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Double Bass powerful amp/stack needed for volume

Chris Paget

Chris Paget

Sep 1, 2008
116
2
#1
I currently play upright through a 350 watt hybrid combo amp (Fender TV combo) and have tried a new preamp and routing through the PA. Still not getting enough volume to compete with the drums. I am currently switching to steel strings, but don't expect that to give quite as much room as I need.

So, I am curious if finding a more powerful setup would be the option. I'm interested in a powerful amp with great tone (tube, ideally), but haven't ever ventured into the world of more powerful stacks/amps suited for both electric and upright.

I also realize there are size considerations in the boutique amp world, such as between the tiny 900 watt Acoustic Image combo amp and much larger stacks, but not sure which to go for.

I'm not set on a certain wattage, but I'm wondering if any of you have had the same issue and what your solution has been amp-wise? Any suggestions on solid sounding and booming setups would be much appreciated! :bassist: (I realize this is fairly general and has surely been posted before, but thought I'd post a new one given the specifics..)

Thanks!!
 
#2
Ahhh - I didn't see when I originally wrote this that you were a Double Bass player, sorry. I don't know if any of my post applies to DB, zero experience. Good luck Chris.

..........................

Power is important, but so is cabinet selection, especially where tone is considered. I'd pay more attention to that than the amp, actually. The others will chime in with more seasoned advice. EQ'ing is also a key factor here as well.

I play a through a SANSAMP BDDI into a Carvin BX1500. My cabinets are a Carvin BRX410.NEO and a Carvin BRX210. After learning a lot about EQ settings I have arrived with a tone I love that really cuts through nicely.

Try as much as you can before you pull the trigger.
 
#4
First, forget about those two EB oriented advices.

Then, I think the best advice I can give is to orient the speaker towards your ears. That means raising it from the floor and tilting it back, that will help you to hear yourself and also prevent feedback. And that doesn't cost a dime!

As for the gear upgrade, I wouldn't advise going for more than a 4x10 or 2x12. I've done crazy loud gigs with a 500w amp through a tilted 410 and I wouldn't/couldn't have brung a second cab because of feedback issues.
 
#5
I appreciate the replies. It's amazing the difference in volume levels between bands. I'm totally fine in one and pretty drowned out without individual tone in the other. Of course, it's no problem with the electric!! The upright is worth the battle though. I appreciate the thought on tilting the amp. I'm gonna also try the foam in the f-holes technique to dampen the feedback, and will be curious to see how medium gauge steel strings sound when they get here (compared to my current light gauge gut-style strings)..
 
#6
I think you'll find that steel may have more "edge" to a note's attack; gut strings can be all lows without a lot of mid- and higher frequency content. Use the amp's midrange and treble controls to help deliver the detail and clarity in your signal to help you break through the percussion.

I prefer tens and lots of headroom, but keep the lows tight and firm, but let the upper freqs be articulate so your URB can be understood -- too many fat lows and you're mumbling.
 
#10
Adagio said:
First, forget about those two EB oriented advices.

Then, I think the best advice I can give is to orient the speaker towards your ears. That means raising it from the floor and tilting it back, that will help you to hear yourself and also prevent feedback. And that doesn't cost a dime!

As for the gear upgrade, I wouldn't advise going for more than a 4x10 or 2x12. I've done crazy loud gigs with a 500w amp through a tilted 410 and I wouldn't/couldn't have brung a second cab because of feedback issues.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the advice about tilting the amp, and yeah I'm not planning on going bigger than a 4x12.. I've heard some say 1x15 sounds better than bigger rigs, but that's what I'm struggling with now. Guess it's all in the setup or particular amp. My thinking might be wrong here about more wattage leading to better control/more room to move around the drum sound..
 
#11
Much of how you amplify the upright has to do with how you EQ it. If you have a decent graphic EQ, you can notch the sub-bass freq's so you're current amp isn't working as hard to amplify sounds that people can't really hear anyway. Also, you can notch certain feedback problem frequencies (180 hz, etc.) to increase your headeoom before you run into feedback problems. Something with a phase switch helps too.

Tube amps are great, but for clean solid bass tone with an upright, you're better off with a decent solid state amp. You could pick up a used GK700rb or GK1001 for a song. Dependable and sound great.

If all of that won't get you to compete with the drummer, the only other thing is a mag pickup and steel strings. Or fire the drummer ;)
 

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