Double Bass need amplification, pickup or mic

[1dreday]

i'm getting to the point were i need some amplification and not sure if i should go pickup somthing like the bass max, or a mic and if so what kind it seems there are so many , and then the whole phantom power thing, any help appreciated

 

[DoubleMIDI]

That mainly depends on the volume you need and how much you are willing to experiment for the best sound vs. simplicity with a more artificial sound.
It also depends on your bass amp if there is a mic level input and if it can supply phantom power (only needed for condensers and some inline mic preamps like the FetHead). You can get a separate mic preamp for an existing amp, but this is one more box and good ones can get a bit pricey.

If you start with amplification better get a fixed mounted pickup (but IMHO there are better ones than the BassMax).
For a passive piezo also get an impedance buffer or high impedance preamp. The HPFpre Version 2 is good and cheap.

 

[Don Hergert]

i'm getting to the point were i need some amplification and not sure if i should go pickup somthing like the bass max, or a mic and if so what kind it seems there are so many , and then the whole phantom power thing, any help appreciated

It's really hard to know what to suggest without knowing more about the kind of music and the kind of venues that you're playing for. Some volume issues can be solved with strings and setup, some volume issues require a huge PA to solve. Your volume issues could be at either extreme or somewhere in the middle. Can you give us more information?

 

[lurk]

Any good piezo and a Tonedexter. Lots of info on the Dex in a separate thread.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Any good piezo and a Tonedexter. Lots of info on the Dex in a separate thread.

Not the best for a beginner in amplification. K.I.S.S.

 

[Ric Vice]

Not the best for a beginner in amplification. K.I.S.S.

Agreed, I think the best thing I could contribute is you'll want a system that's simple to manage and meets the needs of the kind of music you're playing. Microphones are wonderful, in bluegrass, folk, and jazz settings that have lower volume levels duos, trios, ect.

Pickups are more practical and can get louder than a microphone before feeding back. While a lot of players use the Bass Max, it's not a favorite of mine. The KNA (Kremona) DB-1 pickup is a better sounding pickup IMHO and it's around the same price. Depending
on your amplifier, you likely benefit from purchasing a FDeck HPF Buffer/PreAmp.

 

[Roger Davis]

I’m with Ric. KNA pickup and FDeck way to go. Mics aren’t for the faint hearted.

 

[Tom Lane]

i'm getting to the point were i need some amplification and not sure if i should go pickup somthing like the bass max, or a mic and if so what kind it seems there are so many , and then the whole phantom power thing, any help appreciated

You might want to search this topic on TB because it's been covered extensively and lots of good info has been posted over the years.