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Preamp or not

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by Boppingtheory, Sep 4, 2001.

  1. Sep 4, 2001 #1
    Boppingtheory

    Boppingtheory Guest

    Aug 27, 2001
    Italy
    I usually play a DB in small gigs with a SWR Workingman's 12" run with a KK Bass Max and in my opinion the sound is excellent even if I had to tweak the controls for a while to find out a natural sound.
    If I should gig in a medium-large place, where a PA system is needed, does a preamp is really necessary in order to send a good signal to the mixer?
    How can it "affect" my sound 'cause I wouldn't lose my sound. Thanks a lot!
     
  2. Sep 4, 2001 #2
    Bass Guitar

    Bass Guitar Supporting Member

    Aug 13, 2001
    Hi,

    You may get better responses if you post in the Double Bass forums as you are asking about a DB here. I don't play a DB but I had a Kydd electric upright bass that used a Fishman BP-100 piezo pickup, so I had to consider the preamp issue.

    In general, piezo pickups are high impedance devices. They need to feed into input impedances of 10 mg ohms or else they lose most of their low-end response from impedance mismatch. Few amps or mixers have special inputs for piezos, so it's best to put the signal through a preamp before it goes into the mixer, which will balance out the impedance mismatch. I used a Fishman Model B preamp.

    Bob Gollihur, a talkbass regular, knows all about the K&K Bass Max pickup that you use.

    Go to his site here:

    http://www.gollihur.com/kkbass/bassmax.html

    and click on "Not sure which Pickup or Preamp to Use" graphic on the right hand side to email him your query - he is THE man to ask about preamps with this pickup.

    Hope this helps a bit.