Double Bass Re Fishman platinum stage preamp

[Les Fret]

None, whatsoever. If it sounds good, it is good. Let your ears be the judge.

Good advise. I use a Platinum Bass Pro (old grey one which I prefer over the new one) on my upright, sitar and 12 string acoustic guitar. I think you can use it on any instrument. It's just a preamp with EQ. Not sure what is specifically 'bass' about it as opposed to the non-bass grey Platinum Pro? Would like to know...

 

[BobDeRosa]

Do you really need a pre-amp with an Aguilar head? My Tone Hammer 350 gives me all the sounds I can handle with no pre-amp required. I can't even imagine dealing with the complexity of two sets of EQ. How would you ever get it right? I have a Fishman Platinum Stage, but the only time I use it is as a DI with FOH systems.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Do you really need a pre-amp with an Aguilar head? My Tone Hammer 350 gives me all the sounds I can handle with no pre-amp required. I can't even imagine dealing with the complexity of two sets of EQ. How would you ever get it right? I have a Fishman Platinum Stage, but the only time I use it is as a DI with FOH systems.

"Need" is a subjective term. If you have all the sounds you can handle, and you're happy, then you don't need a preamp. If it sounds good, it is good.

People who feel like their tone isn't as good as it should be, despite having good gear installed well, might.

 

[BobDeRosa]

"Need" is a subjective term. If you have all the sounds you can handle, and you're happy, then you don't need a preamp. If it sounds good, it is good.

People who feel like their tone isn't as good as it should be, despite having good gear installed well, might.

@Mark Gollihur, it's the second part of my question that I'd appreciate your input on since you're a very knowledgeable guy. With 2 full sets of EQ -- full set on preamp and another on amp -- how do you ever find a good mix? Do you set the amp flat and tinker with the preamp, or vice-versa? The complexity of it just boggles my tiny brain.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

@Mark Gollihur, it's the second part of my question that I'd appreciate your input on since you're a very knowledgeable guy. With 2 full sets of EQ -- full set on preamp and another on amp -- how do you ever find a good mix? Do you set the amp flat and tinker with the preamp, or vice-versa? The complexity of it just boggles my tiny brain.

Yes, I would generally do it this way - set the amp "flat" and do all my EQ using the preamp. Because excessively boosting on one and cutting on the other isn't doing anything to help make sense of it all (and probably introducing noise and filtering issues.)

But doing it that way, you can get "your sound" on the preamp (mark those settings) and if there is an issue at a particular venue that is causing problems (boomy stage, bad slapback) that you have to use EQ to dial out, you do that on the amp. At the end of the gig, you reset the amp to "flat" and you're back to your starting point.


Or, if you like what the preamp does, you jack into the "effects return" on the amp (if so equipped) which should essentially bypass almost the entire front end of the amp, turning it essentially into a powered speaker. That's another option. Then you have a "specially designed for acoustic" preamp, and no significant additional interference in its tone.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Yes, I would generally do it this way - set the amp "flat" and do all my EQ using the preamp. Because excessively boosting on one and cutting on the other isn't doing anything to help make sense of it all (and probably introducing noise and filtering issues.)

But doing it that way, you can get "your sound" on the preamp (mark those settings) and if there is an issue at a particular venue that is causing problems (boomy stage, bad slapback) that you have to use EQ to dial out, you do that on the amp. At the end of the gig, you reset the amp to "flat" and you're back to your starting point.


Or, if you like what the preamp does, you jack into the "effects return" on the amp (if so equipped) which should essentially bypass almost the entire front end of the amp, turning it essentially into a powered speaker. That's another option. Then you have a "specially designed for acoustic" preamp, and no significant additional interference in its tone.

Makes me dizzy, but thanks, Mark, for the excellent explanation.

 

[Ric Vice]

@Mark Gollihur, it's the second part of my question that I'd appreciate your input on since you're a very knowledgeable guy. With 2 full sets of EQ -- full set on preamp and another on amp -- how do you ever find a good mix? Do you set the amp flat and tinker with the preamp, or vice-versa? The complexity of it just boggles my tiny brain.

In my personal experience, putting two preamps in a chain tends to make things overly complicated. Once Headway and Grace started building exceptional preamplifiers, I found using them into either of my Walter Woods amplifiers created all kinds of problems with to much of a good thing. So, I moved

to either a power amplifier or a powered speaker cabinet. These days, I use either the Headway or Grace into MAS powered speakers. From my perspective, using a great amplifier like the Aguilar as a power amplifier only gets you half it's potential and EQ abilities. Just my take. It can certainly be done that way.

 

[mooseonbass]

I just picked up a platinum stage to use with my Underwood pickup. I only need a preamp on some amps that don't seem to balance well with the piezo and I was using the original Fishman Bass Pre that went with a BP-100. It worked well, the platinum stage works well too, it doesn't seem to color the sound much beyond my fiddling with the eq. I haven't had the chance to use it with many amps but it seems to work well and is quite a bit hotter than the older preamp.

 

[Les Fret]

Do you really need a pre-amp with an Aguilar head? My Tone Hammer 350 gives me all the sounds I can handle with no pre-amp required. I can't even imagine dealing with the complexity of two sets of EQ. How would you ever get it right? I have a Fishman Platinum Stage, but the only time I use it is as a DI with FOH systems.

My idea is that a preamp is there to make sure that there is match with the impedance. Not all amps have that match. Sometimes it is difficult to know if the amp matches with piezo impedance and just to be sure I always use my Platinum Pro. Mostly I keep the eq flat on the Platinum.