Double Bass EQ tips: David Gage Realist -> GK MB200

[Ric Vice]

FDeck’s HPF/Buffer Preamp is designed to do 3 things and do them right/well. run variable high pass filter, buffer the input impedance and reverse the phase. The Headway EDB-2 is a whole different ball game. It’s got a 5 Band EQ, variable Notch Filter. 18 v Phantom. DI and Line Out two channel volume gains and inputs. and +32 DB gain into a P.A. or powered speakers.

 

[Pings Bass]

FDeck’s HPF/Buffer Preamp is designed to do 2 things and do them right/well. Buffer the input impedance and reverse the phase. The Headway EDB-2 is a whole different ball game.
It’s got a 5 Band EQ, variable Notch Filter. 18 v Phantom. DI and Line Out two channel volume gains and inputs. and +32 DB gain into a P.A. or powered speakers.

Oh I get it! I'm just saying the only thing it does that I need right now is EQ. At some point, if I'm regularly playing joints with decent FOH support, I'll invest in a decent DI that does it all. For now, I can get what I need from an EQ pedal added in to my rig.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

As was mentioned before, the copperhead might not be the best choice for you. Try the Lifeline before trying preamps or the like. Garbage in, garbage out. Not that your pickup is garbage, but the amp can only work with what it gets.

 

[Pings Bass]

As was mentioned before, the copperhead might not be the best choice for you. Try the Lifeline before trying preamps or the like. Garbage in, garbage out. Not that your pickup is garbage, but the amp can only work with what it gets.

I'm pretty convinced they all suck, to be honest. I'm not kidding. I just don't like the sound of piezo pickups at all. I've never heard one that sounds like an unamplified bass, just louder. Only a mic can do that in my experience. And any piezo will need EQ tweaks to not sound awful. And then there's arco.

Anyway I think I'm getting the Realist dialed in, for pizzicato at least. My piano player liked it today in rehearsal.

 

[Wasnex]

I'm pretty convinced they all suck, to be honest. I'm not kidding. I just don't like the sound of piezo pickups at all. I've never heard one that sounds like an unamplified bass, just louder. Only a mic can do that in my experience. And any piezo will need EQ tweaks to not sound awful. And then there's arco.

Anyway I think I'm getting the Realist dialed in, for pizzicato at least. My piano player liked it today in rehearsal.

When the Realist came out, it was considered one of the most accurate pickups you could buy. I used a Realist on several basses and it served me well for the most part. My job entailed about 50/50 pizz and arco, and in my experience the Realist bows pretty well without a lot of EQ.

Prior to the Realist I used a Fishman BP100 and Underwood, and they required massive EQ to sound decent with the bow. I think one could argue that they are slightly better for pizz than the Realist as they have a more immediate attack.

I also had a Barcus Berry piezo that looked like chopped up popsickle sticks glued to the bridge with a battery powered preamp to buffer and EQ the pickup. I thought the BB was way better than the Underwood and Fishman, but it was discontinued a long, long time ago.

The last bass I used the Realist on was not a great bass to amplify in the first place. I was 7/8 Lakeburg Baer that was made to be extremely resonant. The bass was extremely loud acoustically, but also had sort of a natural wooliness to it, and the Realist tends to bring this quality out. The arco was actually quite good. The pizz didn't sound bad, it was just very much more in line with an orchestral sound than a jazz sound, and it was not something I could address with EQ.

As far as how I EQ amplified upright basses. I actually ring them for feedback exactly like I tune a PA system for feedback. Basically I increase the gain until the bass starts to feedback and note the frequencies. I back the gain off and notch out the tone that was feeding back. If I am using a parametric I will then increase the gain until the bass is again on the verge of feeding back. Then I will create a relatively narrow bandwidth filter with about 6dB of boost. Next I sweep the filter across the bandwidth and note which tones feed back, and then go back an notch out the problem frequencies. Three to four notches is about as far as you want to go. Create narrow filters and notch fairly deep.

If you have a range of adjacent frequencies that want to feedback, create a wider filter and dip gently to even out the response rather than using a deep cut. The louder you need to push the amp, the deeper you will need to cut to even out the response.

Years ago I also used a 31-band graphic EQ with string bass. With this type EQ I boost two bands at a time and note if there is feedback. After I have boosted three adjacent bands, I make a decision if I need to make a cut. Make the cut with the band that is closet to the frequency that is most prone to feedback. The same rule applies, if you make a cut with a single band, you can cut very deep, and if you need to cut multiple bands, you use less of a cut.

What I like to do is establish the volume I need to play at and then turn up at least 6dB to set the EQ. The idea is to establish some headroom where I can safely turn up the amp without getting a nasty sound or feedback. I find that when I tune the bass this way, that the tone tend to be a bit clearer and more focused because you are cutting of the obnoxious resonant peaks in the instrument' and pickup's combined response.

The Empress paraEQ is not a perfect tool for this since it is not fully parametric, but I think it's pretty darn good. As I suggested before, try using your amp to get a basic tone and use the paraEQ as a utility EQ to solve problems. With a bit of practice I think you will be able to get a pretty decent sound by balancing both EQs.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

I'm pretty convinced they all suck, to be honest. I'm not kidding. I just don't like the sound of piezo pickups at all. I've never heard one that sounds like an unamplified bass, just louder. Only a mic can do that in my experience. And any piezo will need EQ tweaks to not sound awful. And then there's arco.

Anyway I think I'm getting the Realist dialed in, for pizzicato at least. My piano player liked it today in rehearsal.

You can lead a horse to water....................

 

[Pings Bass]

You can lead a horse to water....................

Bruh. I've heard the lifeline. It sounds like—get this—a piezo.

I do appreciate the recommendation, but I'm getting the realist's woofiness tamed enough that I can live with it.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

FDeck’s HPF/Buffer Preamp is designed to do 2 things and do them right/well. Buffer the input impedance and reverse the phase. The Headway EDB-2 is a whole different ball game.
It’s got a 5 Band EQ, variable Notch Filter. 18 v Phantom. DI and Line Out two channel volume gains and inputs. and +32 DB gain into a P.A. or powered speakers.

Nope, three things: impedance, phase and high pass filter! A lifesaver for many of the bass and guitar players I work with.

 

[Ric Vice]

I guess that’s why it’s called the HPF buffer preamp

 

[Pings Bass]

Yeah, but do we really need HPF if we can't hear it? We should do a thread to really hash this out.

/sarcasm

 

[Ric Vice]

I certainly do, although I start with the HPF all the way off and gradually raise the cutoff frequency as little as possible. In some of the venues I play it’s a necessity to be able to hear notes on the E and A strings. A pinch of HPF usually ads clarity to the low end.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Yeah, but do we really need HPF if we can't hear it? We should do a thread to really hash this out.

/sarcasm

If you do not amplify low frequencies you do not want anyway, there is more power left for those frequencies you want to hear. And you can keep some bass frequencies without the mud that way.

 

[Pings Bass]

I was joking guys! My HPF is always on.

 

[Ric Vice]

I'm pretty convinced they all suck, to be honest. I'm not kidding. I just don't like the sound of piezo pickups at all. I've never heard one that sounds like an unamplified bass, just louder. Only a mic can do that in my experience. And any piezo will need EQ tweaks to not sound awful. And then there's arco.

Anyway I think I'm getting the Realist dialed in, for pizzicato at least. My piano player liked it today in rehearsal.

Actually, with the right EQ, a Realist can sound decent for both Pizzicato and Arco, far better than it's predecessors, like the Underwood and Fishman BP-100 and even nicer than the Upton Revolution Solo. The HPF helps eliminate low frequency boominess, phase reverse

helps with feedback and timbre, and the 10 Meg Ohm load helps with low end loss. So, in combination with the 4 Bands of EQ on the 200MB there's lots of tone shaping options. Microphones are lovely, but....... they are more prone to feedback and even the great ones

like the DPA 4099Dvote Core, Ear Trumpet Labs Nadine, Xlson "Chuck Israels", and Remic's pickup other instruments. Pickups do that as well but have much better isolation. So, it's a mixed bag. One thing you need to remember the 200MB produces 200 watts into a 4

Ohm load, but your GK 112 Neo is rated at 8 ohms. This drops your output power to @ 134 watts RMS. That little amplifier is working pretty hard to keep up with drums, keys, guitars, and horns. I've played gigs with my TC Electronics BAM 200 (backup amp) and it isn't

ideal for all situations. Just my take. We do what we have to with the equiptment that we

are able to reasonably afford.