Double Bass Amp for both double bass and electric

[peterpalmieri]

hmm... as i said, i have yet to try a pickup so my opinions are only prejudices, i hope i'm wrong because a pickup seems alot handier than a mic...

Well there is a catch 22...

You need a pickup to play through an amp and you need an amp to know if you'll like the pickup. You may dislike it entirely or assume you don't like the pickup because it's paired with the wrong amp or vice versa.

You need to commit to something and stick with it and find other pieces to compliment it and your bass/string choice.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Well there is a catch 22...

You need a pickup to play through an amp and you need an amp to know if you'll like the pickup. You may dislike it entirely or assume you don't like the pickup because it's paired with the wrong amp or vice versa.

You need to commit to something and stick with it and find other pieces to compliment it and your bass/string choice.

You speak the truth. As much as I believe most of the sound comes from the player and the bass, the pickup and amp must work together. One year ago I was frustrated that my Realist/Acoustic Image match was mud so I got the MarkBass and like the result. After cutting a new bridge the bass gained some low end, making the Realist mud so I recently switched to a Full Circle and that seems to work well on this bass.

As much as is reasonable, find what works and stick with it.

Regarding mics? I always liked them at home, but even on a quiet trio gig they get lost. Not worth the trouble.

 

[MartinBorgen]

hmm, it seems like a good idea to never sell a pickup then, you never know when you'll put it back?

i will pray the day i'm about to buy a pickup. and i'm an atheist!

i guess there is no guidelines as what miiight work better than the other?
i have a laminated bass, wich steel strings. is there any trend concerning these things when it comes to pickups?

 

[Uncletoad]

I always recommend the Full Circle first. I find it very forgiving and versatile. If you did more arco and had a higher grade carved bass I might recommend a Realist but with the ply bass you'll have better odd with the Full Circle.

If your bass is fitted with adjusters and they are the same size as the Full Circle you could have it installed and ready in most shops for $250 or less. If you don't have adjusters or they are not the same size as the Full Circle your bill could be significantly higher.

If that is out of your budget there are other choices.

 

[MartinBorgen]

i'm about to get the bridge changed, as it was adjusted a bit sloppy by the previous owner (about 1,5cm of re-added feet and still not enough on the G string). i might as well go for an adjustable then (i think its a good idea, so i can adjust if i change strings or something). but the full circle is the most expensive, at least from the shops where i can buy it. cheapest seems to be the Revolution solo 2, but i'm not sure thy listed it right at Thomann at only 132 euro...

however, its not really out of my budget, or rather, im not planning to buy it yet, im currently planning my budget.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

hmm, it seems like a good idea to never sell a pickup then, you never know when you'll put it back?

Now, you're starting to understand. Buy once, practice and learn to live with what you have. That's a lesson I'm only recently learning.

If you had only one shot at getting a pickup that would sound good on your bass I would recommend the Full Circle. I have now moved mine between four basses and it has worked well on all of them. Others didn't fair so well.

Good luck!

 

[Mark Perna]

Totally agree on the microphone. I use a mic in conjunction with a pickup. The ONLY time I use a mic by itself is for gigs where I don't really need an amp but use one for a little extra presence. Any gig where I actually need an amp is always a pickup gig or a pickup + mic gig. There is no way I could or would use a mic alone through an amp on any gig loud enough that I need an amp. And I'm using an EV RE20 which is a great mic with great gain and good off-axis rejection.

mark

 

[BassGreaser]

i cant believe no one has suggested the Underwood pickup.. I have used my Underwood on my Strunal hybrid with all plain guts for the past four years and it gets the best tone.. but then again the Rev Solo didnt sound so good on my bass. Same with the Bassmax or the Realist

 

[Ric Vice]

i cant believe no one has suggested the Underwood pickup.. I have used my Underwood on my Strunal hybrid with all plain guts for the past four years and it gets the best tone.. but then again the Rev Solo didnt sound so good on my bass. Same with the Bassmax or the Realist

Bass G,
While the Underwood can work quite well on certain basses, because I've heard it do that, it has a tendency to sound to to brighter across a great number of different instruments than either the Realist or Full Circle. They only way to tell if it works on a particular instrument is to buy it and install it. While that's also true for the Realist, and the Full Circle, IMHO bridge wing pickups that were once the go to piezo for all of us, don't sound quite as good as the newer transducers. Incidentally, Walter Woods matched his amps to Don Underwoods' pickup, setting the input impedance at 1 megohm. I got that directly from the horses mouth (actually Don's Mouth). He is a wonderful guy to have a conversation with.
Now, if you go purely from a cost perspective it is less expensive than the Realist or The Full Circle. Additionally, it's easier to install and remove than either the Full Circle or the Realist. IME, because I had to use shims to wedge the Underwood into place, the pickup could move around and change the tone, so I moved to the Realist. Since I don't like fussing with pickups and didn't want to have my luthier install a new bridge with tighter wing slots, the Realist, on my bass, was the right solution. For others, like yourself, the Underwood is the ideal pickup. That's the problem, there is no one size fits all. There all good depending on your bass.

Ric

 

[MartinBorgen]

Bass G,
While the Underwood can work quite well on certain basses, because I've heard it do that, it has a tendency to sound to to brighter across a great number of different instruments than either the Realist or Full Circle.

my laminated is pretty bright and a little klonkey, so then it's probably not a good bet for me either.

 

[Ric Vice]

my laminated is pretty bright and a little klonkey, so then it's probably not a good bet for me either.

Psykopatsak,
Until you try one of these pickups, you'll never know. IMHO I'd still go with the Full Circle, it's one of the safest bets IME. It doesn't scoot around under the bridge like the Realist does and it doesn't block the wings of the bridge like the Underwood. Unfortunately, It costs about $50.00 more than the Underwood.

Ric

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Psykopatsak,
..........................................I'd still go with the Full Circle, it's one of the safest bets IME...................Unfortunately, It costs about $50.00 more than the Underwood.

Ric

But there's probably a 75% chance that it will work well. Underwood? Maybe 25%.

 

[MartinBorgen]

looks like i'll be getting a height adjustable bridge, so the FC seems like a good one to install when i arrive to the point of playing a few gigs then. thanks for your help!

 

[anonymous02282011]

I've gone through a bunch of pickups and stayed with the full circle. It's a safe bet. I hope you like it.

 

[Feral Feline]

Further to the interview with Ron Carter in BassPlayer:
BassPlayer -- "Have you ever recorded without a pickup, or with an amplifier?"
RC -- "I’ve never recorded with an amplifier, and I’ve made only about four records without using a pickup. While those results were musically pleasing, the bass presence needed to be altered to ensure that it had more impact on the music.

It’s still trial and error for me. I’ve done dates where the bass sounded so boomy I had to borrow masking tape from the engineer so I could tape up one of the ƒ-holes; that way the sound wouldn’t escape so quickly and I’d be better able to control what came out. That doesn’t always work, but it worked for three days during that particular session."

So it's still trial and error for the great wize & wizened Ron Carter. There is no "set it & forget it". Temp, humidity, room size, number of people in the audience or on the dance floor varying ... Bass may be the foundation upon which music is built, but we bass players are all standing on illuvial soil.

Psykopatsak, I'm not saying anything new, but I don't think anyone has summed it up:

1) friends and colleagues
Try your bass through a friend's amp, borrow someone's spare mic or pickup to try for a while, ask to try other players' rigs at a multiple billing if time permits.

2) Buy used, Sell & Trade
As mentioned, buy stuff used. If money's tight, no need to hang on to a mic, pickup or amp. Sell or trade it for something you need/want to try. If you find you need it again at some later stage, buy it used or trade for it again.

There are plenty of impoverished gear whor...uhm hounds chasing tone who are buying, trading and selling equipment. Check the TB classifieds, eBile, your local version of Craigslist etc...

BTW, apart from my bass, due to my location (shipping costs), language barriers (no hablo el loco local lingo) I've had to buy all my gear new. However, I bought most of it on sale at (often) huge discounts. The only thing I had to pay full price for was my Underwood; the best deals I've had were on my B-band pickup and amp/speaker -- half price!

Use the "Deal" Luke, and may The Tone be with you, always.

 

[Jaromir]

i cant believe no one has suggested the Underwood pickup.. I have used my Underwood on my Strunal hybrid with all plain guts for the past four years and it gets the best tone..

That's because plain guts amplify a WAY better than steel strings. The terrible "frettless electric" syndrome we associate with the Underwood only happens when using steel strings, that doesn't happen when using guts.

 

[Gearhead43]

I can't imagine doing a reasonable job on a "classic rock" gig with a GK combo.

Well, I just did, about an hour ago. With my MB115. For old-school bass tones I use a VT Bass pedal in front of it, and for my upright gigs I just use the HPF-Pre.

 

[Uncletoad]

I can't imagine doing a reasonable job on a "classic rock" gig with a GK combo.

Well, I just did, about an hour ago. With my MB115. For old-school bass tones I use a VT Bass pedal in front of it, and for my upright gigs I just use the HPF-Pre.

Classic Rock gigs in California have very different expectations than in Central Ohio. Walk into a gig with a little wuss amp like that and they might just throw you out the back door and wizz on you.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Further to the interview with Ron Carter in BassPlayer:
BassPlayer -- "Have you ever recorded without a pickup, or with an amplifier?"
RC -- "I’ve never recorded with an amplifier, and I’ve made only about four records without using a pickup. While those results were musically pleasing, the bass presence needed to be altered to ensure that it had more impact on the music.

It’s still trial and error for me. I’ve done dates where the bass sounded so boomy I had to borrow masking tape from the engineer so I could tape up one of the ƒ-holes; that way the sound wouldn’t escape so quickly and I’d be better able to control what came out. That doesn’t always work, but it worked for three days during that particular session."

I don't doubt any of that for a second. Ron has a very iconic style and his recorded sound is unmistakable. It works for him but it isn't something I would recommend. Those who have met Ron have commented on his beautiful acoustic tone as well as his live sound. Most of his recorded stuff doesn't appeal to me because it sounds like an electric bass with added twang. Just my opinion. There has been plenty of discussion on this forum of his tone and I only say this, lest the OP go out and emulate RC. We are all influenced by everything we've heard but will eventually find OUR sound.

Trial and error? Sure, once we find our sound we have to be willing to make adjustments to keep it. Bad rooms, outdoor gigs, the weather and a bunch of other stuff keeps messing with the way our instrument responds and sounds to us.

Personally, I went through a bunch of experimentation before settling into stuff that works for me and will most likely be with me for the duration. That's probably the path most of us take.

 

[Feral Feline]

I... Trial and error? Sure, once we find our sound we have to be willing to make adjustments to keep it. Bad rooms, outdoor gigs, the weather and a bunch of other stuff keeps messing with the way our instrument responds and sounds to us...

Well said. Once you find "your sound" and get the right combination of gear that replicates (or comes near to) it, you still have to continue tweeking what you have.

Personally, I've got a tiny amp and a tiny speaker for sake of portability. If I need to stick a SVT-replica pedal in the signal chain to double on the amp, so be it and I'll Wizz(y) on anyone who tries to "throw me out the back door". I may have a doubling gig this coming Friday. Could be interesting, since I don't play EB.

So, Psykopatsak, please let us know what ends up working for your particular needs.