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Double Bass AMT died. Any ideas?

#2
SM-57 and four rubber bands:

Put two around the shaft. Lie the mic down on the top with the mic-head in between the bridge legs. Lift the shaft up until the receiver-end sticks out between the A and D afterlengths. Wrap one rubber-band around the G afterlength and over the butt of the mic. Wrap the other around the E afterlength and over the butt of the mic.

Put two around the head of the mic so they are in the groove between the body and the head. Wrap both sides of one around the E-string bridge-leg or adjuster-thread and back around the head into the groove. Do the same with the other one around the G-string leg or groove.

Voila! The head of the SM-57 is floating in mid-air, not touching the top or bridge. Adjust the height by pulling more of the butt of the mic through the afterlength.

The sound is not as refined as your beloved AMT and there is only one "spot" to put the 57. But it sounds, say, eighty-five percent as good and costs about fifteen percent as much. You can get a used SM-57 on EBay for as little as forty bucks . . .

Lemme know whether my gizmo makes any sense and how you make out.
 
#4
Sam Sherry said:
SM-57 and four rubber bands:

Put two around the shaft. Lie the mic down on the top with the mic-head in between the bridge legs. Lift the shaft up until the receiver-end sticks out between the A and D afterlengths. Wrap one rubber-band around the G afterlength and over the butt of the mic. Wrap the other around the E afterlength and over the butt of the mic.

Put two around the head of the mic so they are in the groove between the body and the head. Wrap both sides of one around the E-string bridge-leg or adjuster-thread and back around the head into the groove. Do the same with the other one around the G-string leg or groove.

Voila! The head of the SM-57 is floating in mid-air, not touching the top or bridge. Adjust the height by pulling more of the butt of the mic through the afterlength.

The sound is not as refined as your beloved AMT and there is only one "spot" to put the 57. But it sounds, say, eighty-five percent as good and costs about fifteen percent as much. You can get a used SM-57 on EBay for as little as forty bucks . . .

Lemme know whether my gizmo makes any sense and how you make out.
Click to expand...
Maybe its me but this just reads filthy.:help:
 
#6
Adam, what did you end up doing about your AMT? I started using mine again recently and am loving it (again). I have not used it in a very long time as I was quite happy to use the Full Circle for most gigs. However since changing to the Animas, the Full Circle is OK for typical jobbing gigs but definitely does not sound great for playing repertory jazz as the resulting sound just has too much sustain and not enough punch. Things sound a lot better with the AMT although with the Wizzy 10 I really have to dial down the mids and highs.
 
#7
Due to the inconvenience of school, I haven't sent my amt in. I think I'm going to use the opportunity to explore some other options. I'm not into the H-Clamp idea, seems a bit big and could dampen the top a bit. Maybe a good sennheiser on a floor mount. Any way. I'm sending it off this week and trying new things out. I miss the tone though. Thanks Adrian!
 
#8
txstatebass said:
I'm not into the H-Clamp idea, seems a bit big and could dampen the top a bit.
Click to expand...
Hm, never really thought about that. But now that I am thinking about it, the clamp for the H-clamp and the clamp for the AMT are pretty much the same, functionally anyway.

The disks on the H are bigger, but not sure they would create any more of a dampening effect than the feet or whatever you call them on the AMT. The H is some space-age lightweight material. I'm guessing the weight of the AMT's metal clamp is about the same. If you're curious I can compare them both later.

When you add in the mic of your choice, yeah, the H is definitely gonna come out heavier. But I'm not sure how much of that weight actually transfers to the bout and would lead to any dampening effect. I could be wrong but I think it's basically a non-issue because it's pressure applied on the edge of the top.
 
#10
Yeah and the AMT's got that cool red LED too. :) [ Edit - Did you actually use the word "ain't"? :D ]

I hear what you're sayin'. Does mar the aesthetics. To me though how it sounds matters more than how it looks. Hopefully when I play people aren't focusing on how the clamp looks.

The point of my original post was - If Adam is concerned about how the H-clamp might dampen the top of the bass, wouldn't that same logic pretty much extend to the clamp on the AMT?
 
#11
I've tried many variations on mic placement over the years. The biggest problem using a stand for live performance is that the distance between the mic and the top of the bass can vary too much. I tend to move somewhat as I play. Small distance changes can be significant because volume varies with the inverse square of the distance. For example, if the mic element is 3 inches away from the sound board, and you move to 6 inches away, the volume is only 1/4 as great. The biggest advantage to a clamp is that the mic is always the same distance and angle. In the recording studio, the mic is usually farther away, and small changes affect volume much less.

I'm currently using an Audio Technica ATM450, a small side address condenser, with the H Clamp. Having a side address allows for easier and more flexible mic placement. This is a fantastic sounding mic for bass. The side address is unique for a small diaphragm condenser.

I'm also of the opinion that small clamps like the H-Clamp have very little effect on tone and volume. The edge of the soundboard does not vibrate much because that is where it is glued rigidly to the ribs. If the clamp dampened the vibrating surface, that would be different.

George
 
#12
AMT pulled through and re-built the mic (for a fee of course). I have it back and can't wait to put it back to work.

Some interesting pointers Marty at tech support hipped me to. Apparently, the AI series II Coda has an impedance issue with the AMT going through the XLR input. It gets a fuzzier, not as clear tone. AMT can replace the chip inside their pre to compensate, or use my solution which is to run the mic with a battery through an XLR-1/4 inch cable into the high impedance input, which somehow matches up and clears the tone nicely (I opted for this rather than spend the extra dough for the new chip). Also, switching the chip out will also cut some of the lows if you run the mic FOH.

The new cable seems way sturdier than the old, and I like the detachable option as well.

BUT, the bastards took the nifty laser-light thingy off the mic. I loved that light. It looked cool...

Oh well, that's it I suppose. I guess I'll keep the H-clamp/EV setup just in case. PU's just don't sound like me.
 
#14
The vibe I got off Marty was that AI really screwed the pooch as far as impedance matching (how DARE they make an amp not worthy of our microphone). On the other hand, it seems what AI did was take into account that not every bassist is ready or willing to plunk down 900 bucks for a mic, so they voiced their input for more standard dynamic microphone range. But my beefs with AI are for another thread.
 

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