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Double Bass Schertler DYN-B Advice

G

gcordez

Jul 14, 2008
167
2
Bristol,UK
profile.myspace.com
#1
So, i took the plunge and bought a DYN-B and PreA-ii for a reasonable price.

Has anybody got any experience of this and can offer any advice on placement, eq, amps (i use an AI Clarus and EA Wizzy 10") and general things to look out for.

Should i be looking to go for a Schertler Amp? Unico?

Any advice would be amazing...
 
#2
I tried one on loan once, but decided not to purchase it. If you haven't seen it yet, here is a thread that tells about my experience. As you'll see, some users say they get an excellent sound with it.

Based on what I've read, I think it will sound best running through a PA, or a "bass amp" that is as PA-like as possible.

Re: where to place the pickup, trial and error. Every bass is probably going to have a different sweet spot. Someone suggested having someone else move the p/u around while you play and listen. Might have been Adrian Cho. Hopefully Monte, AlanBartram, PB+J and other DYN-B users will chime in.
 
#3
gcordez said:
So, i took the plunge and bought a DYN-B and PreA-ii for a reasonable price.

Has anybody got any experience of this and can offer any advice on placement, eq, amps (i use an AI Clarus and EA Wizzy 10") and general things to look out for.

Should i be looking to go for a Schertler Amp? Unico?

Any advice would be amazing...
Click to expand...
so you are the one that outbid me at ebay earlier:eyebrow:
 
#10
bolo said:
Don't be discouraged because of anything I said. Take the time to give it a very thorough workout and eval. My time with it was definitely rushed, and that's not really the right way to work with almost any pickup or mic.
Click to expand...


Definitely take the time to try out different positions and different methods of amplification. Because it is so natural, don't limit yourself to thinking a bass amp is necessarily the best way to amplify. I've had great luck amplifying with the Dyn B with a cheapo keyboard amp and a Crate acoustic amp of all things.....and terrible sound with a Walter Woods and Acoustic Image.

That being said right now I'm using it pretty much on all my gigs either through the house PA or through my Bose PAS PA system. I did try out a little Markbass MiniMark CMD121p and was very impressed with the sound I got with no preamp.
 
#11
Oh and as far as placement I have gotten my best results with it very close to the soundpost, which is NOT what they recommend, so YMMV.

As far as EQ, a parametric EQ will do wonders to get rid of the honkiness that the Dyn B is prone to. The notch filter on the Schertler Pre A does this really well.

I'm no techie but I've had the best luck with amps/ preamps that allow you to fine tune your gain stage to start to clip and then adjust volume from there. No clip lights = much more futzing to get it to sound right.
 
#12
Here is a really raggedy ass version of One for Amos from last Monday with the Dyn B straight into Bose PAS. Recorded with my Edirol sitting on a table about 20' away. You can tell a lot about tone quality during the walking bass solo. Not everyone's cup of tea, but for better or worse it is pretty much what I sound like plugged in or no. Not a big diff.

No mixing and we had never tried this chart with the hits written out, so forgive the flubs on the head.
 
#13
thanks monte,

ive had the dyn-b for about two weeks now. it put it just under the bridge and got a pretty workable sound straight off. i tried it without the pre II and it sounded pretty bad, i can see where some of the bad reviews came from. it sounds so much better with the preamp. i ended up trying out the schertler unico amp and bought it on the spot, its the best amplified DB sound ive had. that amp really makes a difference too.

had my first gig with it the other day, bloody hell- it was terrifying. i could hear all the detail/attack of the notes, the tuning etc...
guess id better get used to hearing my sound warts and all.

my three stages of schertler acceptance-

1. Dyn-B no preamp, not blown away.
2. Dyn-B with preA II, thats more like it
3. Dyn-B, preA II and Unico amp- thats what im talking about.

i figure if you wanna go schertler its better to commit and go the whole way.

my 2 cents.
 
#14
gcordez said:
my three stages of schertler acceptance-

1. Dyn-B no preamp, not blown away.
2. Dyn-B with preA II, thats more like it
3. Dyn-B, preA II and Unico amp- thats what im talking about.

i figure if you wanna go schertler its better to commit and go the whole way.

my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Cool. Your experience seems to line up w/ what others have posted too re: Schertler systems end-to-end for getting the most out of their pickups. I think staring at the price of the DYN-B plus the PRE-A II is where I bailed out. Bought a mic and an H-clamp instead. Not saying it's better, just another way to go after a natural amplified sound.

Glad you got it happenin' w/ your bass. :)
 
#15
Yeah man, the Pre-A2 is key. The resonance notch filter makes the biggest difference for me. I turn it all the way clockwise. It seems to take out the hollowness. I think it's 180k? Anyway it definitely sounds natural. On another note, I played a gig tonight on upright and electric and used the Pre-A2 and the pub with both. Different settings of course but wow, the electric was surprisingly good.
 
#16
AlanBartram said:
Yeah man, the Pre-A2 is key. The resonance notch filter makes the biggest difference for me. I turn it all the way clockwise. It seems to take out the hollowness. I think it's 180k? Anyway it definitely sounds natural. On another note, I played a gig tonight on upright and electric and used the Pre-A2 and the pub with both. Different settings of course but wow, the electric was surprisingly good.
Click to expand...


Yeah, the resonance filter is the thing.

I get very good results straight into the Bose PAS system on setting 82 (I think that is right). It is a flat eq with a notch @ 150k and sounds terrific, so if anyone is on a gig and one of these beasts is around, you can get a very good sound this way as well.
 

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