Help me simplify my doubling rig

So, this is my setup for tonight’s outdoor upright gig. FDeck HPF>Grace Designs BiX (DI to FOH)>BBE BMAX>Crest Prolite 2.0>Greenboy F212.

I tried this setup at rehearsal last week and was very pleased with how it sounded, but it seems a bit overly complicated.

I like having the HPF, I like having a DI easily accessible, I like using the boost feature in the BiX to maintain volumes between arco, pizz, & slap, and I like the compression and other features on the BMAX.

I use this same setup minus the FDeck & BiX with my P Bass for a 60’s cover band and it sounds great.

I don’t double on upright & bass guitar within the same band, so I can remove the outboard gear as needed.

I just think there should be an easier way. I own a Rane AP-13 which is great with upright, but feeding it into the BMAX for bass guitar sounds horrible. I tried just going straight into the BMAX with my piezo, but the input impedance must be too low because it sounds thin.

If this is the setup I have to live with, I won’t lose any sleep over it, but are there any rackmount preamps with similar features to the BMAX I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance.

 

I tried using the BiX into the Crest using an in line passive volume control. It was okay for the upright but not so much for the bass guitar.

The price point on the AliX is a bit steep. I thought about the FeliX even though it’s even more expensive because of the two channels, but then I wouldn’t have the onboard compression of the BMAX. Maybe it’s not that important though. I only use a very light compression setting to begin with.

I seem to really bond with most older Fender amps for some reason. The BMAX is based on the Fender pre’s, and it’s just easy to get a sound I like for bass guitar. I also thought about having the input impedance modified to a higher resistance value to be more piezo friendly, but I’m not sure how difficult that would be.

 

One thing I haven’t tried is just running my Line 6 G30 straight into the BMAX.

I’ve gotten away from wireless lately just because I usually play on smaller stages and it seems wasteful, but that would take care of the impedance matching as well. Of course, then I lose the benefits of the FDeck’s HPF...

 

I’ve blown out too many drivers with the upright previously to not use one...

 

The B/Amp looks interesting, but all that digital makes me nervous, and at that price point I think I’d be more inclined invest in the Grace Designs FeliX.

 

I’ve been thinking about going down the blending a mic + piezo rabbit hole again (always tough because my bands are loud) which this seems perfect for.

 

Ric, I’ve got a Sennheiser E604 with a clamp mount that works decently. For my purposes (loud rockabilly) I’d mostly just use the mic for a more natural slap tone and use my Shadow or Underwood (depending on my Kay or KDB) for the fundamentals.

Jimmy Sutton used to use this same setup and I always thought his tone was amazing. If memory serves though, he only ran the microphone to the FOH.

Not to continue to complicate my setup, but using what I have I tried this last night. Ran the Shadow into the FDeck & BiX then into the active input of my BMAX, then ran the Sennheiser E604 with an impedance transformer and an in-line volume control to the passive input on the BMAX.

Complicated, but sounded surprisingly decent with no feedback at high volumes by myself. I’m going to try it at next rehearsal and see how it fares in a live band situation.

Of course, all of these boxes could go away with the FeliX, so I’m really leaning in that direction.