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Double Bass L.R. Baggs Mixpro blender

Chris Fitzgerald

Chris Fitzgerald

Student of Life
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Oct 19, 2000
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Louisville, KY
www.chrisfitzgeraldmusic.com
#1
I'm going to purchasing the Phil Jones Super Flightcase soon, and for most gigs, it's a great solution for plug and play settings. These past two weeks at the Aebersold camps, I used it in one of the most difficult rooms I play in regularly, and with the addition of the fdeck HP filter, it performed like a champ. Rufus and Lynn Seaton also used it on the last Wednesday night concert and it sounded great. For me, 90% of the time I'd use it with a pickup only, but there are those other 10% of higher profile/maintenance gigs where I'd like to blend in a mic, and I was looking at the Mixpro as a possibility for putting a mic into the mix at the FX loop level (where the HP filter currently resides).

Does anybody with any experience with this unit have any advice on/feedback about it before I take the plunge?
 
#2
I owned that unit some years ago, and wasn't to impressed with the audio quality. Might be a good for the bucks though.

The mic preamp from FMR would work really well, but cost much more.
 
#3
I also have not been impressed by the audio quality of the L.R. Baggs stuff. There are much better products available IMHO.

Edit: More important than any subjective opinion is the Mixpro is not designed to work at line level, which the PJB Super Flightcase uses in the FX loop (1 volt nominal).
 
#4
robgrow said:
I also have not been impressed by the audio quality of the L.R. Baggs stuff. There are much better products available IMHO.
Click to expand...

What would you suggest for a small unit to blend the pickup signal from the FX send with a dynamic mic signal? The pickup signal would need no EQ, but it would be nice to have something rudimentary for the mic ( i.e. internal trimpots would be fine).
 
#5
What about one of the DTar(solstice) units that Bob Gollihur sells? They aren't inexpensive, but they look to be a really nice tool for blending 2 signals. I have thought about picking up one. By the way Chris, have you checked out the Phil Jones Suitcase combo? It doesn't have the upfiring woofers(which I admit is one of the big reasons why I want a flightcase), but it does have 2 channels. Very impressive combo. I really dig the Phil Jones gear!
 
#8
Chris Fitzgerald said:
What would you suggest for a small unit to blend the pickup signal from the FX send with a dynamic mic signal? The pickup signal would need no EQ, but it would be nice to have something rudimentary for the mic ( i.e. internal trimpots would be fine).
Click to expand...
Chris, I've tried doing this with a single-channel combo amp, but with only limited success. The Dtar Solstice is probably a good candidate for this job from the standpoint that it should have minimal effect on the pickup signal coming from the FX send and will also do a decent job with the mic.
 
#9
Still scheming on this, although it's more of a curiosity than a real need. I'm sure the solstice sounds wonderful, but i was looking for something that was small enough to velcro on to the back of the Flightcase so I wouldn't need to carry it when i didn't need it. What about something like This? It seems to have everything but the EQ.
 
#10
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Still scheming on this, although it's more of a curiosity than a real need. I'm sure the solstice sounds wonderful, but i was looking for something that was small enough to velcro on to the back of the Flightcase so I wouldn't need to carry it when i didn't need it. What about something like This? It seems to have everything but the EQ.
Click to expand...

Chris,
Someone, not me of course, needs to design and build a two channel mini preamp for DB with the all appropriate bells and whistles. Mic Inputs etc. ( variable notch, variable low pass, variable phase, and 10 megohm input impedance). I think they would sell a lot of them, even if it was a one time run. I remember you sold you're Raven Lab's blender. That probably would have worked nicely with the PJB.
I've seriously considered the Phil Jones Super Flight case but the lack of two channels allways stopped me. It's just very inconvenient to work with only one channel IMHO. Sorry, this isn't much help, just and observation.:confused:
 
#11
The Sampson unit, I wouldn't depend on it. Especially in the high profile situations you're thinking of using a mic in. I'd assume that some of these gigs could become material for an album.

It's time for someone to come up with a bullet proof mic pre that works well with the fdeck unit. Compact and low noise, you shouldn't need a shipload of gain for the mic in the blend. Perhaps passive.
 
#12
The Raven Labs would have been perfect for this, but it's in other hands now, and it's a little bigger than I was hoping for. I'll figure it out eventually. I may try one of the Samson units at some point if nothing better turns up. It would be useful for my backup bass through the polytone rig I use at school, and both it and the H-clamp/57 tandem are easily transferrable without a lot of size and weight.

I don't know if albums would/will be made of the higher profile things or not, but if I can get a decent stage sound I'd be happy with that. I'm pretty pleased with the sound as it is, so it wouldn't have to change much.
 
#13
Anyone have any updated opinions about the MixPro? It's been over a decade, so perhaps there have been some design changes over the years? I usually use an fdeck HPF-Pre for my piezo, but I'd really like to be able to blend two sources while still having a master volume control on the bass. On paper, the MixPro has it all, but these reviews are discouraging. (What I really want is a two-channel HPF-Pre.)
 
#14
bassically_eli said:
Anyone have any updated opinions about the MixPro? It's been over a decade, so perhaps there have been some design changes over the years? I usually use an fdeck HPF-Pre for my piezo, but I'd really like to be able to blend two sources while still having a master volume control on the bass. On paper, the MixPro has it all, but these reviews are discouraging. (What I really want is a two-channel HPF-Pre.)
Click to expand...

I've been using the Baggs Gigpro for many years to replace Schertler pre's. To me, it sounds as good with more features and reliability. At that price I'd give it a try if it has the features you want.
 
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#16
Eric Hochberg said:
I've been using the Baggs Gigpro for many years to replace Schertler pre's. To me, it sounds as good with more features and reliability. At that price I'd give it a try if it has the features you want.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yea, I went ahead and just ordered a used one on Reverb. Like you said,"At that price...."

According to the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], there are two internal controls that are confusing to me: both a "low-cut trim" knob and a "low-cut range swtich." I understand variable HPFs, but I'm not really sure how these controls work together. Perhaps the switch changes the slope of the roll off?

Out of curiosity, have ever compared it to fdeck's pre? The complaints I've seen on the MixPro are (1) it sounds compressed, and (2) the tone sounds scooped, as opposed to a flat response (perhaps this is just confusion regarding the passive EQ). I'd love to hear your thoughts on these issues.
 
#18
bassically_eli said:
Thanks! Yea, I went ahead and just ordered a used one on Reverb. Like you said,"At that price...."

According to the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], there are two internal controls that are confusing to me: both a "low-cut trim" knob and a "low-cut range swtich." I understand variable HPFs, but I'm not really sure how these controls work together. Perhaps the switch changes the slope of the roll off?

Out of curiosity, have ever compared it to fdeck's pre? The complaints I've seen on the MixPro are (1) it sounds compressed, and (2) the tone sounds scooped, as opposed to a flat response (perhaps this is just confusion regarding the passive EQ). I'd love to hear your thoughts on these issues.
Click to expand...

No, I've never used an Fdeck. I haven't noticed either 1 or 2 of the issues above. I've used it in the studio and never heard negative comments from engineers.

I'm guessing the low cut range switch changes the starting point of the low cut, say from 40 to 80 and the trim works from there. I've called and emailed Baggs and they've been very helpful with information.
 
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#20
If you want a double HPFpre, you can get two of them and connect the outputs together and feed that to the amp.
The internal resistors after the output transistor should allow that without damage.
(But beware trying that on other devices, they might get damaged!)
With the individual phase switches you can simulate the output phase switch by switching both at once.
 
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