Double Bass New Acoustic Image 'DOUBLESHOT'

[rickwolff]

Rick, thanks for the detailed info. Your contributions are always very valuable for me. (on account that you have a fantastic sound )

Thanks, Fran, you're very kind. I discovered long ago that my love of the Double Bass was due to its rich, yet growly sound. That led to a kind of obsession which resulted in my becoming a 'Gear Junkie'. I've been thinking lately I should change my moniker to 'Gear Junkie in Service of The Sound', but that's too much of a mouthful.

 

[rickwolff]

Are you happy with the Shuttle/Double shot combination? I have the 6.2 too, thinking about the double shot.

Hi Fredrick, Yes I am happy with the Shuttle/Doubleshot combination. It's a 4 Ohm cab so you'll get full wattage out of the Shuttle. You'll still probably run out of headroom on the Shuttle before the Doubleshot starts to complain.

 

[rickwolff]

I took a stroll over to the dark side recently to share my rig on JimmyM's 'Yes, that's my Dinky Amp Onstage and Proud Of It' Club.



Anyhoo, those crazy guys can be FUNNY. I got a kick out of this response:

Yesterday at 2:12 AM#159

CaseyVancouver
Nov 4, 2012

↑
Hi guys,

Just stopped by from the other side to show you my new 210, smallest, lightest in the world (as far as I know)

The new Acoustic Image Doubleshot. In case you're wondering, it's the little round thing behind my right foot.

AND IT WEIGHS 15 POUNDS.

Acoustic Image Unveils the Doubleshot Lightweight 2x10 Cabinet
Click to expand...

‘smallest lightest bass amp in the world’ has to compete with 5 drums and 6 plus cymbals. Too funny.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Then there is a little angle bracket on top. I can't find a link right now but Gollihur used to carry them. You could ask Mark.

They were originally made by Raxxess, who no longer exists - they were bought out by a larger company and those brackets are one of the few surviving products. However, I'm waiting for them to make a new production run just for me.

They're around $18, and quite effective. I used to use one in my old band to hold an electronic sample player.

Should hopefully have them back on the site soon!

 

[Mark Gollihur]

They were originally made by Raxxess, who no longer exists - they were bought out by a larger company and those brackets are one of the few surviving products. However, I'm waiting for them to make a new production run just for me.

They're around $18, and quite effective. I used to use one in my old band to hold an electronic sample player.

Should hopefully have them back on the site soon!

Oh, and they work quite well as a universal amp holder for the full-size Clarus as well as other "non-AI" amp heads.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[rickwolff]

Mark, that little angle bracket is an incredibly useful 'bit of kit'. Mounted on top of my collapsible mic stand, and with a few strips of 3M DualLock, I can mount any of my heads or preamps to put them right at my fingertips.

Also, the angle works great because in one direction (angled up toward me) it works well for amps with the knobs on the front and in the other direction (angled down) it works well for pre-amps that have the knobs on the top surface.

I'm really glad to hear that you are going to have them available again.

 

[El Thumpo]

Okay, I’m sold. Gollihur has my order.

My question is this: does it make sense to hang on to my current Series III Contra? Like, could I use it as an extension cabinet to good effect, in larger venues? If so, what’s the best way to do that—through the Effects loop? I’d appreciate your thoughts.

 

[Ric Vice]

Okay, I’m sold. Gollihur has my order.

My question is this: does it make sense to hang on to my current Series III Contra? Like, could I use it as an extension cabinet to good effect, in larger venues? If so, what’s the best way to do that—through the Effects loop? I’d appreciate your thoughts.

My take is that a Double Shot can handle the onstage sound very well. You'll just have to try that combination to see if it works. Putting those two cabinets together would be like adding a sub woofer to the Double Shot. I'm not sure how that will wash out. There's a suprizing amount of focused low end that Double Shot puts out.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Okay, I’m sold. Gollihur has my order.

My question is this: does it make sense to hang on to my current Series III Contra? Like, could I use it as an extension cabinet to good effect, in larger venues? If so, what’s the best way to do that—through the Effects loop? I’d appreciate your thoughts.

The Contra is internally wired, so it would take some doing and some know-how to wire it as a passive extension speaker to the Doubleshot combo's Clarus SL-series amplifier. That's probably not worth the trouble, and would change the combo's functionality, which - while reversible, might be a PIA down the road.

However, you could run it as an extension AMP - meaning you could run out of the new head into the Contra's "Effects Loop Return" and run the Contra as a "dumb" powered extension speaker. This would give you more control over the independent volumes of each unit, so you could use them more effectively. Though it would require a second plug on the power strip.

Alternatively, you could also just run into its standard instrument input, which would allow you to adjust the EQ of the Contra independently, so if it WAS boomy, you could turn up the high pass filter or cut some of the bass with EQ. So, there are options...

 

[El Thumpo]

The Contra is internally wired, so it would take some doing and some know-how to wire it as a passive extension speaker to the Doubleshot combo's Clarus SL-series amplifier. That's probably not worth the trouble, and would change the combo's functionality, which - while reversible, might be a PIA down the road.

However, you could run it as an extension AMP - meaning you could run out of the new head into the Contra's "Effects Loop Return" and run the Contra as a "dumb" powered extension speaker. This would give you more control over the independent volumes of each unit, so you could use them more effectively. Though it would require a second plug on the power strip.

Alternatively, you could also just run into its standard instrument input, which would allow you to adjust the EQ of the Contra independently, so if it WAS boomy, you could turn up the high pass filter or cut some of the bass with EQ. So, there are options...

Thank you, Mark. When I said “use as an extension cabinet,” I didn’t mean eviserating it into a dumb extension, just adding it to the mix as you’ve suggested. There do seem to be a lot of options. I’ll experiment with them once my DoubleShot/Clarus SL arrives, and report back.

 

[rickwolff]

I'm with Ron Carter on this one.

I wasn't at the ISB convention but I understand that Ron did his usual thing of having his speaker up on a stand behind him (presumably to work better as a 'monitor' for himself.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I put the Doubleshot up on a chair at a gig last week when I found myself on a boomy stage. The Doubleshot doesn't have a 'high-hat cup' for a speaker stand and it would be a little challenging installing one due to the radius of the cabinet.

So I went out to the Gear Junkies Workshop, found a couple pieces of scrap wood, some screws, and my trusty can of flat-black spray paint and came up with this:

 

[rickwolff]

And, no, @Don Kasper, that ain't no 'Furniture Grade' construction.

That there is Gear Junkie Dumpster-Diving for materials grade construction.

 

[Ric Vice]

Great idea Rick,
I had a cabinet stand for a single 15" Bag End cube I owned. It did help with the bass response. Ultimately, I think it's going to depend on the room, the cabinet sounded
great on the floor of the recital hall at Indiana University.

 

[Michael Drost]

I'm with Ron Carter on this one.

I wasn't at the ISB convention but I understand that Ron did his usual thing of having his speaker up on a stand behind him (presumably to work better as a 'monitor' for himself.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I put the Doubleshot up on a chair at a gig last week when I found myself on a boomy stage. The Doubleshot doesn't have a 'high-hat cup' for a speaker stand and it would be a little challenging installing one due to the radius of the cabinet.

So I went out to the Gear Junkies Workshop, found a couple of pieces of scrap wood, some screws, and my trusty can of flat-black spray paint and came up with this:

View attachment 3464521

Rick,

I have been chatting with Rick Jones about elevating the Doubleshot. He recommended exactly what you created.

He said only a 9X9 inch platform is needed. I don't think he can squeeze a pole mount in there. Pretty cool.

Now all I have to do is get on the waiting list for the Doubleshot. Lol.

 

[rickwolff]

You've probably seen some pictures of the Acoustic Image mini-heads perched on top of the Doubleshot.

Here is a picture of my Bam200 on the Doubleshot. A piece of 3M Dual Lock on the bottom of the head and on the cab will hold them together securely so the head can't fall off. However, you can still remove the head by firmly pulling on it.

 

[Michael Drost]

THE 'ACID TEST' LARGE OUTDOOR GIG

Last night I played outdoors at a venue where I have always used my 30 pound GK Neo 112. Last night I decided to go 'all-in' and just bring the Doubleshot.

Everyone was in the PA (vocal, piano, trumpet) except bass and drums. Our 'sound guy' walked all around, even to the very back and reported he could hear the bass clearly everywhere and it sounded great and sat well in the mix.

As far as the band hearing it, I actually moved it away from the pianist a little bit as he said it was louder than he wanted. When I put it where it it seen in the picture below everyone was happy. I oriented it with the 10's front and back so the 5" was aiming right up at me. I could hear my bass very clearly with plenty of mid and high info which is so critical for intonation (at least for me).

The pianist told me that a guitarist he works with has order two of them. I expect our pianist is next.

Gotta tell ya, my old back sure prefers carrying a little 15 pound 'hat-box' to lugging a larger, heavier bass cab.

I have also attached a link to a little video clip I did at home comparing the Doubleshot to my MAS 16. It's no secret that I love my little 16 for my more intimate, drummerless gigs, but no way it could have kept up with the outdoor venue last night with a fairly loud, amplified band.

View attachment 3459384

Rick,

I plugged in some headphones yesterday and listened to your comparison of the 16 and Doubleshot. Nice work, and I think they both sound amazing! I am looking forward to comparing the Doubleshot to my powered 18.

A few questions: what are the dimensions of your "DS" table? How does the DS sound with the BAM200?

I have an SL coming with the DS. The SL sounded very good at the ISB, however, the room was loud and most of the bass frequencies were spoken for by the other 100 basses being played in the room. LOL.

PS - If it is possible, I think you need to approach 3M about an artist endorsement. Great stuff!

 

[rickwolff]

Rick,

I plugged in some headphones yesterday and listened to your comparison of the 16 and Doubleshot. Nice work, and I think they both sound amazing! I am looking forward to comparing the Doubleshot to my powered 18.

A few questions: what are the dimensions of your "DS" table? How does the DS sound with the BAM200?

I have an SL coming with the DS. The SL sounded very good at the ISB, however, the room was loud and most of the bass frequencies were spoken for by the other 100 basses being played in the room. LOL.

PS - If it is possible, I think you need to approach 3M about an artist endorsement. Great stuff!

Hi Michael,

I'm counting on you to improve upon my DS 'Table'. It was initially 9" in both directions 'inside the rails' which I put on to keep it from sliding off the side.
Turns out the 9" is a bit more than necessary for the Front to Back, not that it really matters.

The 9" Side to Side, however, was a bit too tight. The side of the cabinet kind of hung up on the rail so I had to use my circular saw to gouge out about a 1/4 inch from the inside of each side rail. Now it fits. So, save yourself some trouble and make the inside dimension at least 9 1/2 inches for the Side to Side dimension.

The wood 'table' works fine but I think a nice piece of black anodized aluminum with the sides bent up a 1/2 inch or so would look pretty cool.

The Bam 200 sounds fine with the DS, but I think I slightly prefer my Shuttle 6.2. I engage BOTH the Low boost and the Mid-cut, with the knobs set at noon. The low boost adds some additional gravitas to the lowest notes without darkening the middle and upper register. The mid-cut just kind of cleans it up and makes the sound a bit more 'transparent' which I like.

Thanks for the suggestion about becoming an endorsing artist for 3M Dual Lock. Notice the new wording below my avatar.

 

[bassically_eli]

Is the Doubleshot ported? I have been assuming that it is basically the Upshot x 2, but I just realized that I can't see a vent in any of the pictures.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

If memory serves, Rick told me it was a sealed cab at ISB.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Is the Doubleshot ported? I have been assuming that it is basically the Upshot x 2, but I just realized that I can't see a vent in any of the pictures.

Sealed, AFAIK. The Upshot was the first of their cabs to have a port (and an unconventional port, at that) and unless some of their first gen cabs had them, I don't think any other AI cabs have been ported.