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Double Bass Lazy bassist's rant

A

adarvas

Jul 27, 2006
177
140
Toronto
#1
Hi fellow TB-ers!

I was wondering if anyone had an experience like mine last night when you should have known better and taken your own rig to a gig.

This is my setup: Kolstein Fendt, Kaplan G D A Spiro Mittel E. Ehrlund with its pre + an old Underwood style pu made in Germany going into an fdeck. Both signals are blended with a Boss LS2. TH500 and either an Aguilar SL112 or a Berg AE112. I can massage a really good focused but natural sound out of all of this.

Last night was cold (-teens) and I was running to the gig after teaching, so I figured the club has an amp a Markbass LMII and a Markbass 210 I'll use that. Ouch! That 210 is a tone killer. The E string is disproportionately loud and the rest .......just wasn't there. I was so frustrated. I'm, trying to focus on playing not fidgeting with knobs......to no avail.

I'm not dogging the Markbass setup, I'm sure it works for some, although I.m not a fan of 210 cabs for upright, especially these deep ones. I'm just ranting for being lazy and suffering the whole night for it. Thanks for the indulgence. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this scenario. Please share....make me feel better :-)

On another note, the Ehrlund and the fdeck pre for the other pu are the two amazing pieces of equipment. The Ehrlund replaced my DP mic. Big thanks to DRURB for all the info on both.
 
#3
adarvas said:
Hi fellow TB-ers!
I'm not dogging the Markbass setup, I'm sure it works for some, although I.m not a fan of 210 cabs for upright, especially these deep ones. I'm just ranting for being lazy and suffering the whole night for it. Thanks for the indulgence. I'm sure I'm not the only one with this scenario. Please share....make me feel better :-)

On another note, the Ehrlund and the fdeck pre for the other pu are the two amazing pieces of equipment. The Ehrlund replaced my DP mic. Big thanks to DRURB for all the info on both.
Click to expand...

Until recently, all Markbass amplifiers had a 500 K Ohm input impedance. So without, some kind of buffer pre amp they just don't sound as good with a piezo equipped Double Bass. The new Big Bang has a 2 Meg ohm impedance, giving a nod to upright players. But I would have thought that the Ehrlund would have sounded just fine. Interesting. Sometimes the VLE and VPF can also be a problem if they aren't set correctly or defeated altogether.

Ric
 
#5
I did have both pre amps and the boss ls2 to blend the 2 pickups. I'm only blaming my own laziness......and that 210. I had the same signal as at home but there is nothing you can do to make that 210 sound anything like a double bass......at least on the stage. The weird thing is that I got a few compliments on my sound from the audience. I know bass frequencies bloom a few yards away from the cab but that doesn't help me get inspired by my own sound.....which we all rely on to some degree.

Again, I know I should have known better after 30 years of playing. Just kvetching out of frustration.

Anyone else using the boss ls2 as a blender?
 
#6
Ric Vice said:
Sometimes the VLE and VPF can also be a problem if they aren't set correctly or defeated altogether.
Click to expand...

Very true -- it's not infrequently supposed by those new to the amps, especially in a setting like this, to assume that these filters are "flat" when set to the 12 o'clock position. Having then set thus will lead to precisely the muddy tone the OP complained of. There are plenty of other ways to mis-set these amps for DB (as I well know!), but that's a pretty common one.
 
#7
Ric Vice said:
Until recently, all Markbass amplifiers had a 500 K Ohm input impedance. So without, some kind of buffer pre amp they just don't sound as good with a piezo equipped Double Bass. The new Big Bang has a 2 Meg ohm impedance, giving a nod to upright players. But I would have thought that the Ehrlund would have sounded just fine. Interesting. Sometimes the VLE and VPF can also be a problem if they aren't set correctly or defeated altogether.

Ric
Click to expand...

Both VLE and VPF were completely defeated. The amp is set flat and I only cut problematic frequencies. I never try to add electronically what isn't there to begin with.

Now that NASA doesn't have a space program, maybe they should get into DB amplification. They could send a man to the moon.......perhaps they could come up with something foolproof for us! The task seems just as insurmountable.
 
#8
Pilgrim said:
I'd say that now you know you're particular enough that you should bring your own gear. That will solve the problem. The only way you 100% know what you are getting - and how reliable it is - is to bring your own gear every time.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right Sir, and it is my usual practice. This once the -16 C temp deterred me from it and now I'm kvetching like :hyper:
 
#9
Hi.

adarvas said:
I was wondering if anyone had an experience like mine last night when you should have known better and taken your own rig to a gig.
Click to expand...

Not as a someone using the rig, but as a someone providing it.

To add an insult to the injury, the rockabilly act bassplayers combo he used in their set before us was no farther than in their trailer outside, but he was too lazy/drunk to get it from there.

So even though I played a slab and he a DB, he asked me whether he could use my rig as they were asked to play some more after us...

After telling him that it probably wouldn't sound too good, mine being a modern tube head with a limited EQ (FAME BVH300) +410 vs. his 115 combo that had a craphic EQ + the regular tone controls I did agree to let him use my rig.

The tone to the audience was decent after a lot of knob-wiggling (better than with his rig IMHO ;)), but the on-stage tone was pretty horrible no matter what.

I have succesfully used that rig of mine with my DB, but I have a "homemade" piezo system with some tone controls and I can make it work, but as I suspected it's not plug and play with a DB.

If I'm in the similar situation in the unforeseeable future myself, I'll take at least a some sort of a buffer/pre with me, if not one of my more versatile amps for some reason.

Regards
Sam
 

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