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Double Bass Fishman feedback!! Enlighten me please?

N

NumFingerFiddle

Aug 10, 2010
1
0
#1
I've been playing bass guitar for years but within the last few months I have aquired an upright bass fiddle with two fishman pickups clipped to the top of the bridge, I play through an Ampeg 4X10/svt 350. At practice volume it's great but with gigs coming soon I can't afford this horrid feedback in the higher volumes. It also picks up the horn section and drums and sends a jumbled mass of inane NOISE. It's mega lame...
I bought a boss noise supresser but it does nothing..
Any ideas for a newbie?
 
#2
That's what happens you mix loud volumes with a double bass.

Coupla things to try, prolly in this order:
1) Weave something between the strings between the bridge to dampen the afterlengths. Some silicone hose would be idea but a small towel or somesuch should prolly work.
2) Dampen the tailpiece using a piece of foam wedged between the bass top and the tailpiece.
3) Stuff the F-holes (make sure you don't break anything) with some towels or foam
4) Drop the BP-100 you're using and go to a magnetic pickup.
 
#3
A noise suppressor probably won't do much. You want a pre-amp with a phase switch, a low-cut filter and/or a good eq. A compressor / limiter might help a bit as a last resort.

I personally use fdeck's "HPF-Pre" preamp and a Boss GEB-7 eq pedal. Fishman also makes good pre-amps.
 
#4
kreider204 said:
A noise suppressor probably won't do much. You want a pre-amp with a phase switch, a low-cut filter and/or a good eq. A compressor / limiter might help a bit as a last resort.

I personally use fdeck's "HPF-Pre" preamp and a Boss GEB-7 eq pedal. Fishman also makes good pre-amps.
Click to expand...

I also use fdeck's device. I doubt if polarity inversion will solve the OP's problem given how extreme it seems to be. The HPF probably won't be too much help either. hdiddy's list seems a good one.
 
#7
bolo said:
Software guys would refer to this as "reusable code" from Uncletoad. Hey, that rhymes.

Did we ever sticky this? Was written w.r.t. the Realist, but much of it probably still applies with your BP-100.

Enjoy.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5915075&postcount=8
Click to expand...

There you go.

A HPF can help quite a bit.


The main thing though, is the stage volume has to be low. The high volume for the audience is to be out there in front of the stage, not on stage. You're 4x10 speaker should not be feeding the room if it's near you. (Perhaps replace it with a 1x10" or 1x12" placed up high near your head?)

If your band wants you to use an acoustic instrument like a double bass, then the band has to modify to its stage volume to allow it. If that really can't, or won't, be done, then use an EUB or an electric bass guitar instead. They were designed and built to excel in such conditions.
 
#8
NumFingerFiddle said:
I've been playing bass guitar for years but within the last few months I have aquired an upright bass fiddle with two fishman pickups clipped to the top of the bridge, I play through an Ampeg 4X10/svt 350. At practice volume it's great but with gigs coming soon I can't afford this horrid feedback in the higher volumes. It also picks up the horn section and drums and sends a jumbled mass of inane NOISE. It's mega lame...
I bought a boss noise supresser but it does nothing..
Any ideas for a newbie?
Click to expand...

Everything that others have added you should try, if possible.
Since you have a separate head I'd also try using a smaller cabinet with the SVT 350 if you have access to one. Four ten cabinets have a lot of speaker surface, thus they tend to feed back more often. The BP-100 is also no picnic, if you intend to play upright a lot then I'd take a look at the Fishman Full Circle. If it's picking up the horn's and drums then you must really have to crank it to get useable volume levels. This isn't a good situation to be in.

Ric
 
#11
The BP-100 was designed to hit a 10Mohm impedance. The OP's description of the kind of noise he's getting made me think right away of a piezo pickup going into too low of an impedance.

If you want to stick it out and make that pickup work, try any of the Fishman pres, or Fdecks little box.

There are also lots of tips around here about fitting a BP-100 properly, if you do a search. I'd also try to tape down the pickup lead onto some foam, in addition to the above advice.

Good luck!
 
#13
Using a high-pass filter is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. It gets rid of the problem frequency, but also gets rid of all the good stuff that's below the problem frequency. Parametric EQ is the ticket. However this may be of little or no use for helping get rid of all the stage noise that's being picked up (I did not have a parametric available one when I needed to get the banjo out of the bass channel).
 
#14
TimmyP said:
Using a high-pass filter is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. It gets rid of the problem frequency, but also gets rid of all the good stuff that's below the problem frequency. Parametric EQ is the ticket. However this may be of little or no use for helping get rid of all the stage noise that's being picked up (I did not have a parametric available one when I needed to get the banjo out of the bass channel).
Click to expand...

Timmy,
I always try to avoid using the HP filter, if at all possible and usually the EQ section of a decent pre amp will get at problem, without engaging the High Pass. I have a notch filter on the Headway EDB-1, but it's range isn't where the low notes get out of hand, and it all but eliminates the pitches where it does work. In short, sometimes, I have to resort to the Hi Pass because it's the only tool that will get at those frequencies. You are correct however, that the more you raise the frequency of the high pass, the less it's going to sound like a bass. Used judiciously, it's very effective, at least for me.

Ric
 
#15
TimmyP said:
Using a high-pass filter is like throwing out the baby with the bath water. It gets rid of the problem frequency, but also gets rid of all the good stuff that's below the problem frequency.
Click to expand...
Disagree, respectfully.

My experience with piezo pickups on my double bass is that they can pick up a lot of infrasonics. There's nothing below those that you want to keep. And an adjustable HPF deals with those nicely.

I don't want "earth shattering lows" w/ amplified DB anyway. I've got two HPFs, one onboard and one outboard. From room to room, they are the only "tone" adjustment I make.

A HPF will slope off freqs below the cutoff point, not eliminate them entirely. I dunno, it's become indispensable to me when I amp up. Cuts the mud and tightens up the low-mids and mids. Goes for my mic and my pickup too.

Edit: IME, a shelving type bass EQ knob on a typical amp with 3 or 4 EQ knobs can as you say "throw out the baby with the bath water," and cut "good" frequencies both below and above the offending freq. It is often too broad for fine tuning. An adjustable HPF works much better as a tone shaping control for me.

YMMV
 

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