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Double Bass amp for electric AND upright

M

macdeezy

Jan 17, 2010
26
2
Reno, Nevada
www.facebook.com
#1
Hey folks, i was running my upright through a SWR workingman's 12 that i have mainly used for electric for the past 6 or so years. the thing actually crapped out and started making this horrible crackling noise when i hit certain freqs (i think it was due to the abuse this amp went through my teenage years of loud music, all knobs all the way up).

im currently looking for an amp that i can use for upright but also for electric that isnt going to cost me an arm and a leg (im a broke college student so thats about 1 grand.)

has anyone had a similar experience with SWR amps that i have explained here?

what are some good makes and models of all-around acoustic/electric amps out there?

thanks,
Mac
 
#2
You will get lots of different opinions here so just sit back and digest it. The first thing you should do is go to the newbie links directly above this thread and read it top to bottom.
That said, I have owned an SWR WM10, Eden wtx260, Acoustic Image Clarus and Focus and now a MarkBass LMII. In my experience, the Acoustic Image amps are very nice, but a bit soft on electric. They also don't work very well with a Realist pickup; sometimes yes, and sometimes no. For this reason, I went with the LMII and am happy, finding it to sound great on both instruments. I am in the minority as MarkBass isn't all that popular with upright players, but it works for me.
Amplifying a double bass is difficult at best and a trial by error thing. You may just have to experiment.
The EA Doubler is becoming very popular as well but I haven't tried it.
FWIW, I use either one or two 12" cabs with the LMII.
If you choose to go with separates, look at Euphonic Audio cabinets. They are very efficient and sound great.

To stay within your budget you may have to go used.
 
#3
I use the Markbass Mini CMD 121P. I first got interested in it, because it was the first Combo, I just plugged my Jazz Bass in, didn't turn a knob and the sound was 90% the way I want it. And to my surprise the same with doublebass. The sound is very punchy, still clean, but not too clean. Loud. Light. Looks cool. I payed 850,-€
 
#5
So yea, there are a lot of choices out there and everybody is going to have a different take on a product . . .

Personally, I did not like the Markbass little mark or the CMD121p for upright or electric. At all. That's not to say that it's inherently bad or that it won't work for you; those are generally stocked at Guitar center so go listen and judge for yourself.

I'm not a fan of Acoustic Image either, although I like their amps much better than the markbass. The cabinets not so much.

What I've found works best for my tastes and needs is the Euphonic Audio amps and cabinets. I've had the Doubler amp for a couple months now and am very happy with it on both upright and electric. Unfortunately, I don't think you can try before you buy, but you could ask the guys at EA if there is a dealer near or you, or see if you could work something out with them.

So . . . long story even longer, start with your budget, see what you can afford, audition what you can and be patient. I'm sure you will find something that you will be happy with.
 
#7
I would probably second the Markbass (mini)CMD 121 combo. It does sound really good with the Double Bass, and has more than enough power for electric. It doesn't have a ton of bottom end, but it does have a very punchy sound. I have had several EA amps(including the Micro), and Markbass heads as well. I like the EA stuff better for Double Bass. Less colored, a little more natural sounding. The Markbass heads are warm, but they tend to color the mids in a way which I am not too fond of. That said, they do work very well in loud situations. The input impedance isn't generally high enough for piezo pickups. For some reason the CMD 121 combo works well however...
 
#9
clink said:
How does the Doubler compare to the LMII in terms of tone?
As much as I like this amp I just can't stop looking over the fence at the neighbor's wife.:help:
Click to expand...

To be honest with you it was a while ago when I played through the LMII. Frankly, if it's working for you, be happy and make music. The Doubler is the new kid on the block. If you buy that, next year you'll just be GASing for whatever the new thing is . . . .

. . . but . . . since you asked . . .


. . . what I remember not liking about the LMII and the CMD combo is that they weren't quite as present or punchy as the Doubler through a VL208 and there was something about the EQ that I found lacking. It may have been the impedence loading (using a FC) or maybe the polarity gets flipped, like with the old GK amps. Whatever was going on it wasn't working for me with my bass, fingers, strings, pickup etc

The Doubler is thoughtfully designed to do just what it's named after, and it's got a host of other features that make it ideal for upright amplification.

Again, this is all just my opinion, and if I went out to hear some of you guys playing through whatever it is you like I'm sure yall would be sounding great.
 
#10
adbass said:
To be honest with you it was a while ago when I played through the LMII. Frankly, if it's working for you, be happy and make music........
Again, this is all just my opinion, and if I went out to hear some of you guys playing through whatever it is you like I'm sure yall would be sounding great.
Click to expand...

That's really it, isn't it. While I realize the MarkBass isn't perfect, it is the first amp I have ever used that 9 times out of 10 gets me a good sound with very minimal effort. That allows me to get into making music.:D
I've said this before on this forum, but there are jazz players in town using Ampeg, AI, GK, SWR, WW, Polytone, Phil Jones, Roland....and that's just off the top of my head.;)
More times than not, they get a good sound and nobody cares what amp they use. What people listen to are the notes they play, how they hang with the rest of the band, and whether or not they seem to enjoy themselves.

Mac, you have to find the right combination of physical approach, bass, strings, overall setup, pickup, amp and cabinet that get you to that point. I wish you luck.
 
#12
Hi Mac.

Welcome to talkbass.


macdeezy said:
Hey folks, i was running my upright through a SWR workingman's 12 that i have mainly used for electric for the past 6 or so years. the thing actually crapped out and started making this horrible crackling noise when i hit certain freqs (i think it was due to the abuse this amp went through my teenage years of loud music, all knobs all the way up).

has anyone had a similar experience with SWR amps that i have explained here?

thanks,
Mac
Click to expand...

I'm mainly a BG player, but my big tube rig serves me pretty well with a DB also.

A tube amp, or more precisely the output transformer, render the subharmonics less harmful to the speakers than a SS amp does.


As the WM12 is of a ported design, good chances are that the already stressed speaker gave away as the lo freq demand below the tuning frequency was too hard to handle.

I don't know about WM12, but on WM10 an Eminence Deltalite is said to be a drop in replacement and a vast improvement on weight and sound.

OTOH, the SWR's I'm familiar with (WM10, SM400, ST220), they tend to rattle badly sometimes, so make sure the sound is coming from the speaker, and not from the cab/amp.

Also the crackling can be caused by oxidized FX loop jacks, or detached solder joints.

Regards
Sam
 
#13
T-Bird said:
Hi Mac.

Welcome to talkbass.




I'm mainly a BG player, but my big tube rig serves me pretty well with a DB also.

A tube amp, or more precisely the output transformer, render the subharmonics less harmful to the speakers than a SS amp does.


As the WM12 is of a ported design, good chances are that the already stressed speaker gave away as the lo freq demand below the tuning frequency was too hard to handle.

I don't know about WM12, but on WM10 an Eminence Deltalite is said to be a drop in replacement and a vast improvement on weight and sound.

OTOH, the SWR's I'm familiar with (WM10, SM400, ST220), they tend to rattle badly sometimes, so make sure the sound is coming from the speaker, and not from the cab/amp.

Also the crackling can be caused by oxidized FX loop jacks, or detached solder joints.

Regards
Sam
Click to expand...

I had rattling on a SWR workingman, the rattle come from the preamp's tube vibrating. Problem resolved fixing it stronger
 
#20
fingers said:
I liked mine ok. Little heavy/bulky but pretty good sounding. I've heard of guys wedging a piece of foam in between the speaker housing and the amp case. I don't know if that hurts the sound but I recall reading that around here somewhere.
Click to expand...

That's more or less my gripe about it... pretty heavy & not well-balanced to carry. Though... I roll mine around on a folding dolly most of the time. Other than that, I find it's a wee too voiced for electric bass (and even so, it's become to modern for me & I run my EB through a VT Bass pedal), but it's a decent workhorse amp if you don't need stadium-killer power.
 

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