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Double Bass Anyone changing up their setup for this year?

#101
I have been changing basses over the last few years because people keep buying them out from under me . A restored late 19th century German flatback is currently ‘the one’ and I am resisting all suitors. It’s good with Zyex lights. A Lifeline pickup is my go to, although it has a Copperhead on it as well. Sometimes it sound a bit better. I got a great deal on a Series III two channel Contra which sounds beautiful when it can be placed near a wall and used on a hard floor. It’s very picky regarding rooms so the GK 150 gets plenty of work. Pretty simple really, although a mic may be in the future in some rooms.
 
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#102
Jeff Kissell said:
Actually planning on selling off the amps, cabs and other accumulated stuff and running a simple preamp/DI into a powered speaker again. I’m a huge fan of the Yamahiko, it is such a simple, neutral and solid pickup.
Click to expand...

*update*
Couldn’t quit the amp but did downsize a bit… Acme B1/Clarus III.
Fly rig is still a Sushi Box Elementary/Tech21 QStrip DI.
 
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#103
The present setup. Ehrlund EAP -> Grace Alix -> QSC CP8 (in wedge position).
The Ehrlund seems to need less EQ than the Ischell C2 I have been using for the last months. And I am able to cut the 48V supply for the Ischell from the chain.
Looking forward to trying it out in rehearsal and a trio gig the comming week.
20240803_103926.jpg
 
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#104
I am constantly tweaking my rig options for different settings. Low volume trio gigs and some theater, it has been:
Audix D4 -> Headway EDB-2 H.E -> a Yamaha DBR10
For louder big band or outdoor gigs, it has been my piezo bridge wing pickup -> Headway-> Mesa D800+ -> a Berg 112.

The DBR is mediocre for this purpose and I only use it out of convenience. It is being replaced soon with a GR active 110. I am hoping the GR will cover some of what the Mesa/Berg rig can while reducing the weight by 10lbs. At an outdoor big band gig this weekend, was standing 12” in front of the Berg, and it was seriously moving the trousers. It’s one of the best all-around cabs I have owned and it is a keeper!
 
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#105
When I got back to LA, I swapped out my Zyex strings for a set of Spirocores I bought two years. John Goldsby made a comment that persuaded me to give them another chance. So far, I'm liking them. I don't find them any more difficult to play than the Zyex, like that they stay in tune even more so, and, they seem to have a bit more punch and clarity of the fundamental than the Zyex, and I think they even speak a bit better in TP. Even if I don't stick with them, I'm glad I gave them another chance. The first time I tried them, their "boing-giness" had me dismiss them quickly.
 
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#107
This was a rig that was very popular. The Underwood was a real game changer and the Polytone amps( I preferred the more focused sound and portability of the 112) were also. The Polytone pickup was less successful. This thread reminds me of all the different setups I've tried over the years.
 
#108
Bruce Calin said:
This was a rig that was very popular. The Underwood was a real game changer and the Polytone amps( I preferred the more focused sound and portability of the 112) were also. The Polytone pickup was less successful. This thread reminds me of all the different setups I've tried over the years.
Click to expand...

They were also a great combination. Polytones were a bit dark, and Underwoods a bit bright, so they kind of met in the middle.
 
#109
Chris Fitzgerald said:
They were also a great combination. Polytones were a bit dark, and Underwoods a bit bright, so they kind of met in the middle.
Click to expand...
I recall a bassist friend bringing his Underwood to my house when he got it. We set it up on my bass and plugged it in. The tone and especially the volume were unlike anything we had heard or tried. Like I said, a real game changer. I don't recall who in my circle got the first Polytone. I believe it was a keyboard player since they were first marketed as accordion amps If I remember correctly. In any case, they soon were very popular. I used mine for several years.
 
#110
Bruce Calin said:
This was a rig that was very popular. The Underwood was a real game changer and the Polytone amps( I preferred the more focused sound and portability of the 112) were also. The Polytone pickup was less successful. This thread reminds me of all the different setups I've tried over the years.
Click to expand...
When I started playing this was know as the "Ray Brown setup". I used it myself for a while and having a preamp with a high-impedance input was essential for getting a decent sound. I had one of the Fishman Pro EQ preamps when they were still made out metal.

When I eventually replaced these with a Realist pickup and a Gallien-Krueger MB150 combo I though it was a massive improvement, but not as effective as my current setup of a Fishman Full Circle pickup and a Markacoustic AC101 combo.

- Steve
 
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#111
I've had an Underwood pickup forever and whenever I plug it in to my gig amp, the very first thing I have to do make it sound decent is roll all the highs off and turn the lows almost all the way up (all that comes from the pickup is high end). But I keep reading how great, or at least decent, they supposedly sound, so I wonder if it's operator error of some kind. I've recently watched and re-watched the install vid on their website and though I've done it all correctly, I'm wondering if perhaps I've damaged one of the transducers with the bridge wing slots being too tight. Only one of them responds when I give them a light little tap when it's plugged in but not inserted, just hanging free. BTW I emailed them about it a week ago, still awaiting a response.
 
#112
stevew27 said:
I've had an Underwood pickup forever and whenever I plug it in to my gig amp, the very first thing I have to do make it sound decent is roll all the highs off and turn the lows almost all the way up (all that comes from the pickup is high end). But I keep reading how great, or at least decent, they supposedly sound, so I wonder if it's operator error of some kind. I've recently watched and re-watched the install vid on their website and though I've done it all correctly, I'm wondering if perhaps I've damaged one of the transducers with the bridge wing slots being too tight. Only one of them responds when I give them a light little tap when it's plugged in but not inserted, just hanging free. BTW I emailed them about it a week ago, still awaiting a response.
Click to expand...

The Underwood is a pretty old design, decent for it's time, but I was never completely happy with it. When I switched to a David Gage Realist in 2004 I felt it was a huge upgrade. When I got my current bass in 2012 I found that the Realist didn't suit it, so I switched to a Fishman Full Circle and never looked back. I suggest considering a new pickup.

- Steve
 
#115
stevew27 said:
Thanks for that input, I've wondered about FCs for a while! But does it seem plausible that something might be amiss in my set up to not get ANY natural bottom from the Underwood?
Click to expand...

The Underwood should have a decent amount of low end, even if one of the piezo elements is not working. In fact, a lot of people only use one element (I did this for a while).

The Underwood is one of those pickups that really benefits from a preamp with a high impedance input and some additional EQ. I used to use the older Fishman Pro-EQ with the metal box. I have a one of the current Fishman preamps, but I only use it when running direct or using my tiny Markbass 801.

- Steve
 
#116
Air mics are very sensitive to acoustic feedback.

I once experimented a bit with a cheap electret capsule as a contact mic, sealing the front hole with some putty that was also used to stick by it to the top, but I still got feedback early until I also sealed the back of the mic with the PCB. The output was a bit low, but it worked.

I once tried a ATM35 between the bridge legs with a bug band, but the technician said that he got more drums in it than bass. So I went back to the pickup I used at that time (probably a Full Circle or a Shadow SH-965-NFX).

I really like the sound of the AKG C411 with my carved bass, but I have never used it on stage. The C412 PP would work well with the headway if you still want to try the contact mic route. The Ehrlund EAP misses the air completely, so I prefer the AKG. But cab placement is critical with as my top mounted pickup.

The plywood bass at the big band I play with now has an Underwood with EP weich strings and a TC BEQ500 with a 410 cab. Not my first choice in amplification, but I will be heard.

BTW, if tapping on the underwood element in free air or mounted does. It get any response, I’m rather sure that one cable was broken. Connect a cann be le from the working sensors brass to the non-working one and tap the sensor that didn’t work. If you hear the tap from it (and not the other sensor) then, then the shield cable is broken. I have repaired that several times on a similar pickup. If it is still dead, it is the inner hot cable that might be almost impossible to repair.
 
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#117
I just changed my setup this weekend. Did a thing last week where I hauled the upright, along with a Hartke HA3500 and a 4x10, to play with an ensemble. Sounded fine.

Note: I use an Audix F90 on the bass, the way a DPA4099 might be used, under the strings between the bridge and tailpiece. The mic is powered via a Behringer mini mixer. The settings for that: bass is slightly higher than zero center, mids at zero, treble slightly lower. It’s the way the mixer itself works best for this instrument when gain is optimized.

So this weekend I used a different amp: a Crate BX100 combo. And it sounded great! At levels compatible with an un-mic’ed drum set and a mic’ed piano, it worked better than I imagined it would. Settings are shown in the attached image. Contour is switched off, so all you have is the input gain, the EQ, and the power out level. It was clean, and sounded like the bass only louder.

As you can see from the image, the EQ section is flat in the highs and drops off as frequencies get lower. (Good for headroom.) After the slight bass increase in the mixer, this levels things off so that my signal chain has what might be considered nearly a “summed to flat” frequency output. If anything, the bass frequencies are lower overall. My hypothesis is that it has something to do with the 15” speaker. It more closely resembles in size the top plate of the bass itself, so it more closely mirrors that in output. It does not need to be driven as hard to get those frequencies. And conveniently, the amp even has a balanced out should more volume be needed in a bigger amplified situation.

So the next time I need to haul gear, it will be the Crate. It’s not a small or light item, but it’s quite smaller and lighter than the 30 pound Hartke and the 4x10.

IMG_7208.jpeg
 
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#118
I plan to get the brand new Tech 21 XB Driver for my bass guitar once it is released.

I am considering using it with my NS Design NXT passive EUB since it has high input impedance (4.7 MOhm), buffered tuner output and two channels which I can use to switch between arco and pizzicato.
 
#119
We played a festival spot where there was a super quick changeover between bands and we weren't able to use our condenser mic and my DI with our in-ears as we usually do. So I just brought my AI head and MAS 18 rig. The tone was fantastic! So many compliments. Makes me want to go back.
 
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