Bass Volume

LoeBase · #1 09-19-2006, 04:28 PM

I have an Eastman Upright Bass. I tried it with a fishman pickup, a realist, and an underwood. Yet I can't seem to get any volume out of the bass. Any suggestions?

junglebike · #2 09-19-2006, 05:11 PM

Uh... turn your amp up?

What do you mean? Volume before feedback?

Jazzman · #3 09-19-2006, 05:53 PM

It sounds like you need to plug these pickups you speak of into an amp. They don't amplify all by themselves.

Seriously though, are you using a preamp? You are probably not matching impedances correctly.

greitzer · #4 09-19-2006, 11:48 PM

LoeBase -- as the other responses said, if you give us some more information perhaps we can offer some advice.

1)What type of amplifier are you playing through?
2) Is it the same amplifier for all of the pickups you've tried?
3) Are you playing with a band, and if so, what type of band and how loud are they?
4) Are you literally not getting any volume at all, or just not loud enough to be heard amidst the band?

Paul Warburton · #5 09-20-2006, 07:38 AM

Nobody seems to remember to ask: How does the bass sound without amplification? With and without the bow?
The inherent sound of the instrument tells the tale.

You also might think about completing your PROFILE....the more we know about you, the easier it may be to help you...
What genre of music are you into...etc.

mchildree · #6 09-20-2006, 07:46 AM

Preamp. Do a search.

LoeBase · #7 09-22-2006, 07:57 AM

I will be more clear. I am a jazz bassist. I've been playing upright for 6 years. I have an Eastman 7/8 acoustic bass. I am having problems getting this bass to play loud through any amp. I've used a combination of fishman, realist, and underwood pickups along with polytone, gk mb150, swr workingman 12, and other amps. I mostly play in a piano trio setting in restaurants. I constantly have to turn my amps at about 3/4 volume capacity to be audible. And yes, the bass is plugged in and getting a signal. Any helpful feedback would be appreciated.

Paul Warburton · #8 09-22-2006, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

How does the bass sound without amplification? With and without the bow?

How does your bass sound acoustically?

LoeBase · #9 09-22-2006, 08:21 AM

The bass isn't very loud when played acoustically either. My action is high enough where I can dig in and low enough to get through my normal 4 hour gigs. It's a 7/8 size bass, so it's a beast. Sometimes I think the tuning pegs rattle louder than the bass plays.

christ andronis · #10 09-22-2006, 08:23 AM

When was the last time a good luthier looked at it, adjusted the sound post, etc.?

drurb · #11 09-22-2006, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoeBase

Any helpful feedback would be appreciated.

...an oxymoron in this case!

Paul Warburton · #12 09-22-2006, 09:15 AM

I'm becoming more and more confused about this thread....
As a result of losing vast amounts of sleep due to you problem,....you don't seem to want to deal with the problem on a total....you and the bass kind of focus. Have you had a good luthier check your sound post setting, does the bridge have adjusters, is the bridge set correctly in relation to the SP and the bass bar.
Just focusing on the sound in terms of the PU,s and amp-pre-amp stuff we've already mentioned...how about trying two different PU,s at once? I had a good thing going by, on my 12" Polytone Amp, plugging my Underwood into the low out on the amp, and plugging a Fishman into the high.
Try that, or the other way around...other than that i'll bow out......

LoeBase · #13 09-22-2006, 09:59 AM

Thank you all for your advice.

Ed Fuqua · #14 09-22-2006, 10:25 AM

How much playing do you do without an amp? The thing that got me when I made the switch from BG to DB was the whole "sound reinforcement" thing. If I wanted to get a louder, more defined, warmer , WHATEVER sound, all I did was twiddle some knobs. And since that didn't work with my upright I figured I needed new strings/new amp/ new speaker/ new pickup/ new preamp/ new ANYTHING. I would use a big amp on DUO gigs, for krishna's sake.

When I moved here in 87 I had to get SMALL real quick, casue carrying around a 35lb Bose cabinet and a 15 pound amp/preamp rackcase AND an upright wasn't an option. eventually I wound up doing a gig at South St. Seaport at an outdoor cafe and the amp I was using at the time (a Baby Blue head) got stolen right before the hit and I had to do a gig without an amp for the first time in my life. Well one thing led to another and I started playing a LOT without an amp and with a pretty bad physical approach. Which was getting me a lot of pain and headed down the road to CTS. Then I met my current teacher and he and I have done a lot of work on how to get a big warm projecting sound out of the bass. So now, I can get that big acoustic sound (and generally work a piano trio gig in a restaurant with NO amp) without killing myself.

But the upshot is; when I DO use an amp, it's easier to get a big warm projecting sound that amplifies well. Cause that's what coming out of the bass. And that doesn't just HAPPEN, you gotta work on it and you gotta work on it in some pretty specific ways.

So you can get all pissy if you want, but when you ask "What's the best way to drive from Philly to Melbourne?" and somebody tells you that driving to Australia isn't really your best option, you may want to reconsider telling them they're full of it....

Ed Fuqua · #15 09-22-2006, 10:27 AM

Keerist, yer from frickin Charlotte. Tell Ron Brendle I said Hi...

robert.o · #16 09-22-2006, 10:43 AM

it seems like volume has more than a little to do with your right hand... the way you strike the string correlates to the amount of volume you get

Ed Fuqua · #17 09-22-2006, 10:53 AM

It's a lot of things - right hand, right arm, right shoulder and, surprisingly, LEFT hand, left arm and shoulder. It's all about good physics, using gravity, making sure your ear, your arm and your internal "expectation of pitch" are all in sync. It's a lot to deal with and it's BEST dealt with in person rather than typing to a weird sort of TV...

clink · #18 09-22-2006, 12:37 PM

I've played my cheap Chrissy with an Underwood through an SWR WM10 in a trio gig with no trouble being heard. This was in a Large restaurant. I've used the same setup (added a 10" cabinet) in a big band and been told to turn it down.

I'm going out on a limb here, but since LoeBase has been playing for a few years and has a music degree in Bass, he just may know how to play the thing as well as I do with only six months of experience.

Not that there isn't a lot to be said for proper technique and I have learned how to get a big sound out of my bass. It seems to me his bass may benefit from a trip to the local luthier.

hdiddy · #19 09-22-2006, 01:10 PM

I'm with WARMBOTTOCKs - I'm confused. SLOWPACE, you say that your bass is a 7/8's with high action and it's still too quiet acoustically? HUH? Sorry but I kinda find that hard to believe. It's an Eastman, which is a repuditely good bass, better than my 3/4 Chrissy.

Even with the thickest top, it can't be that quiet! Even if it is, I don't think any pickup, save for an electric one, is going to help you. If you can't cause the top to vibrate enough to get a decent sound out of bass acoustically, how are you going to make the piezo pickups generate a signal?

I agree with the others in that your technique is suspect despite your years of experience. I know a guy who makes a living playing bass, both EB and DB. He plays it like an EB using his fingertips and doesn't include other parts of his body (hand/arm/shoulder/back like LEADPUKESPRAY was saying). The sound was thin and weak which was kinda shocking to me despite his experience. Just my $.02