Double Bass NS Design NXT Megathread

[jthisdell]

Do you put your Tone Hammer in front of the Radial, or in the effects loop?

I have the TH500 amp head, not the pedal. So I run the Radial first (one channel has the high z input) and then into the front of the TH amp.

 

[Zbysek]

Yes the ToneBones are designed to go into the front end of an amp. They are not hot enough to go into an fx loop or dive a power amp.

I haven't known that… what's the order you put them into? 1. OD, 2. TH., 3. amp (FX rec)?

Going through two eq's can be a bit of a dangerous rabbit hole but I find it helpful to have the two Bass controls at different freqs.

I hear you. One of my gigging amps (MB LMIII) has EQ section AFTER the FX loop. I find it helpful to be able to EQ for FOH with my pedal preamp plugged into FX return (FOH fed through pedal's XLR out) and then EQ for my monitoring with my amp's EQ section...

No big differences between the two settings though...

 

[GrooveWarrior]

I have the TH500 amp head, not the pedal. So I run the Radial first (one channel has the high z input) and then into the front of the TH amp.

Ok. I thought you meant the pedal.

 

[fivestringgecko]

I don't do a whole lot of EQing either, but the impulse response (IR) I'm using does make a pretty significant difference. NXTa goes into the Stomp with some light compression and the 3Sigma Prescott 3c IR, with a low cut set to 40Hz and a high cut set to 3.5kHz. Always gets some really positive feedback.

5sg.

 

[GrooveWarrior]

This is good info. Thanks.

Can we talk about reverb??? I know some folks add reverb to their EUB to fill out the sound. What pedals do you like, what type (room, hall, etc.), how much????

Thanks

 

[Eadger]

This is good info. Thanks.

Can we talk about reverb??? I know some folks add reverb to their EUB to fill out the sound. What pedals do you like, what type (room, hall, etc.), how much????

Thanks

I don't use it all the time, but I've used my Iron Ether Nimbus SE (which is a room/hall type verb) occasionally with my NXT and I think it does a fantastic job. It doesn't take much at all....just blending in a small amount with a small room size. I also turn the bass control down quite a bit which filters out the low end of the reverb path to keep it from getting too thick (again, it takes very little to thicken up from what I've experienced).

 

[Deleted member 132197]

This is good info. Thanks.

Can we talk about reverb??? I know some folks add reverb to their EUB to fill out the sound. What pedals do you like, what type (room, hall, etc.), how much????

Thanks

I had a holy grail for a while as an always on reverb (spring setting, set around 11) but I just got a Walrus Slö to experiment with more ambient reverb for the EUB.

 

[fivestringgecko]

Can we talk about reverb??? I know some folks add reverb to their EUB to fill out the sound. What pedals do you like, what type (room, hall, etc.), how much????

Before I added the IR to my chain, I tried some reverb and thought it was okay, but could never really get it to sound the way I wanted. I got better/"more realistic" results using a smidge of delay. I don't often use it with the IR, but still have the block in my Stomp signal chain for "a little extra something something" with the NXT. Settings below... Really short delay time, low feedback, and not a ton of mix.

5sg.

 

[GrooveWarrior]

Before I added the IR to my chain, I tried some reverb and thought it was okay, but could never really get it to sound the way I wanted. I got better/"more realistic" results using a smidge of delay. I don't often use it with the IR, but still have the block in my Stomp signal chain for "a little extra something something" with the NXT. Settings below... Really short delay time, low feedback, and not a ton of mix.

5sg.

View attachment 3790690

What is IR?

 

[Eadger]

What is IR?

Impulse Response. Generally used to emulate speaker cabs, but several of us also use them to emulate the response of acoustic uprights by loading an insturment IR created from an actual mic'd upright. I had been using 3Sigma's German upright IRs.

Shameless marketing plug - I'm actually selling my IR pedal that I was using to do that here: For Sale - Hotone Binary IR Cab

 

[fivestringgecko]

What is IR?

@Eadger beat me to it. IRs seem to be quite popular these days (particularly in direct recording) and there's a google's worth of info out there, including about how to make your own IRs. But we had some more NXT specific discussion about it earlier in this thread, starting here. Make sure to read past that though, because I did some audio samples comparing my dry NXTa to using the delay settings I just mentioned above (post #1303), and some further explorations with the 3Sigma responses (post #1304). I also used my NXTa with the impulse response in a local artist feature, click here to jump right to it.

The delay patch wasn't bad at all, but the response when I started using the IRs was positive and immediate. My favorite is the Prescott 3C response, but I also keep 3A and 3B loaded in case I need to "EQ for the room." *

The dropbox link in #1304 includes the manuals, so you can see what the numbers and letters signify. "3" signifies the IR that was recorded with the Audio Technica ATM 250DE mic, and C stands for "bold low end."

5sg.

 

[GrooveWarrior]

@Eadger beat me to it. IRs seem to be quite popular these days (particularly in direct recording) and there's a google's worth of info out there, including about how to make your own IRs. But we had some more NXT specific discussion about it earlier in this thread, starting here. Make sure to read past that though, because I did some audio samples comparing my dry NXTa to using the delay settings I just mentioned above (post #1303), and some further explorations with the 3Sigma responses (post #1304). I also used my NXTa with the impulse response in a local artist feature, click here to jump right to it.

The delay patch wasn't bad at all, but the response when I started using the IRs was positive and immediate!

5sg.

great. Thanks. I’ll check it out.

 

[Zbysek]

What alternative to the NXTa Tripod would you recommend? I have an NXT double bass and would like to be able to sit in my desk chair and play it. Now I'm on a stool with the bass on the tripod, which is alright but not what I really want.

NS Design has two strap solutions, the Boomerang and the Shoulder. Which would you recommend? Or is the endpin better?

(Of course I would also play standing at times with any of these solutions)

I don't have any of the strap solutions..but I have the endpin. I have never used it while sitting. I doubt it would work very well...

Sometimes I sit while playing using the tripod. It allows you to adjust the angle of the instrument. Works reasonably for me.

 

[Zbysek]

Can we talk about reverb??? I know some folks add reverb to their EUB to fill out the sound. What pedals do you like, what type (room, hall, etc.), how much????

I use EBS Dynaverb. Room type of reverb (switch in A or B position). I had thought I would be using it as always-on effect. I have realized, that it doesn't bring much for pizzicato playing, actually it can muddy sound for faster/rhytmic songs. So I have been using it for arco playing recently.

I don't use it all the time, but I've used my Iron Ether Nimbus SE (which is a room/hall type verb) occasionally with my NXT and I think it does a fantastic job. It doesn't take much at all....just blending in a small amount with a small room size. I also turn the bass control down quite a bit which filters out the low end of the reverb path to keep it from getting too thick (again, it takes very little to thicken up from what I've experienced).

This one looks great! I love especially the bass knob. It gave me the idea to put my HPF (maxed) in front of my reverb and place both of them in my preamp's FX loop (used in parallel). That way, only freqeuncies above 190 Hz would be present in the "wet" path. The "dry" path would retain all the lows...

 

[Zbysek]

Question for others: how do you EQ your NXT to get rid of the typical fretless "mwah"? I think one needs to cut mids in order to get there...but I am uncertain which frequency...

I know it can be achieved by choice of strings and their setting (higher above the fretboard). I am interested in the solution with EQ.

My taste has developped: When I started playing EUB six years ago, I enjoyed the fretless nature of its sound. Now, I am annoyed (a little) with it.

Thanks.

 

[jthisdell]

Question for others: how do you EQ your NXT to get rid of the typical fretless "mwah"? I think one needs to cut mids in order to get there...but I am uncertain which frequency...

I know it can be achieved by choice of strings and their setting (higher above the fretboard). I am interested in the solution with EQ.

My taste has developped: When I started playing EUB six years ago, I enjoyed the fretless nature of its sound. Now, I am annoyed (a little) with it.

Thanks.

I typically boost the very lows. That and be careful with your technique, mwah is good when you want it but only when you want it.

 

[frankie5string]

Question for others: how do you EQ your NXT to get rid of the typical fretless "mwah"? I think one needs to cut mids in order to get there...but I am uncertain which frequency...

I know it can be achieved by choice of strings and their setting (higher above the fretboard). I am interested in the solution with EQ.

My taste has developped: When I started playing EUB six years ago, I enjoyed the fretless nature of its sound. Now, I am annoyed (a little) with it.

Thanks.

EQ won't really take it out because there's also the amplitude of the string which changes as the fingerboard is interfering. If you EQ the range of frequencies (and it's a range - not just a couple) that occupies, you may be left with a kind of a muddy sound that won't project very well. It'll end up being mostly bass with that piezo click.

You could also increase the relief of the neck - unlike most double-basses, there is a truss-rod you can loosen on the NS basses.

 

[Zbysek]

EQ won't really take it out because there's also the amplitude of the string which changes as the fingerboard is interfering.

I know that it won't take it completely out….but it can attenuate them, I believe

you may be left with a kind of a muddy sound that won't project very well. It'll end up being mostly bass with that piezo click.

I know I will have to be careful not to cut too much...

You could also increase the relief of the neck - unlike most double-basses, there is a truss-rod you can loosen on the NS basses.

Good tip, thanks​

 

[fivestringgecko]

@Zbysek I would think that adjusting the setup would help more than EQing, but if your NXT has the standard strings on it (NS Contemporary flats, I believe), you might try a set of NS Traditionals which are designed to be more like acoustic upright strings. (The NXT can also use actual upright bass strings too I believe). The Traditionals on my NXT definitely sound & feel more like an upright than a fellow bassist's NXT with the thinner Contemporaries.

5sg.

 

[Zbysek]

@Zbysek I would think that adjusting the setup would help more than EQing, but if your NXT has the standard strings on it (NS Contemporary flats, I believe), you might try a set of NS Traditionals which are designed to be more like acoustic upright strings. (The NXT can also use actual upright bass strings too I believe). The Traditionals on my NXT definitely sound & feel more like an upright than a fellow bassist's NXT with the thinner Contemporaries.

5sg.

Thank you. I agree with you. Let me clarify my post: I already made the switch to Traditionals a I have changed my setup. It helped a lot.

I am interested in one more step: to cut the problematic frequencies.

Thank you once again.