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Double Bass New Acoustic Image 'DOUBLESHOT'
- Thread starter rickwolff
- Start date
Maybe Acoustic Image will come up with an extension speaker or subwoofe
It would be cool if Acoustic Image would come up with an extension speaker or subwoofer for the newer style cabs at some point. They're always working on something cool, so who knows what they have in store.
I guess I sould add that my interest in stacking is just floor space, I play in a lot of rooms where I literally would not have the floor space to put two cabs on the floor. It's a conundrum because I like the idea of upfiring cabs. I'm still on the fence about getting either an Upshot or Coda-up to use as an extension with my SIII combo.
- Jul 19, 2000
- 2,014
- 2,224
- Disclosures
- Owner/President, Gollihur Music LLC
The cabinets they have are extension speakers, and they have the range of typical subwoofers - so I'm not sure what would be different about what you are envisioning. But I'm interested to hear more about your ideas!
The Double Shot and Upshot really seem to be designed to be used as stand alone speakers though, not in pairs/stacks. So mostly, I'm just thinking something designed to be stacked with the newest generation of AI speakers would be nice. I was using the term 'subwoofer' a bit loosely because I figure such a speaker wouldn't necessarily need to be full range. A woofer(s) only design with no crossover could keep cost and weight down. Powered options would be awesome too for those of us not using 2-ohm heads.
I play 90% upright gigs (actually, it's more like 98% since the pandemic hit), but I still find myself occasionally playing at or near rock band volumes when either doubling on EBG or playing an EBG only gig. I have a small home music studio/office, so I really don't want to store an Ampeg fridge or something for such occasional gigs, plus I really don't like using the typical bass guitar amps for upright when doubling. So if AI sold a setup that could cover both, I would be interested.
My solution to this has been to use Mike Arnopol Soundworks and Audiokinesis cabs, but the Doubleshot sure looks like a great speaker too. Hope this all makes some sense.
hey is that whole pic photoshopped? ...I mean theres "A Set'a Wranglers By The bassist", the "Banjo's In The Kitchen", is it a garage, diner, or a stage? 
PS the above mentioned quotes are song titles from my up coming album: "Don't Know Where I am, But I Know It Aint Here"
PS the above mentioned quotes are song titles from my up coming album: "Don't Know Where I am, But I Know It Aint Here"
Haha, let me know when the album drops.hey is that whole pic photoshopped? ...I mean theres "A Set'a Wranglers By The bassist", the "Banjo's In The Kitchen", is it a garage, diner, or a stage?
PS the above mentioned quotes are song titles from my up coming album: "Don't Know Where I am, But I Know It Aint Here"
Just a doubleshot chop. I was scheduled to be in Pump Boys and Dinettes Mar/April 2020. You can guess what happened. The set was complete and stayed up while the theater was closed. By the time we did it in July 2021 it had just the right amount of dust to look like a real garage.
I bought the shen in Mar 2020 and, because of the delay, was able to use it for about 6 songs. Rev solo into fdeck series 2 mounted on the tail piece for a volume knob, ran EB and DB into coda combo DI'd to the PA. Worked well.
If the doubleshot were in a legit combo form I'd go for it. I also like the combo input jacks on the older AI amps. I play with some AG guys that use loudbox's for guitar/vocal mic, I can do the same on DB with the coda 2R. The double shot probably sounds better but the combo form and xlr input are what I like about the coda. You can see it hiding in the back--these were rehearsal pics before the winnebago was finished and my "Jackson" badge got sewed on.
oh dig— its a show!!! I thought this was a hang at somebody's place 
(either lucky enough to have kitchenette in their garage or unlucky enough to have to do tire changes in their kitchen. LOL.
That 'garage door' behind you was throwin' my mind for a loop!
glad to hear the production got back on its feet in 2021!
(either lucky enough to have kitchenette in their garage or unlucky enough to have to do tire changes in their kitchen. LOL.That 'garage door' behind you was throwin' my mind for a loop!
glad to hear the production got back on its feet in 2021!
The set people at the theater are all volunteer and they really put their hearts into it. This one deserved top billing.oh dig— its a show!!! I thought this was a hang at somebody's place
That 'garage door' behind you was throwin' my mind for a loop!
glad to hear the production got back on its feet in 2021!
I’ve heard a couple of these amps recently, and they sound great. They sound like the instrument, not like an amplified version of the instrument.
HOWEVER.
The criteria for amplification IMO are varied, and AI amps are not always ideal. First, if the instrument is mic’ed and you have omnidirectional sound going on, you are more prone to feedback. That really comes into play in louder scenarios. And let’s then remember that the objective of amplification is generally to reach an AUDIENCE. And odds are that audience is configured such that you are on a stage, and they are arrayed in front of you. In which case omnidirectional amplification kinda misses the point.
The other component is the ability to hear yourself appropriately in such a stage configuration, while not being too loud for the rest of the ensemble. The images of Lemmy, and then of the acoustic bassist in front of a Marshall stack (lol), are instructive here. In rock, pop and other contexts, I long ago got tired of the typical guitarist is waaay too loud for the rest of the band scenario. And what I noticed in so many of these instances was that the guitarist has a combo amp sitting on the floor. He cannot correctly hear himself with the amp down there, with the sound blowing past his knees, so he turns it up. Which then fries the eardrums of the audience members in the first many rows.
The solution? A FULL STACK OF AMPS. It does these things:
1. floor coupling. What AI semi-correctly identifies in their documentation here:
https://acousticimg.com/assets/docs/AI Upfiring - Downfiring - Sidefiring White Paper.pdf
What actually occurs here is that the bass frequencies get reinforced. This is indeed desirable for a boost in overall volume, as well as for sonic richness. But again, with the amp on the floor how can the player hear him/her self?
2. An amp stack gets a speaker up at the same altitude as the players’ ears. Now guess what happens? The player, if too loud, cannot hear the rest of the ensemble correctly. The player naturally turns down the volume on the amp, in order to hear a balanced ensemble. Thus sparing the eardrums of all, including the audience.
So yeah, a kind of ‘monitor’ function for these amps would be great.
Earl
Supporting Member
This is exactly why I like the Bose L1 Compact. On the floor and at ear level at the same time. The one drawback is that PAs are meant to throw the sound, so right next to it it can sound a little too direct but the sound blooms out in the audience.
I thought you folks might be interested in having a look at the bag that Rick at Acoustic Image is now recommending to hold the DoubleShot and a Clarus 4S head. I just got mine: an Ahead Armor Cases Tom Bag 9 x 12) from Drumland up here. I already have the Acoustic Image bag that Gollihur Music used to stock. So here's the two of them.
The Ahead bag is made of tough cordulon fabric with great zippers, handle, etc. The padding is sheepskin material with no foam that I can feel. There's no pockets inside or out. The Acoustic Image bag by contrast is a light nylon-type fabric with modest foam padding. There's a little padded chamber at one end that the Clarus can slip into (versus just sitting on the speaker in the Ahead bag). I have a slab of padding left over from a GruvGear bag that I'll likely put between the Clarus and the DoubleShot in the Ahead bag. There's also a thin pocket on the bag lid that would hold a folder of sheet music perhaps. There's some backpack straps on the rear of the Acoustic Image bag but it sits so stupidly on your back that they're useless.
Edit: There's enough room in the corners of either bag to tuck the Speakon cable and the power cable for the amp. I like that since I'm idiot enough to forget one or both of them.
The Ahead bag is certainly a tougher unit and in my view likely to be more protective. The Acoustic Image bag is light portability if you don't really need protection. I baby my stuff so it's served OK, but Rick has I think made the right call in recommending these Ahead tom-tom bags.
The Ahead bag is made of tough cordulon fabric with great zippers, handle, etc. The padding is sheepskin material with no foam that I can feel. There's no pockets inside or out. The Acoustic Image bag by contrast is a light nylon-type fabric with modest foam padding. There's a little padded chamber at one end that the Clarus can slip into (versus just sitting on the speaker in the Ahead bag). I have a slab of padding left over from a GruvGear bag that I'll likely put between the Clarus and the DoubleShot in the Ahead bag. There's also a thin pocket on the bag lid that would hold a folder of sheet music perhaps. There's some backpack straps on the rear of the Acoustic Image bag but it sits so stupidly on your back that they're useless.
Edit: There's enough room in the corners of either bag to tuck the Speakon cable and the power cable for the amp. I like that since I'm idiot enough to forget one or both of them.
The Ahead bag is certainly a tougher unit and in my view likely to be more protective. The Acoustic Image bag is light portability if you don't really need protection. I baby my stuff so it's served OK, but Rick has I think made the right call in recommending these Ahead tom-tom bags.
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I played my first electric bass gig with the DoubleShot a couple of nights ago, after doing a big band rehearsal with upright through it the day before. It was a pretty low volume affair: piano trio with a vocalist, and tight three part harmony (from piano, drums, and vocalist) throughout the show. Wide range of material from Texas swing and a bit of the Statler Brothers through Doo-Wop, Motown, 60's hits (Walk Away Renée etc.), a bit of soul, and a bit of gospel. Lots of fun: my first night with that group. I used my Yamaha BBP35 (very nice), the Clarus 4S (effect return only—so just the power amp), and an Eden WDTI to get a bit of colour and compression for electric (great little pedal). I had been a bit hesitant about using the DoubleShot with electric bass—but I shouldn't have been. It worked really well, at least back where I was. I did wish that I could step out front to have a listen how it sounded there; however, the setting was a pretty big room with marble floors in a posh Hilton-like retirement facility, and I didn't know anyone in the audience that I could dependably ask. I'm certainly going to give it another whirl. [BTW, the Ahead Armor case worked a charm.]
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Has anyone used a Doubleshot with a GK MB head? This may be the gear version of putting catsup on a steak, but I'm asking anyway. Thanks!
