Shadow Rockabilly pro Preamp.

[Jslack]

I just purchased a shadow RB  preamp  it has two out  ports one  for  Bridge and one for  fretboard, what's the purpose of the fretboard out port?? When both the bridge and fretboard work when  plugged into the bridge port out...? What can fretboard be plugged into while the bridge port is plugged into amplifier. The fretboard Out has no sound if plugged in by it's self,  And any tips or tricks to get fretboard, pickup to sound good... Is there anything, to put under pickup, before sticking under fretboard,to get that sweet slap, without being to hollow and  Tinny,  I'm using  the 50 watt Acoustic brand amplifier. With  deluxe superior strings.    JJ Slack.

[TheRev]

The separate outs for bridge and click/fingerboard pickups are so the individual signals from each pickup can be sent to different amps or inputs on the mixing desk.

 

I'm not familiar with the Shadow preamp, but the K&K one I had would send a blend of both pickups from the bridge output if the fingerboard output didn't have a cable plugged into it.

Maybe the shadow does the same.

[Jslack]

That's what, I thought. I totally appreciate the reply.. J 

[Paddy Morris]

In particular, some folks send the fingerboard output to a limiter, then recombine with the bridge pickup at the amplifier.  It just helps you get a nice even click that doesn't take your head head off, without the limiter also squashing the main tone.

 

With nothing plugged into the fingerboard o/p socket, the bridge o/p socket carries both signals mixed in proportion to the 2 knobs on the top of the preamp.

[SICbass]

On 06/12/2022 at 16:08, Paddy Morris said:

In particular, some folks send the fingerboard output to a limiter, then recombine with the bridge pickup at the amplifier.  It just helps you get a nice even click that doesn't take your head head off, without the limiter also squashing the main tone.

 

With nothing plugged into the fingerboard o/p socket, the bridge o/p socket carries both signals mixed in proportion to the 2 knobs on the top of the preamp.

 

@Paddy Morris This is interesting, I have a question. I'm close to pulling the trigger on one of these, but I'm on a tight budget. Is the limiter an absolute must, or can I live with just using the gain on the neck pick-up channel for now? I'm one of those electric bass-players who just plays upright occasionally, but I'm preparing for a production where the bass will be heard through a fairly large PA-system.

[Paddy Morris]

No. Limiter not essential by any means. It's a really great setup for the money.  You'll probably wind up only teasing in a very small amount of neck pickup anyway, as the bridge pickup also picks up a fair bit of slap.

[SICbass]

10 hours ago, Paddy Morris said:

No. Limiter not essential by any means. It's a really great setup for the money.  You'll probably wind up only teasing in a very small amount of neck pickup anyway, as the bridge pickup also picks up a fair bit of slap.

 

Thank you for the clarification. Like I say, I'm really an electric player who only really dabbles in upright, so I benefit from other people's experience. And, who knows, with an improved sound, maybe I'll finally turn more of my attention to da big bass? Just last week a very helpful violin maker was able to lower the action significantly and I'm enjoying the bass way more than I have in the past.

[SICbass]

I got the Shadow Rockabilly Pro and I absolutely love it. I am a pro bass player, but a relative novice on upright and I have "settled for" the old Shadow SH950 Double Bass Pickup (the one with the two "pickups", but no onboard eq.) for the last 18 years, and what a difference! Both for pizzicato and slapping. It's tons of fun.

 

Granted, given my limited experience on upright, I don't have much by way of comparison, but it just made my Sunday, so.. result!

[SICbass]

I'm notitcing some distortion in the lower notes on the E-String. However, the low-batttery light isn't lit.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar and could they give me any tips? I've tried it on two different amps and it happens on both.

 

I don't want to immediately assume that the unit is faulty.

Edited yesterday at 08:37 by SICbass

[PaulKing]

It can be a nightmare working out where odd noises come from, as there are so many potential sources. Often the sound is acoustic, but lacking any obvious direction making it hard to pinpoint on the bass.

But it could be an amplification thing in your chain.

Is the pick up tight, or buzzing in the slot?

Is there a trim pot on the Rockabilly Pro - maybe you need to roll it off a bit to avoid clipping? (I just checked - I see there's a bridge channel filter and gain - presume you've tried adjusting them??)

If not then it still could be acoustic:

Is there a cable somewhere rattling against the front, or tailpiece?

Are you certain the bass-bar is intact, or that the seams are all solid? 

Are the tuning plates tightly screwed in place? Do any of the tuners rattle?

Are any windings loosening on a string (if so the buzz will be at all frequencies but only on that string ... all the above tend to happen only at certain frequencies, but on all strings).

[Paddy Morris]

The headroom on the preamp seems to drop away long before the battery light comes on, so it's always worth trying a new battery.  Also make sure the input gain is set to the minimum.

[SICbass]

Thanks guys. After a good deal of fiddling around with the gain pot and other controls on the pre-amp, that got rid of almost all of it. I was surprised at how far down I had to turn the gain, but I think that might be most of the issue. I‘m going to grab a new battery today and see if that helps.

 

[SICbass]

13 hours ago, PaulKing said:

It can be a nightmare working out where odd noises come from, as there are so many potential sources. Often the sound is acoustic, but lacking any obvious direction making it hard to pinpoint on the bass.

But it could be an amplification thing in your chain.

Is the pick up tight, or buzzing in the slot?

Is there a trim pot on the Rockabilly Pro - maybe you need to roll it off a bit to avoid clipping? (I just checked - I see there's a bridge channel filter and gain - presume you've tried adjusting them??)

If not then it still could be acoustic:

Is there a cable somewhere rattling against the front, or tailpiece?

Are you certain the bass-bar is intact, or that the seams are all solid? 

Are the tuning plates tightly screwed in place? Do any of the tuners rattle?

Are any windings loosening on a string (if so the buzz will be at all frequencies but only on that string ... all the above tend to happen only at certain frequencies, but on all strings).

What I was hearing was more of a distortion type sound than rattling from the bass itself. There is a minimal amount of string noise which may have exacerbated the issue.