Double Bass Doubling vs Mixing

[peterpalmieri]

I’ve said this in other threads. Velcro-ing the FDeck to my tail piece has been a game changer for me, addresses many of the concerns with plugging a piezo into any old electric bass amp. And now my kolstein travel bass functions more like an electric bass with a active preamp.

That being said, after many years of fooling with this stuff. I’ve settled on a Jule Monique dove cage. It will work as a DI if there are monitors. I use it with a Bergantino IP 112. And for the ultimate in flexibility I plug Monique into an AI Focus. I can use the effects return or use the instrument input if I want to take advantage of the EQ.

In the most gear heavy application that is running the planet wing pickup into the fdeck. Then the fdeck to Monique, Monique into the focus. Focus into a Bergantino HT112 or HT112/NV115.

That is the extent of my gear and I’ve stuck with it for three years now. In addition to having a Motown DI.

Motown DI with the fdeck is good enough with a house PA, Monique is sufficient if I can get hold of a powered monitor and turn it into my bass amp. The entire rig which is still a manageable size only really comes out when I’m doubling outside in the summer 2-3 times per year.

Sounds complicated but it’s not and I am very unlikely to change it at this point.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I’ve said this in other threads. Velcro-ing the FDeck to my tail piece has been a game changer for me, addresses many of the concerns with plugging a piezo into any old electric bass amp. And now my kolstein travel bass functions more like an electric bass with a active preamp.

I've been considering doing this for my upcoming trip to Ecuador at the end of the week. Can you upload a pic of your mounting placement/ system?

 

[peterpalmieri]

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

@peterpalmieri thanks! The FDeck I plan to take with me is an original series, so my in/outputs are on the side. Still, that gives me some food for thought.
EDIT: I just spent about an hour practicing on the Busetto with the FDeck in front of the SansAmp Para Driver. I think that's the way for me to go with whatever backline I find down there, so I'll be looking for mounting options tomorrow.

 

[vin*tone]

I've found the flex to be pretty good. All it really lacked was a mute on each channel. You can always add colouration on the EB channel with pedals if you wish.

 

[logdrum]

The tail piece affects the tone also specially arco sounds, It's best in my opinion to minimize hanging stuff off it. But maybe in a loud situation it does not matter.

On topic - The one that work for me when doubling is the EBD-2 to handle the upright mix of mic and piezo. This goes to the channel 1 of the Radial Bass bone and set to flat. Bass guitar goes to channel 2 which has a nice EQ and then to the effects return or input of an amp set flat. If I need a bit of grind, a tech21 VT character pedal just after the bass guitar. but channel 2 on the bassbone set flat. I usually clip the EBD2 to my belt since I need to play with the mic gain and notch as invariably the band gets louder. Bassbone also has effects loop and boost.

 

[Zbysek]

As a crazy thought, could you run the BG through something like the Eden glowplug to warm up the tone before it hits the Felix?

We had the same idea..

 

[Ric Vice]

The tail piece affects the tone also specially arco sounds, It's best in my opinion to minimize hanging stuff off it. But maybe in a loud situation it does not matter.

On topic - The one that work for me when doubling is the EBD-2 to handle the upright mix of mic and piezo.

Especially if you have a compensated tailpiece. I tried a Ischell with the X Jack assembly that velcros to the backside of the tailpiece. It dampened the sound, so for some, it would help with feedback, but in my case it muted the sound, the tailpiece mount for the AMT mic did the same thing. Admittedly the FDeck is much lighter, so it’s a trade off between convience and sound. On bigger more robust instruments you probably wouldn’t even notice much difference. Just my take.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

@peterpalmieri Here's what I came up with, thanks to the wonders of Dual Lock. Thanks for the inspiration!:

 

[bdowd]

Looks great, Chris. What is that hockey puck thingy under the fdeck?

 

[Ric Vice]

Looks great, Chris. What is that hockey puck thingy under the fdeck?

Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

I would say it's a hollow plastic ball (to avoid feedback or to avoid a falling preamp if the glue might fail).

Dual-lock adds the complete mass of the preamp to the tailpiece, if something soft is put between tailpiece and preamp, most vibrations are not transferred to the preamp so that the mass of the preamp doesn't influence the vibrational properties of the tailpiece as much as with a hard coupling like with the dual-lock.

But it's a Kay, isn't it. So that might not be that much important.

 

[Don Kasper]

But it's a Kay

I think it's a Kolstein, not a Kay.
Thanks.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

I think it's a Kolstein, not a Kay.
Thanks.

Oh, I see. I'm not that familiar with the American basses.
Looking from Europe that all looks like the same... (I know, it isn't...)

I was wondering a bit that Chris might have a Kay. I see, I was wrong. Sorry.

Anyway, the lower the preamp mass is placed at the tailpiece, the less influence on the frequency of vibration of the tailpiece (and the less practical for the player, I know).

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

The thing under the tailpiece is a foam ball called a “Bass Bomb” that Gollihur sells for about $5 to help tame rampant resonances when amplifying. It’s the perfect size and density, and on this bass at least, when crammed under the tailpiece right at the saddle, helps dry up the amplified pickup signal nicely. In Ecuador now, will do first performances with this setup tomorrow and will report back in a day or so.