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Double Bass Red Eye Preamp

#241
I had a trio gig last night, a Bill E kind of gig and I just had the bridged Yamahiko and single RE into my homebrew comboamp (SarnoV8>MAS18P) and it just continues to perform so well. No need for HPF (the RE eliminates most of what I was HPF-ing and the Bass knob does the rest) It was killing beginning to end. I could play all night with perfect clarity AND perfect bass and not get washy or mushy or howly or whiny just excellent sounding bass that sat perfectly in the mix of the gig, allowing me to be relaxed and heard and responsive. Dang. Got another hit tonight with a different BillE kind of trio in a much louder more reflective room, really curious how it goes there.
 
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#243
Ric Vice said:
Perhaps the only difference is my MAS cabinets are powered are yours? I guess if wishes were horses I’d want the Red-Eye circuitry to be part of a preamp or amp.
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I have two MAS-16s, unpowered. Before that I had one MAS-26. I believe you have the 4x5.5" and 8" based cabs? I wouldn't mind a MAS-28 or 46 as a bigger cab option, but for now my bigger cab option is a TC-112. Actually, I don't think I've needed anything more than the two 1x6s since before the pandemic.
 
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#244
Shout Out to the Red Eye customer service folks - I ordered it yesterday, 11/3, Thursday afternoon, (CA time), and received a confirmation email and (free shipping!) tracking # early today - delivery is for this Monday, 11/7. Nice.
So I got that going for me...which is nice.
I need to calm the F down, remain objective & skeptical, so as to make an informed & balanced evaluation.
Thx.
 
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#245
flatback said:
I had a trio gig last night, a Bill E kind of gig and I just had the bridged Yamahiko and single RE into my homebrew comboamp (SarnoV8>MAS18P) and it just continues to perform so well. No need for HPF (the RE eliminates most of what I was HPF-ing and the Bass knob does the rest) It was just killing beginning to end. I could just play all night with perfect clarity AND perfect bass and not get washy or mushy or howly or whiny just excellent sounding bass that sat perfectly in the mix of the gig, allowing me to be relaxed and heard and responsive. Dang. Got another hit tonight with a different BillE kind of trio in a much louder more reflective room, really curious how it goes there.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've used my new single channel Red Eye on half a dozen medium loud blues gigs without really needing the HPF or MXR 10 band EQ that have been essential for years with the Solstice preamp. Also able to get a little more volume with both an EAP and Lifeline on old laminated Czech bass into a Phil Jones BP200 head. Revolutionary.

Question for you and others who've tried the one with the mid instead of treble knob. Did you find the mid control enough of an improvement to consider asking the Fire Eye guy if he'd swap one into a single channel box? My gut says if it ain't broke don't spend money to fix it but I'm curious.

Thanks
 
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#246
Yeah I was just discussing that with Daren. What I can say is I like both. The new mod takes your tone from super old school to way mid forward. Like I was saying earlier the knobs on eq's become really responsive so this mod goes from WAY rolled off to WAY mid forward. THe normal treble goes from a little rolled off to AIRY as hell. I like that. I like both.
 
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#253
Red Eye arrived yesterday. I fired it up today. It sounds OK (even... no hot or cold notes), in my practice room, (which is meaningless, IMFO.)
I'll try it out this Saturday on my trio gig (drummerless, real piano, saxophone - no PA), and report back. (Underwood single element on E side of bridge/Red Eye/WW Electracoustic/12" Eminence in my DIY cab.)
Also - It is built like a tank! Very solid construction.
Thanks.
IMG_4632.jpg
 
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#256
VERY interested in this thread, for a rather different reason.

I have a little Guild Jumbo Junior AGB. I play slab, and originally bought it as a couch bass during a bout of Sciatica.

It has an intoxicatingly vocal sound because of the nylon-core bronze-wound strings, and I’ve ended up using it regularly for small-ensemble “acoustic” gigs. A couple of bandleaders like it so much, that they are asking me to leave my Dingwall 5-string slab at home for regular electric gigs as well.

The thing is, it’s a cheap ($500 retail) instrument with a low-end soundhole preamp- just volume and tone. There’s definitely some Piezo quack unless I roll back the tone a bit.

I can’t help wondering how it would sound if I bypassed the internal preamp, and ran it into a really good floor preamp like the Redeye. Eliminating the need for an onboard battery would be a plus, as well.
 
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#257
I’ve been following this thread while thinking, “I don’t need a Red Eye; I’ve got a Tonedexter,” but after a chat with @flatback I decided to take Earl’s suggestion and ordered one from Amazon. Although I’d much rather put my $$ in Mark G.’s pocket than Jeff B.’s, the 30-day return privilege plus the $50 Amazon gift card from my health care co-insurer sealed the deal for me. I won’t be taking advantage of the return privilege, however. After using it on several gigs, this box performs as advertised. Tighter, smoother, more even sound requiring less eq and less volume with very little knob-twisting, just as everyone else has said. It even improves the Tonedexter wavemap I use at 98% mic/2% pick-up. I also very much appreciate the compact footprint of the Red Eye. With the Tonedexter stacked on top of the Clarus SL, it fits on top of an MAS 16 (I’m not a pedalboard guy!). Finally, powering it with a 9-volt battery means one less cord to uncoil, plug in, unplug, and coil every gig! I can’t explain how this box does what it does, but I sure can hear it!
 
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#258
For me, anything that takes my attention and focus away from the music itself, such as constant sound tweaking, is a non-starter. Ditto anything whose effect is too subtle to justify the extra effort involved in bringing it to the gig, setting it up, and breaking it down. The Red Eye definitely passes these tests. It’s as close to “set it and forget it” as I’ve seen. Also for me, the performance of any gear can only be evaluated on a gig and in a mix of other instruments. Recorded sound clips are of little use. Just about every piece of gear I’ve ever tried sounds great at home; it’s only in a real-world situation that I can tell how well something works. YMMV
 
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#259
statsc said:
For me, anything that takes my attention and focus away from the music itself, such as constant sound tweaking, is a non-starter. Ditto anything whose effect is too subtle to justify the extra effort involved in bringing it to the gig, setting it up, and breaking it down. The Red Eye definitely passes these tests. It’s as close to “set it and forget it” as I’ve seen. Also for me, the performance of any gear can only be evaluated on a gig and in a mix of other instruments. Recorded sound clips are of little use. Just about every piece of gear I’ve ever tried sounds great at home; it’s only in a real-world situation that I can tell how well something works. YMMV
Click to expand...
And that is the truth.
 
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