Double Bass Adding volume control

[jrlynch]

i gotta say, this thread has me a bit confused ... if you have the fdeck box strapped to the tail piece in some way, it's not like you can easily reach and tweak the volume. i keep mine velcroed to the side of my amp, but then there's that volume control *on* the amp.

i suppose if you really needed some electronic control over volume, the thing to do is to buy a d-tar with the mic stand adaptor, so you can pretty much keep it at your fingertips ... or use one of the visual sound volume pedals, but i can't imagine doing that "pedal dance" whilst playing double bass ...

imho, the level of the bass should be a constant reference to the rest of the ensemble ... if they can't hear you, then *they* are too loud.

as for the dynamics of the instrument itself ... as has been already stated: fingers.

jeff.

 

[Jeremy Allen]

I know this isn't quite what you're looking for, but the great Boston bassist John Lockwood does use a volume pedal in between his Realist and his old Polytone amp. If I recall, and depending on the room, he basically kills the amp volume when he doesn't need it (ballads, anything where the drum texture isn't too much) and then he cranks it up when things get insane so that he doesn't just become a visual spectacle like Jimmy Garrison when the Coltrane quartet really got rolling.

I almost tried this when I was playing with a big band that made use of a huge dynamic range, but then the drummer, John Hollenbeck, nixed it, saying "no, the bass does what the bass does, and when the whole band is going nuts no one expects to hear it and to do so would frankly be a little bizarre." I actually like turning my amp down when things get crazy instead of up...

...but that's not what we're talking about here so I'll stop.

 

[brianh]

I know this isn't quite what you're looking for, but the great Boston bassist John Lockwood does use a volume pedal in between his Realist and his old Polytone amp. If I recall, and depending on the room, he basically kills the amp volume when he doesn't need it (ballads, anything where the drum texture isn't too much) and then he cranks it up when things get insane so that he doesn't just become a visual spectacle like Jimmy Garrison when the Coltrane quartet really got rolling.

I almost tried this when I was playing with a big band that made use of a huge dynamic range, but then the drummer, John Hollenbeck, nixed it, saying "no, the bass does what the bass does, and when the whole band is going nuts no one expects to hear it and to do so would frankly be a little bizarre." I actually like turning my amp down when things get crazy instead of up...

...but that's not what we're talking about here so I'll stop.

I use a volume pedal on certain gigs but mostly just so I can turn down. It's perfect for ballads and especially the bow, which never sounds good amplified. I never like the double bass to be too loud becuase I've always found it annoying and synthetic.

 

[kmanley_29649]

Out of curiosity, any update on this?

 

[boylebass]

I am in agreement with the 'sound is in my hands' comments. I have a volume pedal (old Ernie Ball, the best one ever) that I used to use... I've found that I never need it any more. In fact, I rarely touch my amp after the first or second song of the night.

It's really helpful in some instances- bow/pizz situations come to mind, as well as the occasional gig where I'm using my pedalboard and I want a 'killswitch'.

That said, a volume pedal is the easiest solution to the OP's problem, IMHO.