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Double Bass AMT pik-ups

S

solid jackson

Dec 4, 2005
13
0
atlanta, ga.
#1
does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the applied microphone technology bass mic w/ super pre-amp? there are many very positive reviews from some very well-known players on their web-site, but i'm assuming all are endorsees. they say it's the very best available for amplifying the natural upright sound--it's quite pricey, i need feedback! this is my first post ever, i've never joined any forum; in fact i just learned recently that they have the internet on computers now! so please be gentle. thanks, solid jackson
 
#2
solid one, welcome to TB! You might could start out w/ this page:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43100

Don’t let the term "newbie" discourage you. There’s lots of good info here.

Looks like there are links to four different threads on microphones for double bass, and one specifically for the AMT (it's under the Pickups heading).

Oh, I think it’s safe to say most TB’ers hold the AMT mic in high regard. Don't have the Super preamp myself, just the regular one.
 
#3
bolo-- thanks so much for responding- you are my first-i was able to find 9 pages of discussion, i just didn't know where to look. my bad for being forum dumb. it did seem like there are newer versions, if you or anyone knows info let me know-- sounds like i need to contact that guy at amt. thanks again dude!
 
#4
solid jackson said:
bolo-- thanks so much for responding- you are my first
Click to expand...
Well, I think I'll leave that quote alone ... Ha!

solid one - Sorry, but I don't know the specifics of any changes to the AMT's design over the years.

I do seem to recall a thread here on TB where someone said maybe they introduced a high pass filter in the later models of the preamp. But I can't be 100% sure on that. Maybe someone else will chime in and clarify.

Or as you said, I guess you could call AMT directly. From what I have learned, there is a gentleman there who knows the product extremely well and I'll bet he could sure answer all of your questions.

P.S. When you get a minute, consider filling in your Profile under "My Talkbass" please. It gives everyone background info on your equipment, gigs, styles of music you play, etc.

Good luck!
 
#5
Hey solid

You should find lots of posts around here on the AMT. I might be able to answer some of your questions as I know a fair bit about the mic and have been a strong supporter for it. Disclaimer: I am selling one at the moment here on Talkbass that also has AMT's custom tailpiece-mount modification. See this thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=215721

If you want to learn more about the mic, you don't need to be looking at info about the super preamp specifically. Both preamps will give the same sound, it's just that the super preamp has more output options as well as the ability to run off AC power.
 
#6
Solid Jackson...thats really funny...Charlie haden used to say that all the time..so did my dad and now (I guess I do too) my 3 year old can be heard responding to "would you like some cereal?" "Solid Jackson" he says
Adrian has an AMT for sale on the classified pages and if I had the money I'd buy it in a second. His has all the bells and whistles, and if you know Adrian you know that it has been kept in great condition. If you have the money you can do no better then buying his. I have heard the AMT in a bunch of contexts and to my ears it sounds best coming from a really tight HIFI cabnet/amp combo. I heard it thru a GK 150 and it sounded like crap (that could be a lot of things though:room,bass, strings, amp etc.)
welcome
 
#7
you guys are awesome!! bolo, thanks again- i'll do the profile thing as soon as i figure it out! flatback, haden,huh? cool! i just heard the expression on the bandstand years ago and liked it, and my first 3 choices of user names were taken! i'll think kindly of your child every time i log on. and adrian- we'll talk tomorrow. btw, is this the right way to respond to posts? am i supposed to do so separately? whoever thought playing bass would be this complicated...
 
#8
Solid -- there is indeed quite a bit of material on the AMT, mics and pickups in the pages mentioned by others' posts, so read them when you get a chance. Before you buy an AMT mic, it might be helpful to read those previous posts several times.

While I agree with others that the AMT mic accurately reproduces the sound of the bass it's on, there is a drawback to mics like the AMT. I'm going to go ahead and mention the drawback here because I'm not sure if you will easily be able to find this in the pages and pages of threads mentioned above. The drawback, in my experience, is that if you're playing very loud music, a mic isn't going to be your best choice, because it generates a lot of feedback at high volumes. A standard pickup (called a piezo pickup in a lot of posts) will work better at high volumes, and they are a whole lot cheaper than the AMT mic.

If you're not playing loud music, this won't matter.
 
#9
greitzer said:
The drawback, in my experience, is that if you're playing very loud music, a mic isn't going to be your best choice, because it generates a lot of feedback at high volumes. A standard pickup (called a piezo pickup in a lot of posts) will work better at high volumes, and they are a whole lot cheaper than the AMT mic.
Click to expand...
This is very true. I've not been able to use my AMT through a stage amp yet. It works very well front of house for me but I tend so far to just use the Full Circle through amps. Someday perhaps I'll work that out but not so far. If I only had one source to amplify with it would probably not be a mic.
 
#10
The AMT is not a miracle - it's just a mic like any other although it is more usable onstage than most due to it's tight pattern, rolled off top end and low and high pass filters. My point is that with any mic, yes there's a point at which feedback and bleed are a problem. Feedback can also be a problem with pickups too, it's just that the level at which it occurs is a heck of a lot higher although it also depends on the kind of pickup.

Back to mics - I think with any mic, it does take some work to use it. Some guys don't even own a pickup and play through a mic exclusively and for them, it's worth the time and trouble to make it work. You have to take some care when you position yourself but generally it's not that hard. The nice thing about having both a pickup and a mic is that you can blend anything from all-pickup to all-mic depending on the situation - the position, the room, the instrumentation, the volume levels, and the time you have to setup.

Any everyone's definition of "loud" is different.
 
#12
The thing about all this gear is that you have to find what works for you and everybody's situation is different. And things change too as they have for me recently. My mic is as good as sold now but I'll tell you that since I put it up for sale, I must have fielded questions from at least seven or eight bassists about it. I've tried my best to answer questions and theorise whether it would work for them given their other gear, the types of gigs they play, etc. however it's impossible to give any guarantees.

One other thing about a mic - the input signal, that is, the acoustic sound of the bass needs to be reasonably strong. So if you tend to play softly without any amplification, you will have to crank the mic channel high which means you will be that much closer to the point of feedback.
 
#13
Adrian Cho said:
One other thing about a mic - the input signal, that is, the acoustic sound of the bass needs to be reasonably strong. So if you tend to play softly without any amplification, you will have to crank the mic channel high which means you will be that much closer to the point of feedback.
Click to expand...
Thanks Adrian. I was going to get around to that sooner or later.

I've learned too that if you like the sound of your bass when you play without an amp, great! You can (with some effort) get a pretty accurate version of that sound through the AMT mic and a fairly hi-fi rig - but probably not through a typical bass guitar amp, like flatback aluded to. That's another part of the equation - what kind of amp you're using.

You do need to be able to produce a pretty decent amount of volume acoustically for the AMT or any mic to work well. Otherwise, the mic will feedback before you can make it loud enough to be usable like Adrian said. Acoustic volume is primarily a combination of your bass, its setup, and most of all your technique I think.

Also, if you don't like the sound of your bass played without an amp (for whatever reason - let's be honest), the AMT isn't gonna help you much. Set up properly, it will pretty much sound just like your bass, good or bad.

On the other hand, some pickups "strengthen" your sound, and for some folks this can be a positive thing. For example, some pickups might emphasize the low end. If your acoustic sound lacks low end heft compared to the sound in your head, you might actually prefer the sound of a pickup.

And like Uncletoad pointed out, as a general rule, if you play in loud or tight stage situations a lot, a mic might not be the answer. Pickups can go much louder before feedback rears its ugly head.

If you have experience w/ pickups on your bass, and you want to tell us about those, cool! If you want to try a pickup for amplifying your upright instead of a mic first, the starting price comes way down vs. the AMT too.

In my case I do as Adrian outlined, where I have both a p/u and a mic, so I can use either one or the other exclusively, or sometimes blend the two together.

Truth be told, most of the time I just use my pickup. That's because the crowd noise in most of the places I play is very, very high (80-100 people, none of them paying any attention to the music, all of them drinking profusely, and talking much louder than normal. If we play louder, they all just talk louder. Sigh ...).

You da man solid.
 
#14
chris--louisville, huh? my hometown is madisonville, ky. go big blue! i mean, cardinals! thanks for your input, btw, saw stanley clarke recently (with "trio", jean luc, and bela, do not miss!), stan using 2 swr super-redhead amps, but i couldn't see what kind of pic-up and/or mic-- anyone know? liquid, solid, either way, life's a gas.
 
#17
OPAQUE POLLACK said:
chris--louisville, huh? my hometown is madisonville, ky. go big blue! i mean, cardinals!
Click to expand...

No biggie - I was raised hollerin' for big blue, but now teach at big red...it's all good. :)

Congrats on your purchase. I think you'll find a lot of good sounds with the AMT. Remember, it doesn't take a whole lot of mic signal blended with the pickup to add that critical amount of "air" to the sound. Also remember to experiment with muting the after string afterlengths in higher volume situations for more headroom - it helps a lot.
 
#20
muting can be done by weaving something between the afterlengths - like a piece of velcro or some rubber hose. anything to dampen the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece. The next step is to get a chunk of foam and wedge it between the tailpiece and the top of the bass.
 

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