Pedals to make EUB more acoustic sounding

[Ken Downe]

Anyone find a pedal that makes your EUB more acoustic sounding

[TheRev]

No, not really.

I had more success using synthetic orchestral strings to reduce the sustain. Raising the action helps as well.

[BassBod]

There is a TC pedal that claims to help acoustic guitars, but I've not heard it - something to do with body resonance.  

[Marc S]

Not so much a pedal - but V8bass (gary) once brought a Roland midi system along to a Cardiff bass bash....
That made a bass guitar sound very much like a DB. Looking into that system though - it's expensive, and you need a midi pickup on your instrument
Sadly, these only seemed to be available in a flat rectangular shaped version, which you could easily install on a guitar or bass guitar, but wouldn't fit the arched shape of a DB string / fingerboard

I tried a few effects pedals, and nothing really worked for me. In the end, I found that EQ'ing (taking out virtually all of the top end, and much of the middle) helped probably more than any of the effects I tried,
it worked slightly better, when I used a Pre-amp pedal (MXR) and I did wonder about putting some foam just under the strings, as some folk do to get more of a thumpy sound on a P bass.....
This may help reduce sustain, as TheRev mentions - so might be worth a try?

I sometimes play slap style DB, and my KK baby bass has a pretty good DB sound with its' built in pickup system - but for playing slap stlye, I use an added pickup - with shadow pre-amp.
This came with 2 x piezo type "pads" but I swapped one of these for a cheap "clicky" pickup which I bought on eBay. It works surprisingly well (the shadow is pretty good in its' own right anyway)
The EUB with the closest sound to an acoustic DB that I found, was the Eminence -  some careful EQ'ing and it sounded amazing! Beautifully made instrument too

Let us know how you get on, and whether you come across a pedal that you think gets you closer to the sound you want - best of luck

Edited January 23, 2018 by Marc S

[TPJ]

What sort of EUB is it?

[Nigel Sleaford]

I just bought a Zoom A3, to mess around with. At home I've tried playing my Zeller DB using an Underwood  bridge pickup. With some careful use of the effects, using a virtual mic setting followed by the 'Air' ambience, I felt I got closer to an acoustic sound, monitoring on headphones. Haven't used it live or at volume, so I can't say yet whether the modelling introduces artefacts to the bass sound.

[fretmeister]

I swapped to Thomastik traditional strings and used a FIshman Platinum Bass EQ / Preamp straight into the FX return of my amp so it was only the Fishman doing the work.

 

Wasn't perfect, but it was far closer than it had been.

[stingrayPete1977]

I think the Fishman helps a lot,  I use mine on the suggested setting for double bass in the little booklet, I use mine with my mag pickup on my actual double bass rather than my EUB.

[basshead56]

A number of factors at play here.

Type of EUB, body size, materials, pickups and electronics, strings, action etc.

I have a Baby clone and it sounds bloody good and close to the real thing (a decent DB sound).  Have had many a compliment on this very thing.

Initially I had been using weedwhackers on it for a while and it sounded more dark and gutsy and closer to a DB than when it had steels on it. I was playing mostly pizz. I then replaced the E & A with hybrid whackers with a steel core and this gave it a bit more sustain and balance. I also added a second 'clicky' pickup to the back of the fingerboard for slap playing. I blend the two signals together.

I have since added Pirastro Slaps and that has made it seem even more realistic again in terms of achieving a good acoustic upright sound.  

I have also found using an Aphex Big Bottom Bass Xciter has made my EUB sound more 'articulate' all round, particularly giving it a bigger, and generally 'rounder' sound. The trick with using this pedal is that less is more. (I am keen to get my hands on their Acoustic Xciter pedal too, as I am given to believe they can improve upright tone quite substantially.) I run that to a VT deluxe where I have programmed 3 of the channels specifically for the EUB

My EUB does sound pretty close to a full upright as-is, but all of these extra little additions definitely help give it that last nudge towards fully authentic.

I have live recordings from each of the different periods between mods/additions and the differences are noticeable each time.

Edited January 28, 2018 by basshead56

[Opticaleye]

I have an NS CR4M and I get an authentic sound using Spirocores and a hair scrunchie that goes right around the body and positioned just over the bridge to reduce sustain.

It's important too not to use too much bottom end in the sound as a real DB is inefficient in this area due to the constraints on size of the sound chamber. I've had best results using a Fishman Platinum Pro (old design) with the Deep control adjusted to 11o'clock area into a Markbass Minimark 2x6.

[NickA]

Buy a double bass.  😋😋😋

  but You know it's pretty hard to get a DB to sound like a DB through a pickup and amp. Sometimea seems like an eub sounds MORE like a DB than an amplified DB does!  It does take a very subtle kind of amp (aer, Pjb, acoustic image etc)   Seems strange to me that yr trying to reduce sustain, as on the DB we're usually trying to increase it ( hence high tension spirocore strings).  Still, poss you need a gentler amp?

Ofcourse it depends what yr playing; I'm thinking modern jazz, so if you're playing slappy rockabilly .. then we're after different sounds!

[ambient]

I think it's more down to playing technique than anything else, not really something a pedal can do.

[wulf]

On 27/01/2018 at 22:44, NickA said:

  but You know it's pretty hard to get a DB to sound like a DB through a pickup and amp. Sometimea seems like an eub sounds MORE like a DB than an amplified DB does!  It does take a very subtle kind of amp (aer, Pjb, acoustic image etc)   Seems strange to me that yr trying to reduce sustain, as on the DB we're usually trying to increase it ( hence high tension spirocore strings).  Still, poss you need a gentler amp?

So true. On my DB, I use a Headway band pickup, typically through my Zoom B3 multi-fx and into a Roland KB-150 amp. The FX and EQ tweaks are typically about rolling off excessive harshness in the sound; I'm aiming to make the audience forget that I'm plugged in while being audible enough that they can experience the bass holding the foundation of the band together (and so that I can hear if I'm in tune) without having to play so hard I mash my fingers. The challenge with EUB is that you don't have the natural acoustic sound of the bass as a target so you have to rely on how you've heard other instruments sound.

Don't forget that it helps to have the amp a reasonable distance away, particularly if it has a small cab with speakers near the floor level. That goes for any bass but I find it particularly true when playing my DB or EUB. The sound you 'hear' through your calves is a poor indication of what you are giving everyone else to suffer or enjoy!

Wulf