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Double Bass Recommendations for an on-off and/or volume pedal

Steve Freides

Steve Freides

Former Mannes College Theory Faculty
Supporting Member
Dec 11, 2007
2,576
1,508
Ridgewood, NJ
#1
OK, here's the short story. I don't play out much, and am currently subbing for a friend, on her bass and pickup, for a local Guys and Dolls. No amp - FOH system feeding FOH-supplied monitors, and some DI box that I haven't paid any attention to. Basically, I plug the bass into the wire and I'm good to go.

I like to "noodle" between numbers - wiping excess rosin off my strings, checking my tuning, making sure I'm exactly in tune for that exposed Eb that starts the next number, etc. And to that end, I'd like to add something to the signal chain that I can step on so my signal doesn't continue to feed the PA.

The sound guy says it's OK to add, so long as it doesn't make a "pop" when I use it.

I do _not_ need a volume control, although I suppose having one could be useful, it would also be one more thing I could mess with and mess up.

What kind of pickup is it? I don't know, but it looks like piezo, and it's got two elements, one for the space in each bridge wing.

Recommendations appreciated. The only technical requirements are that it's 1/4" for in and out, but I figure everything that does this job is going to be that, anyway. If it's something they might sell at the local Sam Ash or Guitar Center, so much the better.

Thanks in advance.

-S-
 
#2
I never do a show without a volume pedal. That will solve your problem. Mine is a huge ancient passive Morely which is probably worth something as scrap metal. Anyway, the only problem you might run into is impedance issues if the pickup is going straight to the board, and not through a preamp first. If so, this is bad practice anyway. You should always use a preamp between a piezo and a PA, and you want to run the VU pedal behind the preamp.
 
#3
The pickup is going to a DI, which I think functions as an impedance matching device in this case - at least I hope it does. Again, not my setup, but the sound guy says the bass sounds fantastic. I just need to be able to noodle between numbers.

When you say "behind" do you mean between the DI and FOH or between the bass and the DI?

-S-
 
#4
Steve Freides said:
The pickup is going to a DI, which I think functions as an impedance matching device in this case - at least I hope it does. Again, not my setup, but the sound guy says the bass sounds fantastic. I just need to be able to noodle between numbers.

When you say "behind" do you mean between the DI and FOH or between the bass and the DI?

-S-
Click to expand...
Between the DI and the mixer input. FOH? Anyway, I've no idea what new pedals are like these days. My 12lb. neolithic passive Morely does the job for me. You probably have slightly reduced gain with something like this, but it shouldn't be a problem.
 

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