gentle tone sculpting and harmonic distortion, giving your bass some delicious character.
Features:
- All Analog Signal Path - no digitals in here!- Extremely Transparent - Add dynamic control without altering the original tone of your instrument
- 3 Compression Ratios - 2:1, 4:1 and 10:1 ratios offer lots of flexibility
- Attack and Release Control - allows for ultimate control over the compression characteristics
- Mix - Blend uncompressed signal in with the compressed signal for parallel compression, New York Style!
- Metering - Meter both gain reduction and input on separate meters.
- Tone + Color - Adds mild harmonic distortion with a mid range cut or an upper mid range boost.
- Sidechain Send/Return- 3.5mm TRS jack send and return for sidechain compression.
-… read more Sidechain High Pass Filter - a variable high pass filter that filters low frequencies from the sidechain. The filter frequency ranges from 20Hz to 400Hz.
- Improved Low End Frequency Response - To handle those low low sounds, completely flat down to 20Hz.
- True Display LEDs - Bright multi-color LEDs always let you know what the compressor is doing.
- True Bypass - The Empress Compressor employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it's not affecting the signal when disengaged.
- Small Size - New enclosure approximately half the size of the original compressor, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
Specs
- Input Impedance: 1M
- Output Impedance: 2.2k
- Frequency Response (-3dB): 10Hz - 20kHz
- Distortion: less than 0.1%
- Noise: -101dB
- Power Input Voltage: 9V DC (Negative tip)
- Power Input Connector: 2.1mm barrel connector (Negative tip)
- Power Consumption: ~ 100mA
- Enclosure Material: Die Cast Aluminum
- Input connector: 1/4" Jack
- Output connector: 1/4" Jack
- Height (Enclosure only): 1.5"
- Height (including controls): 2.5"
- Length: 4.8"
- Width: 2.6"
- Weight: 1lbs
- Output Impedance: 2.2k
- Frequency Response (-3dB): 10Hz - 20kHz
- Distortion: less than 0.1%
- Noise: -101dB
- Power Input Voltage: 9V DC (Negative tip)
- Power Input Connector: 2.1mm barrel connector (Negative tip)
- Power Consumption: ~ 100mA
- Enclosure Material: Die Cast Aluminum
- Input connector: 1/4" Jack
- Output connector: 1/4" Jack
- Height (Enclosure only): 1.5"
- Height (including controls): 2.5"
- Length: 4.8"
- Width: 2.6"
- Weight: 1lbs
Dimensions and Weight in Packaging
Blue
- Shipping Weight: 0.74 lbs
- Shipping Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 3 in
- Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): CPBB
Silver
- Shipping Weight: 0.73 lbs
- Shipping Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 3 in
- Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): CPBS
Documents and Manuals
For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 888-676-1853
Email: support@empresseffects.com
Web: https://empresseffects.com/pages/product-support
Phone: 888-676-1853
Email: support@empresseffects.com
Web: https://empresseffects.com/pages/product-support
Reviews
Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
(1 ratings)
Submitted April 18, 2026 by a customer from gmail.com
"Just a phenomenal compressor."
Verified Purchaser
zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.
I decided to wait to review this until I had played 10 or so gigs with it. I’ve always had issues with getting a good bass sound. It was always kinda honky, or either really dead. Over several years I’ve was just never happy at all with my sound, regardless of what bass I played or even changing amps. Grok ended up recommending a good compressor for my issue. After a while of researching I decided to give the empress a shot. This is the first compressor pedal I’ve ever used that just feels like it made sense. Whatever I want to change, I can simply make the adjustment and go. Being able to adjust the input and the output, and blend the mix wet to dry has been a fantastic capability. The tone/colour switch is great too. I play for a country band and we sometimes do a slap funk type jam, and I can just flip this switch and I’m instantly there either way. If you’re having trouble with getting a good sound, give this thing a shot. You’ll be glad you did.
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