hpc364 Posted April 1 Posted April 1 Hi ! I play on a Rumble 115 (100 W) first generation, it's fine for bass but for double bass it's another story. I read a preamp is sometimes needed (my piezo is a Shadow 950) because of an impedance problème. So what should I do ? A preamp or something like that ? Or keeping playing with the volume at 30 % or more and dealing with the EQ ? Quote
tinyd Posted April 1 Posted April 1 Might be worth trying an "fdeck" which a lot of people use to help with the impedance etc. I have one of these https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=988199496641126&set=pb.100063532544681.-2207520000&locale=en_GB 1 Quote
petebassist Posted April 1 Posted April 1 I use a K&K Sound Pure Preamp, which clips on my belt so I can tone shape & adjust the volume without having to go to the amp or rely on the sound person. I've heard about this impedance issue but I've no idea what it is 🙃 1 1 Quote
tinyd Posted April 1 Posted April 1 Yep, the FDeck is an HPF that does a good job of removing the "boom" but also boosts the level if needed. I haven't been using mine much for gigs but for some reason at my last gig the bass sounded bad even though it was in the same venue, with the same amp and with what I believe are the same amp settings. 1 Quote
TheRev Posted April 1 Posted April 1 Bob Gollihur's site has a good explanation of why impedance matters and why you may need an impedance matching preamp for your piezo pickup https://gollihurmusic.com/ohms-impedance-from-the-input-perspective/?srsltid=AfmBOoqHLBKvd9-BHmshssKiCIrAT5-J3dtKmh8iyoYJAZfJ0RjsUZO7 If your Shadow 950 sounds nasal and thin through your Rumble 115, then you probably need a preamp with a high (5-10 MOhm) input impedance to match the high impedance of the pickup. The simplest preamps, like the K&K pure preamp will buffer the impedance difference between the pickup and the amp input but offer no EQ, phase inversion or high pass filter (HPF). If you can afford it, I would recommend a preamp with a HPF control as that will help defeat feedback on loud or boomy stages. Again, Bob Gollihur's site has a good range of preamps available, but it's a USA site, so it's worth seeing waht's available from a european dealer https://gollihurmusic.com/preamplifiers-and-eq/1-channel-preamplifiers/ 2 1 Quote
hpc364 Posted April 1 Author Posted April 1 Will this one work well ? https://www.kksound.com/pure-preamp Quote
hpc364 Posted April 1 Author Posted April 1 Hum, maybe I'm thinking about this one, I also play jazz guitar... So maybe... https://www.fishman.com/portfolio/platinum-pro-eq-di-analog-preamp/#support Quote
TheRev Posted April 1 Posted April 1 I use the Fishman and am very happy with it. I also see a lot of folk musicians using them for guitar, mandolin, violin, etc. There's also an input trim control and a boost switch, wich is very useful if you swap between instruments. 1 Quote
hpc364 Posted April 1 Author Posted April 1 12 minutes ago, TheRev said: I use the Fishman and am very happy with it. I also see a lot of folk musicians using them for guitar, mandolin, violin, etc. There's also an input trim control and a boost switch, wich is very useful if you swap between instruments. Cool ! I ordered it an hour ago. For few minutes I have thought I made a mistake. Quote
hpc364 Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 I've just received the pedal and I tried it, not on my bass amp but on an old keyboard amp that sounds bad. You know what ? That's a wonderful pedal ! Quote
Owen Posted April 5 Posted April 5 Preamp/Piezo/Impedance/blahblahblah.......... Stealth strings! This is where it is at. 1 Quote
TysonsJazz Posted Thursday at 15:35 Posted Thursday at 15:35 Repost from the Fender Rumble discussion.... I use the Rumble 100 with my Shen. I have an LR Baggs between them. I struggle with settings that make the string volumes similar without sounding artificial. Best so far: I notch between D and G and keep the preamp gain low. I use the Rumble's master to increase volume -- using the Baggs volume knob above nominal causes really crazy bad sound. Quote
NickA Posted Thursday at 18:32 Posted Thursday at 18:32 Rumbles are not great with double bass. You can spend out on preamps and tweak eqs till the world ends and still not get a great sound. Or count your pennies and go Markbass, pjb, aer, acoustic image..... Chances are the audience won't notice, but you get a nice warm feeling from sounding good. Quote
Burns-bass Posted Thursday at 19:22 Posted Thursday at 19:22 44 minutes ago, NickA said: Rumbles are not great with double bass. You can spend out on preamps and tweak eqs till the world ends and still not get a great sound. Or count your pennies and go Markbass, pjb, aer, acoustic image..... Chances are the audience won't notice, but you get a nice warm feeling from sounding good. I agree. The Rumble is fine if you’re using a magnetic pickup. I find my EBS Reidmar is amazing at amplifying the magnetic pickup. But the Markbass and PJB stuff I had was much better with a piezo. Quote
Jack Posted Friday at 17:09 Posted Friday at 17:09 On 01/04/2025 at 12:00, tinyd said: Might be worth trying an "fdeck" which a lot of people use to help with the impedance etc. I have one of these https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=988199496641126&set=pb.100063532544681.-2207520000&locale=en_GB Sorry for the derail: is that the series 2? Am I right in thinking that the gain control is cut only? Or can you boost the volume level as well? Quote
hpc364 Posted yesterday at 07:51 Author Posted yesterday at 07:51 On 10/04/2025 at 17:35, TysonsJazz said: Repost from the Fender Rumble discussion.... I use the Rumble 100 with my Shen. I have an LR Baggs between them. I struggle with settings that make the string volumes similar without sounding artificial. Best so far: I notch between D and G and keep the preamp gain low. I use the Rumble's master to increase volume -- using the Baggs volume knob above nominal causes really crazy bad sound. On 10/04/2025 at 20:32, NickA said: Rumbles are not great with double bass. You can spend out on preamps and tweak eqs till the world ends and still not get a great sound. Or count your pennies and go Markbass, pjb, aer, acoustic image..... Chances are the audience won't notice, but you get a nice warm feeling from sounding good. On 10/04/2025 at 21:22, Burns-bass said: I agree. The Rumble is fine if you’re using a magnetic pickup. I find my EBS Reidmar is amazing at amplifying the magnetic pickup. But the Markbass and PJB stuff I had was much better with a piezo. On 11/04/2025 at 19:09, Jack said: Sorry for the derail: is that the series 2? Am I right in thinking that the gain control is cut only? Or can you boost the volume level as well? This is the Rumble v1 with Fishman preamp and piezo pickup. Quote
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