Double Bass New Acoustic Image 'DOUBLESHOT'

[bassfiddlesteve]

I also played my first outdoor gig with my DoubleShot/Clarus SL combo. It was 90 degrees out and a few of the band members initially thought that it was a fan. The bandleader kept putting his hands in front of it to cool himself, then he’d say, “This fan sucks!”

It was a five-piece New Orleans jazz band (trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass, drums) and I had to set the volume controls higher than I had on past gigs as I had no PA support. The master was at 3 o’clock and the level control was at noon. I probably could’ve gotten more volume if I needed to. I boosted the highs a bit and left the rest of the controls flat. I didn’t feel the need to use the high pass filter in this setting.

The trumpet player looked over at one point and said, “It sounds like your bass, just louder.”

I swear I didn’t coach him. Then the bandleader said, “It sounds so good we’ll have to stop talking during his solos”

The final bit of feedback came from a fellow upright bass player who stopped by. He said the bass sounded good from the audience’s perspective.

So there you have it. Bad jokes and good sounds, all courtesy of the DoubleShot.

- Steve

 

[bassically_eli]

I also played my first outdoor gig with my DoubleShot/Clarus SL combo. It was 90 degrees out and a few of the band members initially thought that it was a fan. The bandleader kept putting his hands in front of it to cool himself, then he’d say, “This fan sucks!”

It was a five-piece New Orleans jazz band (trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass, drums) and I had to set the volume controls higher than I had on past gigs as I had no PA support. The master was at 3 o’clock and the level control was at noon. I probably could’ve gotten more volume if I needed to. I boosted the highs a bit and left the rest of the controls flat. I didn’t feel the need to use the high pass filter in this setting.

The trumpet player looked over at one point and said, “It sounds like your bass, just louder.”

I swear I didn’t coach him. Then the bandleader said, “It sounds so good we’ll have to stop talking during his solos”

The final bit of feedback came from a fellow upright bass player who stopped by. He said the bass sounded good from the audience’s perspective.

So there you have it. Bad jokes and good sounds, all courtesy of the DoubleShot.

- Steve

What pickup/mic are you using? I've yet to hear a piezo that really sounds like an acoustic upright, especially without EQ

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

What pickup/mic are you using? I've yet to hear a piezo that really sounds like an acoustic upright, especially without EQ

Fishman Full Circle.

- Steve

 

[Karl Kaminski]

@bassically_eli having A/B'd many pickups on the same instrument, the vast majority of piezos all sound good to some. Meaning; what are you looking for in an amplified sound? For my bass, style and AI amp, the Yamahiko and Full Circle do the best at bring out the true tone of my bass (MBBL), cuts thru, and still feels like an un-amplified bass. And in general AI gear has won me over for the ease of MBBL.

While those two pickups are my favorite, if I wanted and more top end tone on this bass (what I'd call the "70/80s amplified sound") I'd go with a Piezo thats 'top mounted' aka Underwood or Fishman clip-on. If I wanted or needed more 'wood' or 'box' I'd go realist copper—basically the mounting position will bring out that quality of the instrument. Not to mention string choice, but I digress.

But regardless of choice, you must impedance match any piezo to 'open up' the bottom end. Now that most gear manufacturers are finally giving us at least 1MΩ input (10MΩ even better on the Yamahiko IMHO) its getting easier to find a good piezo-pairing with our amps. Ive been the most pleased with AI since I can 'run it flat' and only need minor adjusts 'for the room' not the bass. And this works equally as well for my EBs.

For those in 'piezo hunt' I'd highly recommend getting a Radial PZDI. It has three impedance settings allowing you to hear and feel each pickup at a different load. While my personal preference is 10MΩ, Ive found that live in a club, 1MΩ is indistinguishable from 10MΩ. Only in the studio can I tell the difference.

But as the TB boiler-plate reads: YMMV

 

[bassically_eli]

@bassically_eli having A/B'd many pickups on the same instrument, the vast majority of piezos all sound good to some

I agree with that. I have two piezos on my instrument and both sound good, but neither sounds quite like a real acoustic instrument. My copper Realist sounds quite dark and benefits from some high-end boost and low-end cut, and my Vic's bridge-wing pickup has that characteristic mid honk. I suspect something like the Full Circle or the Realist Life Line would be a nice in between on my bass, but these days I'm using a mic primarily and am able to blend in a little piezo if needed to prevent feedback or cut through the mix. FWIW, I use play arco 30-40% of the time, which makes finding the right piezo and tuning it just right that much more complicated.

 

[kerrycares]

I played a DoubleShot/Clarus this weekend with a lifeline and it sounded so natural.

I had a Clarus previously and found it to be too dark with my copper realist but the DoubleShot sound is really open and different.

I have a Crazy 8 and Genzler Array 10 cab so I don’t know if I need another cab but it sure sounds great!

 

[lurk]

I think a lot of what makes a pickup seem natural to the player is the decay envelope. FWIW I've got a tonedexter and love it. Is it worth 4 of my $100 gigs? Tough call.

 

[Ric Vice]

For those in 'piezo hunt' I'd highly recommend getting a Radial PZDI. It has three impedance settings allowing you to hear and feel each pickup at a different load. While my personal preference is 10MΩ, Ive found that live in a club, 1MΩ is indistinguishable from 10MΩ. Only in the studio can I tell the difference.

But as the TB boiler-plate reads: YMMV ;)


I've used the PZDI in the studio and it's a great DI for a piezo pickup. I have two different PreAmps with selectable Piezo loads. The original Headway EDB-2 had 1, 10, and 20 Meg Ohm loads, while the Grace Felix has a different 3 way impedance load for each channel.

Flipping those switches, in a live situation it's hard to tell if there's much difference between the settings, unless it's 1 Meg Ohm vs 5 Meg Ohms. I hear a difference between those two settings.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

Hey Ric what pup are you using?
Agreed. I like the PZDI for its simplicity (just matching the impedance) then use the AI pre—very much in keeping with my minimalist mindset. The headway and felix are definitely more surgical. Didn't realize headway had a 20MΩ— I have to think about trying one of those!

and to avoid a thread-highjack. The DoubleShot is great!

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Hey Ric what pup are you using?
Agreed. I like the PZDI for its simplicity (just matching the impedance) then use the AI pre—very much in keeping with my minimalist mindset. The headway and felix are definitely more surgical. Didn't realize headway had a 20MΩ— I have to think about trying one of those!

and to avoid a thread-highjack. The DoubleShot is great!

Why would you need a preamp with Acoustic Image since it offer both 1 and 10MΩ inputs?

- Steve

 

[Karl Kaminski]

depending on the production model of your AI head its either 1M or 10MΩ. I think that the newer models have been changed to 1MΩ. My previous ClarusIII head had a 10MΩ input.

(After contacting Rick he verified my model/serial number head was 1MΩ—hence the need for 10MΩ DI for my Yamahiko.

Side note: AI support is still the best! Rick offered to switch to 10MΩ-just send it in.)

 

[bassically_eli]

Side note: AI support is still the best! Rick offered to switch to 10MΩ-just send it in.

Damn, that's just awesome

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

The current singe-channel heads have two inputs, 1MΩ and 10MΩ.

- Steve

 

[Karl Kaminski]

yeah, I wish AI offered that as a switchable option (or even a jumper) on the SL2 2ch heads.

 

[Ric Vice]

Hey Ric what pup are you using?
Agreed. I like the PZDI for its simplicity (just matching the impedance) then use the AI pre—very much in keeping with my minimalist mindset. The headway and felix are definitely more surgical. Didn't realize headway had a 20MΩ— I have to think about trying one of those!

and to avoid a thread-highjack. The DoubleShot is great!

Karl,
Well, I'm the oddball because I get the best out of a Ehrlund EAP into the Grace. If you wan't a Headway with the 20 Meg you'll have to find an older EDB-2 (not the current EDB-2 H.E. as both channels are fixed at @6 Meg Ohms)

Simple is definitely best, I just really like taking the EDB-2 H.E. or Grace into an auditorium with great monitors and individual monitor sends for bass, but realistically that's a rare occasion for me.

 

[Karl Kaminski]

Ah, good to know!

Definitely, I think we all have a 'just fits for me' setup. Im torn with the 'high impedance match' as one size doesn't fit all. I use both active and passive EB with magnetic pups and UB with piezo and/or mic'd, so amp input impedance has been a dance over the years! LOL

 

[shwashwa]

I have an older 10x2 and really dont enjoy the sound of the internal preamp at all. Always sounds much much better when I use something external

 

[Karl Kaminski]

there's a lot of ways to bake a cake

 

[Drew Tanner]

I like my cake with tubes and variable impedance on top. The Doubleshot, driven by a Focus SA and Sarno V-8,has sounded great with our Americana/Jamgrass band on our recent outdoor gigs. The rest of the band is single-micing around an Ear Trumpet condenser through a pair of powered twelves.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

I like my cake with tubes and variable impedance on top. The Doubleshot, driven by a Focus SA and Sarno V-8,has sounded great with our Americana/Jamgrass band on our recent outdoor gigs. The rest of the band is single-micing around an Ear Trumpet condenser through a pair of powered twelves. View attachment 4297985 View attachment 4297986

Nice rig! Are you running Perpetuals on that bass?

- Steve