Rabbie

I just got one and it’s great!

That bass bar looks good: I’m going to enquire about it. Thanks for the tip guys. r

Different budget, I know, but the Vintage Revolution Acoustic Box II is the bees knees... it is not cheap, BUT it is several leagues above the others I tried and it is the best for microphones and blending a mic with a pickup. I still play the fun pub gig with a mag pickup and a Headway, but for good gigs, I definitely do not leave the house without it! Sounds brilliant with the Remic mic. Not at all dissing the other preamps, which are great at letting a DB pickup work with regular bass amplifiers. To sound like you sound acoustically though requires different tools, and I think the Acoustic Box 2 and a mic do the business.

It’s a minefield potentially. I would start from the peg-end and check all potentially rattling places: strings afterlenght, loose tuning machines, nut, fingerboard, neck joint, tailpiece, endpin. Is the action too low for your playing style/strings? If you don’t find anything simple like this, it may be a case to take it for a quick trip to the luthier (unless you really know what you are doing self repairs are not advisable in my opinion). Good luck and please keep us informed, always good for learning new tricks.

Never tried, I’m sure they are meant to serve exactly the purpose you describe and they are a great company.... from personal experience, deviations from Spiros ended in returning to Spiros a grand poorer for me. In saying that, I love hearing folks experience with other strings so I’ll keep a keen eye on the thread.

Live tests done: it’s great! Total game changer: full control of bass sound. Many feedback fighting tricks. Sadly haven’t used the effects live yet but I’m trying to think up some ways of sneaking them in because they are also remarkably excellent. Running my Remic mic through it: such a joy to sound like a double bass and not a cello in a tin can. everything feeds from the box: 2 x lines to front of house and a line to a stage amp for monitoring. And very intuitive to operate. I’m sure I can get a lot better at it because I am not a tecchy person, but already, wonderfully pleased with it. Totally worth in my opinion.

As extension cabs go, my favourite have been the crazy 8s from Tricky audio (greenboy). Minimal footprint and massive sound gain, very db friendly. also, if you still find them Genz Benz shuttle 10s were good. Markbass as well. if you need lots of volume you can’t go wrongness again with Tricky audio f110 and even f112 if you really want to shoogle bowels. if you need to be louder still, you’d probably need support from the venue’s PA and in ears, and if that is not an option, I’d probably stick a magnetic pickup on and kid on I’m a bass guitarist...

Hey guys, I’ve had the chance to play about with the Acoustic Box 2, literally just launched by the Vintage Revolution guys: it is absolutely fantastic!! it has everything I’ve ever needed to get a great sound from my mic and all the parametric controls to tame feedback and naturalise sound. Gigging tests start later this month, as I’ve only just received it in the post. here’s the lowdown https://www.vintage-revolution.com/acousticbox2

In the years when I needed lots of volume, I found that the amp head was (relatively speaking) less important than an efficient cabinet configuration. to put it in context, a shuttle 6.2 gives all the headroom you will ever need in a pub, but maybe look at cabs like Tricky audio or barefaced etc...I think I had 2 12s Greenboy at one point and a fearless 15 at another point and the sound coming out of these things would knock you off your feet. I’m sure that at one point I did use a Shuttle then moved on to something else can’t remember really. The key thing is not to look at the wattage as the only indicator of loudness. Ultimately though, at those volumes, a double bass, with that kind of piezo, does not sound like a double bass, and I ultimately couldn’t stand it and went for small ensemble with tiny stage volumes: much happier. Hope you find the ideal sound for you!

Sy, it’s the new model. Yes it was Max I had a nice chat with, lovely guy. Like me, an Italian abroad, they are based in the Netherlands. I’ll keep you posted via PM once I’ve got it and gigged it a little. as for the AER, I’m sure it is great but what I need most is a preamp. I don’t take an amp to a lot of gigs, but a preamp yes to every gig.

Had a nice chat with the vintage revolution guys and I think I’m sorted. I’ll post my thoughts if anyone is remotely interested...

Hey Sy, that looks ace thanks. Nigel, yes the A3 looks a bit too fiddly for double bass fingers on a dark stage maybe, but thanks.

Thanks Bassace. Acoustic Image things can be a little steep and in the past I have been unimpressed with their speakers, which I found a bit weak even at relatively low stage volumes. Maybe I do need to look into it again though because they’d suit my current setup well. Thank you!

Mmm, forgot about that...Good point Mr Bassman. How much are they?

I am loving my Remic mic; I think it reproduces the bass immensely better thank any pickup, whilst being easy-peasy to fit and in theory providing good feedback resistance (I haven’t pushed it beyond a duo yet). Still, there is a gap in the market for a preamp that fits its needs. I think I’m under-using it now because I haven’t found a preamp solution that is easy to use at gigs, so when I play with a band and a house amp, I just plug my Krivo pickup in my old Headway. The Remic calls for an xlr input: no double bass preamp normally has that. Yes, the Headway DB2 does, but... the Remic needs a true 48v Phantom power and the Headway only offers 12v, not enough. the Grace Felix is amazing, but it costs more than 1k! one could use a mic preamp, or mini mixer, but loose all the double bass specific parametrics and the feedback control knobs/phase reverse etc... I’ve heard the Zoom A3 might work, but it’s marketed for acoustic guitar so I don’t know anyone who has tried it. ok, I can add in a phantom power box to the Headway (that’s what I’m doing now), but I would prefer having a single box. any suggestion?

Looks like an acoustic guitar thing. I see it has a notch filter but it lacks all the parametrica you need to tame a piezo on stage and make it sound half decent. Never say never, it may be great, but I’d be sticking to my usual preamp options.

From Bassico in Germany (fantastic shop), the Presto Nylonwound E is only €35, which is a good shout. If you can save an extra bit of euros and spend €79, the Evah Slap E is a great string. I’m a Spiro guy now, but I had 2-3 years of gut binge and I had settled on the Evah Slap E as the best price/quality E string (subjective opinion as per usual). I struggle to think of any string as fat as the ones you tried which also have much (if any) definition. good luck with the search.