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Double Bass Avalon U5 review

#61
I'm using the line out in back too. The lower powered one. The high powered one breaks up the Focus unless I turn the Focus's preamp nearly off. Whats best? No idea but that is best to my ears. Are you diggin it Steve?
 
#62
flatback said:
I'm using the line out in back too. The lower powered one. The high powered one breaks up the Focus unless I turn the Focus's preamp nearly off. Whats best? No idea but that is best to my ears. Are you diggin it Steve?
Click to expand...

i'm liking it for my barbera equipped bass, but my good bass, with the shadow, doesnt sound good through it... i still have to try it with the bass max though... i'm wondering if its an impedance thing sinc the avalon is like 3.5 meg or something. unfortunately, i don't really want to get a full circle on that bass because i'm otherwise happy with the ebony adjusters. i'm going to try the other pickup later today, and also, i'm going to run the shadow through a 10 meg buffer before the avalon. that that's the problem, we should be able to tell.
 
#63
shwashwa said:
i'm liking it for my barbera equipped bass, but my good bass, with the shadow, doesnt sound good through it... i still have to try it with the bass max though... i'm wondering if its an impedance thing sinc the avalon is like 3.5 meg or something. unfortunately, i don't really want to get a full circle on that bass because i'm otherwise happy with the ebony adjusters. i'm going to try the other pickup later today, and also, i'm going to run the shadow through a 10 meg buffer before the avalon. that that's the problem, we should be able to tell.
Click to expand...
Have you tried a realist or a rev solo on that bass yet? That shadow has come under question on that bass before in other discussions.
 
#64
Uncletoad said:
Have you tried a realist or a rev solo on that bass yet? That shadow has come under question on that bass before in other discussions.
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i'm quite flattered that you remember my equipment and issues!!
i have tried the realist, no good. i have tried the bass max through other preamps, no good. i've tried the pickup the world, no good. i have not tried the revolution solo. i'm kind of bummed because the bass sounds awesome acoustically and is so easy to play. so far the shadow has been the best one, that's why its on there. it sounds ok with the fishman platinum, just not good with the avalon, so i just use the fishman for now. i'd love to find a better solution though. what i dont understand about the revolution solo is, how does one wing mounted pickup differ from another if they're both made from piezo chrystal. could it be that different if its in the same location??
 
#65
shwashwa said:
what i dont understand about the revolution solo is, how does one wing mounted pickup differ from another if they're both made from piezo chrystal. could it be that different if its in the same location??
Click to expand...

+1, I can't see how it would be that different than a Bass Max or any other single wing slot PU.

But, also I'm curious from all the raves here about the U5 why it doesn't do more for your Shadow? I've tried this pu long ago and remember being so unimpressed that I that gave it away to a student who needed a pu in a hurry.

Steve, you've talked before about top resonance issues w/ that bass and that's why you don't like the Realist. Have you messed w/ sound post position much? Or perhaps a diff. post altogether? Maybe that would get rid of that node thing that you have.
If this works maybe you should try that a give the Realist another chance because if more warmth and less piezo honk is what your after that under-the-foot area is really going to be where you're going to get that tone. I find this so much the case that when I switch to arco (w/ the Realist) from piz I don't need to change any eq settings at all. None of the usual taking out hi's and mids like w/ most pus. Even have made direct into the board recordings (w/no mic) that sound pretty darn fat and mic like.

Just IMO.
BG
 
#66
shwashwa said:
what i dont understand about the revolution solo is, how does one wing mounted pickup differ from another if they're both made from piezo chrystal. could it be that different if its in the same location??
Click to expand...

I'm no materials scientist (AND I have never played one on TV) but having owned an Underwood (metal casing), Bass Max (rubber casing), and Rev Solo (wood casing), I have a feeling that the material surrounding the element affects the sound.

On my bass (New Standard Cleveland ply) the Underwood sounds hardest/harshest of the three; the BassMax sounds somewhat muted/less detailed but has the least harsh/most forgiving sound, especially for arco; and the Rev Solo is the most variable/temperamental depending on pressure/location.
 
#67
bribass said:
+1, I can't see how it would be that different than a Bass Max or any other single wing slot PU.

But, also I'm curious from all the raves here about the U5 why it doesn't do more for your Shadow? I've tried this pu long ago and remember being so unimpressed that I that gave it away to a student who needed a pu in a hurry.

Steve, you've talked before about top resonance issues w/ that bass and that's why you don't like the Realist. Have you messed w/ sound post position much? Or perhaps a diff. post altogether? Maybe that would get rid of that node thing that you have.
If this works maybe you should try that a give the Realist another chance because if more warmth and less piezo honk is what your after that under-the-foot area is really going to be where you're going to get that tone. I find this so much the case that when I switch to arco (w/ the Realist) from piz I don't need to change any eq settings at all. None of the usual taking out hi's and mids like w/ most pus. Even have made direct into the board recordings (w/no mic) that sound pretty darn fat and mic like.

Just IMO.
BG
Click to expand...

hey, thanks for the post and for remembering my bass! i havent messed with the sound post much. i think it's in a pretty good spot, but i guess i can experiment. i wouldnt really call it a node thing with my bass, it's just that the top vibrates so much. you cant hear it acoustically, but with a pickup you can. it's almost like it has sustain... maybe its not that at all and i just dont know how to describe it... i'll go mess with a few things with it and the U5 now and i'll report what i did and what the results are.
 
#68
shwokawoka said:
what i dont understand about the revolution solo is, how does one wing mounted pickup differ from another if they're both made from piezo chrystal. could it be that different if its in the same location??
Click to expand...

tobaccoman said:
On my bass (New Standard Cleveland ply) the Underwood sounds hardest/harshest of the three; the BassMax sounds somewhat muted/less detailed but has the least harsh/most forgiving sound, especially for arco; and the Rev Solo is the most variable/temperamental depending on pressure/location.
Click to expand...
Me too.


The rev solo lives in some pretty wide grained spruce. I think this accounts for it's more natural sound than the underwood or the bassmax. For wing mount pickups I have an underwood, a bassmax and a rev solo and prefer the rev solo far more than the others.

Overall I'm not a wing mounted fan, I prefer the Full Circle or the Realist.

Given that you've tried most of the heavy hitters in pickups and that is the cheaper of the bunch I'd try it too.
 
#69
i messed around with a piezo buffer before the avalon to see if impdeance matching was the issue, and it wasnt. still didnt sound so great. next, i broke out my raven labs and took the out of that through a boss bass eq. pretty decent sound. with the sliders i was able to tame the tone pretty nicely, although eventhough it says "bass eq" i dont feel the sliders are really voiced for bass. i'd like a slider around 200hz. but still the best tone was from the fishman platinum. a really nice tone actually. that's the setup i'll use for that bass for now. it's just alittle disappointing because i already owned the fishman before i bought the avalon. i was hoping for an improvement, but now i see i could have saved the money! it's still very good for my other bass though. this morning i'm going to put the bass max on both my basses and try them direct through the avalon and compare sounds. if there's a drastic difference then i know it's in the bass and not the pickup. (i'd put the shadow onto the other bass to see if it's the pickup or the bass, but both elements wont fit onto my second bass' bridge)
 
#70
shwashwa said:
i messed around with a piezo buffer before the avalon to see if impdeance matching was the issue, and it wasnt. still didnt sound so great. next, i broke out my raven labs and took the out of that through a boss bass eq. pretty decent sound. with the sliders i was able to tame the tone pretty nicely, although eventhough it says "bass eq" i dont feel the sliders are really voiced for bass. i'd like a slider around 200hz. but still the best tone was from the fishman platinum. a really nice tone actually. that's the setup i'll use for that bass for now. it's just alittle disappointing because i already owned the fishman before i bought the avalon. i was hoping for an improvement, but now i see i could have saved the money! it's still very good for my other bass though. this morning i'm going to put the bass max on both my basses and try them direct through the avalon and compare sounds. if there's a drastic difference then i know it's in the bass and not the pickup. (i'd put the shadow onto the other bass to see if it's the pickup or the bass, but both elements wont fit onto my second bass' bridge)
Click to expand...

Hmmm...interesting. BTW, have you checked to see if there are any non-buzzing seams open on your "sustaining" top? Just a thought.

BG
 
#71
bribass said:
Hmmm...interesting. BTW, have you checked to see if there are any non-buzzing seams open on your "sustaining" top? Just a thought.

BG
Click to expand...

dont think there are open seams.... there are 2 cracks which seem to have been repaired correctly. going to try the bass max experiment later. got called out of the house for the day job..
 
#72
FWIW, I didn't like my U5. I bought one specifically to use as a recording DI and the tone always seemed too "scooped out" for me, no matter what setting the tone control was on. I like mids and it seemed like the U5 was sucking my mids away.

I replaced it with a milennia TD-1 and have been MUCH MUCH happier.
 
#73
That's interesting--I dont hear a mid scoop at all, but of course it depends on the rest of your gear and your ears. I've used the U5 with an archtop jazz guitar, and it seemed to have plenty of mids. I'd love to try the TD-1 some time. It's just too pricey and even bigger than the U5
 
#74
well, i did my bass max experiment. the bass max through the avalon U5, without any other eq, was not a useable sound on either bass. i'd say perhaps it was better than the shadow, but i wouldnt use that rig on a gig, so i put the bass max through the fishman, the same preamp that i get a useable sound from with the shadow, and still not a useable sound. i think i just dont like the bass max. it has a very distinct tone of it's own, with a very pronounced thump at the start of each note and some weird mid thing happening too. i couldnt really get rid of the thump and keep a useable sound with the high pass on the fishman either. perhaps i could use the bass max blended with my magnetic. bass max for the thump, magnetic for the rest. it's not my bass only louder but it could be a useable sound maybe. anyway, i think i've learned 3 things: 1) i like the sound of my barbera best, but i'm reluctant to put one on my good bass because of the tendency for the elements to crap out (they have on each of my 3 barbera equipped basses, more than once) and because you end up with a fairly thick bridge in order to accomodate the electronics, and i think it definately negatively affects the acoustic tone. 2) most people who like the U5, including marc johnson who i heard sound amazing with it, use it with the full circle. maybe there's something about that combo that just works for some reason, and 3) since i like the sound of the shadow and not the bass max, then there is indeed a difference in tone in wing mounted pickups even though they both contain piezo elements and are mounted in the same place. this could be an arguement for trying the revolution solo after all....
thoughts?
 
#80
My Full Circle just quit on me (white wire got pinched and needs re soldering) so I had to throw the other bridge on there and use a different pick up. I put an underwood onthe bridge with the Vektor on it and tried them both (separately) thru the U5. With the EQ on #2. (huge mid reduction) both the Underwood and Vektor sound really good...That is the Underwood which, straight into the Focus sounds horrible, running thru the U5 sounds pretty damn OK (like Dave Holland on some of those live recordings where it is direct but not to electric-y...he uses a tube direct to achieve the warmth) and mixed with my super phat Heil PR 40 has a very clear crisp sound. The Vektor with the same EQ also sounds totally phat. I'm going to use this set up this weeks gigs to see what it feels like on the gig. I've been into the way DH plays such incredible music without ever getting lost in the mix or overexerting. Obviously he has made some comprimise in keeping the Underwood all these years but that pick up properly preamp'd and EQ'd can give you a way more up front sound without causing the convulsions of horror that come with running it directly into the amp. The Vektor which has a mid bump when run straight also sounds totally sweet thru the Avalon.
Too bad the U5 is such an utter beast.
 

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