Owen Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Hi all, I am in the middle of a series of gigs where I am using a bow as well as pizz. I am very happy with my pizz sound, and with my arco sound when amplified APART from the volume discrepancy. With my rig set to amplify pizz, the arco is not cutting through at all. I am going to mess with some compression to see what happens, but I really like having control over dynamics with my right hand. I could put an extra foot-switchable preamp in there to bump it up a bit for the bow. I was just wondering what other people are doing. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 If you’re happy with the tone for both arco and pizz, I’d suggest something like a Morley Volume-Plus pedal. It can be set so pedal down is 100% of signal for arco and then pedal up at something like 70% for pizz. That way there’s no finding the sweet spot - the pedal is either all the way down or all the way up (makes for quick changes) but the volume ratios are set to what you want. With the Morley you can also turn off this preset volume and get a regular volume pedal. I prefer this set up instead of using an EQ pedal as sometimes you want to make that pizz to arco change without anything being heard like a foot switch clicking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 i've used a Boss bass guitar graphic EQ pedal in the past which I switched on when playing arco. I found that scooping the mid a little made it sound more 'natural' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 hour ago, Gareth Hughes said: If you’re happy with the tone for both arco and pizz, I’d suggest something like a Morley Volume-Plus pedal. It can be set so pedal down is 100% of signal for arco and then pedal up at something like 70% for pizz. That way there’s no finding the sweet spot - the pedal is either all the way down or all the way up (makes for quick changes) but the volume ratios are set to what you want. I have a Morley Little Alligator volume pedal which works the same way - there's a pot you can twiddle to set the minimum volume. I've used this for a similar application and it works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 That's interesting - I find that my arco sound is louder than my pizz... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) 35 minutes ago, JoeEvans said: That's interesting - I find that my arco sound is louder than my pizz... Me too, a lot louder. Realist Lifeline on my Shen SB100. Edited February 13 by Staggering on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 minute ago, Staggering on said: Me too, a lot louder. Realist Lifeline on my Shen SB100. Thirded. Could it be your compression is too heavy and it’s squashing the arco much more than the pizz? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 7 hours ago, Jakester said: Thirded. Could it be your compression is too heavy and it’s squashing the arco much more than the pizz? I don't use any compression so no the case for me... Presumably some combination of technique, strings, bass and pickup/mic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 My Arco is also considerably louder than my pizz. There's a variable boost switch on the Fishman platinum pro that I use in reverse. I keep it boosted for pizz and switch it off when I go for the bow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Thinking about it, strings are a possible cause. I use Spirocore and I'm not about to change because with them and my other current bits and bobs I get the pizz sound of my dreams. But I don't find them the easiest to initiate a note - there were some strings on the bass when I bought it that were way easier, just a gentle stroke needed. The Spirocores seem to need a good bit of pressure and the bow nearer the bridge, andi get a rich but loud and slightly harsh tone. My arco technique is very basic which doesn't help... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 1 hour ago, JoeEvans said: The Spirocores seem to need a good bit of pressure and the bow nearer the bridge, andi get a rich but loud and slightly harsh tone. My arco technique is very basic which doesn't help... No kidding. One school of thought is that spiros "can't be bowed". They can but are hard to get going and sound quite harsh. it's not your technique! Switching to Eva Pirazzi s has been a revelation. Still much louder bowed than pizz tho. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 1 hour ago, NickA said: No kidding. One school of thought is that spiros "can't be bowed". They can but are hard to get going and sound quite harsh. it's not your technique! Switching to Eva Pirazzi s has been a revelation. Still much louder bowed than pizz tho. The trouble is, the Spiros sound so good for pizz! And I'm not sure if I can face going down a vastly expensive string research rabbit hole... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 5 hours ago, JoeEvans said: I don't use any compression so no the case for me... Presumably some combination of technique, strings, bass and pickup/mic... Sorry, that was directed at Owen - I misread his first post and thought he said he was using compression, but he said he's going to experiment with some compression. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Just now, Jakester said: Sorry, that was directed at Owen - I misread his first post and thought he said he was using compression, but he said he's going to experiment with some compression. You made a good point though, lots of people use compression on bass. I just like a very short, clean, simple signal chain straight into a good PA for double bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 (edited) Thanks everyone. Plenty of food for thought. And an opportunity to buy new kit! The Realist thing is interesting. NS EUBs have a 2-way switch. One way for pizz and the other for arco. If Spiros give you the pizz sound in your head then never change. But they will never bow "well". I am fully aware that that is a strong statement, but it is how it is. Consistently drawing a good sound with the bow is the single hardest thing to do on a DB. We can (and I do) get away with all sorts of inaccuracies with pizz that the bowed note will just not stand for. The bow does not lie. I am using a Full Circle and that is adjustable for different emphasies, but I will not be doing that as we meander towards the coda. Edited February 14 by Owen because of the spelling. Always the spelling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 (edited) I mesed with a bit of light comprssion yesterday and it seemed to bring things into balance, but the gig will be different. I like to be able to dig in and get more. This is the reason I have a relatively high action. That was no problem when I played regularly. Gigs are slowing down and my practice regime does not exist. We shall see what compression does in the heat of the moment. Edited February 14 by Owen because of the spelling. Always the spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 On 14/02/2024 at 11:22, JoeEvans said: the Spiros sound so good for pizz! Don't they just. My current set of spiros were from basschat...Unbeatable and a bargain. But swapping them out between jazz and classical gigs got too much bother. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 I once had two DBs. One for classical and one for jazz. Like I was some big timer. What a pseud! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 But that I had the space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 I did a gig with last night with the compressor in the circuit. I turned it off for the final 2 songs and remembered why I don't like them on DB. The whole instrument felt like it just loosened up and got more responsive. I live and learn. It looks like my Sadowsky floor box is going to be pressed into service as a gain booster for arco. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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