geoham Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 I'd be interested in hearing how other folk deal with using more than one bass live, as it's giving me a bit of a headache! I typically alternate between my Fender Jazz and Lakland 5501 for the majority of my live work - just taking whichever one is current flavour of the month to gigs. I also sometimes take my a fretless SquierJazz a second bass. The three of them have fairly different output levels - with the fretless Squier being loudest, then the active Lakland, then the Fender. I use a Zoom B3n, mostly using patches with varying levels of dirt and EQ settings to suit the songs I'm playing (mixed covers). Where I'm having a problem is when I switch basses. For example, my 'just a little bit of dirt' patch sounds great on my Fender, but if I fancy using my Lakland at the following gig, the same patch sounds far more distorted, due to the higher output. My current solution is to just turn down the volume on the bass, which I suppose is fine on for the Lakland since it's active, but less than ideal on the passive Squier. I also forgot to do this a lot! I know I can create a duplicate set of patches with varying levels of gain on by B3n, but it seems like a pain. Another thing I'm thinking of is some kind of A/B pedal with a level control for each input - I assume such a device must exist! Or even just setting up my dis-used Zoom B1on with a patch per bass to give a consistent level and sticking this in front of the B3n. Anyway - I doubt I'm not the only one with this issue - how do the rest of you deal with it? Cheers George Quote
jrixn1 Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 Some favourites are Boss LS-2 (three inputs, buffered), Bright Onion (two inputs, passive), or a Radial BigShot or Bumper. 1 1 Quote
Teebs Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 38 minutes ago, geoham said: I'd be interested in hearing how other folk deal with using more than one bass live, as it's giving me a bit of a headache! I typically alternate between my Fender Jazz and Lakland 5501 for the majority of my live work - just taking whichever one is current flavour of the month to gigs. I also sometimes take my a fretless SquierJazz a second bass. The three of them have fairly different output levels - with the fretless Squier being loudest, then the active Lakland, then the Fender. I use a Zoom B3n, mostly using patches with varying levels of dirt and EQ settings to suit the songs I'm playing (mixed covers). Where I'm having a problem is when I switch basses. For example, my 'just a little bit of dirt' patch sounds great on my Fender, but if I fancy using my Lakland at the following gig, the same patch sounds far more distorted, due to the higher output. My current solution is to just turn down the volume on the bass, which I suppose is fine on for the Lakland since it's active, but less than ideal on the passive Squier. I also forgot to do this a lot! I know I can create a duplicate set of patches with varying levels of gain on by B3n, but it seems like a pain. Another thing I'm thinking of is some kind of A/B pedal with a level control for each input - I assume such a device must exist! Or even just setting up my dis-used Zoom B1on with a patch per bass to give a consistent level and sticking this in front of the B3n. Anyway - I doubt I'm not the only one with this issue - how do the rest of you deal with it? Cheers George Something like this? http://www.brightonion.co.uk/products/AB-Switch-with-Volume-Control.html Should do the job for 2 basses quite simply & cheaply. 1 Quote
Teebs Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 I use an EHX Mole boost pedal, as my Kingfisher bass has very low output, but the Gretsch short-scale has high output. Boost off for the Gretsch, on for the PRS. Hope this helps 1 Quote
Steve Browning Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 This is my solution. A Lehle switcher that has level controls on 2 of the channels. The silent jacks are in view for the purposes of the picture, it's not how it's used normally. Quote
pete.young Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 There is also the Palmer Trinity. Voorsprung Durch Technic with a price to match. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palmer-Trinity-ABC-Pedal/dp/B00G2CK2XA 1 Quote
Teebs Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 24 minutes ago, pete.young said: There is also the Palmer Trinity. Voorsprung Durch Technic with a price to match. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palmer-Trinity-ABC-Pedal/dp/B00G2CK2XA Palmer gear is brilliant quality! I've got the Palmer Deepressor & its built like a tank! Quote
tauzero Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 I know it hasn't yet been suggested as an option, but just in case - the Behringer AB100 is an A-B switch with two levels on it. The trouble is that they don't work when you're A-Bing two inputs, only when you A-B two outputs, so it wouldn't be suitable for your purposes. Have you considered a little mixer and silent jack leads? Quote
geoham Posted January 25, 2019 Author Posted January 25, 2019 6 hours ago, pete.young said: There is also the Palmer Trinity. Voorsprung Durch Technic with a price to match. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palmer-Trinity-ABC-Pedal/dp/B00G2CK2XA Wow! I love the colour but what a price! Quote
Elfrasho Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 Play one bass. Genuinely that's my thoughts. Make live play as simple as possible and just enjoy playing. 1 Quote
Steve Browning Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 I should add that the Lehle routes to two outputs. Hit button once and it goes to o/p 1, twice to o/p 2 (the tuner pedal) in my set up. Quote
oldslapper Posted January 25, 2019 Posted January 25, 2019 I used to have this issue with my fretted P & fretless jazz. The jazz had a big volume drop when (frequently) swapped during sets. I ended up getting a fretless P & putting same pickups & wiring in both basses with same make & gauge of string. Job done for me. I get confused by pedals, so don't use them. But I can see how they may also meet your need, with the right amount of time to set them up you could achieve your goal. Hope you find something that helps. Quote
28mistertee Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 I had this headache for a few years with 3 basses in different tunings. Ended up using 3 passive basses, 1 P bass and two PJ’s with identical pickups. There’s a slight difference eq wise when I use my P but overall everything sounds very even. Quote
Jakester Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 I was playing an active G&L (which had a VERY hot output) and a passive Squier fretless for a while in the same band and I ended up using the Bigshot IO - essentially an A/B switcher but you can adjust the level on one of the channels to equalise the input into the amp. Quote
dmccombe7 Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 I get this between my Jazz and active P/J but all i do is switch between passive and active on the amp and levels are pretty much evened out but that's probably just luck with those two basses. Quote
Steve Browning Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 That's exactly what I used to do until I forgot once and the active drowned everyone else out!! I thought I'd better find a foolproof remedy!! 1 Quote
dmccombe7 Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 11 minutes ago, Steve Browning said: That's exactly what I used to do until I forgot once and the active drowned everyone else out!! I thought I'd better find a foolproof remedy!! I use one bass all gig unless a problem with it and i'll use my backup bass so i tend to set it before i leave home and double check at soundcheck as well. Aren't you as easy to forget the pedal switch same as the active / passive switch on the amp or do you leave both basses plugged in before the gig starts. Dave Quote
Steve Browning Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) All 3 basses are plugged in and the output goes to the amp on the passive input. That way, if I pick up the active without selecting the right channel (the switcher has LED indicators) there is no noise. As I said, I needed something absolutely foolproof! The 3rd input is my spare passive bass (I only use the active (which is a fretless) on 3 songs of which we usually only do 2) so the spare is a fretted and is there because I have an obsession with having a spare. The pedalboard sits in front of my basses so I can change basses and do the switch without having to go near the amp too. Makes the change quicker, in case the guitarist doesn't introduce the song!! Edited January 26, 2019 by Steve Browning 1 Quote
dmccombe7 Posted January 26, 2019 Posted January 26, 2019 2 hours ago, Steve Browning said: All 3 basses are plugged in and the output goes to the amp on the passive input. That way, if I pick up the active without selecting the right channel (the switcher has LED indicators) there is no noise. As I said, I needed something absolutely foolproof! The 3rd input is my spare passive bass (I only use the active (which is a fretless) on 3 songs of which we usually only do 2) so the spare is a fretted and is there because I have an obsession with having a spare. The pedalboard sits in front of my basses so I can change basses and do the switch without having to go near the amp too. Makes the change quicker, in case the guitarist doesn't introduce the song!! WOW you're well organised Steve. Quote
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