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Double Bass Best Amp for Jazz (Upright)

Warwick209

Warwick209

Mar 1, 2008
21
1
43
Columbus, OH
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Accugroove Bass Cabinets
#1
I've been using a SWR 2x10 for years now, on my upright. I have a realist pickup, and have just had the toughest time trying to figure out what would give my bass the most natural tone. Any ideas?


Thanks,
Chad
 
#2
Warwick209 said:
I've been using a SWR 2x10 for years now, on my upright. I have a realist pickup, and have just had the toughest time trying to figure out what would give my bass the most natural tone. Any ideas?


Thanks,
Chad
Click to expand...

Acoustic Image has my vote. SWR's (and most BG setups) are too frequency scooped for an accurate/natural tone.
 
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#4
The best amp for Jazz is no amp. The most natural tone comes out of your bass. See if the cats you play with will play so you can use your bass and not electricity.

If you have to play with an amp I'm afraid there is no easy answer to your question. This website has an entire subcategory devoted to just this question with thousands of posts over the last 10+ years. Perhaps if you read what people on this site have discussed over the last several years or so you can narrow down what you might want.

You need to know your budget, what pickup you are using, what venues you will play and at what volumes, then what kind of sound you are going for.

An amp isn't natural, so you'll need to choose one that sounds "natural" to you. Perhaps useful is a better word. That requires shopping, listening, gig testing, and lots of trial and error that can get expensive. Hard to maneuver around that. This website can help you discard stuff you don't want but can't really make the tougher decisions for you. Only gig testing will help there and everyone's gig experience is different. What you need for a gig where you live is very different than what Ed Fuqua needs in NYC.

After you've read a bunch more, ask more specific questions and those with real world gig experiences with those things can give you very useful help.
 
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#10
Realist through SWR Electric Blue (and Hartke 2x10) is the most natural sound I ever got.
For practical reasons I prefer small combos though, so I use GK MB150E which sounds very good for low volume, or Markbass combos, of which I like the Minimark best - really beautiful sound and quite loud!
For low to medium volume I prefer the Realist by far, for loud gigs with electric keyboards I like the generally hated BP-100, which works fantastic with the Markbass filters. For loud gigs I use the Markbass Mini CMD 121P though.
 
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#12
I agree with everyone here.

The big problem with asking "what is the best amp for acoustic" is that the answer is totally dependent on a bunch of factors such as your bass, hands, what kind of strings you use, how high those strings are above the board and what pickup(s) you have mounted, pre-amp or not. And while you can listen to others' experiences and choices, your experiences are almost certainly going to be totally different. What works for one guy rarely works for another or even the same guy on a different bass. That's been my experience.

Here's an example. I have two basses. On one I use a Realist and it sounds pretty decent. The Realist doesn't work at all on my other bass. On that bass I use a BP-100 which is a WIDELY reviled pickup and yet it sounds great on that bass. It doesn't work at all on the first bass though. Same strings on both basses. Same player. Same amp. Totally different sounds.

You just have to buy stuff and try it and refine your sound as you go. And tell us about your journey because that's what it is. You never really stop looking for the next thing.

mark
 
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#14
KontraKurt said:
I have a great sound with Underwood in AI Clarus+ Ten2EX.
Click to expand...

Love the AI and it's accuracy = lack of color added by combo.

You'd have to love the sound of your bass to want this amp. It's not going to make your bass sound better than it does unamped, it will only make it louder; everything that's good, bad, and ugly

I use a BassBalsereit Studio Aktiv Pickup, AI Coda+ and have the Ten2Ex on order.
 
#15
Amen to Uncletoads comments. The most natural sound does NOT go through an amp. Unless you are playing outside backing a group of amped guitars, a well played bass can be heard (or felt) in almost any venue. I like to be able to play when the power goes off.
 
#16
Well, yes...obviously no amp is the most natural...a mic only is the second most natural...of course. However, in the practical world, you often have to have an amp.

When I use one, I play the GK MB-150 with matching extension cab. I have found it to be the most natural sound with enough volume to play in most any kind of venue at the most reasonable price. However, if you have lots of cash to trash, there are many others...Walter Woods - very clean, natural amp. Acoustic Image.
 
#17
Warwick209 said:
I've been using a SWR 2x10 for years now, on my upright. I have a realist pickup, and have just had the toughest time trying to figure out what would give my bass the most natural tone. Any ideas?


Thanks,
Chad
Click to expand...
Natural is in the ear of the beholder, IMHO. It describes a sound that you think sounds most like an unamplified bass.

The Acoustic Image amps you've seen several people mention have a design goal of being completely neutral - that means what goes in, which will definitely be colored by your pickup, is what comes out. For most of us, that's a step in the right direction, and then we look for a pickup that produces what we feel is a "natural" or uncolored sound to the extent that is possible.

It may be that, for you, a particular pickup combined with a particular amp gives you a sound that you think is most natural - the only way to know is lots of trials. If you want the amp with the flattest response, then AI gear is probably the overwhelming favorite here as the way to go. I use mine, currently a Clarus 2R Series III amp plus a Contra-EX cabinet (which I may sell but only to upgrade to a new Ten2) for everything - upright bass, electric bass, keyboards, guitars, vocals, whatever my situation demands. It effectively is our little jazz combo's small PA when we need that, with the addition of $100, 8-channel mixing board. I wouldn't own anything else. The amp I had before my current setup was an original series AI Contra.

-S-
 

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