Double Bass LRBaggs Para DI

[bassfacer22]

Hi guys,

So I have :

$2700 Walter Woods Amp (I love this guy.. I want to call him again. where #??!)

$160 LRbaggs Para Acoustic DI


I am going on a gig flying far away and need to hear your opinions on taking either the Walter Woods for sound.. Or just using the LRBaggs Para DI... It's one or the other I dont need both.

I am going to be playing a Eminence 4 string Bass.. (through hartke or fender amp)
I will also be playing Fender American V Deluxe jazz bass with this setup.

So I Love the Walter Woods for its ability to drive and make a bass sound like a bass even through hartke or fender crappy speaker cabinets..

or will the LRbaggs Para Di just be able to EQ a really good sound through the standard combo amps (hartke 250watts with 4x10 cab or/and fender 250watts and 1x1' cab)

 

[Jeff Bonny]

I love the Walter Woods for its ability to drive and make a bass sound like a bass even through hartke or fender crappy speaker cabinets.

Seems to be your answer right there.

 

[brianrost]

A Woods is small enough to carry on, so take it.

 

[bassfacer22]

Yes I know, the walter woods is of course way better.. I mean come on, 800 or so watts pumped into crappy cabinets.. haha..

but my reasoning for possibly not taking it (you guys should know why) is because :

1. the power is not safe on ships.. (i'm using it on a fricken ship! haha) I then also have to bring a 20lb Voltage regulator which I also already did!. to make sure the power is safe for a $2700 amp fellas..

and

2. I would be using the walter woods for an eminence bass which the owner/maker, Gary, even told me "just use the LRBaggs Para Di, you can eq your sound anyway..


so that is where I was coming from.. but yes ofcourse I want to take the Walter Woods..

so I guess what I'm trying to ask is Have any of you used the LrBaggs Para Acoustic DI for any gigs and had good experience with it EQ-ing sound of an upright?

.. yeah basically I'm leaning towards my walter woods but then I guess what just use my LRBaggs Para Di for some gig where there is a crappy bass with crappy amp and speaker?

I might be over-thinking this but I appreciate your responses..

 

[Jeff Bonny]

You should have said it was a boat gig....you gotta give details if you want good answers man. Without question I'd be using the boat's amp with the Baggs. All sorts of stupid poopie happens on cruise ships including amps and drums getting chucked overboard. One night I left my Baby Bass on stage in the lounge. About halfway to my cabin I realized I was without bass and when I got back up there some drunk young yahoos were dancing around with it. I wouldn't bring anything highly prized or hard to replace on a boat gig.

 

[bassfacer22]

Ok, Yes I agree.

Having said all that, as much as it sounds like hassle, It's actually extremely easy for me to just carry the walter woods back and forth from my room to the lounge every night. So though I do understand your reasoning, but I do keep it with me at all times before and after the gig. so people won't be moving it/taking it etc.. (sure while during the gig there with it someone could spill a drink i guess..)

Essentially I did this gig already with the stock equipment and you already can imagine a 4x10 hartke and 1x15 fender (while there could be worse,) isn't the best sound..

Now when I bring my walter woods and connect it to those cabinets, as you can imagine it sounds ok.. real bass boomy and obviously much fuller than a hartke preamp and fender bassman 250 amp..

So now with those details, I guess my final question is will the LRbaggs Para Di be worth bringing to try to eq the sound with a hartke 4x10 (200watt hartke head) / and the 250 fender combo bassman amp..


or just forget the LRBaggs para di and bring my Walter woods to use with the 4x10 hartke cab and 1x15 fender bassman cab..

I guess i need to know if anyone has used a DI and EQ-ed to get a good sound.. is that possible to EQ a good sound from a DI or just the amp head does all the work.

forgive me for my ignorance in this department but I know you guys here at talkbass are the gurus and probably been through this..

Hope this makes a little more sense now.


(and i'm using an Eminence upright stick bass... and a fender american V deluxe bass..)

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Can't you put the Baggs through its paces with a couple of different amps before you blast off for the boat? Seems to me if you can live with it the preamp makes more sense in most ways.

I've only used a Para DI once about fifteen years ago but I recall being impressed with it, that it sounded pretty warm and natural with Gage Realist at pretty high volume and that the EQ was powerful. It was a festival and I don't recall what the amp was or if I just went through the monitors. I did used a Raven Labs PMB for years in front of all sorts of amps and just straight into the PA with no amp at all and more lately a SansAmp AcousticDI or D-TAR Solstice so I'm no stranger to the concept. In my mind it's much more appropriate to the gig than a powered head as it will give you more options with more amps and the PA. The Woods might sound better but the preamp will potentially cover yer ass a lot better if the worst happens.

Go with your gut reaction though. Mine would be the preamp but if yours is saying take the Woods that's what you should do.

 

[bigshiny]

I would suggest the LR Baggs. If it were lost, stolen or damaged it would be much easier to find and not cost near as much to replace. Besides, the Baggs is a sort of Swiss Army knife for sound. If your eminence is piezo equipped, it will help that you have it as a buffered pre. And, if the house amp dies you can still send a decent eq to the FOH. And not to mention the size makes it very convenient. Good luck.

 

[james condino]

I've been using an LR Baggs Paracousic DI for about 15 years and have taken it one every single gig I have had, It is minimalist in size, time tested, very versatile and eveyone on the gig can use it effectively- if any other instrument forgets, breaks, loses, et cetera a piece of gear, they all can plug into the Para DI and get very good results. It is not the newest trendy hipster gear, nor the easiest to use in a hurry ( ALWAYS bring a copy of the directions and give yourself an extra 15 minutes to dial it in!), but over the long haul they pack a huge amount in a tiny little package. I use it as a preamp for my bass rig and as a very useful DI- bass pickup into a short cord into the DI and into the mains. That combination has resulted on many occasions in what was a little bit of bass nerd heaven for the night. I've played a lot of gigs where everyone in the band was using one and the soundguy pulled out a box of them from their own kit. As always, ask ten folks around here for an opinion and you're likely to get 15 very different responses...Good luck.

 

[martinc]

No brainer: Take the Baggs.
Less to carry. No need to worry about your expensive Walter Woods. The Eminence is pick-up dependent anyway so it's not like you might lose the sound of an expensive carved bass. And...do you really think people on a ship are going to notice?