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Double Bass Realist + Czech-ease + Focus 2R SIII = Overdriven preamp

ninnlangel

ninnlangel

Dec 14, 2005
443
5
France, Switzerland
www.ninnlangel.com
#1
Hi,

I took my Czech ease to a gig a couple days ago, (I've never gigged with it and the focus before), and it was overdriving the input of the Focus, which was really problematic. Is my realist malfunctioning, or is that standard behaviour from the new hotter realist ?

I heard that making a special cable with a resistor in it would do the trick. What resistence should I put ? Where ?

Also, has anyone tried the full circle on the Czech Ease ? I just got a FC mounted on my real bass, and I love the sound of it, so I'm seriously considering getting a second one.

Thanks,

NL
 
#2
I found that the new generation Realist was pretty hot when used with my Clarus, an older model. My solution was to simply reduce the gain level in the pre-amp gain. I found that setting it at about 9:00 was about right. I never got around to trying a Full Circle with my C-E, but I enjoyed some pretty good luck getting a decent sound with a Stat-B, the Underwood worked pretty well too. I'm off the Czech-Ease now though, just sold mine a couple weeks ago and going back to an EUB, it's just easier to get around with one. Please, I think the C-E is a fine product, I won't knock it at all but FYI, I got hit with an oversized charge when bringing it back from China earlier this month on Asiana Airlines (a United Airlines affiliate), $100. Southwest Airlines charged me $50 extra bucks for an LA to Oakland flight recently as well. Still cheaper than what a normal size DB in a flight case flown often costs, but not a "free ride". Airlines are getting more and more difficult these days, I think they are using legit concerns about terrorism as an excuse to adjust their baggage policies in a manner that gives them more advantage in terms of being able to charge us working musicians more to fly with our basses, any reason they can find to get more money out of us, a real drag.
 
#4
ninnlangel said:
I take it you mean reducing the gain on the standard input gain pot right ? Obviously, my question is with the gain set at minimum. I can't even raise it over 0. It just overdrives. Though it doesn't seem to do that consistently. It's very strange. And it's not a problem with my amp, I had the same issues with my Clarus before that.
Click to expand...

Check how the bridge foot is sitting on the Realist. I don't have a newer Realist, but the one on my Eminence EUB (Gage told me this was a special Realist modified for the Eminence) gives inconsistant signal if the bridge foot isn't sitting on it just right. However, the problem is usually too little signal when not making proper contact, but signal can change drastically when the foot is moved.

BG
 
#5
After trying everything else, if the pickup is still too hot for the preamp, the "correct" way to pad a piezo is with a capacitor in parallel with the signal. Not knowing the capacitance of your piezo, choosing a padding capacitor is a bit of a guessing game. But I'd bet that getting 0.1 and 0.01 microfarad poly film caps from Radio Shack, one of them will do the trick.
 
#7
ninnlangel said:
Also, has anyone tried the full circle on the Czech Ease ? I just got a FC mounted on my real bass, and I love the sound of it, so I'm seriously considering getting a second one.
NL
Click to expand...

Yes - I went ot a concert on Tuesday at the Manchester Royal College of Music where the bassist was John Hebert. He was playing a Czech Ease which still had it's realist in place, with what looked to me like spirocores and a full circle on the e stiring side. Only the full circle was being used into a volume peddle into a GK amp behind him and a PA boasting top-of-the range Martin top speakers with subs. I couldn't tell how much of the bass was through the PA or through the GK - it wasn't clear.

He might have got a better sound out of a cigar box and some rubber bands. The sound was thin and nasal and - just plain awful. None of my none-bass playing but jazz loving friends llike it either, but their comments were mainly on the the lines of 'you can tell there's half of it (the Czech ease) missing'.

However, it could have been anything in the signal chain that caused it, and to me, given I'm assuming qulaity equipment here, it sounded like piezo's do when they don't have a proper impedance matching buffer pre-amp. I can't imagine John Hebert wanting to sound so bad so I wouldn't write off the combination you sugest but you might need to experiment.

When it happens to a top basist with what looks to be good gear it can't be just straightforward unfortunatley, but I'm assuming he had a good reson for using a full cricle n preferrrence to the still present realist.
 
#9
fdeck said:
After trying everything else, if the pickup is still too hot for the preamp, the "correct" way to pad a piezo is with a capacitor in parallel with the signal. Not knowing the capacitance of your piezo, choosing a padding capacitor is a bit of a guessing game. But I'd bet that getting 0.1 and 0.01 microfarad poly film caps from Radio Shack, one of them will do the trick.
Click to expand...

+1
After a few unsuccessful divider network experiments that's exactly the reccommendation I recieved from Baggs support.
--My LaScala-equipped Realist is capable of generating signal in excess of 3 volts rms. I *think I ended up using .015uf across the Baggs input.
 

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