Double Bass Fishman Pro EQ II

[Axtman]

I picked up a used Fishman Pro EQ II at my local guitar store. It was cheap so I figured what the heck. Would this be a good preamp to use for upright bass? (I have a K&K piezo pickup installed.)

 

[Wasnex]

From the OM: Pro-EQ II: "More tone shaping EQ for all acoustic instruments, including bass." Input impedance is 10meg. IMHO it will work fine, but probably not great. Seemed a bit woolly sounding to me (YMMV).

Try it out and let us know what you think.

 

[Axtman]

What sold me on the preamp was the phase switch. I had an SWR California Blonde combo amp a while back and I liked the phase switch. I could crank the amp with little feedback because the amp and string vibrations were out of phase.

 

[Matthijs]

It is ok, but lacks the variable hpf of the platinum version. Both are indeed a bit woolly. They work well if your setup is a bit on the harsh side.

 

[Don Hergert]

I have one, used it originally in a mono mode with my Vic's Model C bridge wing and fingerboard (stereo) piezo pickup system. It worked ok, but of course I really needed a 2-channel pre-amp. Tone wise, at least in my case, most of the tone modeling is done by the amp, but the Pro EQ II had the essentials for a mono pickup system. Since you have one I'd suggest use it until it doesn't do what you need anymore.

 

[Axtman]

Wasnex,
What does "woolly" mean?

 

[Wasnex]

Wasnex,
What does "woolly" mean?

I found this definition of woolly online: "...lacking detail and definition..."

My observation is the lows seemed underdamped and sort of loose and unfocused. Not a lot of clarity or definition of the fundamental. It's not necessarily good or bad, but I generally prefer the lows to be as tight and clear as possible.

From what I remember the unit had plenty of mids and highs, but I would not say they were particularly sweet. Not bad, just not exceptional in any way.

IMHO try it it and form your own opinion. You may love it.

 

[Ric Vice]

Axman,
I had Fishmans first Preamp and it works pretty well. Since it loads the input impedance at 10 Meg Ohms, it will improve the overall tone quality of the K&K.
Phase Reverse switches are great when they work in certain rooms and useless when they don’t in other rooms. It’s a 50/50 shot. It certainly can increase your
tone shaping options.