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Double Bass Grace Designs Felix

#121
Turn Em Loose said:
Well, for electric I like a clean sound. Until I don't. That's where the FX loop comes in handy. Just click a pedal (or two) on/off to get the desired effect.

You know, I don't mind some mild OD on URB, either. The Tone Hammer, Agro and Azure Drive all sound pretty darn awesome on my URB (with very mild OD settings). IMO, etc etc.
Click to expand...

I've not really messed with OD On upright outside of the studio. That can be fun :)

I should say, I mostly run my electrics 'clean,' through a Reiner 6SL7 tube pre, which to some ears isn't clean at all!

My previous doubling rig was a Michael Pope MPP2 pre with a 31 band graphic eq in the upright channel's effects loop (only used if needed). The obvious downside is you have to lug around a 6 space rack, which I don't mind on tour, but I want something faster, lighter and simpler for my local gigs. The other downside was while I though my upright sounded cool through that rig, I never loved my electric sound through the Pope. So lately I've been running the FELIX for upright, an Aguilar TH DI for electric into a splitter to the amp. Now I have a very straight forward, simple rig that sounds good on both instruments.
 
#122
dukeorock said:
So lately I've been running the FELIX for upright, an Aguilar TH DI for electric into a splitter to the amp. Now I have a very straight forward, simple rig that sounds good on both instruments.
Click to expand...

Ummmmmm....Like, pics? Or it doesn't exist??

The Tone Hammer is pretty hard to beat, on EB or URB. It's sooooo freakin' easy to get a good tone. I rarely even use the mids. AGS on, a little Gain and a little Bass cut, and adjust Treble to taste. Done.

The Agro's no slouch either. I run it with Saturation at a minimum, and contour from 3:00-Off and maybe just a little Treble cut. Maybe. Done.
 
#123
lowfreqgeek said:
Aside from obvious differences in the EQ, how does this compare to the Acoustic Image Flex in terms of sound?

The Flex has some different functionality, of course, but would the Felix be noticeably better under most stage conditions given the same bass, mic, and pickup (if blending)? The studio is another story, I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Hard to say, I've only seen the Flex, as Acoustic Image generally only builds amps on a to order basis. One of us would have to do demo one. Since I can't see one locally in a store, I have to go with reviews here on Talkbass. There has only been one individual on the threads that's taked about his experiences with the Flex. So, there's precious little info out there. I'm sure it's quite good, but no one's confirmed that fact. The Grace Felix has a near perfect EQ setup
and form/ffunction. Ed Freidland also did a nice YouTube Flex demo. So, it's a matter of whether you want to spend 600.00 for the Flex or $1,000.00 for the Grace.

Ric
 
#124
Ric Vice said:
Hard to say, I've only seen the Flex, as Acoustic Image generally only builds amps on a to order basis. One of us would have to do demo one. Since I can't see one locally in a store, I have to go with reviews here on Talkbass. There has only been one individual on the threads that's taked about his experiences with the Flex. So, there's precious little info out there. I'm sure it's quite good, but no one's confirmed that fact. The Grace Felix has a near perfect EQ setup
and form/ffunction. Ed Freidland also did a nice YouTube Flex demo. So, it's a matter of whether you want to spend 600.00 for the Flex or $1,000.00 for the Grace.

Ric
Click to expand...

Well, I already own the Flex preamp and use it all the time. My setup has gone mostly to an AMT S25B>Flex pre>PJB Super Flightcase and/or FOH. If things are getting really loud, I'll use a much bigger PJB amp and the Full Circle. I rarely blend DI/mic, but I often double, so having multiple channels is nice. I find the 4-band EQ to be very adequate, but I don't generally do a lot of EQing with the mic - I use it more for room control. I use the HPF all the time, and it sounds great to me, but I don't have much else to compare it to aside from the software-based HPFs I use for mixing audio. Generally, I can rely on the HPF for most of the shaping of the sound for both the mic and my Full Circle, with small adjustments to the EQ for problem areas.

One thing I haven't figure out yet is how to run each input to it's own isolated output. I've tried running both outputs separately, but both signals show up on each output. Sometimes it would be nice to take the mic straight to house and the pickup to my amp, but I usually end up bypassing the Flex for one or both signals (my amp handles Piezos well). Another very minor gripe is that you can't select between channels - both are on all the time. That's not a big deal in 98% of the circumstances in which I use it, but there have been a few occasions where I'd like to have the option to select channels.

Soundwise, the Flex is very transparent and clean. The pickup sounds as good through the Flex as it does through my Manley Tube DI (an EXCELLENT studio piece). Every mic I've run through it sounds very clean and natural, and like itself. No complaints there.

I think the bottom line for me is whether the addition of the signal routing (AB/Y), the boost, and the upgrade in EQ are worth the extra $500 I'd spend if I sold the Flex to buy the Felix. At this point, I'm not sure - I've got more important things to work on, like my acoustic sound and intonation and the bow. However, the Felix is certainly on my radar.
 
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#125
lowfreqgeek said:
......I think the bottom line for me is whether the addition of the signal routing (AB/Y), the boost, and the upgrade in EQ are worth the extra $500 I'd spend if I sold the Flex to buy the Felix. At this point, I'm not sure - I've got more important things to work on, like my acoustic sound and intonation and the bow. However, the Felix is certainly on my radar.
Click to expand...

Well said sir, the Felix and Flex are great tools, but nothing subistutes for sound and intonation. :thumbsup:
 
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#126
dukeorock said:
I've not really messed with OD On upright outside of the studio. That can be fun :)

I should say, I mostly run my electrics 'clean,' through a Reiner 6SL7 tube pre, which to some ears isn't clean at all!

My previous doubling rig was a Michael Pope MPP2 pre with a 31 band graphic eq in the upright channel's effects loop (only used if needed). The obvious downside is you have to lug around a 6 space rack, which I don't mind on tour, but I want something faster, lighter and simpler for my local gigs. The other downside was while I though my upright sounded cool through that rig, I never loved my electric sound through the Pope. So lately I've been running the FELIX for upright, an Aguilar TH DI for electric into a splitter to the amp. Now I have a very straight forward, simple rig that sounds good on both instruments.
Click to expand...
Duke.
Could you advise what make and model the splitter is. I assume you mean some sort of A/B switch. My past experience with this arrangement in the mid 70s was not good, but I am hopeful that technology has advanced since then.
Thanks
 
#127
JAKBOUND said:
Duke.
Could you advise what make and model the splitter is. I assume you mean some sort of A/B switch. My past experience with this arrangement in the mid 70s was not good, but I am hopeful that technology has advanced since then.
Thanks
Click to expand...

There are several good ones. Lehle is probably the most highly regarded...I went with the Radial BigShot IO. Sounds very nice and it's affordable. The only downside with this one is there are no lights to indicate what channel you're on as it's fully passive. I haven't found it to be that problematic :)
image.jpg
 
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#129
dukeorock said:
There are several good ones. Lehle is probably the most highly regarded...I went with the Radial BigShot IO. Sounds very nice and it's affordable. The only downside with this one is there are no lights to indicate what channel you're on as it's fully passive. I haven't found it to be that problematic :)View attachment 757733
Click to expand...

What he said.

I'll add that the lack of indicator lights may cause a few seconds of trying to figure out if the Mute is on/off and which Input is turned on. But nothing that can't be figured out real quick.

And I also really like that Trim control on Input B. Very nice feature to have, IMO.
 
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#130
flatback said:
One note of caution with two channel preamps that offer this level of sophistication. Last night I was getting ready to go to a gig where I wanted to use the Felix and just run the Remic mic (a duo gig in a big restaurant) for about 15 minutes I could not get the Felix to make a sound. Everything looked great: the green lights flickered showing signal coming in, phantom on, amp line out to amp, everything looked good but no sound. I took the mic out and plugged it into the Focus, sound. I plugged in different output cords, from the Felix to Focus, nothing. Checked mute, off....rechecked everything, no sound. Finally I just left me studio with the Focus. I still haven't figured it out...Im sure I will...Im sure it will be nothing, a routing button or.. something, but Im just saying, when these boxes get complicated they get complicated. The Remic into the focus sounded really good, but I did mis the clairty and sound and eq of the Felix.
Click to expand...
I think this happened because the Amp out can only carry input 2 or the mix. So if you only have the Remix in input 1, you need to make sure the Mix option (as opposed to A/B) is selected, the source for the amp out is mix, and the mix knob is turned fully anti-clockwise. I don't have a Felix myself (yet), but this is what I understood after reading the manual.

I have another question to you, flatback: in order to make the Schertler stat work with the 12V provided by the Felix, did your need to change the internal jumpers, or did the standard setting do the job? And did you use the standard cable that comes with the stat? Many thanks in advance for your reply!

Cheers,
Vincent
 
#132
Hi Vincent
Hey I only had one on loan from Grace for the review ( I am definitely going to buy when I get done paying for the Contrabassetto that will be here soon) and I really didn't want to open it up and start monkeying around...So I used the Stat B thru the Schertler Preamp. Sounded utterly stellar, and I plan on figuring out how to make it work with just the felix when I get one. Bob (cacophonic) uses his Schertler Stat B and the Felix powers it great.
Makes total sense what you said about input 1 and 2 ...confirms what I was saying about how complicated the whole thing can get before you figure it out....Does not dampen my enthusiam for the Felix.It has a sound Live that creates a space of its own that is distinct and musical and makes the bass sound great no matter what it is powering....
 
#133
flatback said:
Hi Vincent
Hey I only had one on loan from Grace for the review ( I am definitely going to buy when I get done paying for the Contrabassetto that will be here soon) and I really didn't want to open it up and start monkeying around...So I used the Stat B thru the Schertler Preamp. Sounded utterly stellar, and I plan on figuring out how to make it work with just the felix when I get one. Bob (cacophonic) uses his Schertler Stat B and the Felix powers it great.
Makes total sense what you said about input 1 and 2 ...confirms what I was saying about how complicated the whole thing can get before you figure it out....Does not dampen my enthusiam for the Felix.It has a sound Live that creates a space of its own that is distinct and musical and makes the bass sound great no matter what it is powering....
Click to expand...
Ah, ok, thanks for your quick reply. Perhaps cacophonic would like to chime in and explain how he powers the stat? Although I am very happy with my current setup, I am also very tempted to get a Felix...
 
#134
Yeah it sounded as though his worked out of the box with the Schertler. Mine did not. It would make a difference to me if the Felix COULD NOT power it up, but the Felix is so good I'd want one anyway just for the mic/line preamp.
 
#137
Vunz said:
I contacted Schertler myself, who responded very promptly, and the 12V should be sent to the tip, which can be set via the jumper inside the Felix. Great!
Click to expand...

That's correct. I've found that the Stat-B works very well with the FELiX, without using the Schertler preamp. I use a TRS plug with the tip and ring both connected to the inner conductor, plugged into CH 2. The CH 2 ring is normalled to the CH 1 input, allowing the ability to switch channels, effectively providing the ability to have two different EQ schemes available.

-bob
 
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