Double Bass Rev Solo I sound

[tito mangialajo]

hello,
since one year I use a Rev Solo I. I like the sound but i've noticed that at high volume through a PA in large stage it tends to emphasize the low frequencies, expecially when I play from low E to B.
any suggestion?
Very often I play only with a mic (audix D4, wonderful) but in some cases i have to reinforce the mic with the pickup. other suggestion instaed of Rev Solo I?
thanks, Tito.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

Very often I play only with a mic (audix D4, wonderful) but in some cases i have to reinforce the mic with the pickup. other suggestion instaed of Rev Solo I?
thanks, Tito.

Several of us here are having good luck using the Fishman Full Circle pickup mixed with a mic.

 

[bolo]

Does this happen in all of your high volume situations, or just certain rooms? If as you said you like the way the Rev Solo sounds except for in certain situations, maybe an EQ cut in the say 41-62 Hz range (low E through B) would do the trick in those rooms.

Of course trying new pickups is fun too. I'm on my fourth p/u for DB and my third mic.

 

[bolo]

Several of us here are having good luck using the Fishman Full Circle pickup mixed with a mic.

Bob, I don't disagree with you. But I just read a post not too long ago stating that one cat loved the low notes with his FC (like Tito's E thru B maybe), but didn't like the pickup's change in tone on their bass as they moved into the mid- and upper registers.

I've heard similar decriptions of the Realist. Good down low, less so as you move up.

I know it all depends on the bass, the amp, and the player, YMMV, etc.

The FC does seem to get consistently good marks from a large group of users about working well in higher volume situations, like what I think tito is describing. It probably degrades more gracefully than some of the other choices in those situations, based on what I have gathered.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

Bob, I don't disagree with you. But I just read a post not too long ago stating that one cat loved the low notes with his FC (like Tito's E thru B maybe), but didn't like the pickup's change in tone on their bass as they moved into the mid- and upper registers.

I was answering a question about mixing a mic and a pickup. I don't use the FC alone except in high volume zoos where tone doesn't matter. I normally just use the FC to augment my AMT S25B mic.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Bob, I don't disagree with you. But I just read a post not too long ago stating that one cat loved the low notes with his FC (like Tito's E thru B maybe), but didn't like the pickup's change in tone on their bass as they moved into the mid- and upper registers.

I've found just the opposite to be true; the FC sounds wonderful up in thumb position, and that this is where it sounds the most realistic* of all (on my bass, anyway).



* (no pun intended)

 

[bolo]

Oops ... Bob B., right you are. I sort of melded the two questions in the original post together when I responded. My fault.

hello,
since one year I use a Rev Solo I. I like the sound but i've noticed that at high volume through a PA in large stage it tends to emphasize the low frequencies, expecially when I play from low E to B.
any suggestion?

Since you said you liked the sound of your current pickup, if you can try the EQ cut I mentioned earlier (40-60 Hz), maybe it will be as simple as that.

I wonder if it is the pickup or moreso the specific room and volume levels contributing to this. Does your bass and your rig always give you an exaggerated low end at high volumes, or just at high volumes in certain rooms? Maybe getting your cabinet up off the floor and/or away from walls and corners would reduce the low-end boom.

As far as the Rev Solo pickup goes, I have found that even small adjustments in the placement and fit can produce real different results in the tone you get. Like shifting the pickup around slightly to different positions in the wing slot. Or wrapping the p/u in Scotch tape to get a fit that's more snug. You might want to mark it with a pencil first so you can always go back to your starting point.

Very often I play only with a mic (audix D4, wonderful) but in some cases i have to reinforce the mic with the pickup. other suggestion instaed of Rev Solo I?

I agree, mics can sound wonderful when the situation permits. Actually, I blend a RS and a mic and I think I am getting good results. Have you tried blending your Rev Solo and your audix and just didn't like that combination?

There is a good discussion of mics and some soundclips including the Full Circle pickup here.

And this link includes another link with soundclips of various types of pickups, and a discussion about them.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

hello,
since one year I use a Rev Solo I. I like the sound but i've noticed that at high volume through a PA in large stage it tends to emphasize the low frequencies, expecially when I play from low E to B.
any suggestion?

Well you don't metion using a preamp - I've been using a REV Solo and I think it works best with a preamp and this allows you to cut the bass and shape the sound as well.

I already had a Sadowsky preamp and this works pretty well!! (I think it was made by Aguilar or was the same electronics?)

 

[drurb]

hello,
since one year I use a Rev Solo I. I like the sound but i've noticed that at high volume through a PA in large stage it tends to emphasize the low frequencies, expecially when I play from low E to B.
any suggestion?
Very often I play only with a mic (audix D4, wonderful) but in some cases i have to reinforce the mic with the pickup. other suggestion instaed of Rev Solo I?
thanks, Tito.

I have not noticed this effect with either the Rev Solo I or II. What I have noticed is that it, like many other piezo pickups, can transmit infrasonic frequencies through any system that will let them pass. This sometimes drives speaker cones crazy. I don't know if this plays any part in what you are experiencing. I do use a pre-amp/high-pass filter with my Rev Solo II. The Rev Solo I is more prone to the "infrasonic problem" than is the Rev Solo II. The latter has a higher output through the passband (the desired band of frequencies to be reproduced) than does the former such that the ratio of desired to infrasonic frequencies is greater, and thus more favorable, with the new version.

 

[bolo]

I do think my RS is just a little more plump in the low register than the natural acoustic tone of my bass. But pleasingly so, to me anyway. My E string without an amp (esp. after it's been on there a while) just doesn't boom and bloom quite like the other three strings. Without an amp, I feel like I have to work the E string more than the others at times to pull a big sound out of it.

With the p/u's placement in the E string side wing slot, I guess it makes sense that on some instruments you might experience a slight emphasis on the E string and perhaps the A string when amplified. In my case, it works to my advantage and actually tends to even things out a bit. String to string balance on my bass when amplified with the RS is quite good IMO.

I thought about going into the whole infrasonic thing ... 20 Hz and below according to some web sites, given the low E thru B frequency range Tito mentioned. But you are certainly the expert there DRURB, not me.

But I am thinking in Tito's case maybe it has more to do with certain rooms, maybe being close to walls and/or corners, maybe wooden stages and risers, and volume levels exacerbating that low end or infrasonic "feature" more than anything else. Hence the followup questions, attempting to clarify the settings when this occurs.

Tito?

 

[drurb]

I do think my RS is just a little more plump in the low register than the natural acoustic tone of my bass. But pleasingly so, to me anyway. My E string without an amp (esp. after it's been on there a while) just doesn't boom and bloom quite like the other three strings. Without an amp, I feel like I have to work the E string more than the others at times to pull a big sound out of it.

With the p/u's placement in the E string side wing slot, I guess it makes sense that on some instruments you might experience a slight emphasis on the E string and perhaps the A string when amplified. In my case, it works to my advantage and actually tends to even things out a bit. String to string balance on my bass when amplified with the RS is quite good IMO.

I thought about going into the whole infrasonic thing ... 20 Hz and below according to some web sites, given the low E thru B frequency range Tito mentioned. But you are certainly the expert there DRURB, not me.

But I am thinking in Tito's case maybe it has more to do with certain rooms, maybe being close to walls and/or corners, maybe wooden stages and risers, and volume levels exacerbating that low end or infrasonic "feature" more than anything else. Hence the followup questions, attempting to clarify the settings when this occurs.

Tito?

Well, the room wouldn't really emphasize infrasonics but I must admit, as I did in my post, that they may not be to blame at all for Tito's problem. That's why I also wanted to hear more details.

 

[tito mangialajo]

thanks for the interest;
I noticed the problem in low frequencies in almost any case: through my GK 200, whel I have to use it in small-medium club I have to turn left all the eq knobs but the high that is normally on "12"; when I can't use only the mic and I go through the D-Tar Solstice I cut off the bass from eq and if I go directly to PA the soundman has to cut off the bass. In studio too, twice the soundman has requested to me the line and the flat sound was very boomy: he has to cut the bass frequencies. The problem is always in E to B.
Opinions?
thanks again, Tito

 

[drurb]

thanks for the interest;
I noticed the problem in low frequencies in almost any case: through my GK 200, whel I have to use it in small-medium club I have to turn left all the eq knobs but the high that is normally on "12"; when I can't use only the mic and I go through the D-Tar Solstice I cut off the bass from eq and if I go directly to PA the soundman has to cut off the bass. In studio too, twice the soundman has requested to me the line and the flat sound was very boomy: he has to cut the bass frequencies. The problem is always in E to B.
Opinions?
thanks again, Tito

Hmm. I'm guessing that the problem is not infrasonic transmission by the pickup. I have no experience with the Rev. Solo I with the very low-frequency fundamentals of the note between E and B. My bass stops at E. Given what I know about the response of the Rev. Solo II, I suspect that it would be less of a problem (if not no problem at all) for you. This is just a suspicion on my part. From comments made in these threads, it is apparent that the individual difference among basses can lead to the Rev. Solo sometimes just not working out well. That, of course, is true of just about any pickup.

In the long run, I think you would do well to have a pre-amp with a good EQ section (a suggestion basically made by bolo in one of his posts above). It sounds to me like all of this could be solved somewhat easily by having one.

 

[bolo]

Tito, it might be worth seeing how the pickup sounds mounted on the G string side of your bridge, if it doesn't involve a lot of sanding to the bridge. Just kind of a quick experiment I guess. I tried it myself and preferred the E string side.

If that fails, maybe an EQ or low pass filter would help. The Bass EQ control on the Solstice is centered at 155 Hz, which is way up between the D and E flat on your G string. It doesn't appear to be a shelving type control, so it may not even reach down low enough to taper off the 40-60 Hz range that's bothering you.

I'm assuming through all this that as you said you still like the tone of the pickup - that the EQ imbalance is what's bothering you.

 

[drurb]

...If that fails, maybe an EQ or low pass filter would help.

That would be a high-pass or "low-cut" filter.

 

[bolo]

That would be a high-pass or "low-cut" filter.

Understood. Right you is. Thanks. I ain't got one on either of my amps, no matter whatcha call it.

Isn't there a standalone HPF on the horizon, or did I just dream that there used to be one listed in your profile?

 

[drurb]

Understood. Right you is. Thanks. I ain't got one on either of my amps, no matter whatcha call it.

Isn't there a standalone HPF on the horizon, or did I just dream that there used to be one listed in your profile?

Indeed, there is but I don't think it was ever in my profile. Because the supplier and dealer are in the midst of working out their arrangements, I have been prevented from saying a word. Gosh, I hope this doesn't go on too long!