Newbie- Got Handed a Bass!

[Count Bassie]

A friend of ours moved, and left me a 3/4 plywood bass in his wake. It's at a shop getting a new (metal) tailpiece, a bridge, and sound-post set-up. It gets carried around in a Mouradian gig bag, and will make it's debut soon here in our house. The kids are going to love it, maybe... Maybe they'll love it more than the did my trombone excursion (they did not love it! ).

I play electric bass. Reggae, jazz (poser-style), pop and punk. Some Celtic stuff... and the DB is more or less a new thing for me. I have a Simandl book, "Book One", to refer to, and a book by Edouard Nanny.

My question for now really is about amplifying it. I have some mics, including an AT-4033a and a Realistic PZM (Crown 'second'). Any advice on how to use a mic with a mixer > amp > cab for a live thing? A clip-on transducer might be the obvious better answer, but I'm doing it with string and smoke here, and any veteran scrap-yard advice would be very welcome!

Thanks for your time!

[Silversorcerer]

Check the amplifier and mic section of the forum;- lots of threads and suggestions there already. Congrats on the "gift". Sounds like fun. Get a teacher.

[MingusAmongUs]

The 4033 is a fantastic mic -- for recording. In a live situation it's a feedback screech waiting to happen. Don't use that one.

Realistic, as in Radio Shack? Stick it in a vase with some fresh water.

Most folks here will suggest either the David Gage Realist pickup or the Revolution Solo. Both are good. Another good option is a decent dynamic mic (an SM57 will do) stuffed under the tailpiece wrapped in a cloth/towel/rag. In a loud room with loud drums you may pickup ambient noise though. Amp is less critical, IMO, but Ampeg and GK are popular. I myself use a Realist thru an Ampeg B-15 portaflex. Works ok for me, but I try to avoid pluggin in if at all possible -- no amp/pickup combo truly captures the sound of the DB, yet.

[Count Bassie]

Thanks for the replies, tho' I think I'll keep my Realistic mic for kick drum. Works better than a vase!

Cool idea for the '57- I'll only use it for small gigs in the "Jazz-Poseur" mode, or my wife's friends coming over for quasi- Bluegrass jams.Actually it occured to me it might be fun for lo-volume reggae gigs. We were playing in a restaurant for a while, and it might've been perfect.

All recieved, thanks for the buzz. I'll check to amps forum...

[Theowlbassman]

And why not an UNDERWOOD p/u?
They are small, hide perfectly under the tailpiece, you can say they're there just because of the wire..and they play wonderfully. Never had a problem , it only goes apeshit when you place the bass just in front of the Amp...but which one wouldn't?