Double Bass Amplifying a boomy plywood bass

[Gregmak]

Hi everyone, I need some help amplifying my Juzek plywood bass. I got this bass last year and have been having trouble amplifying it unlike my carved bass. Acoustically, the bass sounds really good. So much that I prefer it over my carved bass.

I have an AI Coda amplifier for all my small gigs. I tried the troll microphone, and as much as I want to use it the sound is too boomy unless I play at a very low volume (and people here generally play really loud). I never had this issue with my carved bass so it's definitely an issue because of the plywood bass.

I also tried the david gage realist, and again it doesn't sound good at all. It's too low-frequency heavy and the sound has no clarity. The G string is completely lost compared to the other strings.

Any recommendations? I read somewhere that the full circle works better with plywood basses. I'm not sure how true that is and I wanted some opinions before I spend money on something, as I can't try anything where I live.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Greg

 

[neddyrow]

Mics are tough in a live situation.

There are guys on here who will give you great tips on how to get the most out of your mic in a live situation.

I gave them up and went pickup. I’ve had both the full circle and bassmax pickups. They get a great amplified tone live. Not perfect but less stress. I prefer the bassmax which is a little cheaper and easier to install.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

I would try a Full Circle or Yamahiko single element first, a bridge wing pickup (but not the Bassmax because of the plastic/rubber around it that kills high frequencies) like the Underwood or Shadow SH-950/951 or Rev Solo etc. second and maybe a Wilson K1 or an ANS (BassBalsereit) in the bridge leg which needs a hole in the leg of your bridge.

The point is getting closer to the bridge, but too close might be too much string/highs and too less body, so somewhere in between leg and bridge crown.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I have a Full Circle on my plywood bass, and it amplifies beautifully and evenly.

 

[kerrycares]

Greg,
I have had similar experiences with boomy basses and found that the David Gage Lifeline pickup was my solution.
I think because it’s mounted to the bridge it doesn’t pick up or amplify the body of my bass in the same way the Realist did.
I was turned onto it by other bassists that didn’t like it on their bass because it wasn’t full enough or said it was too focused and “punchy” .
As it turned out it amplifies enough of my bass and I love it.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a luthier or bass buddies in your area that own one , perhaps a test drive might help you explore this as a viable option.

 

[rknea]

I put a Realist Copperhead pickup on my Kay and it really brought it to life!

 

[Gregmak]

Thanks guys for all the recommendations! Seems like there's too many pickups to pick from and I can't try any of them so it will have to be based on luck. I'll read up a bit more on the full circle, Yamahiko and realist lifeline. But I do have a feeling that the full circle will work.

Thank you again guys.

 

[Ric Vice]

The Copper Foil version of the Realist gets mixed results on basses with laminate tops. While there are plywood basses that sound tremendous acoustically, especially when playing them pizzicato in jazz or country music (I played a Gotz in High School) the Realist isn’t a good match on many of those basses. If you’re on a budget the Kremona KNB-1 is a good choice.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Hi everyone, I need some help amplifying my Juzek plywood bass. I got this bass last year and have been having trouble amplifying it unlike my carved bass. Acoustically, the bass sounds really good. So much that I prefer it over my carved bass.

I have an AI Coda amplifier for all my small gigs. I tried the troll microphone, and as much as I want to use it the sound is too boomy unless I play at a very low volume (and people here generally play really loud). I never had this issue with my carved bass so it's definitely an issue because of the plywood bass.

I also tried the david gage realist, and again it doesn't sound good at all. It's too low-frequency heavy and the sound has no clarity. The G string is completely lost compared to the other strings.

Any recommendations? I read somewhere that the full circle works better with plywood basses. I'm not sure how true that is and I wanted some opinions before I spend money on something, as I can't try anything where I live.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Greg

I use full circle on both my plywood basses, and it's much better than realist on my basses. Clear, distinct sound, even in all registers. Maybe a little lacking in the bottom end, but that may be bass or setup related.

 

[John Le Guyader]

There is a lot of live on here for the KNA DB-1 piezo pickup that fits in the bridge wing. I just picked up a used one for $50 and it sounds as good as my K&K Bass Max. Remains to be seen if it is better since I've only tried it once for a short rehearsal running into my new to me MAS 18 1st gen that was a demo with a Felix pre in front. The KNA new is an affordable $100. I have this on my '99 Engelhardt M1 with plain gut Lenzners A-G and an Eva E. It can be boomy. Both of these pickups are very easy to eq. The comment above on the Bass Max cutting high frequency because of the shrink tube cover may well be true, but I find with the Bass Max (and the KNA) on my M1 always needs me to cut frequencies across the entire range including highs.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

If you do not like the sound of a Full Circle try several position inside a quarter turn (they repeat after a quarter turn mostly).
My best results were when the cable output from the adjuster was located at one of the edges of the bridge leg. I think someone else here said the same.

 

[dan1952]

@Gregmak, you might call the folks at Gollihur Music. They really know their stuff when it comes to amplifying the bass fiddle!

 

[AGCurry]

Acoustically, the bass sounds really good. So much that I prefer it over my carved bass.

Rather than a pickup, why not try a microphone? You say the Troll isn't working well... didn't for me either. I'm a proponent of omnidirectional mics because they have no proximity effect and therefore a) don't add any low frequencies, and b) they can be so close to the instrument that any bleed from the room is inconsequential. You can even do the old "wrap it in a towel and wedge it behind the tailpiece" thing.

 

[speedydee]

i struggled to amplify my plywood basses for a very long time. recently a friend heard me play and suggested that i turn the bass/lows on the amp all the way off. i've had better/worse results with this depending on the amp/not totally cutting the lows completely all the time, but it has been a bit of game changer for me. it's my new starting point - bass/lows off, dial in everything else, then maybe turn up bass/lows a little if needed.

 

[Gregmak]

Thank you again everyone. To AGCurry: I always played with a Troll on my carved bass so I do prefer to use a mic and I never liked pickups. At this point in my life with the type of gigging that I am doing, I want a hassle free way to get a decent sound that I can be heard which is why I am leaning towards pickups. However, I will try your recommendation and play with some mics. What mic would you recommend to try? I can find different microphones to try from a friend who owns a studio. Thank you again.

Rather than a pickup, why not try a microphone? You say the Troll isn't working well... didn't for me either. I'm a proponent of omnidirectional mics because they have no proximity effect and therefore a) don't add any low frequencies, and b) they can be so close to the instrument that any bleed from the room is inconsequential. You can even do the old "wrap it in a towel and wedge it behind the tailpiece" thing.

 

[Gregmak]

That's exactly what I do with the Troll microphone and my realist. The problem however is in the midrange not in the lows for this particular bass. I believe it should be around the 200-400hz. Even if I turn down the mids there is a strong presence of boominess. Driving me nuts!

i struggled to amplify my plywood basses for a very long time. recently a friend heard me play and suggested that i turn the bass/lows on the amp all the way off. i've had better/worse results with this depending on the amp/not totally cutting the lows completely all the time, but it has been a bit of game changer for me. it's my new starting point - bass/lows off, dial in everything else, then maybe turn up bass/lows a little if needed.

 

[AGCurry]

Thank you again everyone. To AGCurry: I always played with a Troll on my carved bass so I do prefer to use a mic and I never liked pickups. At this point in my life with the type of gigging that I am doing, I want a hassle free way to get a decent sound that I can be heard which is why I am leaning towards pickups. However, I will try your recommendation and play with some mics. What mic would you recommend to try? I can find different microphones to try from a friend who owns a studio. Thank you again.

Yes, I tried the Troll - I love ribbon mics for many things - and didn't like it. Ribbons, being inherently bidirectional, exhibit more proximity effect than any other construction. There are ways, physically and electronically, to tame this effect, but I think they tend to subtract from the ribbon wonderfulness.

I use the Electrovoice RE55, widely said to be the "best dynamic omnidirectional microphone."
Unfortunately, it hasn't been manufactured for many years. You can still find them on eBay, but very expensive.

My recommendations for something like it is the Sennheiser MD 42 (not 421!). It's a dynamic reporter's mic with published frequency response down to 40 hz. The venerable Sennheiser MD 21 is good also but it's very expensive if you get it new.

Another option is an omni lavalier mic ... they're easier to find. You would just have to figure out where to attach it. And, of course, you're generally dealing with another piece (battery pack and/or adapter to XLR).

 

[Dabndug]

Another Full Circle user here. If anything, my ply bass sounds better amplified.

 

[Francois Blais]

I also have a boomy ply.
I’ve had no luck with condenser mics, but dynamic ones are better for me.
The best I tried is the Sennheiser e609 I bought recently.
I was able to get the loudest tone I ever got with a mic.
Good luck!

 

[Keith Rawlings]

I would try a Full Circle or Yamahiko single element first, a bridge wing pickup (but not the Bassmax because of the plastic/rubber around it that kills high frequencies) like the Underwood or Shadow SH-950/951 or Rev Solo etc. second and maybe a Wilson K1 or an ANS (BassBalsereit) in the bridge leg which needs a hole in the leg of your bridge.

The point is getting closer to the bridge, but too close might be too much string/highs and too less body, so somewhere in between leg and bridge crown.

I agree - try a good bridge wing pickup like an Underwood. My Underwood is amazing with pizz playing with a nice upper register, good low end and decent mids on my old Kay, of course with the treble side off. The only issue I’ve had with it is dialing up a good slap tone with it without using a separate mic to amplify the fingerboard sounds (I play mostly Rockabilly/Surf/Swing/Blues/Country); but playing straight pizz the Underwood is not boomy at all and it has a nice round tone. I usually run it through an old Boss EQ pedal to beef it up a bit and it works fine.