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Double Bass Cheapest easiest way to boost input impedance?

krfoss

krfoss

Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2007
3,038
4,497
Orange County, CA
#1
I know I can get the grace Felix, the red eye, the ebs stanley Clark…but I also like using the eq and options with my boss 1000core.

Is there a simple and cheap box, even an always on, no switch option that I can throw in front of the boss? Is anything simpler than the fdeck mini, or might that be my best option?
 
#2
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#8
I’m in the same situation. I mostly play mandolin, and many times friends and bands ask me to plug my mandolin directly into their PA and sit in on a few songs. My pickups on my mandolins are K&K Twins piezo and while they sound great through my Fishman Artist amp, they are passive and sound shrill and thin when DI into a PA mixer. I don’t want or have time to take my Fishman with me when I might only play three songs, or not at all. I have an Art Studio Tube MP lifter that I bought, but it doesn’t have the effects that my Fishman amp has, and I like a touch of reverb and chorus on my signal.
 
#9
I recently picked up a Fishman Platinum Stage preamp from Gollihur. It's always on and really small, and is made for matching impedance from piezo pickups to amplifiers. It includes an XLR out as well in a really small package and is cheaper than the other options you mentioned.

I haven't played with it live yet, but in my testing at home it really improves the sound of my piezo pickups through my normal bass guitar rig.
 
#10
I'm not very savvy in the ways of the double bass world, but I know in electric/bass guitar circles, impedance booster pedals abound. Prime example that comes to mind is Super Hard On (SHO) pedal. There's tons of clones too, most below a hundred bucks, that do the same thing. I'm not sure how they work exactly, but they seem simple enough to build if you are so inclined. I've seen some that don't even require a batter/AC power.
 
#11
krfoss said:
I know I can get the grace Felix, the red eye, the ebs stanley Clark…but I also like using the eq and options with my boss 1000core.

Is there a simple and cheap box, even an always on, no switch option that I can throw in front of the boss? Is anything simpler than the fdeck mini, or might that be my best option?
Click to expand...
What input impedance are you looking for? Lots of devices have 1M ohm, but anything higher than that is not all that common.

The cheapest smallest device I’ve seen is the Mosky Pure Buffer.
 
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#14
Given the modest price of the fDeck, perhaps there is not much of a reason to do additional research.

The cheapest solution would be to use something you already have. Check the specs of available gear and maybe you will get lucky.

If you run through a DI, consider something like the Radial SB-4. New price is around $105. The input impedance is 5meg and it has a buffered Thru. The SB-4 runs off phantom power provided by the mixer.

FYI, most DIs do not have a buffered through. Rather, the Thru is essentially a parallel connection with the input. So if you run the Thru to an amp, the input impedance of the DI is placed in parallel with the input impedance of the amp.

Example: Countryman Type 85 has 10 Meg input impedance and an unbuffered Thru. If you run the Thru into an amp with 1 meg input impedance, the combined impedance (10meg + 1meg) is ~909k.
 
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#15
If you want 20 M, then Headway EBD-2 VAP preamps what you need. Having said anything over 5 megaOhm is pointless for most piezo's


Why do you need high input impedance? Also you need to consider what the output impedance is of the pedal in between and usually these preamps sound better through the effects loop at line level.
 
#16
Wasnex said:
Given the modest price of the fDeck, perhaps there is not much of a reason to do additional research.

The cheapest solution would be to use something you already have. Check the specs of available gear and maybe you will get lucky.

If you run through a DI, consider something like the Radial SB-4. New price is around $105. The input impedance is 5meg and it has a buffered Thru. The SB-4 runs off phantom power provided by the mixer.

FYI, most DIs do not have a buffered through. Rather, the Thru is essentially a parallel connection with the input. So if you run the Thru to an amp, the input impedance of the DI is placed in parallel with the input impedance of the amp.

Example: Countryman Type 85 has 10 Meg input impedance and an unbuffered Thru. If you run the Thru into an amp with 1 meg input impedance, the combined impedance (10meg + 1meg) is ~909k.
Click to expand...

How's the math on this exactly ? (Z is impedance ) - I thought for parallel impedance combos ,1/Z-total = 1/Z1 + 1 Z2 + .. 1/Zn . . Wouldn't this be 1.1 M?
 
#17
logdrum said:
How's the math on this exactly ? (Z is impedance ) - I thought for parallel impedance combos ,1/Z-total = 1/Z1 + 1 Z2 + .. 1/Zn . . Wouldn't this be 1.1 M?
Click to expand...
That’s the right equation, but you forgot a step. 1/z total = 1.1, which gives z total = 0.909 M ohm oto 909 k ohm.

What pickup are you using? The GT 1000 core specs say it already has a 2M input. That is good for most pickups
 
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#18
bassically_eli said:
That’s the right equation, but you forgot a step. 1/z total = 1.1, which gives z total = 0.909 M ohm oto 909 k ohm.

What pickup are you using? The GT 1000 core specs say it already has a 2M input. That is good for most pickups
Click to expand...
I have a realist wood tone on one and a full circle on another. Everything I read says 5 or more is ideal. I ended up buying the nux tuner so I can have a dedicated tuner for that purpose. I love the radials and just saw the pz-pro, but $50 is better than $450 at the moment and I can use the eq on the boss and di on the shift line Olympic. If the money comes in I’ll prob get the radial. These are the moments I regret selling my bassbone od and ebs Stanley Clark. So much for not hoarding hear.
 
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#20
logdrum said:
How's the math on this exactly ? (Z is impedance ) - I thought for parallel impedance combos ,1/Z-total = 1/Z1 + 1 Z2 + .. 1/Zn . . Wouldn't this be 1.1 M?
Click to expand...
Here us the formula I use:
1772217519561.png


1772217474857.png
 

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