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Double Bass pickup for loud music!

#61
salcott said:
I reread all your posts, Gearhead, and found very little to disagree with. My whole point has been that sooner or later, you come up against the laws of physics. The more you restrict the acoustic qualities of the instrument, whether via EQ or physical means, the less it will sound like an acoustic bass. At that point, for me, it becomes a matter of diminishing returns. I'd rather have a great EUB sound than use an acoustic bass that will feed back if I turn the wrong way or forget to constantly mute the open strings. I'd rather just play. Got a country/rockabilly gig this Saturday. The guys love the EUB.
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Cool, I agree with you about the diminishing returns thing. I don't hate EUBs, they just aren't for me. I can see how much easier they would be to gig with though.
 
#65
Gearhead43 said:
Lame line of thinking, sorry.

I have been hearing this hoity toity "stageprop" garbage since I first started on Talk-ass, mostly directed at Rockabilly players, and you all know where you can stick that. :spit:

If any of you have actually been to a rockabilly show, please raise your hand.....................................................

*crickets chirping*

That's what I thought.

Most of the rockabilly bands I know and like don't actually play that loud. Many of the bass players care alot about their bass sounding as natural as possible, use FOH support, and keep the stage volume reasonable.

A typical traditional rockabilly band has either just a snare with brushes, a minimalist drumkit (or none at all) , usually only one guitarist playing a hollow body thru a one or two-12 tube combo. We aren't talking metal band loud here, folks.

To call my instrument a stage prop is really insulting, and very condecending. Just because we differ on the bass tone we like to hear also doesn't make you any better than I.

"Why not just play a P-bass?"

Because I play the double bass, #sshole!
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I have been to tons of rockabilly shows, and you are right. The rockabilly bands are not all that loud. It helps.

Having said that, though, I am in the process of switching from my K and K system to an underwood, which should arrive shortly. I too have been having many feedback issues even at reasoneably low volumes.
 
#67
That K&K preamp is a pain in the @rse for alot of slappers. It's hard to set up the gain structure from gain / volume in the pre, and balance it with the input gain of your bass head. Too much input gain = feedback.

In my limited experience with the K&K rockabilly preamp, the gain trim pot on the inside must be kept very very low, almost OFF. The Bass Max is plenty hot enough on it's own.

That said, I love the simplicity of using only one pickup, and my Underwood works well for getting the tone I like and the woody slap sound I prefer.
 
#68
I'd like to chime in here about the gear the OP is using...
Seems like a Sansamp DI - which IME is veeeerrry lean on mids, is a terrible choice for DB. The Sansamp is cutting the mids, the soundguy is cutting the lows - uh, what's left?

I would adjust the fit of the Bassmax, lose the Sansamp and get a proper pre-, and find a good 31 band graphic or a parametric eq to search-and-destroy the frequencies that are feeding back (rather than getting rid of ALL the low end). I regularly get into situations where I have to play freaking loud, and haven't had any trouble doing it with a K&K pickup.
 
#73
After playing Electric all my life I have thought that bigger is better as far as bassamps is concerned. This changed dramatically when I became a UB-player.

The monitoring problems with my UB/Realist-setup has been unbearable. However the soundtechs has always given me compliments on my UB-sound (Realist), but been unable to give me a monitor sound with definition without being plain ugly.
I bought a Markbass 112, but the feedback from the Realist was ever present.

So I bought the KK Bass Master Pro and my life has changed.
I still send the Realist to the FOH, but the KK goes into my Markbass 112 and feedback problems has disappeared completely, and at the same time I can hear (and feel) myself clearly through the drums and horns.
 
#74
hi all, I've got a cheap chinese bass, cheap piezo pickups, cheap strings running through an ashdown MAG 300 bass amp & it sounds really good. I've had a lot less feedback problems since I started using a KORG Electribe EMK2 as a preamp (it has a kill switch).

After reading this forum I have decided to try damping between the tailpiece & the body with a small towel. I may also upgrade to K&K Bassmax as I've heard a lot of good things about them. Has anybody got a K&K Bassmax & what is it like for feedback? I will probably get a feedback killer too as we can't afford to have any unprofessional sounds on stage, can anyone recommend a good one?

Also filling my bass with foam is one of the daftest ideas i've heard in a long time. This will truly kill the aesthetic of the band.

Peace & love from the uk.jim
 
#75
jimslice said:
...Has anybody got a K&K Bassmax & what is it like for feedback?...
Click to expand...

Me, I use a K&K Bassmax & I use a Mag 300 like you. The bassmax is the most feedback resistant pickup that I have used. I have no doubt it will sound and function better than the "cheap piezo pickups" you are currently using.

Also, I suggest considering the following before spending money on a "feedback killer":

BumpyRoad said:
...I have played ridiculously loud in small and large venues with huge rock bands using my plywood New Standard Cleveland bass with a Full Circle pickup into an AI Focus 2RIII and Euphonic Audio VL208. It manages to still sound like a string bass too.


Several Considerations;
  1. The onstage bass volume should be low, feel the low end and presence of the bass through the PA.
  2. Use the onstage system with mids and highs only as a personal monitor to stay in tune.
  3. Dial in the front of house sound without any on stage sound whatsoever and then turn up your rig just enough to play in tune when everything else kicks in.
  4. Try to get whatever personal monitors you use up off the floor near your ear and away from the body of the bass.
  5. Stay well behind the main speakers and well away from the subs.
  6. Keep the bass out of the floor wedges and stay as far away from any on stage speakers as you can.
  7. Use the rubber stopper on the endpin and don't stick the pin directly into the floor.
  8. Experiment with phase reversal on the preamp.
  9. Experiment with high pass filters on the preamp. (try the fdeck preamp!)
  10. Stay away from compressors in your rig or on your channel in the mains.
  11. Place a foam wedge or towel between the body of the bass and the tailpiece if you still have feedback.
  12. Weave a strip of velcro through the afterlength of the strings between the bridge and tail piece.
  13. If there is no PA and you are trying to get your rig as loud as you can put it in front of you pointing out at the crowd. You'll hear it just fine and it won't feed back near as much as if it's behind you or beside you.
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#76
thanx for the tips bass. I tried the towel (using a pair of underpants actually) behind the tailpiece (clean underpants!!)& that's allowed me to get a surprising amount of extra volume.

I'm going to invest on a K&K Bassmax also.

The band i'm playing has an original reconditioned rhodes which has crazy amount of bass, the drums are also feeding straight into my bass & I can actually feel those vibes in my hands whilst we're playing. Any ideas for how to dodge these unwanted frequencies?
(we play very loud space jazz)
 

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