Doubling Head

Do a search. You'll see people posting on this everywhere. WT-300 and Aggie 1x12 is a great low volume slab rig. Not so much for upright. I would get an URB specific cab 1x12 (Flite, Berg, EA, etc.) and a cheap IAmp or AI head (IAmp 350 or Clarus) for upright. Keep your other rig for slab. I haven't heard an electric rig I really liked for upright or an upright rig I really liked for electric. Class D amps are the bomb for upright, not so much for electric. Walter Woods would probably be the best choice if you've got to, got to have one rig...but much $$.

W

 

Troy,
I really liked the Time Traveler with Precision Bass, but I'd never tried
it with the upright. After reading you're post I probably won't bother.
Have you considered just buying a MBE 150 head. Those baby's are very reasonable at the moment. That way if the Combo falls down a well you can hook the head up to the Aguilar and you're off and running. Granted it's not a Walter Woods, iAMP, or a Acoustic Image, but it's certainly the biggest bang for the buck. If that's not the sonic quality you're looking for then Wilbyman has it nailed and with the new models from AI due out in December I'm pretty certain that there will be a few Series II available for sale.


Ric

PS: IMHO when were are talkin' about the likes of Ray Brown and Christian
Mc Bride it wouldn't much matter what they were playing through, because every gig on their tour has a different amp. They generally don't bring em out with them. Several years before Ray passed I saw him play through a GK 150 MBE just like yours and he sounded great.

 

Since you haven't had a BG gig in years I would sell everything and get a good DB setup. For that special project that might come up I would borrow or rent.

 

I have an Eden CXC-110. Hook up a CX-110 ext. cab for BG, unplug for DB, & I'm happy. I replaced a Hartke Kickback 12(passable tone & volume)w/the CXC rig(much better tone, volume & headroom). I think for every bass & player(particularly DB)there is an ideal amp/preamp/pickup/mic/etc combination that makes one player/bass sound awesome, but not the next guy. Look at how many DB guys are trying yet another amp in search of 'the sound'. Mind you, I'm not pointing fingers; I just happened upon what I think is the ideal rig for me(after a very short search). As for EQing, tweaking mids always yields the best results for me. The CXC has switchable freq. points for the mids; high mids cut through, low mics add beef.

 

I use an Eden WT330 Time Traveller with an Eden 210XST, for slab and EUB. I find the amp to be very neutral - I like a clean hifi sound and this is the best I've found. For EUB, I have the 'Enhance' right off (it boosts extreme lows & highs, cuts mids - exactly what you DON'T want for upright) and I generally leave the EQ flat - perhaps boost the low mids a little if the room requires more grunt.
I suspect your problem with the sound is more to do with the speaker than the amp. My 210XST is perfect for my BG, but is a bit too generous in the extreme lows for an upright. A smaller speaker with more midrange 'poke' would probably suit URB better than my Eden or your Aguilar. Getting the speaker up off the floor also makes a big difference to the low end, and your ability to hear yourself.

 

Troy,

Are you using an external preamp with the Eden? Got to get that impedance matched up right or the amp won't be happy. Plus a little EQ on the preamp box doesn't hurt to dial out badness.

Also, the Eden is like the SWR and has an Aural Enhance style feature. You said you were running relatively flat -- be careful, because having that baby straight up at 12:00 is actually adding a lot of processing to your signal. I set my Enhance knob around 15% and start there (I learned this from another Talk Bass Forum!)

 

I use an old ('94) Eden Highwayman (500 watts) into an Aguilar 1x12 for my upright- not the ideal upright rig by any means (but who really has enough $$ to be constantly buying new rigs?), but if you can figure out how to "flatten" the amp from an eq standpoint, that should help- Eden amps seem to have a pretty big bump on the low end- i cut alot of low mids, and i never use the enhance knob with upright.
With a mic (atm 35) and pickup (you name it i've tried it) through a preamp/blender (raven labs pmb-1 or d-tar solstice), I've been able to achieve a natural sound, especially at low volumes. I don't know what the eq is like on your model Eden, but i'm assuming it's a semi-parametric like mine- pretty versatile eq section if you take the time to mess with it and cut the frequencies that are troublesome with your bass.
I've also experimented with running my solstice into the aux. input on the back, bypassing the eq and uisng only the amps power section, to some good results.
I generally use the same eq for my electric bass ('75 jazz bass), i just turn the enhance knob a little to bring back the bottom.
Not sure if this is helpful or not, just my experiences with an Eden/Aguilar combo!

 

I've gone realist straight into Eden w/out a preamp, and it wasn't pretty!

 

In an earlier post you asked about how the larger GK heads like the 700RB sound for upright bass. I used a 400RB a few times with my upright (which at the time had an Underwood pickup) and I thought it sounded pretty good. A few upright players around town use this head with their uprights. Like the Microbass combos, the 400RB has a 1 Meg Ohm input impedance which helps it deal with piezo pickups better than some other bass heads. I think the active midrange and variable contour control on the GK amps help to dial in an suitable sound for most rooms. I now use either a GK MBS150 or a SWR WM12 for both electric and upright and they both sound good for either my Realist equipped upright (no preamp) and my Fender Jazz Bass. The GK is usually my first choice. I would think that your GK combo with an extension cab would be a fine doubling rig for low to medium volume gigs. I don't any expereince with Eden gear, but there are quite a few bass amps I have tried that did not sound good for upright at all. Conversly, I don't think the AI Contra combo is a very good electric bass amp, although some might disagree. Good luck on your quest.

- Steve

My web page

 

I've used a little K&K single channel preamp that was like $70 from Gollihur, which might be a good option for a single pickup setup. For blending 2 sources (2 pickups, or a pickup and a mic), i have used a Raven Labs blender and a D-Tar Solstice. A preamp will get your input level to the right place, and will give you some more eq options. But once you start spending $$ on preamps...might as well save up for an AI or something. Hey, do you ever play with Jose Martinez (drummer) out there in Seattle?

 

Troy,
I guess from my perspective, what you use kinda' depends on your finances at the moment and how any extra little boxes you want to carry around with you to the gig.

Personally, I've spent lots of bucks on a Fishman Blender with their Crown condenser microphone and the end result sounded pretty nice until I started using a Realist which just plugged straight into the amplifier.

My problem with the little boxes, is that I have to remember all their
in's and out's, and deal with a second set of controls on the gig, going back and forth to get the equalization and tone controls set properly, and then there's the whole battery and AC adaptor issue as well.

I want a amplifier that works like my toaster. You put the bread in, set the dial, and push the handle down and after a few minutes, bingo you have warm delicious toast!!!

The Acoustic Image amplifiers are great because you can plug anything
into them (including you're microphones on the new Series III's) not have to worry about little boxes to correct some inadequacy in the amplifier. They are the "deluxe toaster" for the double bassist. This coming from a
guy who only owns Walter Woods amplifiers.

Ric

 

I have an iamp 500 + wizzy, and i love it.. i just play double bass, but some friends at shows used it at least 5 or 6 times for electric bass, sounded wonderfull, in fact one went to order one the day after, pretty amazing little rig.
YMHO of course
good luck


NUNO

 

LOL! That's good stuff. Gonna be tough getting the noodles out of the keyboard!