Beer of the Bass

On my cittern (mine is tuned much like an Irish style bouzouki with an additional low course), I have a JJB pickup, a two sensor model very similar to the K&K Big Twin. I installed it internally with the discs on the inside of the soundboard where each end of the saddle would be. I don't have any controls on the instrument as I use an outboard preamp, though I think they do offer a passive volume control that mounts in the soundhole. Even with shipping from the US, the JJB pickups are very well priced and probably as good as any piezo.

It makes a little more sense when you know the mic they're imitating, the DPA double bass mic. But yep, definite failure of communication somewhere with the listing and graphics!

When I had a set, it was on a new laminated bass that probably benefitted from the high frequency warming. My current older bass is on the dark side, so I like every bit of definition I can get with the Spiros.

I've used Superflexibles on an EUB and one double bass some years ago, and have settled on Spirocores since, but not on the same instruments so I don't have a direct comparison. The Superflexibles do tend quite stiff - they're an older design than the Spirocores, when they were introduced they would have been more flexible than a solid steel core, but they're quite high tension strings. Certainly no lighter feeling than a mittel/medium set of Spiros.

Low B or High C? I suspect the larger gauge tapewound low B strings just might not work very well - I had a D'addario set a while ago and liked the EADG strings, but the low B was really muddy and indistinct, and I ended up using a roundwound low B with them.

Reminds me a little of the Nitewalker preamp guy, if anyone remembers that. Not so much the product, but the general flavour of fervently pushing their eccentric homespun invention that nobody seems to entirely get the point of.

Or on a lower budget than the Helix, whatever small bass amp ticks your boxes, plus a Joyo American sound pedal or one of the other flavours of amp simulator in that line.

I think Michael Mondesir on bass may have been with Nikki Yeoh for longer than his brother on drums - certainly when I saw the trio in the 90s it was Yeoh, Michael Mondesir on bass and Keith LeBlanc on drums. Memory is a little hazy, but that was a good gig.

I'll see if I can watch it on iPlayer later. But from having seen and chatted to some other musicians who came through the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland jazz program, they're often quite big on the No Amp approach for bass. So possibly the bass mic was what we were hearing.

On my PF-50T I've found the point where the preamp is just beginning to have audible grit at the hardest I play, I leave the preamp volume there and adjust the master to the level required for the room.

I played guitar with one band who'd advertised for a rhythm guitarist despite only wanting one guitarist. Apparently they'd done that after auditioning a bunch of widdlers, and I was the first one to come along who treated it like part of the rhythm section.

Yep, I also find that a bit of extra midrange bark really helps it to come through clearly without being overwhelming. My Ampeg PF-50T seems to get there particularly easily compared to my GK MB200 with the same speakers, which I presume is a combination of extra harmonics from slight dirt, and the broad-brush nature of the EQ on that amp making it easier to boost without harshness.

I briefly played with an old friend's solo project where she had electric bass playing the usual bass role and double bass (me) playing mostly bowed parts. Though it was an awkward and unwieldy lineup and it wasn't too long before it got slimmed down to make gigging and rehearsing easier.

In the context of Clarke/Duke shows at the time, it doesn't feel so outrageous next to George's keytar and his plexiglass whammy bar Clavinet! Though I suppose it's not what Clarke would go for today, since it's on sale. And I think Ken Smith has talked about working on Clarke's double basses too, so there must be a fairly established relationship between them.

I don't think I've ever owned a rig bigger than 200 watts through two 12“ speakers, and it's just never been a problem for me. I don't know if that's down to the types of band I play with or what. The times I was aware of my amp sounding pushed were always with just one speaker.

Maybe, maybe not. If the builder was numbering sequentially but doing custom work, the previous ones may or may not be similar.

Presuming the preamp is original to the bass, the Omeg pots are a UK company, and the stripboard construction suggests a small builder one-off rather than a production model from a larger company.

Have you got pictures inside the control cavity? Parts supply was less of a global affair when you go back to the 70s and 80s, so the choice of pots and other parts may give you some clue as to whether the origin is UK, Asia or other.

I feel that EADG like the bottom four of a guitar would be a little low. It's possible, especially if you have a long scale tenor, but it would miss a chunk of the range that a banjo sounds good in.

Bridge piezo pickups on double bass. I don't think there are any that sound all that great, but they work, a mic is finicky in the situations I play and I don't have a lot of cash to throw at chasing the perfect amplified tone.

Apologies if this is an overly dumb question, but how are you setting the VLE and VPF filter controls on the Markbass? The "off" setting on those knobs is fully anti-clockwise, and I've seen a few people not realise that and start with them at 12 o'clock.

Could have been worse - you haven't truly known campfire singalong horror until you've heard a public schooled, land owning, white British trust fund hippy with dreadlocks murdering Redemption Song at 4am, and truly believing he's providing a beautiful and significant moment for everyone there!

I think Georgie Born did this with Henry Cow, also coming from a cello background. But unless your student is using a 30“ scale instrument, the amount of shifting needed to play typical lines in the lower register is already going to feel quite different from cello. And if she's at that standard on cello at 14, I suspect she'd pick up standard tuned bass guitar quite quickly anyway. Fifths tuned bass guitar could work well with the right strings, but if your student is interested in bass guitar then it would make sense to get familiar with the standard configuration first, as it would help understand the nature of the instrument.

I like valve amps for bass guitar, and have had a few different ones. I've never gigged with them on double bass, but I've used them at rehearsals a few times where it was just what I had with me. If you're staying within the headroom of the amp, it can sound very good. The character of it varies depending on amp and pickup choice, but in general they're a little more obviously amp-y sounding than most solid state amps, whether in a warm, rounded way or more mid-forward. I'm thinking I might bring my Ampeg PF-50T for a little gig I'm doing next month, a trio with drums and low volume electric guitar, so I'll report back if I do.

This thread is from 2016 - I haven't looked at that shop in a while, but it's entirely possible their current stock aren't the same ones they carried 6 years ago. My warning people away from those wasn't about snobbery (otherwise I wouldn't have also recommended the lower end Stentors and older European laminated basses), it was simply because at the time I'd seen them stocking basses with major issues and ones of low quality that weren't good value for money.