Double Bass AI Ten2 or DoubleShot

[Steve Freides]

I own a few pieces of AI gear, including a Ten2 with an extension speaker and an Upshot. I've used the Ten2 for upright, electric bass, keyboard, archtop guitar, and even as a small PA. I've used the Upshot with an AI head for times when I want even more portable, e.g., when I'm carrying a music stand and a keyboard along with my amplification and the room isn't too big.

I'm curious to know if anyone can compare, using the same AI head, the Ten2 and the DoubleShot.

I'm considering switching to a DoubleShot for the sake of portability. Seems it would make my rig lighter and smaller than my Ten2 but heavier and bigger than the Upshot.

Facts, alternative facts, opinions, rants, discourses, soliloquies, sermons, and comments invited.

-S-

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I've played all of them with AI heads and prefer the Doubleshot because it is the least ambient. But my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, since I don't look for ambience as a positive thing in amplification.

 

[Steve Freides]

I've played all of them with AI heads and prefer the Doubleshot because it is the least ambient. But my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, since I don't look for ambience as a positive thing in amplification.

Chris, I don't know what you mean by ambient/ambience in this context - do you mean the sound is more direct at the listener, less bouncing around the room? Thanks in advance.

-S-

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I like the sound from the amp to be very solid and direct, and to let the ambience be created by the room and distance form the band. The US and 10/2 sound very diffuse and "natural" even when you are right next to them, which is great for the player, but I think it's too ambient/not direct enough to make it out to the audience in the mix the way I like it. Sorry I don't have any better words than that!

TLDR version: the double shot is the most "amp sounding" of the three, which is exactly why I like it, and exactly why others won't.

 

[Steve Freides]

Very interesting, Chris - much appreciated. I'm not sure which kind of sound I prefer as I don't play amplified very often, and there are some sounds I know I like "ambient", e.g., in my church organist job, we moved the speakers from the front of the room and on the floor to the back and upstairs, and that sounds way better.

I get the feeling that the right thing for me to do is get a DoubleShot, have both for a while, and see what I think. Maybe I want to have both or even all three here.

-S-

 

[Tom Lane]

Very interesting, Chris - much appreciated. I'm not sure which kind of sound I prefer as I don't play amplified very often, and there are some sounds I know I like "ambient", e.g., in my church organist job, we moved the speakers from the front of the room and on the floor to the back and upstairs, and that sounds way better.

I get the feeling that the right thing for me to do is get a DoubleShot, have both for a while, and see what I think. Maybe I want to have both or even all three here.

-S-

If you can afford it, different rooms are served better by different configurations. The down firing AI cabs are a nightmare on a hollow plywood stage but can really travel in a large concrete room. You can always sell and reclaim some of your expense.

 

[Ric Vice]

Just as a way of comparison, I've attended several ISB conventions, where Rick Jones of Acoustic Image, graciously provided the amplifiers for the Jazz Stage and the Main Concert Hall. Eastman School Of Music has a incredible small performance venue for their student recitals. In that hall, even an amplifier as powerful as the Ten 2 had trouble keeping up in a trio setting, for the performances. It would sound decent at the beginning of the concerts, but once the band started grooving and the volume increased, the amp just disappeared below the piano and set. On the main stage, it was hard to discern because you have the house P.A. By contrast, two years ago, at Indiana University, on the main stage that Double Shot, could be easily heard with clarity and definition when Ron Carter used it. I heard several players use that cabinet, throughout the week and each time you could hear the bass, Martin Wind, Pete Coco and others used that amplifier with a variety of different pickups and microphones. Just my take of course. Acoustic Image no longer builds the Ten 2 or Contra.

 

[BobKay]

I own all three: a Ten2 ext cab that I use with a series 4 Clarus head, an Upshot that I use with a SL head, and a DS that I use with the SL head. I’ve always had trouble getting a good sound from the Ten2 in a room, just could not dial it in. I’ve used the Upshot more as a stage monitor, with PA support and it always works well, very full, natural sound.

I bought the DS specifically to replace the Ten2 for times when I needed more volume than the Upshot. I’ve only had a chance to use it once because of the virus. It worked well, sounded much better. I’m not sure if the SL head, vs the older Clarus, is making a difference, but it will be my full time rig when back playing.