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Double Bass New amp for my doublebass.

basdanne

basdanne

Nov 4, 2009
74
3
Oslo, Norway
#1
Hello fellow bassplayers.
I am planning on buying a new small amp for my doublebass. I have used the Acoustic image coda R series III with a Schertler dyn B for a couple of years. I am not satisfied with the sound. It has to much midrange. You can discribe the sound as thin and hard. I have tried to get a warmer sound using a parametric EQ, but that hasn`t worked.
Any suggestions? What about markbass little mark together with a small cabinett? Or should i make a new try with the AI?

Kind regards
Daniel
 
#3
Most of the pickups I've used have been horribly mid-rangy and required massive amounts of EQ. Maybe you should be trying other pickups rather than amps.

I've played through some friends' Acoustic Image combos and liked them and I currently use an EA Doubler. I think the preamps on these sorts of amps, having some nice features aimed at DB, are going to get you much closer to the sound you want than a Markbass, GK, etc will. Of course, YMMV, IMO, etc.
 
#4
basdanne said:
Hello fellow bassplayers.
I am planning on buying a new small amp for my doublebass. I have used the Acoustic image coda R series III with a Schertler dyn B for a couple of years. I am not satisfied with the sound. It has to much midrange. You can discribe the sound as thin and hard. I have tried to get a warmer sound using a parametric EQ, but that hasn`t worked.
Any suggestions? What about markbass little mark together with a small cabinett? Or should i make a new try with the AI?

Kind regards
Daniel
Click to expand...

Daniel,
While upper midrange is what gives the Double Bass it's character, it has to be ballanced with the treble and bass EQ IMHO. I'd change out the pickup for a Realist or Full Circle and see what happens.

Ric
 
#5
Maybe i should give new pickup a try. The thing is that I think that the dyn B sounds really good in a PA system, so it`s rather strange that it should sound that boring in a amp, isn`t it? What about blending the dyn B with full cirkle? I have never heard full cirkle. Do You recommend it?
 
#6
Find a shop or other local people with basses with pickups
Try out their basses with your amp
Let them try out your bass and stand back and listen
I didnt think my amp was loud enough until I lent the amp and bass to a student and sat in the audience

Also try moving the DynB around to find a sweeter spot

Thanks

Robert VanLane
 
#7
basdanne said:
Maybe i should give new pickup a try. The thing is that I think that the dyn B sounds really good in a PA system, so it`s rather strange that it should sound that boring in a amp, isn`t it? What about blending the dyn B with full cirkle? I have never heard full cirkle. Do You recommend it?
Click to expand...


That's what that pickup (DYN B) was really designed for. A really good sound system sounds a good deal better than virtually any amplifier I know of. The Full Circle is made by Fishman Transducers, if you have an adjustable bridge it replaces one of the wheels. You certianly could blend the two signals, but the DYN-B has a pre amp specifically voiced for it. Frankly, I'm not sure that you would need both.

Ric
 
#10
Everything sounds less midrangey compare to AI. It's not only the midrange, it's the worst kind of it, makes notes above open G thin and ugly.
I'm using Markbass Mini CMD121P combo, which is unbeatable in terms of loudness / weight ratio and is great when I need to be very loud. For acoustic jazz I still prefer the small GK combo and am thinking of trying the micro head MB2 from GK.
 
#12
I have tried to fix my soundproblems by using a parametric eq (prosonus eq 3b). There was a thread here on talkbass where people had very good experiences with that method using eq with the dyn b microphone. Sadly, it hasnt worked for me. I have also tried a preamp (art tub amp), just to see if it had any good effect on the sound.

It just feels like the amp isnt good enough, but I could be wrong.

Any suggestions for a preamp that could fit the dyn B or any suggestions for a totally new amp?
Getting desperate...
 
#13
I have tested the dyn-b with the phil jones flightcase and with jesper lundgaards arco hugo amp (the latter being on the costly side but unbeatably light and loud), and both yield MUCH better results than the AI. Sadly, I don't have the cash at the moment, but I'm planning on phil jones.

However, you should try Ehrlunds pickup, sounds more natural and way better than the dyn-b. But the cash thing applies also here. As soon as my ship comes in, I'll buy both of them....

Best

Sidecar
 
#14
Just sold my Markbass 121P! I don't double on bass guitar out of principle so I needed something that gives me great sound each and every time I need to amplify my DB! I do not have any midrange problem with my new AI Ten2 combo in fact with my DPA 4099B mixed with a little signal from my Planet Wing pickup I do get a sound that any DB player would love and cherish!!! If I want more chunky sound I take the head out of my AI and put it on the top of a 2x12 Bergantino. Can't go wrong with that.
 
#15
+1 to the idea of changing pickup/mic/preamp.

The Contra/Coda are about as neutral as they come. If you like what you hear in the house, you can ask the house sound guy about what he's doing, but ultimately you can be pretty sure that you won't find more neutral than the AI you've already got.

The AI folks have great tech support - you might communicate with them directly by emailing them via their web site.

For what it's worth, my only real complaint about my AI Series III gear, which was exactly what you have but separates, was that it sounded different in the house (small house, no PA) than what I heard right next to the amp. I feel the Ten2 addresses that well. If that's your situation, you might consider a Ten2.

I mention all that to suggest that you might have someone play your current setup in a small/medium room with no PA while you sit in the house and listen. If you like the way the AI sounds at a distance, you can do some experimenting with it close up, e.g., angle it up, raise it off the floor, and/or whatever else you can think of that might change the sound you get near it. I used to raise mine on something called an "apple box", basically a plywood box used by photographers that's available in a few different size.

-S-
 
#16
SteveFreides said:
+1 to the idea of changing pickup/mic/preamp.

The Contra/Coda are about as neutral as they come.
-S-
Click to expand...

I agree to this statement as far as the amplifiers are concerned. I don't think their speaker cabs (or better, the speakers of the combos contra I, IIa and II, can't speak for the III) are neutral at all, and I think I'm not alone with this feeling. Pretty midrange-honky to my ears.

I however agree again when it comes to the ten2X. Much less honk.

Best

Sidecar
 
#17
The AI is not neutral at all !

Connect a CD player to the AI's input and you will immediatly notice the hard midrange. It's possible to make it better with some EQ tweaking but still... Like "Mr Sidecar" wrote ; Phil Jones Briefcase is a better choice. That amp is really HIFI !

Schertler recommends (at least, that's what i've been told by a reseller when the brand was introduced, on the Belgian market some 20 years ago) a powered monitor ! (such as a JBL EON...)

I would change the amp and keep the Dyn-B !

Good luck !
 
#19
tandemman said:
Hi basdanne,
There's some interesting information here : Invalid Link Removed
Please read the review and the comments, it contains valuable information...
Regards,
Francis
Click to expand...

Really usefull information! I am thinking of maybe finding a good preamp. Maybe that could help to get rid of that honky sound I have in the AI. I will try the dyn B in a couple of other amps as well. Perhaps a Phil Jones, GK and a markbass. What about little mark III with a 2x10 cabinett?

Anyone of You having suggestions for a nice preamp?

Thank You all for the support!
/Daniel
 
#20
Hey bassdanne,

I just gigged with the PJB Flightcase BG-150 (the 4-speaker one) today. Trio with saxophone and drums, quite boomy room. I was using my dyn-b, no external preamp, and it worked splendidly. It was the easiest experience I had with any amplifier so far (even taken into account the great Arco Hugo, that was, as I said, great, but its treble dial frequency was not one I liked or found useful). I plugged in, didn't change the gain (left it in center position), did change the low mid eq knob to maybe 1/4 (3 o'clock), and that was it- volume at 10-11 o'clock and I was plenty loud, sounding really nice and acoustic, and the honkyness the dyn-b has to offer was not to be heard at all. I could hear myself nicely, and the others could too.

I was quite surprised that it actually worked so well and so, ahem, loud. Especially because there's some trustworthy guys on the board that say they need the more volume the bigger BG-300 provides. I obviously don't right now (plus, I don't really need the extra schlep), and if that moment will come, I'll consider an extension (PB-300).

Hope that helps.

Best

Sidecar
 

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