Double Bass Mic + pickup + pre into a single-channel amp?

[Richard Simon]

mic: possibly the 4099, but still shopping
pickup: Underwood
pre: Fishman Platinum Pro
amp: Genz-Benz 6.0 12T (single channel, one input)

Is there a way to blend mic + pickup, with or without the pre-amp?

-thank you.

 

[jrlynch]

most elegant solution at the moment: headway, and toss the fishman. keep in mind the dpa requires phantom power. there are lots of other ways which are exploring thoroughly all over the forums, so search away.

jeff.

 

[Richard Simon]

Thanks, Jeff.
Why is it the 'elegant' solution always means discarding yesterday's de rigeuritem and buying the Device du Jour?
As the French bass player might say...C'est la gear.

 

[jrlynch]

i was never a big fan of the fishman ... i thought that, while it was flexible and simple, it just didn't sound that good ... too noisy for my tastes. but then again i've been known to be more than a bit snobby. what's nice about the headway is that, while it's not perfect, it packs a lot of flexibility into a very clean sounding box, that you can mount easily on a mic stand. but ... as you said ...

jeff.

Thanks, Jeff.
Why is it the 'elegant' solution always means discarding yesterday's de rigeuritem and buying the Device du Jour?
As the French bass player might say...C'est la gear.

 

[sadowskyschmaus]

The DTAR Solstice would be a nice unit too

 

[darjama]

You can't run a mic into the fishman, so you'll need another preamp to blend. You could use the aux input on the genz benz as a mic input, but you'd still need a separate preamp for the mic.

 

[martinc]

mic: possibly the 4099, but still shopping
pickup: Underwood
pre: Fishman Platinum Pro
amp: Genz-Benz 6.0 12T (single channel, one input)

Is there a way to blend mic + pickup, with or without the pre-amp?

-thank you.

Richard: A couple of reasonably priced units :

- Ultrasound DI Max -two 1 meg inputs approx 169.00
- Headway -two inputs approx 259.00

Both are blendable input preamp/DI boxes.

 

[Richard Simon]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

I am learning that a microphone would need a phantom power source.

"Phantom power" probably isn't, really - it must be generated by yet another device along the chain. And how big is the typical p.p. device, and where does it sit?

I'm picturing my bass strapped down by many wires - like the great whale hamstrung by countless harpoon lines near the end of the old movie version of 'Moby Dick.'

I'm re-thinking the idea of microphone + pickup blending for live perf's.
Maybe I'll just buy some new strings.

 

[martinc]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

I am learning that a microphone would need a phantom power source.

"Phantom power" probably isn't, really - it must be generated by yet another device along the chain. And how big is the typical p.p. device, and where does it sit?

I'm picturing my bass strapped down by many wires - like the great whale hamstrung by countless harpoon lines near the end of the old movie version of 'Moby Dick.'

I'm re-thinking the idea of microphone + pickup blending for live perf's.
Maybe I'll just buy some new strings.

Richard:

The Ultrasound operates with phantom power from the PA. It allows you to mix a mic and a pickup together with no more cables than your Fishman other than the second input cable for blending.
I don't know about the Headway but it appears to be the same.
Check 'em out and see for yourself.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

I haven't found the Fishman to be noisy, but it does seem to color the sound some. It sounds a bit closed or compressed rather than open, harmonically rich. I have run it with a dynamic mic a few times into the effects return and run the pickup into the normal instrument input of a Markbass LMII. Dunno if it would work on the Genz. This worked reasonably well, but not worth the trouble. I've yet to find a mic that is worth the trouble on a gig. My bass, pickup and amp seem to sound good enough that I'm reasonably satisfied.
I do have a Headway on my GAS list because it sounds like a great sounding little box.

 

[martinc]

I haven't found the Fishman to be noisy, but it does seem to color the sound some. It sounds a bit closed or compressed rather than open, harmonically rich. I have run it with a dynamic mic a few times into the effects return and run the pickup into the normal instrument input of a Markbass LMII. Dunno if it would work on the Genz. This worked reasonably well, but not worth the trouble. I've yet to find a mic that is worth the trouble on a gig. My bass, pickup and amp seem to sound good enough that I'm reasonably satisfied.
I do have a Headway on my GAS list because it sounds like a great sounding little box.

clink:
I just finished a recording session. I took my Fishman Pro EQ Platinum and the Baggs ParaAcoustic DI.
The Fishman sounded muddy and messy ...the Baggs was very clean.
I got my Ultramax earlier this week and through my amp it sounds just as clean as the Baggs.
On stage I have been using the Fishman but I will be using the Ultramax from now on.

 

[bribass]

clink:
I just finished a recording session. I took my Fishman Pro EQ Platinum and the Baggs ParaAcoustic DI.
The Fishman sounded muddy and messy ...the Baggs was very clean.
I got my Ultramax earlier this week and through my amp it sounds just as clean as the Baggs.
On stage I have been using the Fishman but I will be using the Ultramax from now on.

What's an Ultramax? Can't seem to find it in a search.

 

[martinc]

What's an Ultramax? Can't seem to find it in a search.

bribass. Good grief..I can't believe I called it an Ultramax.

My apologies.

It's the Ultrasound DI Max:

Invalid Link Removed

 

[bribass]

Yes, looks nice. Do you think it sounds better than the Paracoustic DI?

This looks like a live mic-pre candidate; Invalid Link Removed

 

[martinc]

Yes, looks nice. Do you think it sounds better than the Paracoustic DI?

This looks like a live mic-pre candidate; Invalid Link Removed

bribass:

The Ultrasound DI Max sounds the same as my Baggs through my amp but I have not had a chance to use it through a PA yet. It's very clean and there are tons of features. I bought it because of the 2 channel blending. I want to blend a mic and a pickup. It does not have phantom power for the mic inputs though.

I use this for a live mic/pickup single channel tube pre/DI. It works and sounds great!:

http://www.music123.com/ART-Tube-MP-Professional-Mic-Preamp-Processor-484020-i1145961.Music123

or for an even better price:

Link Removed

 

[wiro]

Try the PZ-PRE from Tonebone if you get the chance. You can mix two signals and it's far better then anything else out there as far as I know. The Fishman doesn't even come close...

A pitty that when you buy the 4099 you'll need a pre with phantom.

This is why I bought Toby Timber's Vector mic:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193375
Pre-amp and battery makes my life so much smoother and allows my bass to be louder before feedback...

http://www.tonebone.com/tb-pzpre.htm

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Not to hijack this thread - but I was thinking about getting a new pre-amp and searched a few threads - well actually a lot of threads and it is very confusing!

In some threads people are saying the Fishman Pro Platinum is great and in others they are saying it is no good - Headway looks as if it get good ratings, but looks very complicated...

 

[martinc]

Not to hijack this thread - but I was thinking about getting a new pre-amp and searched a few threads - well actually a lot of threads and it is very confusing!

In some threads people are saying the Fishman Pro Platinum is great and in others they are saying it is no good - Headway looks as if it get good ratings, but looks very complicated...

Bruce: First thing is....the Fishman Pro Platinum (I have one) is a single channel pre-amp/di and the Headway is a two channel unit which allows you to mix a pickup and a mic or whatever.
The LR Baggs ParaAcoustic DI (I have used this for 12 years) is one channel and is much cleaner sounding than the Fishman. But the Fishman allows you more control over the bottom end eg depth and compression.

All three of these units are popular and will fit in a coat pocket. Beyond that you are into "high end" stuff like the Avalon, D TAR etc .

Something for every wallet. They all do the job. When it comes to features it's all a saw-off. Depends on what you want.

 

[jrlynch]

. what are you running into the pre? pickup? mic? both?

. where's it going? amp? house PA? both?

Bruce: First thing is....the Fishman Pro Platinum (I have one) is a single channel pre-amp/di and the Headway is a two channel unit which allows you to mix a pickup and a mic or whatever.
The LR Baggs ParaAcoustic DI (I have used this for 12 years) is one channel and is much cleaner sounding than the Fishman. But the Fishman allows you more control over the bottom end eg depth and compression.

All three of these units are popular and will fit in a coat pocket. Beyond that you are into "high end" stuff like the Avalon, D TAR etc .

Something for every wallet. They all do the job. When it comes to features it's all a saw-off. Depends on what you want.

 

[martinc]

. what are you running into the pre? pickup? mic? both?

. where's it going? amp? house PA? both?

On the Baggs and the Fishman I went straight into the PA. I rarely use an amp.
I am now using an Ultrasound DI Max that has two input channels....also straight into the PA.
The Ultrasound and the Baggs sound the same.
I am using either the K and K Bass Max or the Rev Solo2 blended with a Peavey 45r dynamic. Today I just bought a sennheiser e 609 which will replace the 45r. I like the side address design and it's easier to mount (foam in the bridge) than the regular dynamic mics.