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Double Bass NS Design NXT Megathread
- Thread starter dbassnut
- Start date
You said combo so I went there.
I play my CRM thru a Tone Hammer 500 into a Bergantino NV115 when I play it on stage.
I also play it thru a battery powered Phil Jones Double 4 when I want a truly portable solution for camping, jams, busking, whatever. That's just my $.02.
I play my CRM thru a Tone Hammer 500 into a Bergantino NV115 when I play it on stage.
I also play it thru a battery powered Phil Jones Double 4 when I want a truly portable solution for camping, jams, busking, whatever. That's just my $.02.
Yep thanks!! Just trying to be more portable. I have a Markbass tube 800 I've been running through a really old Genz Benz 15". I also have a Roland Cube 100 that's just not doing it with the NXT. Appreciate your .02.
I don't have an NXT but a CR and I do not use what I suggested I recommended something that is a combo with a 15 in a range that you suggested.
If you are open to ideas. Either an older single channel acoustic image or EA micro can be had for $300-$400 and can be paired with any number of single 12s.
I play BG too. So it will be a multi-use rig. Just looking for a very portable one trip to the car type rig. So I guess my real ? Is, what Is better for upright and the NXT? 12-15 inch speakers?
I am looking for a new rig and am contemplating a TH500 and either a Bergantino HD112 or NV115 cab. Good to hear from someone who is doing this.
This looks like it may be the holy grail for the NXT. A new Radial Tonebone that you can optimize for a piezo pickup.
http://www.tonebone.com/bassbonev2.php
http://www.tonebone.com/bassbonev2.php
Last edited:
- Jul 19, 2000
- 2,014
- 2,224
- Disclosures
- Owner/President, Gollihur Music LLC
Yep - should be a cool box. They're a few months away, just spoke to my rep yesterday. Those guys really do listen to feedback from their retailers!
The most functionally important difference between this new Bassbone and the (currently available) Bassbone OD, which also has the 10 megohm switch: the Bassbone V2 only has a "true" EQ on one channel -- the other channel has preset switches for tone enhancement. The Bassbone OD has two three-band EQs, one for each channel.
Mark, thanks for the info. I spent a good bit of Company Time this week researching the different Radial Tonebone products, as well as reading the posts on your website regarding preamps, input resistance matching, etc. Those were very helpful. I have been thinking there is something up with the piezo that is making things difficult.
I currently am using an Eden WDTI preamp, which is much better than no preamp but I feel that I could do better. As best I can figure the Eden has a 1MegOhm input. (The specs for the pre are not listed anywhere but I found a post on an Eden forum that said their heads have that input resistance and all their literature says the pre is supposed to be very similar to their heads.) And that makes sense that through the Eden it works OK but does not sound optimal. I am really looking for more clarity, definition and tone while retaining a solid bottom end. I have been looking at new amps but it seems like I would do better to upgrade my preamp first.
It looks like there are a few features on the bassbone OD that would be nice (headphone out, adjustable resistance on channel 2 for my '71 P, better EQ on both channels) but the larger unit would be a tight squeeze in my new pedalboard. So I've gotta figure out if I can squeeze in the OD and if I can't then I'll wait for the v2.
Thanks again,
John
I currently am using an Eden WDTI preamp, which is much better than no preamp but I feel that I could do better. As best I can figure the Eden has a 1MegOhm input. (The specs for the pre are not listed anywhere but I found a post on an Eden forum that said their heads have that input resistance and all their literature says the pre is supposed to be very similar to their heads.) And that makes sense that through the Eden it works OK but does not sound optimal. I am really looking for more clarity, definition and tone while retaining a solid bottom end. I have been looking at new amps but it seems like I would do better to upgrade my preamp first.
It looks like there are a few features on the bassbone OD that would be nice (headphone out, adjustable resistance on channel 2 for my '71 P, better EQ on both channels) but the larger unit would be a tight squeeze in my new pedalboard. So I've gotta figure out if I can squeeze in the OD and if I can't then I'll wait for the v2.
Thanks again,
John
Been reading this thread for a while now, so many great points here about the NXT basses.
I started out as a DB player in orchestras in school, and have been a BG player for many years now. I got an NXT4 bass a year and a half ago through Sweetwater. I got a nice 3/4 size carbon fiber German style bow worth $500 for less than $100 at Amazon.com, and some Kolstein Ultra bass rosin also from Amazon.com.
Simandl books to study and get back into shape with as well. I went to Gollihur Music for a hardshell case in order to fly with the bass to recording sessions that I did recently.
The NXT4 bass that I have is stock out-of-the-box to this day. I have used it both live and in the studio. I run it through my Zoom B2.1u bass effects unit, the Zoom does well to match the NXT's output impedance. Live, I run it through my SWR LA 15 combo bass amp, I get great tone that seems to make folks happy.
To play this bass arco style took a little getting used to, but I like my progression so far. The idea of new strings and tuners appeals to me, but they will come when the time is right.
I wanted to make a recording that had me playing both arco and pizzicato using this bass. I posted one at ReverbNation, a tribute to the late great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard -
http://www.reverbnation.com/jeromelee/song/21514073-little-sunflower-for-freddie-hubbard
I will keep on practicing, and I will keep on reading the good input here about the NXT series basses. Thank you everyone.
I started out as a DB player in orchestras in school, and have been a BG player for many years now. I got an NXT4 bass a year and a half ago through Sweetwater. I got a nice 3/4 size carbon fiber German style bow worth $500 for less than $100 at Amazon.com, and some Kolstein Ultra bass rosin also from Amazon.com.
Simandl books to study and get back into shape with as well. I went to Gollihur Music for a hardshell case in order to fly with the bass to recording sessions that I did recently.
The NXT4 bass that I have is stock out-of-the-box to this day. I have used it both live and in the studio. I run it through my Zoom B2.1u bass effects unit, the Zoom does well to match the NXT's output impedance. Live, I run it through my SWR LA 15 combo bass amp, I get great tone that seems to make folks happy.
To play this bass arco style took a little getting used to, but I like my progression so far. The idea of new strings and tuners appeals to me, but they will come when the time is right.
I wanted to make a recording that had me playing both arco and pizzicato using this bass. I posted one at ReverbNation, a tribute to the late great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard -
http://www.reverbnation.com/jeromelee/song/21514073-little-sunflower-for-freddie-hubbard
I will keep on practicing, and I will keep on reading the good input here about the NXT series basses. Thank you everyone.
PZ-Pre — overlooked, why?
PZ-Pre is optimised for piezo on both channels OR just one channel and run a mag pickup through one channel and piezo on the other, switch between the two channels OR run both channels simultaneously.
When I got my PZ-Pre, they were still relatively new, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why people were still buying the old BassBone when the PZ-Pre could do anything the BB could do and then some, most notably:
piezo capability on either channel (or both),
the mute switch,
better mids control and
the ability to have both channels on.
I get that some people may not need the extra features of the PZ-Pre compared to the original BB, and if all you need is a BB you save some money as well, but in many cases where a PZ-Pre would be ideal, it gets overlooked.
Mark, where do you see the PZ-Pre fitting into all this? I think the PZ-Pre gets overlooked all the time because people see it only as an "acoustic" device, yet the piezo buffers can be run on both channels or both channels defeated. So as mentioned above, you can run a piezo and a mag pickup on the same instrument blended or separate instruments.
The original BB and the BBOD always got compared when the OD version came out, and now the BBv2 ($?) is getting compared to the BBOD. Prior to the Bassbone v2 and BBOD, I think the PZ-Pre was a good option that works both sides of the piezo/mag fence and is too often overlooked.
What am I missing about the PZ-Pre?
PZ-Pre is optimised for piezo on both channels OR just one channel and run a mag pickup through one channel and piezo on the other, switch between the two channels OR run both channels simultaneously.
When I got my PZ-Pre, they were still relatively new, and for the life of me I couldn't understand why people were still buying the old BassBone when the PZ-Pre could do anything the BB could do and then some, most notably:
piezo capability on either channel (or both),
the mute switch,
better mids control and
the ability to have both channels on.
I get that some people may not need the extra features of the PZ-Pre compared to the original BB, and if all you need is a BB you save some money as well, but in many cases where a PZ-Pre would be ideal, it gets overlooked.
Mark, where do you see the PZ-Pre fitting into all this? I think the PZ-Pre gets overlooked all the time because people see it only as an "acoustic" device, yet the piezo buffers can be run on both channels or both channels defeated. So as mentioned above, you can run a piezo and a mag pickup on the same instrument blended or separate instruments.
The original BB and the BBOD always got compared when the OD version came out, and now the BBv2 ($?) is getting compared to the BBOD. Prior to the Bassbone v2 and BBOD, I think the PZ-Pre was a good option that works both sides of the piezo/mag fence and is too often overlooked.
What am I missing about the PZ-Pre?
- Jul 19, 2000
- 2,014
- 2,224
- Disclosures
- Owner/President, Gollihur Music LLC
I don't think you're missing anything, really. Christopher (here at the shop, generally gigs 3-5 times a week) uses one of the PZ-Deluxe (the one-channel version of the PZ-Pre) regularly, and it sounds great. It does have a similar feature set. I suppose one thing that a BassBone (either the new one or the OD, which is my current fave) has is an EQ section that is optimized specifically for bass instruments, whereas the PZ-Pre series are really more of an "all-purpose" EQ. The High-Pass filter is essentially the same, and a lot of the other features are similar. And the PZ-Pre features a "master EQ" rather than a "per-channel" EQ, which will work just fine for many, but some folks like to EQ each pickup separately.
Both units are killer-sounding, rock-solid construction, and dead quiet. So they're both winners -- it's just a matter of which feature set best suits...
Got my Bassbone OD this week, tried it out at home with headphones Thursday night and got it working but was not blown away. Gigged with it Friday night and absolutely loved it. Great low end tone, super clean. Best thump I have ever gotten out of the NXT (I play in a bluegrass trio). Used the PZ switch and the HPF set at 80 with a little bass boost and a little upper mid boost. Amp set flat into a 1-15 cab and amp master only at 9 or 10:00. Previously I used an Eden WTDI pre but it always sounded like it was overloading the pre on the amp (I did not like it better bypassing the amp's pre and going into the fx return). Seemed that I had to have the master on the Eden up to 3 - 4:00 to get decent tone and then after one set it sounded like my amp's pre had no headroom. With the Bassbone OD that was gone, the amp sounded clean as a whistle. Not just good tone but it seemed to clean up the sound of the NXT completely. I am guessing that is largely due to the impedence matching on the input but it seems overall the circuitry of the OD is very good.
Doubling with my Fender P was a breeze and the mute switch was very handy. Mute everything when switching instruments, at end of set, etc. Fender sounded good with the HPF also on 80 and the eq flat (it was a very live room with hard plaster walls). I was looking at buying a new amp but am very glad I got a new pre instead. Wish NS put out a little more detail on using a preamp with the NXT and I had figured this out a year ago.
Doubling with my Fender P was a breeze and the mute switch was very handy. Mute everything when switching instruments, at end of set, etc. Fender sounded good with the HPF also on 80 and the eq flat (it was a very live room with hard plaster walls). I was looking at buying a new amp but am very glad I got a new pre instead. Wish NS put out a little more detail on using a preamp with the NXT and I had figured this out a year ago.
Been practicing my arco playing at home on my NXT 4. I must get the string height up a bit higher for my G string. But I'm having fun trying to sound better.
