Double Bass Pros and Cons of EUB?

[thrash_jazz]

Hmmm... I've probably heard more people say they haven't had any feedback problems, than those that have.

I asked my teacher this question too. He said "You think so?", turned up the volume and pointed the bass right at the amp (about 2 feet away). No feedback.

That leads me to believe that feedback might perhaps be more of a question of mic placement and monitor position, than the mic itself. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

What tends to happend is that certain notes will really jump out and sound hugely loud when you least expect it - while as you say pointing the bass right at the amp can have no effect!

Some frequencies react with something else and create the fedback.

 

[Sam Sherry]

Originally posted by thrash_jazz
Feedback might perhaps be more of a question of mic placement and monitor position, than the mic itself.

Dead on. At moderate volume, it's all about what what you let the mic "see."

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Regarding mics, it's also good to remember that at high volumes, there reaches a point where you get diminishing returns with any mic. I like the option of blending a mic signal with a pickup signal. It doesn't take a lot of mic signal to put the "acoustic air" in the amplified sound, and once you have that "sheen" in the sound, you can use the pickup signal to give you a more solid tone or more volume without losing that air...up to a certain point. And that "certain point" is variable, depending upon factors such as what your acoustic sound was like to begin with, the quality of your bass, mic/PU and amplification gear, the acoustic construction of the room you're playing, how close you are to the ride cymbal, etc...

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Regarding mics, it's also good to remember that at high volumes, there reaches a point where you get diminishing returns with any mic. I like the option of blending a mic signal with a pickup signal. It doesn't take a lot of mic signal to put the "acoustic air" in the amplified sound, and once you have that "sheen" in the sound, you can use the pickup signal to give you a more solid tone or more volume without losing that air...up to a certain point. And that "certain point" is variable, depending upon factors such as what your acoustic sound was like to begin with, the quality of your bass, mic/PU and amplification gear, the acoustic construction of the room you're playing, how close you are to the ride cymbal, etc...

I think you're exactly right there Chris and since this thread, I have looked at a lot of DB players' setup at close quarters in my local Jazz club. Obviously, you can overcome amplification problems - but what you describe is getting very complicated and involved, there are many variables....

In a way this is a big plus for the EUB - which is just plug in and go!!

Whereas - buy a DB and then your problems have just started, as far as amplification goes...