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Double Bass Fishman platinum vs sansamp preamps

B

bovinator

Jul 12, 2006
13
0
www.marklau.org
#1
hello,
i own the Tech21 sansamp bass DI (unfortunately not the acoustic version) but i am thinking about buying the Pro-EQ Platinum - mainly for the high pass filter to tame boominess.

just wondering if anyone has had experience with both of these preamps. i have heard rumours that the fishman preamp's sound is a little dull but any light shed on the topic would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance.
 
#2
i don't know the sansamp, but i used the platinum few months with an underwood pu..
well, with platinum, you have plenty of features (DI, compression, eq, preamp, etc),but, maybe am i completely crazy, i found the average sound almost better wiht my old Boss Geb7 i used before platinum !!!:hmm:

curiously, i got a lot of feedbacks using the plaitinum on stage (no feedback with geb7) and found it probably too sensible ? i never managed to adjust the eq as much easily than wiht geb7 which sound more "flexible" to me.
The compression feature didn't impressed me too...(i use an EBS mutlticomp when needed).
for all others things, such as DI, phase, deep control (feedback !!)... i just can say that i never used them more than half an hours (except for DI)..

'the bassist Swiss knife" ok, but quite expensive and basically, the main use is the eq and preamp, and that exactly what you have on a 50 usd Boss pedal...
 
#3
i love my platinum eq. first off it has a 10 meg ohm input impedance, which is more apporpriate for a piezo pickup than a boss unit. the deep control is an adjustable high pass filter and i'm addicted to it. it's great for dialing out the flab in your signal. i just crank the bass slider and dial down the high pass filter until the flab is gone. the frequency point is different in every room, so i find it to be more useful than a fixed point high pass filter. with the sliders, you can get as much punch as you want. the mid sliders are voiced nicely in my opinion. i suppose it can sound dull if you dont know how to best adjust the eq for your bass or the particular room you're in, but it can sound quite nice to if you use the sliders, particularly the mids, correctly. i dont use the compression at all. i think the bass doesnt sound natural with it, but that's just me.
 
#4
I have both the SansAmp Para DI and the Fishman. The Fishman is clearer sounding and the low-cut filter, phase, and compression controls have let me get really loud in tricky club situations. The SansAmp has more character (and sweepable mids) but it doesn't have the precision that the Fishman has. I'd also recommend the LR Baggs ParaCoustic DI--it sounds more musical/toneful to my ears than the other two boxes. It has a (fixed) low-cut filter around 40 hz but lacks a ground-lift switch. I had one and sold it to a guitarist friend who desperately needed a preamp, and I'd like to get another someday.
 
#5
What Winston said. I've used the Sansamp Bassdriver AND the paradi, with the sweepable mids AND the Fishman. Imho the Fishman is better than both sansamps because it delivers a less colored sound. The depth control is useful for limiting boominess, the compressor can help clean up some piezo artifacts, and the eq controls are well voiced for bass. The sweepable mids on the para Di I've found to be pretty useless--if you have the blend all the way on full, you still have a pronounced mid-suck no matter what. In my experience, there's little advantage to the para di compared to the bassdriver, but again I'd go wth the Fishman over either.

For what it's worth, I still own the paradi and the fishman, but I never use the para di and rarely use the fishman. I prefer the Avalon U5, which is a very different beast
 
#6
yeah, i used an avalon in a studio the other day with my electric and it was quite impressive indeed. wish there was a portable version for carrying on new york subways.

the LR Baggs looks good too now. bugger! did you find that the notch filter is helpfull for taming the boominess, winston? i just realised that my double bass has a resonant frequency (wolf tone?) on the pitch 'A' when amplified (very painfull playing in Ab i can tell you). i noticed that the LR Baggs has a tuneable notch EQ with note pitches shown. did that actually work with bass to help cut out sympathetic resonances?
 
#8
bovinator said:
yeah, i used an avalon in a studio the other day with my electric and it was quite impressive indeed. wish there was a portable version for carrying on new york subways.

the LR Baggs looks good too now. bugger! did you find that the notch filter is helpfull for taming the boominess, winston? i just realised that my double bass has a resonant frequency (wolf tone?) on the pitch 'A' when amplified (very painfull playing in Ab i can tell you). i noticed that the LR Baggs has a tuneable notch EQ with note pitches shown. did that actually work with bass to help cut out sympathetic resonances?
Click to expand...

I did indeed find that the notch filter reduced rumble, although I didn't get much of a chance to put it through the paces before my guitarist friend snatched it up. You can find the Baggs used for under $100...good deal. I must say that for recording the Fishman Platinum seems noisier than the SansAmp and Baggs... NE1 else notice that?
 
#9
bovinator said:
yeah, i used an avalon in a studio the other day with my electric and it was quite impressive indeed. wish there was a portable version for carrying on new york subways.
Click to expand...

I carry the Avalon and an acoustic image Focus SA in a tool bag, sort of like an old-fashioned gym bag. 600 watts, enough for any gig, and the whole rig weighs about 12 lbs.
 
#10
update: i managed to pick up a used fishman platinum a few months ago for $100. my experience with it has been pretty much what most people had mentioned on this thread.

the high-pass filter (the perfect foil for the bottom heavy gage pickup) and the phase switch are lifesavers - well ok, gig-savers, and the sound is much cleaner and clearer compared to the 'tube-simulation' sound of the sansamp (which i still find useful for electric bass).

after using the fishman, i don't think i could go back to the sansamp even though it is heavier and bulkier to carry around. thanks everyone for the info.
 

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