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Double Bass Looking for live rig advice/ opinions

M

Matt B

Mar 31, 2012
253
165
New Zealand
www.blokart.com
#1
background... in the past I have mainly played electric bass with homemade tube amps essentially I have clones of 100w Sunn, b-15 and 200w hiwatt with a range of homemade neo cabs.

The past year I have played almost exclusively double bass and love it!!! Playing mainly ragtime jazz stuff. Some country and even using the double bass in a band that used to play punk rock but we all got a bit older...

The bass I have I think is a late 90s boosy and Hawkes laminated bass with spirocores which sounds pretty good acoustically I think. I have a piezo pickup under the bass side of the bridge. It is a semour Duncan sound spot. Nothing special...

After reading about the mythical f-deck hpf I tried ordering one but he would not ship to New Zealand but was incredibly generous and sent me the schematic so I built one.

When playing live I sometimes take the Sunn clone and with the f-deck is awesome!!! There are some places we play though and I would prefer to go direct to the desk and not carry my amp and this is where I am coming unstuck sometimes. I take the Hpf and depending on the sound guy it's either great or trash (the past weekend sounded like the double bass was coming through a nose not a speaker).

Where do I start for a fool proof lightweight solution?? Do I start with the Pick up, a preamp, an amp ???

My reading around here has got me thinking a couple of directions.
1. Do I get something like the mesa rosette and take it with me everywhere I go, but still need to lug the tube amp or
2. Do I trade my left nut and get the d800+ to use as an amp when I need it and when I go direct take it to use as a Di with hpf etc built in (it is a $2000 amp here in New Zealand)
3. Or should I be looking at pick up options?

I want a simple solution where I can be sure of a good tone regardless of where I am playing but double bass is not as straight forward as a p bass and a tube amp was....

Any shared advice/ experience would be appreciated.
Matt
 
#2
First you don't need a $2000 amp to sound good. I don't know what is readily available for amps in your neck of the woods, but $2000 seems steep.

My advice is to find a good, less expensive amp that you are happy with (maybe even a combo). Then research and look for a full featured preamp with DI that you can use with or without the rig. Most of us who gig amplified on a regular basis have more than one setup. Sometimes, DI just isn't an option and you need to move air on your own. Other times you have a good sound guy, and a nice preamp/DI will serve you well and save your back.

The issue you'll have with the fdeck is that you are at the mercy of the sound guy to EQ you if you go direct from it. Not all sound guys are created equal, and some think "bass is bass". If you hear offending frequencies, you'll have no way to tweak your sound from the stage with it.

I had to look your pickup up because I wasn't familiar with it. It looks like a typical bridge wing piezo. If you are used to it's characteristics and happy with how it responds to your playing, then I wouldn't bother changing it.

A good preamp is probably where you want to spend your money.
 
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#3
Hey there! Glad to hear you’re gigging.

My advice would be to sort out an eq option (preamp or pedal I suppose) to go with your FDeck and then find an amp that sounds decent.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been playing through my preamp, F-Deck and a pretty affordable powered PA speaker for the last 6 months or so and couldn’t be happier.

Let us know how it works out for ya
 
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#4
Levin Hannaford said:
Hey there! Glad to hear you’re gigging.

My advice would be to sort out an eq option (preamp or pedal I suppose) to go with your FDeck and then find an amp that sounds decent.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been playing through my preamp, F-Deck and a pretty affordable powered PA speaker for the last 6 months or so and couldn’t be happier.

Let us know how it works out for ya
Click to expand...
Whats your preamp, and your PA speaker for that matter?
 
#5
Povl Carstensen said:
Whats your preamp, and your PA speaker for that matter?
Click to expand...

I use the Noble preamp into an Alto 12 inch powered main.

Here’s a quick shot - ignore the compressor and drive pedal lol I use the same board for slab gigs too :)

7B7CC737-B73B-4102-A33E-CF49A481A961.jpeg
 
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#6
Thanks for the suggestions. A good pre amp with a less expensive micro amp was what I was looking at first, but an amp was going to take me to about $1000 regardless of which direction I went then adding a nice preamp probably another $500 by the time I get it here so I began looking for a 'one stop shop'
I will keep researching preamp options.
 
#7
I use the Radial PZ-Pre as the preamp for my upright, and it works great and is very versatile. I've used it through the FOH alone, with a Genz Benz Shuttle 10T as a monitor along with the FOH, and with the Shuttle 210T if I'm moving air by myself. Genz Benz is no longer in business as such but Genzler is making great amps. (Love my Shuttles though.) But there are a lot of great small to medium amps - I think you're right to focus on the preamp.
 
#8
My emergency bag of tricks has an old Sansamp ParaDriver - a backup DI/pre, or when using backline amps, or to remedy a bad mix. Cheap, quick & easy to use, and sound guys are familiar with them.

I'll sit it on top of my amp. Easy to tweak the Blend knob and Mids to taste while playing. Plug it into FX return or Power Amp Input to bypass an amps preamp if necessary.
 
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#9
I have begun looking at decent preamp options after the suggested route above and ended up on a bit of a tangent thinking about using something like this ART Pro MPA II
it is relatively cost effective. Possibly not the best studio Pre but to use as a DI for live application it could be great. (maybe)

It has variable input impedance, variable low cut (HPF) and the second channel maybe useful for the Uke to go into. It is missing EQ which could leave me back where I started. Has anyone gone this way?
 
#13
Matt B said:
So far the Mesa rosette, the radial PZ pre and the fishman platinum pro seem like options.

Any other options to consider or opinions on these three?

I don’t mind stretching a bit to buy once and buy right.
Click to expand...

I used to own the Fishman Platinum Stage preamp. Solid unit, and more affordable than the Platinum Pro. I didn’t need the mute or tuner, so it made a bit more sense back then. I’d give it a look as well
 
#14
So far I have been using two solutions with EUB and DB, both with passive piezo:
_ active DIbox with pre-amp simulator (analog, approx. 250$) directly to the mixer: this is the most portable solution, the sound quality relies on the PA system, but the DI has a lot of sound-shaping possiblities.
_ bass directly in the minimark 2x8 (approx. 800$): this is the simplest solution, the amp is small class-d combo, light, extremely (perhaps too) simple to use, transparent to the sound of the instrument. If the instrument sounds good, the amp sounds good. To me it is the best for small venues, it is 150w but you can wire a bigger cab (250w 4 ohm) for occasional bigger stages.

Using a preamp before the minimark is also a common option, but honestly I haven't felt the need yet.
 

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