All-Around Pre/DI

Count Bassie · #1 05-18-2010, 07:18 PM

Looking for a pedal-sized device that can act as a preamp for things like acoustic upright bass, a separate DI for live use- in case my amp's DI gets noisy... or a nice clean general-utility recording DI.

Specifically for upright use, I have a Barcus-Berry pickup (3150M) that I bought without the accompanying pre (bread at the time). I run it into a small mixer, but it's noisy.

Ideas?

I'm posting this in the UB section as well... thanks for reading.

JimmyM · #2 05-18-2010, 07:38 PM

fishman pro eq platinum is pretty popular with upright players. i used to use an ebs microbass ii which is overkill for a single upright but has a channel optimized for piezos.

pasta4lnch · #3 05-18-2010, 07:43 PM

U5 too $$?

Also what about the Phil Jones Bass Buddy??

Count Bassie · #4 05-18-2010, 07:55 PM

Off to look this stuff up. Thanks guys.

Count Bassie · #5 05-18-2010, 08:01 PM

Okay, an edit... I'm looking to get a very basic gadget, really just to bring my signal from the pickup to line-level. I'm running into either an AMP BH-420 or a Trace-Elliot 250SMX, and into a single Bag End S15-D. I'm not real set up for upright, but am jigging together what I have here. The EQ on the bass heads I have are doing alright for now. If I get another step or two into all this upright business I'll go find a proper pre.

Okay so that's the rest of the needful background on this! Thanks.

And edit: Maybe just a simple active DI?

Count Bassie · #6 05-18-2010, 08:42 PM

Feeling a little stupid here, I'll ask anyway: Will a decent passive DI get me from an acoustic bass p'up to the input of a bass head? Like a Markbass DI box?...

JimmyM · #7 05-18-2010, 08:45 PM

maybe, but it depends on the pickup. some piezo pickups work great with no preamp at all, some absolutely need one.

Count Bassie · #8 05-18-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

maybe, but it depends on the pickup. some piezo pickups work great with no preamp at all, some absolutely need one.

This one definitely needs one. Some of the signal-flow stuff I find confusing at times. This is one of those times!

I actually don't know if a passive DI will bring me up to a volume that my amp can 'hear'...

TheBasicBassist · #9 05-18-2010, 08:57 PM

I hear Radial makes a REALLY KILLING DI. No personal experience, though.

Count Bassie · #10 05-18-2010, 08:59 PM

Need a little basic education here. Anyone got a capsule-seminar in getting signal to line-level? Will a passive DI do this? Low-strength piezo needs to get into a bass amp's input.

Good cheap method?

1n3 · #11 05-19-2010, 01:09 AM

Piezo elements can't produce much current, so they are very sensitive to input resistance. If they are dumping into too low a resistance, the voltage will drop, and since most amplifiers work on voltage, so does the signal level.

So piezo-specialized amplifiers have higher input resistance (impedance) than amps designed for magnetic coil pickups. They also don't need to compensate for the resonant frequency of a magnetic coil.

If your signal is too weak, it might be that the pickup isn't "hot" enough, or that it isn't seeing enough resistance to develop a higher signal voltage, or all of the above. A piezo preamp can fix both problems by providing voltage gain and high resistance to the pickup.

A passive DI will not provide gain, so probably is not what you want. An active DI might work if the input impedance is high enough. It should be at least 1 megohm; preferably more (depends on the pickup).

For a simple device, consider Fdeck's piezo preamp. It doesn't have a DI, but seems like it would meet your other needs.

iCombs · #12 05-19-2010, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBasicBassist

I hear Radial makes a REALLY KILLING DI. No personal experience, though.

This is truth.

Munjibunga · #13 05-19-2010, 01:23 AM

Radial J48 if you want active, JDI for passive. I've been using my J48 straight to the board from my ABG in coffee-house gigs.

You could look around for a used Raven Labs MDB-1 or PMB-II, either of which would work well for your situation.

Son of Bovril · #14 05-19-2010, 01:53 AM

+1 for the EbS Microbass II

Count Bassie · #15 05-19-2010, 06:29 AM

Alright, thanks for the education, 1n3. And for the ideas, all. Fdeck's gadget looks like it's my speed for now, off to see the Wizard.

jokerjkny · #16 05-19-2010, 06:35 AM

seems like you've found your solution, but i've had good experiences w/ the aguilar tone hammer and the sansamp para di. both gimme vast sweepable control of the mids with plenty of gain.

Count Bassie · #17 05-19-2010, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jokerjkny

seems like you've found your solution, but i've had good experiences w/ the aguilar tone hammer and the sansamp para di. both gimme vast sweepable control of the mids with plenty of gain.

Those are probably more like what I was asking about to start with. Thanks, I'm keeping all this stuff in mind for near-future reference.

MODELL · #18 05-19-2010, 07:28 AM

I've used this for bass, acoustic/electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar and drum machine for the past 5 years. It can be very basic in passive mode, or add some bottom and definition in active mode. I've used the speaker out on my amp or plugging directly into this box from the instrument output and it handles all and any input perfectly:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp...ry=Accessories

rhopper · #19 05-19-2010, 07:49 AM

I have used and completely trusted the active Countryman DI for the past 18 years.

hensonbass · #20 05-27-2010, 04:33 AM

I've tried them all at one time or another. My fave:

http://www.headwaymusicaudio.com/pro...tic_preamp.php

this is great too:

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-pzpre.htm

I like to combine pickups for my sound. I've never had one pickup that could do it all on upright so that's why I go for dual channel preamps.