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Mike

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    Pickup discussion - how to make a double bass sound good

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    Well, I bought the platinum pro. I've been so busy I've only been able to spend an hour with it so far - but my goodness, what a difference! It has a suggested setting for my exact fishman BP100 pickup and hey presto - sounds like a double bass! Got my first jazz gig tomorrow (2x 1hr sets, erk) so I guess we'll see how it goes!

    Thanks all for your fantastic advice. I have also bought another pickup to try so will let you know the outcome - a revolution solo.

    Mike

    The revolution solo pickup

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    Hi all - just checking out the Revolution Solo pickup [url="http://www.doublebasspickup.com/"]here - [/url] and it looks very interesting - some very positive reviews on Talkbass.

    Is anyone here using one? I actually love the sound of my cheap double - to my probably biased ears there is an Eddie Gomez quality to the high end (unfortunately nothing due to the playing) and I like the idea of my bass but louder, rather than being coloured by other pickups.

    Interested to hear your thoughts!

    Pickup discussion - how to make a double bass sound good

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    [quote name='Happy Jack' post='1290192' date='Jul 2 2011, 03:56 PM']Sounds like I'm running no more than a month or two ahead of you.

    I played my DB (with a Fishman BP100 pickup) through all sorts of kit, and nothing sounded really "right" until yesterday when I finally gave up and bought a Fishman Platinum Pro EQ.

    Instant win.[/quote]

    One month later I have ordered the Platinum pro so we are still moving in the same direction hopefully - if you can give me a headsup about the problems I'm going to get in August that would be great.

    Pickup discussion - how to make a double bass sound good

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    [quote name='Clarky' post='1290243' date='Jul 2 2011, 04:34 PM']You have three main choices of transducer - piezo (picks up vibrations, which you already have), magnetic ('mag') which needs steel strings and is just like an electric bass pickup (usually attaches to end of fingerboard), amd microphone. The most suitable depends on what type of sitaution you are in - if you are in a loud rock or rockabilly band, go for a mag as it cuts out feedback (which is a problem at high volumes with other transducer types), if you ar recording a mic sounds nicest, but for most situations a piezo is best. I use a Shadow 950, which is similar to an Underwood and slots into the bridge wings.

    Preamps are really useful for making your DB sound more like a DB and for controlling feedback. A Fishman (most prefer the Plat Pro Bass EQ like Happy Jack just bought) or an LR Baggs are popular as these are simple to use and most have phase switches (help to control feedback) as well as notch filters (which try to eliminate the frequency that is producing the feedback).

    You can usually plug your preamp into the FX return socket of your amp which turns it into a power amp so that the Fishman/Baggs/other preamp acts as the EQ section. Alternatively just plug into the front of the amp and run flat. There are acoustic/DB specific amps that are very clean sounding but these are quite pricey (Acoustic Image are superb, I have the Clarus+ head, but boy did it cost me; Phil Jones amps are very clean and can slot in nicely here too I believe)

    The speaker choice is by taste. Many DB'ers swer a 10" is best to convey a DB sound but 12" is also popular. There are DB tailored speakers (eg Euphonic Audio Wizzy 10 and 12) but frankly most modern speakers should be up to the job.

    I've been down the same road as you, about 9 months ahead. I have ended up using an LR Baggs Venue DI preamp (useful as it has a tuner and mute on it) into an Acoustic Image head and Wizzy 12 speaker. If I am playing a really loud gig I use a Mackie 10" PA speaker on a stand to hear myself and to try to control feedback (as its pointed at my head not the body of the DB)

    Good luck![/quote]


    [quote name='PTB' post='1290348' date='Jul 2 2011, 06:31 PM']Clarky's excellent post gives you all you need in terms of the various components. Here's my diagnosis of your complaint based on your symptoms.

    I would suggest that your pick-up is the weak link here as others have above followed by the Sadowsky box. I use a Mark Bass 121 combo and this is very popular amongst a number of players working in London such as Orlando Shearer and our own Paul King & Sloblusine so I don't think the amp is a weak spot. It may not be to your taste of course but I would start elsewhere. As for settings, I use mine flat usually with a bit of VPF for mid cut but no VLE as this just makes it dull. Also, it has a rear port so needs space behind it - if you put it against a wall, it sounds odd and feeds back.

    I use a B Band Statement pick-up system which has unfortunately been discontinued. It combines wing elements like an Underwood with a Realist-like element that goes under the bridge foot to pick up the body. It then connects to a buffer/pre-amp which lets you pre-set two blends between the two pick-ups and switch between them. I've recently bought another 2 pick-ups and a pre-amp used on TalkBass so they can be found. I find I get a great sound for the sort of stuff I play - blues & swing - and it's very feedback resistant. I'm usually about 60% bridge wings and 40% body but find that this is the main tweaking I do, more or less warmth/clarity.

    I must admit to having very little personal experience with other pick-ups - I just struck lucky first time with my B-Band - but would suggest that you seek something other than the BP-100 which has a reputation for being temperamental at best. Others here will give you suggestions on this but it . However, if all my B-Bands broke, I would be tempted to replicate with an Underwood, a Realist and a Solstice or Raven Labs blender.

    The Fishman Platinum Bass pre-amp that Happy Jack recommends is also very popular and has more DB-friendly eq etc than the Sadowsky box. Not sure that the Sadowsky is best placed to buffer a piezo signal either and that's a key step in the chain.[/quote]


    Thanks gents for your extensive and interesting posts. I'm going to opt for the platinum preamp and see how it goes with my pickup and then maybe check out some of your pickup suggestions.


    Thanks to all of you for your fantastic, clear, helpful advice! I'll have the best sounding DB in Essex in no time :)

    Pickup discussion - how to make a double bass sound good

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    [quote name='bassace' post='1290232' date='Jul 2 2011, 04:26 PM']Yup, that's a Fishman BP-100, a notoriously difficult pickup to get a decent sound, although there are a few who can. It will certainly improve by putting a preamp in the line before our amp. The one most people like is the Fishman Platinum Pro eq. This will not only equalise any impedance mismatch - or at least go a long way towards parity - but with it you can shape your sound by the eq section, reverse the signal phase if you want to reduce feedback and it also works as a DI should you need on. It also has compression available.

    In answer to the broader question, there is no pickup which is 'the best'. They all have different characteristics, all basses are different and each player's expectations are different. The best bass sound you will get will be in your room at home with no amp but that is impracticable. The second best is in a recording studio with a nice floor standing mic and no competition from other instruments. Then a mic on a live gig will do it but you run into feedback problems, also off-axis sounds from others. So the best compromise is to use a pickup that you are happy with but bear in mind, if you've got good ears you'll never be totally happy with the sound. It'll always be a compromise. Sometimes the best sound will be right where you are on stage and not quite so good in the audience, and some times vice versa. IMO I always prefer the former because if I can't enjoy my own sound I don't play so well. And your fellow musicians want to hear a good sound too.

    I'm not saying all this to dispirit you but simply to try to give you an overall picture of the landscape in which your own problem sits.

    I personally like a bridge wing pickup like an Underwood or Shadow. I like their warm, sustained sound very much. There are others who like the Realist which sits under one of the bridge feet - I find it a bit too bassy. And there are those who say that the Fishman Full Circle is the best of all. This takes the place of one of the bridge height adjusters if you have them. I found it to be a very uncoloured sound but to my mind lacking in sustain and general personality.

    You'll get there eventually I'm sure. If you can afford it first get a ProPlat; it will be a good investment that will serve you well. Then see if there is any BCer who can lend you a Realist.[/quote]

    Great advice, thank you very much. That preamp really seems the money. I think ill go for that first and see how my pickup copes with it. Thanks for taking the time to post!

    Pickup discussion - how to make a double bass sound good

    in EUB and Double Bass

    Posted

    Hi all

    I'd be interested in starting a discussion about making your double bass sound good live, through a rig and/or PA.

    I am starting to gig with my double bass and have a pickup mounted underneath the bridge. I'm not sure what it is but I remember it is a reasonably common one, and one with a low impedance that needs a preamp.

    I am using a Sadowsky DI [url="http://www.sadowsky.com/accessories/preamp.html"](This one)[/url] as my pickup sounds weak and weedy when plugged in on its own.

    I can't seem to get a great tone though - I know it's a cheap double bass (Andreas Zellor, well set up by Martyn Bailey) but the acoustic sound is very nice. When I plug in through my preamp into a Markbass 1x12 combo with stacks of headroom, I can get a very bassy sound but the top end doesn't sound nice and woody at all - quite crisp and brittle. I have experimented with the Markbass vintage tone control which takes off some high end but I just can't get a really lovely double bass woody sound.

    So how do you all get great sounds from your double bass? Any EQ tips? What preamps or pickups do you recommend? Anyone using mics? How practical are they?

    Thanks in advance. Can anyone tell me what pickup I have here if possible? The flat pickups clip under the bridge (I have removed one so you can see it here.)


    Regards

    Mike

    Ibanez SR5005E Prestige 5-string bass

    in Basses For Sale

    Posted

    [quote name='Golchen' post='1282109' date='Jun 25 2011, 01:30 PM']I only clicked on this thread as there were no others that interested me that I hadn't been to already, thinking 'it's just an ibanez', but wow .... that is one beautiful bass there! I absolutely love the look of it. Very appealing indeed![/quote]

    Cheers. I know exactly what you mean. I had never expected Ibanezes to be so great. Made me feel like i had been a bit of a snob!

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