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DI question

#21
niftydog said:
It's a top quality unit, built like a tank, sounds great, includes similar circuitry to that found in EBS heads and pedals. (Overdrives just like the Unidrive.)

$800 of whose dollars? I got mine for AUD$600 which is about US$435. Plus, we always pay a premium down here, so you should be able to get it cheaper than me!
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That's a great price! On second look I found one on sale at The Perfect Bass:

List Price: $995.00
Player Price: $796.00
Sale Price: $696.00

EBS is hard to find in North America. According to the website, they don't even have a Canadian distrubutor :eyebrow:
 
#22
niftydog said:
$800 of whose dollars? I got mine for AUD$600 which is about US$435. Plus, we always pay a premium down here, so you should be able to get it cheaper than me!
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Exactly like seanm said, list price seems to be USD $995.

niftydog said:
Seems he was attracted by the idea of a one box solution to his situation.
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Yeah, pretty much. I can use the setup I have now, it's just a pain. The EBS would be nice, but it's hard to justify that kinda dough just to avoid some hassle.

seanm said:
you might be able to drop the Fishman Platinum Pro however. Channel A is 10M but dosen't have quite the EQ or the compressor of the Fishman. It does have a tube simulator.
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Yeah, I saw that the A input was 10Meg Ohms (like the Fishman) which is one of the things I like about it (the Fishman)...that higher input impedance makes a difference with passive basses. You're right of course; I could lose it, but I like the EQ points and the compressor works nicely too. I was just excited when I checked out the Radial JDI with its combine option...it got me thinking I could downsize until I thought about it and realized I had no way to monitor myself.

Seems like it's either get the EBS and take the hit financially or just stick with the setup I have now.

[SIGH=me] [/SIGH]
 
#25
I've spent some time thinking about this and, if you wanted to use the dual DI that you mentioned before:

1) Split the signals from your two setups using a 1/4" (mono) Y-cable

2) Run those into the 2 sides of the DI: Mags -> Ins #1 (both left & right), and V-Bass -> Ins #2 (again, both L & R)

3) Set both sides to be combined, and one side to use the pad (if the V-Bass is active). You would have to boost your mag PUs to the level of the V-Bass if its an active level (which I assume is the case), and youl'd have to do this before spliting to the DI

4) The non-pad side goes to an amp, the pad side goes to the FOH

:cool:
 
#27
DarkHarted said:
I've spent some time thinking about this and, if you wanted to use the dual DI that you mentioned before:

1) Split the signals from your two setups using a 1/4" (mono) Y-cable....
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This is what I was trying to avoid because of inherent signal degradation.

The EBS seems like the perfect solution, but the price....

BTW, TaySte_2000, got your PM...thanks
 
#28
It looks as though I'm going to be getting the EBS after all. Fellow TB'er Toasted is selling one and the price is fair. A bit more than I was hoping to spend to address my situation, but hey...

If it works out, I may have an extra Fishman to sell (got 2 anyway), so we'll see....
 
#31
Can you explain why you don't want to use the mixing and connectivity built into the V-Bass?

One xlr out is the gk effected signal, the other is direct, right? Depending on how you set the mix in the patch, you can also add the magnetic pickup tone to the gk tone.
 
#32
jondog said:
Can you explain why you don't want to use the mixing and connectivity built into the V-Bass?
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Sure. The input impedance is not high enough (on the GK pickup) and so affects the tone in a way I don't like. Also, I like the EQ section on my Fishman better than any EQ offered in the V-Bass (though it works for the modeled stuff). As a result, I use the 2 systems independently. I've tried both ways, and to me this sounds better.
 
#33
Interesting, what effect does low gk impedance have on the tone? How does keeping the magnetic tone separate from the gk tone solve the impedance issue?

Also, have you looked into other hex pickups? Does the new gk3b have it? Yamaha B1d? RMC Piezos? If you're spending that much on an EBS to fix a problem maybe it would make more sense to solve it at the source.
 
#34
jondog said:
Interesting, what effect does low gk impedance have on the tone? How does keeping the magnetic tone separate from the gk tone solve the impedance issue?

Also, have you looked into other hex pickups? Does the new gk3b have it? Yamaha B1d? RMC Piezos? If you're spending that much on an EBS to fix a problem maybe it would make more sense to solve it at the source.
Click to expand...


The Fishman has a 10MegOhm input impedance. This is considerably higher than the input impedance seen at the GK input. I have found that the net effect is that the magnetic pickups are much less loaded and sound quite a bit better this way. Additionally, I am not a big fan of digital EQ...at least not in the V-Bass. Using the setup I am using allows me to tailor the magnetic pup sound more to my liking than any options presented by going through the V-Bass input.

I looked into RMC at one time and while it looks like a nice option, it's more than I will be spending on a used EBS; quite a bit so, not even counting the installation costs.

In short, I'm happy with the sound I'm getting so I don't see a need to mess with that; I just wanna downsize if I can.
 
#35
I get great sounds through the V-Bass off the magnetics whether using a bass's onboard pre or going passive. No loading issues any more than any other passive input has ever given me (and the GK pickup itself doesn't seem to change this on any basses I've routed through it). The EQ does fine here; it EQ seems to respond to even small changes through my rigs. I'd look at

(1) BASS IN level setting on Page 2 of the MASTER/CHAIN of each patch
(2) make sure you know your routing on the CHAIN page; it's possible to send magnetics through the signal chain at both the COSM BASS mixer, and though where you have the normal bass in the signal chain - simultaneously or just one or the other. After some time working with two separate rigs I really didn't feel I gained anything but more baggage and set-up time. Weighing that against just programming my own suitable presets, I chose LESS STUFF and don't feel I lost any sonic excellence.

A lot of it I think is just knowing the V-Bass architecture. I would bet that each time I come into a band at least one member always says something like, "wow, our last bass player didn't sound nearly that good/big/clear!" Of course, my rig is PA-like and very well suited for running extended-range straight bass or modeling, so that might be part of it.

Anyway, why not get other V-Bassers' input at Link Removed ?
 
#36
All good points, greenboy. I just like the independence I have. If a system goes down, I have a backup instantly. I also like being able to make on-the-fly tweaks to either system. I may call up my slap patch on my V-Bass, but not feel like there's enough mids or maybe too much. Maybe just a hair...but I'm picky that way. Sure, I can tweak the V-Bass, which involves stopping playing (at least with my right hand) while I push the edit button, go into the EQ parameters (either at the root level or the effect level) decide which parameter to tweak, grab the value knob (you know the drill)....

Or, I can just reach around to my Fishman (which is at waist level) and grab a slider and make an adjustment in seconds.

I'm not suggesting that I can't achieve good results with what you are talking about, but I've tried it both ways (a guitar player buddy of mine has as well...he notices a difference plugging his mags into the VG88 input as well, but he doesn't mind the difference....the GK input impedance is 1 Meg Ohm, btw), and while it's fine going through the GK input, it sounds better the way I am using it...to me anyway.

It's not an issue of being able to make it work...I understand there are many ways that will "work", but I want the setup that will sound the best for me.

I appreciate the input tho.
 
#38
I can dig that approach, but I often edit at a gig because for me that's the best way to find patch tweaks that work. So many times when working on a patch, I find I have to modify it in a live setting. Plus I like being able to EQ my magnetics independently.

The MicroBassII is working out pretty good. I like some of the filters like the speaker and tube simulators. Kind of an expensive solution no doubt, but it does afford maximum flexibility.

Having said that, on one of my basses I'm going to rewire it so the magnetics are wired into the GK input directly (the factory recommended setup), because for that bass I'm mostly using it as a controller for the V-Bass and the magnetics just beef it up a bit.

As an aside greenboy, how much programming have you done with yours? I've downloaded a few and tweaked the hell out of some to make 'em more to my liking and have ended up with a few I really like. Just wondering what your tweaking experience with the unit has been...?
 
#39
I think I notice pickup loading. With the gk pup on max if I turn up the mags from zero I get a brief dip in volume but it seems to come back when I run the mags wide open. Is this loading or something else?

I'm going to spend more time with the signal chain routing, thanks for the idea!
 
#40
I may have to eat my words.

After messing with some programs for a while, I used the V-Bass last night as a preamp-only setup with modeled amps (just to see what I could get without using the COSM basses), and I have to say that after a fair amount of tweaking, I was able to get some very nice tones.

If anyone is interested, I may be selling the MicroBass II...I might just keep it anyway, as it is a nice unit, but I can live without it if I can get a fair price....?

Any takers...?
 

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