Input signal distortion question

[ZoSo58LP]

hey guys, so i'm using this Ashdown bass compressor (Ashdown Engineering | Bass Amplification) that my brother gave me for free to beef up my schecter model-t PJ bass through my rig. i think it sounds cool because it beefs up the hell outta that bass, gets me a nice tone close to rob deleo's on like No.4 and his live sound around that era (i use the same bass, the schecter model-t)

my question is this....my bass is already high output as shit. the PJ pickups are EMG actives that i installed myself, and the output on it is already very high. i use the -10db attenuator built into my GK backline head for all of my basses, and without the compressor, the signal on this bass, although loud, is nice and crystal clear and clean, so no distorting.

when i use my compressor, i set the low end full on, the tone to middle so i get lows and highs, and with my high one, i set to around 2-3:00 to kind of compress the high end a bit. it has thebuilt in VU meter, so i set my INPUT GAIN to like 12:00 and that shoots me close to the red, which in the instructions they say to have your loudest signal to be around the start of the red zone on the meter...thing is, what i've noticed is that with the input gain here, my input is distorting. my master volume on the head can be at 1, very low, and if i play softly, i still hear distorting bc my input signal has gain on it..but it doesn't sound like gain distortion or pedal distortion, it just sounds like the input is breaking up...and the thing is, if i put the input gain even down to like 1 on the compressor, there's no more distortion, but now the volumes so low and the compressor isn't really compressing at all because it doesn't have enough input gain...leading me to believe, for this compressor to work, we need to have a good amount of input gain. keeping it low makes it even lower than the regular signal through the head, and sound lifeless

my question here is, is that bad for the head or the speakers when i play nice and loud live? i love the tone it gets, because i can slam on the compressor and play hard as shit and get this big ass beefy, clangy STPish tone that i love for the drop D stuff, but i'm worried that the input signal is ALWAYS breaking up, evne at low volumes, and if thats bad for the speakers or amp itself...any insight??

 

[Thurgood]

Check your battery. EMG's will distort output when DC is low.

 

[ZoSo58LP]

yeah i know, but like i said, when i don't use the compressor, it's not distorted. the battery is 100%.


i'm not asking why it does it..i know why it does it...those compressors used to come with a warning label stating not to use them with active basses because it'll distort.

i'm asking whether or not this constant clipping of the input before it hits the amp is bad for the amp or the speakers or anything

 

[ranjam]

I'd bring the Input Level down, regardless of what Ashdown says. Their blurb claims the VU meter lets you get optimum signal matching from any instrument, but obviously they haven't played a Schecter with EMG's. Just bring it down to maybe 9:00 o'clock.
Another idea is use a different compressor. I love my BBE Opto-Stomp with its -15dB pad, but a peruse of this web site; Compressor Reviews will have you compressor savvy. As a bonus, it's all done by a bass player, and compares compressors on how they get along with all types of bass; 4-string, 5-string, passive, and active.

 

[ZoSo58LP]

hmm. honestly, i use the box as more of an OD pedal than compressor haha..as weird as that sounds...the compressing is cool and all, but i'm not a fan of compression on slap on an active bass..on my jazz bass it sounds pretty sweet; that's because my jazz bass is passive and low output. mainly, i've got the high end compression on like where you can barely notice it compressing. according to ashdown, they want you to set the input gain so that the VU meter just about hits the red..which is what i've got it set at, but the emg's are just too powerful. i like how it sounds though, very gritty and beefy. i just hope that the breaking up won't hurt hte speakers/head at a high volume or anything..i can't imagine it would...i use distortion pedals in front of the head usually anyway