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Double Bass I’m trying out a Schertler DYN-B ...

#21
Oh man, I am envious of that 19th century Czech bass of yours! And your two Pubs!

But, I think for now I will move on as you said. Speaking of mic-like sound, I am really curious now about trying some different mics besides my AMT (Beyer, Shure, Sennheisers, Neumann). I think that's the direction I've set my sails in for now. Why not, eh?

And maybe an Avalon U5 for when a pickup is required.

Well thanks again -- genuinely -- to everyone who helped me with all this.
 
#23
Yeah, thanks pal. I am sure the DYN-B sounds different and sounds better on your bass and through your rig than it did for me.

I bet the rig gp_bass has sounds righteous too ("1875 Czech flatback > DYN-B > Pre AII > 2 Pub 280s"). The benefits of the "all Schertler" thing make sense to me, in theory anyway. I guess I just have too many other things I want to try out moreso at this point (mics, U5). Plus I need a rig I can use on the occasional slab gig, so I can't sink all my dough into a rig like gp's at this time.

Like I said, now I know what the DYN-B sounds like w/ the rest of my current gear. It was definitely interesting. And you guys were all very helpful.

I want to hear you play up in NoVa sometime, for real. I used to play a straightahead gig at the 219 Basin Street Lounge in Old Town if that place is still there. That was circa the late 80's.

Carry on bro.
 
#24
Although i cant advance much, i just tried the prototype of the new Dyn B and i was very impressed, less boomy and somehow sounded more clear than the old model, and it weights less than half.
I dont know when its gonna be available though

Nuno
 
#25
A new prototype? I had not heard about that yet. That's pretty interesting.

The design of the DYN-B really is pretty intriguing. AFAIK, there's not much else quite like it, except maybe the Vektor I guess.

Please let us know if you can once it is commercially available. I would be willing to try it again if it has changed significantly in the manner you described ("less boomy ... more clear.")
 
#26
I saw Rufus last night at Yoshis (With Bobby H)and he was using the DYN B and AMT and while I dig RR and his playing. The sound out in the house was totally indistinct and fairly useless. I have heard cats just mic'd at Yoshi's with a house mic that sounded better. When it was very quiet you could hear him (as long as he wasn't playing fast) and THAT sound was OK but not spectacular. But RR is such a great cat and good player that I didn't mind...just food for the thread...
But Rene Rosnes was such a brilliant musician that I cant say enough about her, she rulled the whole band and played her ass off. And I loave Boggy too.
 
#27
I know I'm too late to this thread, but I picked up a David CRACKHOUSEKEY's Dyn-B and have been messing with it. I'm pretty happy with mine now, sounds more than just "my bass but louder". With the rig on (Dyn-B -> Pre-AII -> Focus SA -> Epi UL110) it sounds like my bass is just very present and emanating from some place in the room. The acoustic sound of the bass just disappears. It's a weird sensation. My only complaint is that I wish I got more bass out of it. Maybe something I can remedy with a Solstice and a Rev Solo pickup. In an A/B test, the Dyn-B kills the RS, except with the lack of bass. Now I can recognize that "piezo" sound.

I did make one discovery tho. The 1st time I messed with the pickup, the sound was pretty thin and boxy - seemingly everything that detractors have been complaining about. Last night however, I accidentally used a slight bit MORE putty. This seemed to make all the difference. Alot of the boxiness went away and the sound improved quite a bit. I'm going to try even more putty next time. Can any of you Dyn-B owners corroborate this? PB+J?
 
#28
I use a very similar setup: dyn-b--->Avalon U5--->AI focus SA--->Epifani UL110. The Dyn B seems to me to be a pretty midrangey unit, and when i want mo' bass I try one of the midcut settings on the U5

It's not the amount of putty in my experience, it's the kind of fit--tight to the tope or less tight? I actually have less putty on it than I started with, and a pretty tight fit to the top of the bass. But I've got a pretty bassy bass with animas, and as the animas have gotten older tey seem to have gotten a deeper tone. I wonder if I'd like the DYN-B as well as I do if I went back to Spiros
 
#29
Did you try moving the Dyn-B further to the bass side of the instrument?

As for the putty thing, sounds interesting. Obviously you can't use so much putty that you aren't still maintaining contact between the centre of the Dyn-B and the bass but if one thinks of that little space created by the putty ring as an acoustic chamber, perhaps more putty means a smaller chamber which somehow reduces the resonance.
 
#30
actually, yeah. there could be something to the "acoustic chamber" concept. i usually don't change the amount of putty (i just re-roll the old putty lump), but sometimes i change the circumference of the putty circle on the bottom of the DYN-B - inadvertently making it a little tighter toward the center.

i don't think it has to do with air resonance, but it could change the elasticity of the coupling between the dyn-b housing and the top of the bass. if you think about it, what matters is the differential movement between the center "nub" and the shell. i've never taken a dyn-b apart (too scared), but i assume it works like a dynamic mic: a moving coil attached to a diaphram, and a magnet attached to the housing. the dyn-b has a nub instead of a diaphram. the housing in this case needs to be held still relative to the movement of the nub. the amount of putty (or the placement of putty) might change how still the housing stays, at which frequencies, etc...
 
#31
Adrian "NOTORIOUS" Cho said:
Did you try moving the Dyn-B further to the bass side of the instrument?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I tried all over. If I go about 3 inches below the bass bridge leg, I get a nice bass sound, but lose out on the other registers. Right now I'm kinda happy with it dead center about 3-4" south of the bridge. Good all around sound, just lacks bass. I don't mind it so much if I'm playing in a lower volume setting. If I go for volume, then I think I'd blend in a piezo (either RS or FC) using the Solstice. Maybe this is why Reid Anderson goes for a Dyn-B + Realist??? I dunno.

When shifting the disc around to test different places, I just pluck the disc off and if the putty ring is still intact, then I'd just roll up the edges a little bit so that it's forced to flatten out without having to make the entire worm again. I try not to get any putty in contact with the nub once the disc is adhered to the bass.

I didn't have my Solstice on hand, but will try the mid cut and bass boost as soon as I can.

Maybe more putty also means a stronger adhesion? I dunno. More results from expirimentation to come.

EDIT: One more note, I'm using Dominants with a Spiro E. Either the Spiro E is dead or just doesn't have the same strong sound as the Doms do. I've got a Dom E on the way so maybe that will improve the bassiness too.
 
#32
PUFFY - if the Dominant E doesn't do it, try the Spiro Stark E. If you like fatness and mwahh, it's win-win as a pizz E string. I've got the Stark on my hybrid and a Dominant E on my ply (all other string on both basses are Dominants), and much as I like the Dominant E, the Stark E kicks the Dom E's butt when it comes to big bottom.

(sorry for the Dyn-B derailment...back on topic now) :hiding:
 
#33
Chris Fitzgerald said:
PUFFY - if the Dominant E doesn't do it, try the Spiro Stark E. If you like fatness and mwahh, it's win-win as a pizz E string. I've got the Stark on my hybrid and a Dominant E on my ply (all other string on both basses are Dominants), and much as I like the Dominant E, the Stark E kicks the Dom E's butt when it comes to big bottom.

(sorry for the Dyn-B derailment...back on topic now) :hiding:
Click to expand...
Augh! NOW YOU TELL ME!!!! :bawl: :bawl: :bawl:
 
#36
Alex Scott said:
I think the amount of putty is pretty important, I think it says start with a dime size or something in the manual. That seems to really be the best way to go, I always read the manual when I do that.
Click to expand...

Just a note of caution for players w/ old basses:

When I breifly tried the Dyn-B the putty removed a small flake of old overvarnish from my c.1820 Prescott :scowl:

The putty thing makes me laugh 'cause the first pu I ever used was an OLD low tech (c. late '70's) Barcus Berry which was basically a piezo element embeded in a buffalo nickel which you adhered to the bass w/ putty. It seems a bit ironic that this "hi -fi" device is applied the same way.

BTW I wasn't that impressed. I remember thinking at very low volumes it was natural sounding, but lacked oomph and pressence even at med volume. To be fair though, I only got to try it briefly.

BG
 
#38
Alex Scott said:
I think the amount of putty is pretty important, I think it says start with a dime size or something in the manual.
Click to expand...
Yeah but what does "dime size" mean? A lump like a disc the width of dime? A ball with diameter same as a dime? I read the manual and it wasn't specific, and the photos were too small to be of any help. They shoulda just said "grab a lump and play with the amounts of putty, if the sound is boxy try adding more". That would've been more helpful.
 
#39
I think a little ball about dime-diameter. The instructions I have are more clear than I remembered, looking at them, a 1 cm diameter ball, then make a worm about 7cm in length, then they have a picture of where to put it, then they mention the vacuum effect created when you have that seal and you push it straight down on the top.

My point here is that it always sounded best after reapplying the putty in this manner described and then placing it on the top, gently pressing down straight. If I moved it without redoing the whole thing, it sounded worse.

Good luck.
 
#40
Has anyone tried blending the DYN-B with another pickup? I've tried some experiments comparing it with a realist, and to my ears, they each have their own strengths. The Schertler is much more accurate and natural sounding in the high frequencies, and all of the problems seem to be below 500 Hz. The realist is much more usable and punchier in the low freq's, and without any boominess, but the highs are harsh and unnatural. My thought is to use a 2 channel pre, and take the highs from the DYN B and the lows from the realist. I'm actually considering having a passive "crossover" with a variable frequency built, but first more experiments with the gear at hand to determine what works.....
Any feedback or suggestions would be apprecieted, and I'll incorporate them into my tests.....
 

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