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Double Bass Grace Designs Felix
- Thread starter flatback
- Start date
The phantom power on the xlr mic input is always 48V, but the Felix is able to deliver 12V phantom power to the tip (or ring, but the Stat B needs the phantom power to be at the tip - this can be selected via jumpers inside the preamp) of the jack input on either input 1 or 2.
Cheers,
Vincent
Cheers,
Vincent
I had a few problems recently with getting the tone I wanted from different pickups out of the Felix, (the Stat B on my small bass and the FC and Ischell on the big bass).
I discovered after trying to get past that in that like any sophisticated tool, idiots like me can be a button push away from great sound and somehow not get there. But this week I decided to dial a sound for each pick up and memorize the settings. What a lot of trying things got me was a great appreciation the Notch filter. For URB the notch filter can really just dial out the ugly. So many points on the sweep of its dial seem to improve the sound of my pickups. The Felix can do these wildly different eq's that can sound just great, but they might be a weird twist set (my word for where the knobs end up) The Stat B can sound terrible flat (on my little bass) but with the notch filter and some mid adjustment (wide low Q and a little boost of mids) it can sound great. Also the gain staging of different pickups thru the Felix can have whole different sounds ...if you have the pickup volume high but the amp low or the other way round, really different tones, more acoustic or more sustain etc...But it is also easy to muck up and I hate when I am on the gig and dont really have the time between songs to futz about trying to figure out what is or isnt pushed in or which knob got shifted.
I discovered after trying to get past that in that like any sophisticated tool, idiots like me can be a button push away from great sound and somehow not get there. But this week I decided to dial a sound for each pick up and memorize the settings. What a lot of trying things got me was a great appreciation the Notch filter. For URB the notch filter can really just dial out the ugly. So many points on the sweep of its dial seem to improve the sound of my pickups. The Felix can do these wildly different eq's that can sound just great, but they might be a weird twist set (my word for where the knobs end up) The Stat B can sound terrible flat (on my little bass) but with the notch filter and some mid adjustment (wide low Q and a little boost of mids) it can sound great. Also the gain staging of different pickups thru the Felix can have whole different sounds ...if you have the pickup volume high but the amp low or the other way round, really different tones, more acoustic or more sustain etc...But it is also easy to muck up and I hate when I am on the gig and dont really have the time between songs to futz about trying to figure out what is or isnt pushed in or which knob got shifted.
The powered MAS 16 in combination with the Felix is utterly superb. Jaw droppingly simple, light and studio quality sound in a live rig. It doesn't get much better. It is truly "nearly everything I own is about to be for sale" good. THAT good. I'm curious about the Ischell, but frankly I just stopped caring about what might be better that is out there.
Bravo, magnifico, all things bass should be simple, lightweight, and sound great.
Ric
I took the Grace Felix on a 3 week trial tour this month. Here are my impressions:
1) Sound. A+++++. No elaboration necessary.
2) Ease of Use. C. The switches that control which signal gets routed to the XLR and 1/4" (aka AMP/TUNER) outs are easily tripped accidentally. You MUST match the impedance correctly coming in (and you should be doing this anyway); it makes a HUGE difference w/ the Felix. If you have any experience w/ professional audio you'll be fine, but there is a learning curve.
If I had to make improvements, I would add or change the following:
1) An HPF filter AND Notch filter per channel. I don't like how you can only use one or the other per channel. For those blending a mic and a piezo or similar it would be nice to ditch some unnecessary low rumble while still being able to notch out the inevitable problem frequency,
2) I'd prefer the FX loop to be 2 TS send and return jacks as opposed to the TRS combo jack. I know it's silly, but I just like being able to use my standard 1/4" pedal board kits.
3) If you're going to have this much tonal control, why not go one step further and add another fully parametric mid-range band on both channels? If simple is your thing, the Grace Felix probably isn't. Might as well have it all.
DK
1) Sound. A+++++. No elaboration necessary.
2) Ease of Use. C. The switches that control which signal gets routed to the XLR and 1/4" (aka AMP/TUNER) outs are easily tripped accidentally. You MUST match the impedance correctly coming in (and you should be doing this anyway); it makes a HUGE difference w/ the Felix. If you have any experience w/ professional audio you'll be fine, but there is a learning curve.
If I had to make improvements, I would add or change the following:
1) An HPF filter AND Notch filter per channel. I don't like how you can only use one or the other per channel. For those blending a mic and a piezo or similar it would be nice to ditch some unnecessary low rumble while still being able to notch out the inevitable problem frequency,
2) I'd prefer the FX loop to be 2 TS send and return jacks as opposed to the TRS combo jack. I know it's silly, but I just like being able to use my standard 1/4" pedal board kits.
3) If you're going to have this much tonal control, why not go one step further and add another fully parametric mid-range band on both channels? If simple is your thing, the Grace Felix probably isn't. Might as well have it all.
DK
Yeah the Ischell is great, BUT with the 16 on the floor (or two of them) I have noticed when I bring it out that the Feedback issue with the Remic is greatly diminished. THe fact that the 16 is on the floor aimed out causes less feedback then having it aimed up or elevated and yet because of the wide dispersion you can hear it just fine (contradictory I know but it works) The bleed is still there but for a lot of gigs who cares? I still think the Remic with a Piezo mixed in under it is a great great sound. And the Form factor of that little light powered speaker (right now mine is frankenamped with the Focus strapped to it) makes it all such an easy schelp....Ok so I know this is crazy cord management stuff and I should just be done with it but....THey make an IEC cord with a piggyback plug...so you could have the two cords from the felix (power and 1/4 signal) joined in a snake (or zip tied) that way it would be one cord from the felix to the amp and one cord from the amp to the wall. (one outlet instead of two) I am always trying to reduce the cords.
I've been thinking a lot about selling my AI ten2 combo and getting the MAS16 and the Felix. I like the AI but it is a little heavy to be walking around with it and the bass. What pickup/mic are you using with the Felix and MAS16?
I try to get away with just using a mic. Preferred right now is a Remic Red, but I keep a Troll as a backup. I have a Lifeline installed on my bass currently. I use it on maybe 25% of my gigs.
It's my hope that Remic continues to work on the DB Live version of the Remic.
Ric
Yeah Ric,
Me too. I have both versions. THe thing is the Red version (studio) has a great great sound. THe Green (live) can be pretty good with the Felix. But The Ischell has WAY more Feedback rejection and WAY more bleed rejection and far and away a more usable tone. Right now I have the Red and an Underwood on my Contrabassetto (great combo of direct and mic sound) and the Ischell and FC on the big bass. Both are killing acoustic sounds that can get loud.
THe real disadvantage of the Remic (IMHO) is that you cannot put it (without the H clamp) exactly where it wants to be (position one for the Ischell which is also position 1 for most mics) I use the Remic up under the fingerboard and since it is an omni it works really well there but with that mic I always have a pickup underneath it for clarity and bottom. With the Ischell, I use it by itself 80% of the time dialing in the FC just when it gets really loud or unclear. THe Ischell almost never feeds back, the Remic is always a dance to avoid turning the bass toward the speaker OR keeping the Remic really low. THe best sound I've had with the Remic is with the MAS 16 where on the right gig (up to sensitive trio) you cannot tell it is on and yet you hear that distinctive complexity that mics have but pickups don't. The Ischell can sound weirdly direct like a pickup, but the after taste and puff sound like a mic.
Piro,
For you it's the Ischell, For me it's the EAP. If I need a pickup, I have a Revolution Solo in my bass case, but I rarely use it. I've not played out with my Remic Red yet, so I cannot comment on it other than to say it's magnificent into a preamp with my NAD headphones.
Ric
For you it's the Ischell, For me it's the EAP. If I need a pickup, I have a Revolution Solo in my bass case, but I rarely use it. I've not played out with my Remic Red yet, so I cannot comment on it other than to say it's magnificent into a preamp with my NAD headphones.
Ric
... And for me it is the Schoeps CMC6/MK41 (on an H-clamp) and a Schertler Stat B (single) when more volume is needed. Interestingly, a rather unlikely combination also seemed to work wonderfully with the Felix and my active cab (Schertler JAM 150 Extension): the Schoeps together with a Zadow magnetic pickup! Using 60% mic and 40% pickup gives me an incredibly powerful and feedback-resistant sound that still sounds very much like my bass acoustically.
Cheers,
Vincent
Cheers,
Vincent
Yeah why I love the Felix: 30 or 40 percent pickup or 60 to 70 percent Pickup still gets you enough Mic sound to make it not sound like a pickup. Sometimes I might only have a little of the Remic in there on a loud gig, but even a little is enough to take the Piezo edge off of the sound and add depth and perspective...although there are loud times where no matter how little mic, you are still amplifying the Drums.
One insight with the Felix, I thought I'd pass along: THe AMP out of the Felix is MADE to go to the AMP input of any amp. I have been using it with a bias toward bypassing the front end of any amp and going straight into the power section, so that I don't have any weird gain staging or duplicate eq ing. But recently I have been plugging it into the front end of different bass amps (house amps, music stores friends etc) and I have been thinking about it all wrong. A lot of the amps I have tried, the Felix sounds BETTER through the front end. The other week I put it into the front end of a giant Mesa Boogie Tube amp that is the house amp at a place I play, sounded incredible. So I started just using it that way as though the Felix was the like an active pickup. With the Ischell/Piezo blend it starts to feel like the bass amp is the amp for the speaker and the Felix is the amp for the bass. (like active pickups). I still hate all the cords, drives me nuts. But now I dont think twice about using other amps, I just plug the Felix straight into it using the eq I normally use then slightly adjust the bass amp eq for the speaker (if). Been working like a charm and make the extra cords somehow worth it. THe Felix with a mic/pickup blend into a tube amp is really a hell of a sound.
That's very interesting. I usually run DI out to the power section of the amp, even when I'm not going into PA. should I likewise try this into the front of the amp?
By the way, using a Felix gives you a whole new perspective on your gear. Yesterday I used a Wizzy10 that I'd put out to grass a while ago. But it sounded great.
By the way, using a Felix gives you a whole new perspective on your gear. Yesterday I used a Wizzy10 that I'd put out to grass a while ago. But it sounded great.
Very intersting Piro. You would think that direct into a high quality power amp would yeild you a better sonic template. It certianly does with my M700, but that's a very pristine power amp with great response across
the entire frequency range of a Double Bass. I'll have to try it into the front end of my Walter Woods Electroacoustic Ultra and ye olde Ampeg B-15N(C) On a personal note, I'm just more likely to use the Grace directly
into a power amp. That way I can mount it on a microphone stand, and have easy access to the controls. I really like having all the preamp control knobs facing up for easy excessability. That's one of the features I really
liked about the old Acoustic Image Focus 2 R's.
Ric
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