When I get the EQ right the Clarus/Upshot with a Realist Soundclip in a nice room gets a pretty natural sound:
Same group with no amp:
Same group with no amp:
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Double Bass Best Amp for Jazz (Upright)
- Thread starter Warwick209
- Start date
I use a realist lifeline (much better than other realist models) and an older GK Mb150E with my Shen SB300 strung w/ Thomastic Spirocore Weich and it gets lots of compliments. If I ever need a new amp Ill go w/ an Acoustic Image and a condenser mic.
This used to be my go to setup only In my case it was a GK 200MB (which was the predecessor to the MBE) I also used Thomastic Spirocore Weich until
the Pirastro Evah Parazzi strings became available, along with a Underwood pickup, because Realists didn’t exist yet. Fortunately, I have Realist Lifeline now
and love it. I traded my second GK 200 MB for an MBE and it was not a good match for my bass and string preference’s. I got rid of it within 3 months never to return to GK amplifiers again. Just my take. I currently use a Traynor SB 106 that’s as close to a GK 200 MB as I’ve ever heard.
the Pirastro Evah Parazzi strings became available, along with a Underwood pickup, because Realists didn’t exist yet. Fortunately, I have Realist Lifeline now
and love it. I traded my second GK 200 MB for an MBE and it was not a good match for my bass and string preference’s. I got rid of it within 3 months never to return to GK amplifiers again. Just my take. I currently use a Traynor SB 106 that’s as close to a GK 200 MB as I’ve ever heard.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I’ve been using Lifelines for several years on different basses and been completely satisfied. As far as amplifiers go, I have found that an old AI down firing cabinet and MB Nano 300 head is amazing in one particular room which has a concrete floor and I put the amp near the center of a 20 foot wall. The tone is fat and warm but with excellent clarity and little evidence of amplification other than added volume. It was atrocious on two recent gigs. The down firing design relies on room interaction to support the low end and is hit or miss.
The GK MB150S consistently delivers a good tone and has never failed me.
The GK MB150S consistently delivers a good tone and has never failed me.
That is the distinct between the MBE and the MBS. When Gallien Krueger released the re-voiced MBE with it’s semi parametric EQ after the fact they realized that they had built an amplifier that was great for EB but sounded nothing like the original 200MB’s EQ which worked well for both DB and EB. Less than a year later they introduced the MBS which was as close as they could get to the old 200 MB. Just my take of course. GK stopped production on all their Micro Bass amps several years ago.
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In the last ten years I've had almost 30 different cabs and a dozen+ different heads. The problem is that I've played those in 200 different rooms, so every night is a crapshoot.
-Get more power than you need and don't compromise good volume or tone for the sake of weight. Tiny and ultralight are useless if nobody in the room can hear you.
-Get more power than you need and don't compromise good volume or tone for the sake of weight. Tiny and ultralight are useless if nobody in the room can hear you.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I play traditional jazz gigs; duo, trio and quartet where a small amp like the GK is more than adequate. I did play a seven piece thing in a large ballroom and used the GK. A Countryman DI took it to the house. I’m getting too old for those loud gigs ;-)…….
I do believe that the search for MBOL is a fools errand. Our instrument was never meant to be amplified so I use what works and delivers a good tone without too much effort.
I do believe that the search for MBOL is a fools errand. Our instrument was never meant to be amplified so I use what works and delivers a good tone without too much effort.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Not really. New guy wants to improve his amplified tone and looks for a better amplifier when he should spend more time improving his acoustic tone.
“There is no holy grail of amplifiers”
This one is pretty close for my overcompensating days after I have a really bad sound the gig prior!
I’m not interested in “MBOL” when I play through an amp. I’m looking for the best possible sound that inspires me and can be heard by bandmates and audience.
I embrace the sound of an amp, it’s different than the “natural” acoustic sound of the bass. And I’m fine with that.
My Full circle pu —> Walter Woods and EA Wizzy 10 works all day and night for me.
I embrace the sound of an amp, it’s different than the “natural” acoustic sound of the bass. And I’m fine with that.
My Full circle pu —> Walter Woods and EA Wizzy 10 works all day and night for me.
I just got a Genzler BA10. Its amazing. I've never played though anything so good.
I used to play though a powered pa wedge. The Genzler sounds so much cleaner and compliments the sound of a bass. It's also half the weight and size and handles the lows much better
I used to play though a powered pa wedge. The Genzler sounds so much cleaner and compliments the sound of a bass. It's also half the weight and size and handles the lows much better
'Better not come to the shows where I stand on it and light it on fire!
I agree. I like my Markbass 12 combo for small electric gigs, but really don't love it for upright. But my old single rack space Markbass F500 on an older Epifani 10UL is better sounding and louder then the MB12. I still use a 10mg ohm buffer with most amps.
I know what you mean, if it falls over it will damage the floor and possibly destroy the pedalboard, too.
Markbass built the F500 and the dual channel LMK which were decent amps for Double Bass they apparently didn’t sell well enough for them to keep those amps in the line. Their most popular amp the Little Mark isn’t a great DB amp but it sells well for them. They shifted to the Big Bang and the Micromark (Red Version) DB players liked the Nanomark so for a while there was an alternative to the F500. The word is still out on the new model.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I thought the LMII was great on electric and pretty good for upright but not ideal due to the low input impedance. The 12” combo puts that head into a cabinet that sounds colored to me. For upright bass I prefer cabinets that have a tight and clear upper bass and midrange without much low end. So that combo has both a boomy low end from the speaker cabinet and a bit of upper midrange honk due to the low input impedance. FDeck’s HPF really helps with that combo.
The Nano 300 has an input impedance of 2meg and has a very clear, transparent tone. I like the EQ points on the tone controls and am very happy with it.
A few posts back I mentioned using it with an older AI cabinet on a regular gig. Well, that gig came around last night and it’s in a big (maybe 3000 square foot) room Cigar Bar. Normally there are a dozen or so people there and it’s relatively quiet but last night they hosted a group of about 150. Everyone was well into adult beverages and our trio couldn’t communicate to even call tunes. I could see the piano player’s lips move a few feet away but had no idea what he called; so we just played. That amp combo really delivered a tone and volume level I have rarely experienced. I’ve used the GK MB150S in that room but prefer the MB/AI combo.
No, there is no perfect amp. It’s nice to have a few options that work in different situations.
After hearing Marc Johnson's and Carol Kaye's Walter Woods (back in ~'83), that did it for me; had to bloody get one of those, which I thankfully still have. Ironically tho', presently it's the rare exception to amplify at all. If it must happen, the chain from the flatback is tandem from both a Troll ribbon and KnK double piezo into the blender preamp (Raven Labs PMB or DTAR Solstice), outputting to the WW MI 100-8, to cab. Or, just blender preamp into the board; a little less fuss for setup. Regardless of room acoustics, there's ample EQ control to help dial in the more natural tone, which is of course always most preferable. 
