Double Bass RE20 mic for upright into a Bose L1???

[thejumpcat]

I play upright in a jump blues band. I use a Realist pickup into an Ampeg BA115T -- not the ideal amp for upright.

At the Detroit Jazz Festival a few weeks ago, I saw Super Bass II (Christian McBride, John Clayton & Rodney Whitaker). None of them used an amp. They were all mic'd with RE20s. Into what board, I have no idea. The sound was killer.

My band uses a Bose L1 portable PA system (like this):

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=...model2/l1_model2_singlebass_tonematch_pkg.jsp

I'm wondering if an RE20 would work for me into the Bose (which offers different options for bass pickups, but it doesn't sound that good when I go direct into it via the Realist).

I'm also contemplating an Acoustic Image Focus amp head into an LDS or EA 2x8 cabinet.

Thanks!

 

[Gary Lynch]

I use a Heil PR40 mic. Same idea but I like the Heil better than the EV20. My Realist never got close to the 'real' honest DB tone the Heil PR40 gets direct to a PA. But for a tiny venue I do use the Realist into a GK150 but try to get maximum volume acoustically relying only partially on the GK amp. I love the sound of a quality mic to bring out the DB wood. Nothing better except no electronics at all.

 

[ctxbass]

Some bassists really like that Bose system, but when I tried using a Realist with it, I had trouble as well. I did not like the crossover from the bass module to the column, not smooth at all. I used the "Realist" setting, but the low end was too much and unnatural. The on board eq was not effective since the parameters could not be tailored to the situation. I pulled out my swiss army knife, the Fishman Pro Platinum preamp, and the depth control (hi pass filter) was a big help.

I do always use my microphone when possible, but there was a grounding issue causing problems with the preamp/ power supply.
The Heil, being a dynamic mic, would probably avoid that type of problem.