Amplifier+Cabinet/Combo recommendations

[henrywillard]

Afternoon everyone,

Much like strings and pickups etc, I know this is likely to be one of those topics where it may be a case of needing to heavily experiment with different brands and models, but I am interested to hear what amplification everyone uses for their double bass (not electric upright).

I have a wonderful Westbury upright ([url="http://www.thesoundpost.co.uk"]www.thesoundpost.co.uk[/url]) with a Wilson K4, which I put through a Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre.
Before taking the leap and purchasing the K4, I had read lots of negative reviews, however the Wilson is just fantastic for my bass, and by far the best pickup I have used to date after lots of experimenting with various others.
As for the Radial pre-amp - This is one of the best purchases I think I have ever made.

Up until now I have only had a Schertler Unico combo, which is neat and compact, but when I've played in bigger venues such as theatres, I've had to go through the front of house and I use my Schertler as a monitor, as it just hasn't felt 'big' enough as the main output.

At the moment I'm playing a lot of country, pop, rock, folk and a bit of swing and blues, so I am often competing with drums, guitars, banjo's, piano's, violins etc.

I am intrigued to hear what everyone else uses in terms of amps/cabs/combos, what really works for you, and any recommendations?

Amplification is one area I will always admit to knowing very little about, and having little knowledge and experience of.
I'm sure I speak for virtually all us double bassists when I say I strive for an amplified sound that's as natural and pure as possible. A sound that's 'woody', and 'real'!
I am extremely confident that with my Wilson K4 and Radial Pre-amp, I am half the way there. I have had the pleasure of going through the front of house at a number of venues where the engineer has worked wonders and managed to produce a beautiful, natural sound out in the audience, and with seemingly little effort. Every new engineer I work with is always so, so impressed with the Wilson.

What's really prompted me to post this is a gig I did in London last night where I went through someone's Gallien-Krueger amp head & cab. I don't think it was a current model as I cannot find it on their website, but although exceptionally powerful, the sound was horrible.
I played around as much as possible, but no matter what I tried on both my pre-amp and the amp head, the sound was so 'electric'. I managed to mellow the sound out and give my bass some warmth to try and cover up the 'electric' sound, but the compromise was a bit of a muddy sound. I have heard good things about GK though..??

Any recommendations/feedback in terms of amp heads, cabs or big combos?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, everyone.

Henry

[fatback]

Everyone has their own solution to this one, but for what it's worth I've been using a EA Doubler for its transparency, with a Barefaced Midget 1 X 12 for small size, power and clarity.

Keeps up with a very loud drummer no problem, and weighs nothing at all.

Edited September 21, 2014 by fatback

[TheRev]

I'd second the EA Doubler for it's transparency, but I find I can only use it for folky, jazzy type gigs as it seems to lack the sheer grunt that I need for my main band.

I use a Fishman preamp into a Markbass LM2 and a BigE MAS45 double bass cab. It works well for me (loud and feedback free), but I wouldn't necessarliy describe it as a natural sound - I'm just looking for a sound that sits well in the mix, rather than a particular double bass tone. Yer tone in in yer fingers anyway...

If you already like the sound of your Schertler, why not just add the Schertler 200W sub extension?

http://www.schertler.com/amplifiers/classic-series/bass/

That way you'll have a nice modular, 400W rig that you can adapt to any size of stage.

[artisan]

I'm using a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 into a Genz Benz NX2-212 cab giving me a whopping 600 watts to play with
I really like my rig as it is very versatile sound wise,especially with my very nice Blast Cult pickup/preamp system it always gives the tone i want & is pretty damned loud when required.

[lowlandtrees]

I have a Doubler through a Mesa walkabout cab. Although it sounds good with the ebass I am disappointed with the DB sound. I am only dep bassing at moment....the bassist in the band has a Peavey 1x15 combo and I just like 15 inch speakers. I am not a Peavey fan but are there any 1x15 cabs that anyone would recommend that would suit both ebass and DB. I don t think EA do a 15 do they?

[bassace]

No, EA don't do a 15. The preferred max speaker for DBs is a 12", with a lot of love for 10s, singly and in pairs. It's the 'quick' speakers that suit a DB best, it seems. My Crazy 8 got a lot of interest at yesterday's DB bash and I also have a 4x5" that gives good results.

There are very good 15" speakers out there, of course. The Ampeg B15 has been used by DB players very successfully and there are other guys on the forum who will be able to give you better first hand advice than my waffling here.

[keeponehandloose]

i have the mesa walkabout 15 and it sounds great withDB.
Ive used the Doubler and was underwhelmed by the lack of response from the Eq. I would be questioning the amp not the cab IMHO.

[TPJ]

I use a Mesa Walkabout 12 as a doubling amp and never had tone issues. I use the Mesa head as it works well for tone shaping and getting rid of boom. I also use the cab with an AI Focus head and it works great too.

[fatback]

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1412496374' post='2569247']
I have a Doubler through a Mesa walkabout cab. Although it sounds good with the ebass I am disappointed with the DB sound. I am only dep bassing at moment....the bassist in the band has a Peavey 1x15 combo and I just like 15 inch speakers. I am not a Peavey fan but are there any 1x15 cabs that anyone would recommend that would suit both ebass and DB. I don t think EA do a 15 do they?
[/quote]

I use a Barefaced Midget 1X12 with the Doubler and it sounds great. Someone on here (sorry, I forget who) uses a Barefaced Compact 1X15, I think, and liked it.

Some people aren't too happy with the EA Doubler for bass guitar, accusing it of having too little oomph. IMO that's because it's so clean, not because it's quiet. Try the guitar through a touch of valve pedal to dirty it a little and you'll hear a huge apparent improvement.

For pub gigs I found the Doubler + Midget plenty loud.

[alexpea]

I'm currently using my old Ashdown Evo 500 watt head (not ideal of DB I know) through a Bergantino EX112 350 watts 8 ohm cabinet.

The setup works for me and I can usually get enough volume even playing with a drummer.

I'd like to find a smaller/lighter amp tho so considering changing the Ashdown for a Mark Bass Little Mark 800. Can anyone tell me if this would work with the Bergantino? My worry is that the Mark Bass produces 500 watts at 8 ohms and therefore might damage my Bergantino cab. Is that even possible?

P.s. I'm not too worried about getting a perfect transparent tone for my double bass. I tend to DI from my preamp to front of house and then use my amp just as a monitor

Edited October 6, 2014 by alexpea

[fatback]

[quote name='alexpea' timestamp='1412616915' post='2570449']
I'm currently using my old Ashdown Evo 500 watt head (not ideal of DB I know) through a Bergantino EX112 350 watts 8 ohm cabinet.

The setup works for me and I can usually get enough volume even playing with a drummer.

I'd like to find a smaller/lighter amp tho so considering changing the Ashdown for a Mark Bass Little Mark 800. Can anyone tell me if this would work with the Bergantino? My worry is that the Mark Bass produces 500 watts at 8 ohms and therefore might damage my Bergantino cab. Is that even possible?

P.s. I'm not too worried about getting a perfect transparent tone for my double bass. I tend to DI from my preamp to front of house and then use my amp just as a monitor
[/quote]

I'm no engineer, but I can't imagine you could blow up the speaker if you don't crank it up too much. You'd hear it complain, I imagine.

[Telebass]

I'm just about to enter the world of DB.
My 'medium' electric rig is a Markbass CMD121H. At such time as I aquire a pickup, this is what I will be using. Anyone any experience of this combo for DB? Markbass certainly promote that use for it.

[zero9]

In theory you can use any bass amp / combo. If you're going to use it mainly with acoutic bass (or other acoustic instruments), you'll really need an amp with the correct impedance input(s) as well as cut and notch filters which have adjustable frequency bands. The alternative is to get a pre-amp with those features to put in front of the main amp / combo. I've only ever used an Acoutic Image combo or head for double bass, which I would solidly recommend.

If you're serious about getting as close as possible to a 'natural' sound, you'll need to get the right tool designed for the job

Edited October 23, 2014 by zero9