Double Bass D-tar solstice or Raven labs blender?

[bolo]

Adrian, can I please ask in what way(s) do you prefer the sound of the L.R. Baggs Mixpro over the Solstice?

You may recall I've tried running my Rev SOLO pickup into a Gigpro. But to my ears it scooped the mids (I think). The resulting tone was too thick for my taste (which is wierd 'cuz I like my tone nice and warm and velvety). It just seemed to lack presence and definition in the mids to my ears, with my bass & gear, et al. I remember thinking "This Gigpro would be a great preamp for warming up a jingly jangly acoustic guitar sound, but not for my DB."

I know however that you and flatback think highly of the Gigpro, and I definitely respect your opinions and expertise. Perhaps it works great with your Vektors and not so great with my Rev SOLO. I dunno.

 

[fdeck]

A high-pass filter would not be hard to add as a mod. It is a resistor and capacitor, and could even be buried in one end of a 1/4" patch cord.

 

[Ike Harris]

In my opinion, Solstice has a better sound for upright, as well as more choices with inputs and outputs.
I still keep the Raven Labs for a backup. It is completely reliable, but as Chris mentions, adds a thickness to the sound. When I bought it, it was so much better than any of the little battery powered preamps I had.
Solstice sounds quite natural with the most headroom of any preamp I've owned. There are 4 inputs, which can be used simultaneosly. Each of the 2 channels has it's own output if you want to bi-amp or send your mic to the house, plus a blended output.
I don't use much eq - sometimes I'll boost mids a little in order to cut through the mix, and occasionally cut bass if we're in a boomy room. I understand Solstice wasn't designed primarily as a bass preamp, so the eq points may not be ideal for bass, but I find them useful enough.
One other thing. Raven Lab PMB can run with batteries. Solstice must use a wall-wart.
Please pm with any questions.

My experience reflects JonB's here. I had the PMB-1 and it was fine or at least a good step better than the Fishman. The Solstice is better IMO than the Raven due to being a truer upright sound and I like the fact that both channels are set up the same and work equally well on upright and electric. I like having the xlr's even though I haven't really gotten to use them yet. Haven't had much need for adjusting EQ either way and I like having the clipping LED. It's also a more roadworthy unit to me.

Ike

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

A high-pass filter would not be hard to add as a mod. It is a resistor and capacitor, and could even be buried in one end of a 1/4" patch cord.

I've often wondered about the makeup of a HP filter, and what makes one better than another; mostly, I've just been curious to find out how small a decent HP filter with a variable frequency setting could be made, and whether it would need to be powered or not. Seems to me that a really small HP filter with 1/4" ins and outs could be a very useful item to keep in the bow pocket of my gigbag...especially since I never seem to have a bow in there anyway.

 

[Adrian Cho]

Adrian, can I please ask in what way(s) do you prefer the sound of the L.R. Baggs Mixpro over the Solstice?

To be honest, I found the sound of the Solstice a bit devoid of life. I found the sound a little boxy and hollow at times. I agree that the MixPro probably does lack some definition and presence in the mids but it worked fine for the kind of gut-like sound I aim for. The Solstice definitely worked a lot better as a mic preamp than the MixPro. I used the MixPro with the Pub. Now with the Focus 2 I have the onboard mic preamp for a mic.

The Solstice was PITA to carry and forget about carrying the Equinox as well.

 

[Uncletoad]

A high-pass filter would not be hard to add as a mod. It is a resistor and capacitor, and could even be buried in one end of a 1/4" patch cord.

I've often wondered about the makeup of a HP filter, and what makes one better than another; mostly, I've just been curious to find out how small a decent HP filter with a variable frequency setting could be made, and whether it would need to be powered or not.

I've never met a passive high pass filter I thought sounded right. Active stuff takes up more space but to me sounds more transparent. Obviously a much bigger PITA factor.

FWIW I really like the tone of the PMB-II.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I've never met a passive high pass filter I thought sounded right. Active stuff takes up more space but to me sounds more transparent. Obviously a much bigger PITA factor.

That makes sense. Still, if only a 9v battery is required, I can't help but wonder if an adjusable HP the size of a small wallet would be possible?

FWIW I really like the tone of the PMB-II.

I do too...I just find it colored. It's a pleasing color, but still a bit more "solid" sounding than I sometimes want. For a lot of gigs, though, it's just the ticket.

 

[bolo]

I have the Solstice and Equinox, and owned the PMB II, and the True Blue EQ. I love the solstice, and have yet to have a situation we've I've needed more eq than what the solstice offers. I sometimes add a touch of bass. I use it going direct into power amps on the road, Sometimes I blend a mike and that can get trickey, but I still find a minimum of eq goes along way. This unit has great dynamic response and a warm sound. I found the PMB II a bit harsh, and a little compressed sounding.

brooklynbassguy, it seems like you have checked out quite a few of the available options! Thank you for the comparison and the summary.

 

[bolo]

B String, FWIW I do perform some EQ w/ the Solstice, but not in the traditional manner.

If I turn the "Volume" knob on the Solstice past 3:00 and push the input section harder, it thickens up the sound to my ears. It does not operate strictly like a bass EQ knob, but it is similar to me. The tone of my bass and pickup gets quite thick and blurry if I crank this knob much past 4:00 or so.

However, the "Master" control knob on the Solstice has a different effect. To my ears, and with my setup, turning this knob past 12:00 seems to generate more of an electric tone. I tend to rely on this in rooms that are full of crowd noise for example, to help me cut through more.

These effects are subtle I suppose, but they seem to operate in a range that works for me when I’m trying to fine tune or “EQ” my sound in different rooms.

That and the way I move my cabinet all around per my previous post, for the proper Feng Shui.