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Double Bass Preamp question

P

Present Sense

Jun 12, 2008
10
0
#1
Hey!

I just bought SWR Workingman's 10, and now I'm wondering which preamp I should choose. There are just too many options. I've searched and read many threads here, and there has been great information, but I couldn't make a decision yet. I have an old German bass with The Realist pickup. I play mostly jazz and brazilian music. I will be thankful, if you could give me some recommendations.
 
#2
Present Sense said:
Hey!

I just bought SWR Workingman's 10, and now I'm wondering which preamp I should choose. There are just too many options. I've searched and read many threads here, and there has been great information, but I couldn't make a decision yet. I have an old German bass with The Realist pickup. I play mostly jazz and brazilian music. I will be thankful, if you could give me some recommendations.
Click to expand...

I tend towards more expensive ones that allow you to EQ and use a PA without an amp but that may more than you need. The problem with this question is that what sounds great on one bass might be nothing special on another. It's so subjective too that one player's opinion might not serve you. The Raven Labs that's been an essential part of my rig for a decade with acoustic and electric instruments other people have been indifferent to. Look here and pick one, they all work: Invalid Link RemovedInvalid Link Removed

Tapping into the local players in your community might get you the opportunity to try one or more. No matter who says what buying before you try is always going to be a roll of the dice.
 
#3
A combination that worked well for me was a Sansamp
Paradriver Di into the effects return input on the WM10. The
Sansamp Para works well with Piezo pickups, has great eq,
and has a direct out if you need it. Its a much better preamp
for upright than the SWR. It kills for electric bass too.

Just make sure you plug the bass into the Paradriver. Plug the
Paradriver into the effects return input. The effects blend
knob on the WM10, knob acts as your master volume.
 
#4
Thanks B String! That's what I wanted to get; some experiences with the same kind of combination. I know that there's differences between basses, pickups, players and so on, and there's no simple solution. I just wanted to know which ones I should try first. What kind of setting you had on WM10, when using Paradriver as a preamp?

edit: My bad, I should have known, that this way it bypasses WM10 amp, right?
 
#5
If you have a local music store that carries SansAmp products you might want to try out the ParaDriver and BassDriver. I use an Underwood pickup, not a Realist, into a AI amp, but I recently tried out both of these preamps and the BassDriver sounded way better, which surprised me. It might be completely the opposite for you.
 
#7
The Para Driver has a nice semi-parametric mid EQ section though, which works very well for notching out runaway feedback frequencies. If the Para Driver had a phase switch and hi-pass filter it would be a GREAT device for DB, and not just a very good one.

A good, fairly cheap setup would be an HPF-Pre ($50) into the Para Driver, then you'd have the phase switch and hi-pass filter for fighting feedback also. You could then DI this out to the PA.

IMO - a phase switch and hi-pass filter (to roll off infrasonics / boom) are the two best feedback fighters you can have.
 
#10
Present Sense said:
Hey!

I just bought SWR Workingman's 10, and now I'm wondering which preamp I should choose. There are just too many options. I've searched and read many threads here, and there has been great information, but I couldn't make a decision yet. I have an old German bass with The Realist pickup. I play mostly jazz and brazilian music. I will be thankful, if you could give me some recommendations.
Click to expand...

Do you actually need a preamp? Whenever I've used a Realist pickup, it actually sounded better without one.

mark
 
#11
Thanks for opinions everyone! Do I need a preamp? That's a good question. When I tried WM10 at the store it sounded actually quite good without. I didn't have time to study WM10 yet, but I guess that aural enhancer and the tweeter are useless for DB (as someone pointed out)? Is the EQ in WM10 good enough, that I'll find out soon..
 
#13
Present Sense said:
Is the EQ in WM10 good enough, that I'll find out soon..
Click to expand...

Since you're using a Realist, a pretty dark PU, you may be ok with the WM10 without a preamp or outboard EQ. In my experience the WM10 needs the highs and mids rolled off quite a bit to get a good double bass sound with a more full range PU than the Realist. I use a WM10 with a Schertler Stat- B and PreAll and can get a useable sound, although at fairly low volume. And, what Fingers said.
 
#14
Eric Hochberg said:
In my experience the WM10 needs the highs and mids rolled off quite a bit to get a good double bass sound with a more full range PU than the Realist. I use a WM10 with a Schertler Stat- B and PreAll and can get a useable sound, although at fairly low volume.
Click to expand...

I have used a WM12 and needed to back off on the mids/highs too just to make it sound ok. I ran it with a fishman pro-eq to dial in what the SWR lacked in tone. Unsatisfied with lack of low end vol.. I finally saved up enough for the EA doubler.
 

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