Double Bass Amp For Bluegrass

[bherman]

I'd say my situation falls more towards "newgrass" here. However, that makes me think of Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, and those guys so I'd actually call it "jamgrass" here instead.

yep thats what we do mixed in with more trad bluegrass. A mic only wouldn't cut it in the venues we play.

 

[oren]

I’ve been pleased with a Markbass CMD 121P combo on my upright - a Juzek ply with a Realist Lifeline. I’m mostly playing jazz these days but did use it in a Western Swing band for several years. I won’t claim that it sounds the same as it does acoustic, but I can always get a useable sound out of it.

 

[Quinn Roberts]

I’ve been pleased with a Markbass CMD 121P combo on my upright - a Juzek ply with a Realist Lifeline. I’m mostly playing jazz these days but did use it in a Western Swing band for several years. I won’t claim that it sounds the same as it does acoustic, but I can always get a useable sound out of it.

Nice, I use a Realist Copperhead so hopefully the effect is similar. I got to see some bands at a "bluegrass" festival (more contemporary than traditional) last night; my eyes widened right up when I saw the last band unloading a CMD 102p from their van. Needless to say I'm excited to get my hands on it.

I had to use my Rumble on a gig again tonight and I'm starting to get more in tune with the EQ on the amp. I've been setting the gain to about what I would say is 1 out of 10 and turning the bass and low mids down as much as I can without it cutting my sound too much. It's an acceptable tone, but still is, for lack of a better term, too "rumbly".

 

[Jared Houseman]

I finally tried this idea out and I must say, aside from the reduction in volume, I was very pleased with the sound I got! This will be comforting to know going forward should I have to use this setup.

Glad I could help

 

[Quinn Roberts]

Finally was able to pickup the Markbass at the store yesterday. I've only had a little to time to test it out so far (played a Squire through it in the store and tried my upright out for a bit at home), but I instantly noticed a change in the quality of tone I was getting compared to the Rumble. Without diving into the EQ very much it seemed to have much more definition and the low-end sounded much more present without the mud I would normally get from the Rumble.
So far I'm very happy (and impressed) with the amp; will post more thoughts on it when I get to dig into it more here at home and eventually out on a gig.

 

[eadg98005]

Good news! Keep us posted on your results.

 

[Quinn Roberts]

I got a chance to use the amp the other day jamming with a couple of friends. I'm still getting used to the EQ (and the VPF and VLE filters), but even still it's what I was hoping for upgrading from my Rumble. It doesn't distort or add grittiness to my tone nearly as much when I raise the gain on the Markbass and the lows and low-mids are so much more defined. It really thumps too in comparison (this might be because I'm able to raise the gain a bit more though). The two filter options also peaked my interest which is nice considering I initially thought I'd never use them.

I've got an outdoor gig this weekend so I'll finally get a chance to fully put the amp to the test. At this point I'm still very impressed and satisfied with this combo!

 

[Quinn Roberts]

Sorry I never posted an update from my gig that weekend, been a mixture of busy and lazy in-between here lately.

I ran my Shen through the amp that weekend and the tone sounded great onstage. I say onstage since I ran out of my amp into the PA that weekend. It was an outdoor show and there was a lot of open space to fill; in hindsight I almost feel I would have been better off with just the Markbass though.

Onstage, however, I was able to hear myself with plenty of headroom to spare. And the overall tone (like I've stated before) was much clearer and more defined. It's got that punch I want to hear from my bass without any cloudiness to cover the instrument's true tone. This was especially cool because I just left the EQ flat and tweaked the two filters to my liking.

After that I got to try it out at another outdoor gig, this time electric though and with no PA support. Wow! I'm normally not too excited to play electric and have never been a fan of the tone I get out of my guitar, but this left me happier than a clam! I'm not sure if it was the amp, new strings, or a mixture of both, but the sound I was getting that day was leagues above anything I've ever even came close to before. Plenty of low-end that could be felt and some extremely defined mids that just made my bass sing. I'm actually excited to get another chance to play my guitar through it again, which is a first in quite some time.

All in all I've had a wonderful experience with this amp thus far and am more than excited to keep trying it out in live settings. I'm not one to get to giddy over gear usually (especially coming from a double bass mindset), but this amp has me wanting to plug in and play more.

 

[devnulljp]

Those little Acoustic Image amps are great for what you're doing. And easy to carry too.

 

[bcamp]

I play a lot of traditional Bluegrass and AI teamed with pretty much any Bergantino cabinet can't be beat, IMO. Loud as you need it, clear, defined, punchy... what more could you want. I use an AE112 for small, intimate gigs; a HDN212 for medium venues; an NV425 ( 3 X 10's and a 15") for festivals and any large stage where I might need to intimidate a banjo player. My AI Clarus 2R and the AE112 and NV425 are pushing 15 years now with no performance or maintenance issues at all. With Rick Jones' unbelievable lifetime service policy and Bergantino's indestructibility, I'll never change amplification again.