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Double Bass Fishman Platinum Pro EQ vs Tonebone PZ-Pre? A doubling existential crisis

krfoss

krfoss

Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2007
3,040
4,505
Orange County, CA
#1
Has anyone compared these two directly or have experience with the two to make a judgement call over which would be best?

The features of the Fishman seem great, however I'm looking for a preamp to use for doubling. That said, I don't double often, but it's nice to have the tool when needed.

I'm currently using a Kingsley Maiden BF for my preamp (and have a Broughton Studio One on the way), so is it worth getting a whole separate preamp for the upright or just use the Kingsley and a Boss LS2? But what about the EQ differences between the URB and a synth or EB if they are both going through the maiden? Wouldnt the Tonebone be best? But is that even necessary? Is anything necessary? Why am I thinking about this?

So, your thoughts?
 
#2
I've found the Headway EDB-2 to be a fantastic piece of kit for doubling. But it really comes down to how fussy you are with your electric and upright tone - nothing will nail both perfectly.

IMHO the first thing any doubler should do is check to see if your amp has a parallel effects loop - meaning you can plug your electric into the main input and upright pre-amp into the effects return giving you a dedicated preamp for each (depending on the amp topology you might also get a dedicated DI for each). eg - Markbass LM2/3. The only thing is that you'll want a muting solution on each. For the electric you can just turn the vol all the way down.

I couldn't believe it when I first discovered this. Hundreds of bucks trying to find the perfect doubling preamp and the best solution was in my amp the whole time.
 
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#3
Vin*tone’s solution is the simplest way to go and the least expensive as well. The new Headway EDB-2 H.E. Has a full two channel E.Q. setup with all the bells and whistles Of DB amplification. Since you already have the Broughton Studio one or the Kingsley Maiden and only Double occasionally I’d try the parallel effects loop solution if the Bose has one.
 
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#4
I've tried them all. Fishman, Broughton, Radial, Grace Designs, Headway, etc. The best preamp for doubling is by far the Grace Designs Felix. It's expensive but, you get what you pay for. Now with the new version coming out, you might find an older model used for a decent price.

The tone is very clean. That is key for upright tone. The Fishman and Radial specifically, add too much color to the sound of your upright. That was a real deal breaker for me. The Felix has two inputs and two outputs plus two DI outs. Add the tone controls and HPF. You don't really need anything else. You can add pedals to your BG chain to get more color if you want, but I never felt it was necessary.

Another option is a 2-channel Acoustic Image amp. Very clean and similar options. The only drawback is that there is only one DI out from the unit.

using a Tonebone is going to wanting to add more pedals to find a tone you may never get. you'll have to get an HPF, and other pedals to get a tone that will still leave you wanting. If you have good instruments, just hook them up to the Felix and you'll be happy.
 
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#5
The Felix is great, I own one and use it as my primary DB preamp. Since it costs $1,200.00 it’s a major investment for most bassists.
Well worth it in my opinion if you’re doing a lot of Doubling. If you’re going to use a FOH system with dedicated monitors it’s all you need to bring on those gigs.
 
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#6
Of the pedals you mentioned the radial is much better than the fishman. I have both and spent many years with the radial very satisfied on electric and upright. You just have to know how to use it but the tones are in there. Having said that I use neither of them anymore because I also have a broughton studio One which is better than both of them for upright and electric. I have the version with the modified high impedance input and that is the only preamp that I use anymore. It's fantastic
 
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#8
To some degree, you are mixing (no pun intended) apples and oranges. The first need is getting a good tone through your preamp choice. I am not familiar with the Maiden but have in the past used the Fishman (didn't like it ) and am now using a Tech 21 Q Strip for tone shaping. The Broughton is a first-rate preamp and I am sure that it will also be excellent at tone shaping for either electric or upright. Your second need is for switching between the two basses when doubling. If they have different eq needs, then a single preamp will not work easily, because you'd have to change eq settings each time that you switch. In that case, it seems to me that you have two options - a two channel preamp (like the Felix) or two separate preamps for electric and upright, with a simple A/B box selector (something like https://www.amazon.com/Donner-Selector-Guitar-Effect-bypass/dp/B07N3ZBHR5). I don't think that the Radial will cut it because as far as I can tell, it does not have separate eq controls for each channel. Or you might be able to get by without a preamp for electric bass, depending on your amp, and use the preamp for upright and connect the EB without running it. I double on occasion and am able to get by with a single preamp dedicated to the URB.
 
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#11
vin*tone said:
I've found the Headway EDB-2 to be a fantastic piece of kit for doubling. But it really comes down to how fussy you are with your electric and upright tone - nothing will nail both perfectly.

IMHO the first thing any doubler should do is check to see if your amp has a parallel effects loop - meaning you can plug your electric into the main input and upright pre-amp into the effects return giving you a dedicated preamp for each (depending on the amp topology you might also get a dedicated DI for each). eg - Markbass LM2/3. The only thing is that you'll want a muting solution on each. For the electric you can just turn the vol all the way down.

I couldn't believe it when I first discovered this. Hundreds of bucks trying to find the perfect doubling preamp and the best solution was in my amp the whole time.
Click to expand...
That’s some food for thought. I’m using a first gen Fishman with an AB switch. Always had volume issues going into the power amp, but that still seems like a viable workaround.
 
#12
vin*tone said:
IMHO the first thing any doubler should do is check to see if your amp has a parallel effects loop - meaning you can plug your electric into the main input and upright pre-amp into the effects return giving you a dedicated preamp for each (depending on the amp topology you might also get a dedicated DI for each). eg - Markbass LM2/3. The only thing is that you'll want a muting solution on each. For the electric you can just turn the vol all the way down.

I couldn't believe it when I first discovered this. Hundreds of bucks trying to find the perfect doubling preamp and the best solution was in my amp the whole time.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's what I do. Bass guitar into instrument input of MB LM III, (electric) upright into FX loop return (through Broughton Messenger preamp). Each instrument's signal is sent to FOH separately. Works great!
 
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