A big thanks to all the thoughtful members of talkbass.com for sharing their experiences. I wouldn't have been as successful in my search for better sound without your help. I hope my comments are helpful to others.
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I don't know how to express this correctly in a short form.
Qualifiers: My search was very limited in scope. I wanted the smallest and lightest setup. I cut off my search below 12" based cabinets as I decided they would be too big and/or heavy. I'm know that I eliminated lots of otherwise great gear. I am now a double bassist, but for 25 year, played bass guitar exclusively. My comments are based (pun not intended!) on the results I got from DB. However, I've found that my bass guitar results usually mimic DB results. Additionally, my performance parameters, for the purposes of these comments, are acoustic jazz, in small rooms, up to about 15x40 with medium to high ceilings. Roughly the size of a small jazz club. I don't know what results one would get in larger rooms, on big stages or playing louder music. My jazz trio is a moderatly loud group. The pianist uses a Roland 700 keyboard through twin EV PA speakers. The drummer is heavy handed. Having enough power and most importantly, clarity, is a requirement. Lastly and most important, the setup must "sound like my bass, only louder." Although this sounds like an objective demand, I found this to be a lot more subjective than I would have expected.
My References: The list of basses and amps I've owned is extensive. Bass guitars ranged from Fenders to Foderas, from Pedullas to Ken Smiths, from Steinbergers to Zons. Amps have been from Mesas to Edens, from Euphonic Audios to Polytones, from G&K's to Ampegs. EUB's have included Azolas, Kydds and NS Designs. Like many of you, it would be easier to list what I haven't owned! My favorite bass guitar setup, and I suppose a bit of a reference, was a Steinberger XL2 (for that grand piano like clarity) through an original Ampeg B15 (tweaked by a high-end audio engineer) for the richness of tubes.
My current DB setups are a Wilfer 3/4 solid wood, an Eberle 3/4 Hybrid and an Eminence EUB. I've tried numerous pickup and string combinations to get the best sound, to my ears, out of each instrument. My tests were run with various K&K's and a Realist. Cables were all Monster Studios. I like the modern sound, as opposed to 'old school.' The amp reference is an Acoustic Image Contra with and without the EX extension cabinet.
This is where the quest began. I think the Contra is an amazing product. It enabled me to get rid of much bigger rigs (how bout an Eden 100/1000 pre/amp with 2-210XST's!) The Contra gave me deeper bass, better definition and clarity on EUB and DB. The Contra's build quality, useful functions and size became my reference for many months. I thought I was done searching. But over time, I started to wonder if I could get a better sound, without an increase in size. This was partly motivated by the band members telling me they couldn't hear me on some tunes, especially Latin style pieces, where I wasn't 'walking'. No matter the settings, I eventually decided that I wanted my definition to improve. Was there a better micro bass setup out there? I decided to have a look.
My search of available products that met my parameters left me with few choices. They came down to the Phil Jones Bass Briefcase and the Acme B1, running off the Contra's head. In my testing, both would be used in comparison with the Contra. I tested them over the course of several days, both in low volume solo settings for pure tone results, and with the group in higher volume situations.
Results: What a pleasure it is to work with each of these products. They are all winners in my book. But there are differences. First the low volume results. The Contra was richer and deeper than the Briefcase at low volumes. But the best was yet to come...that was using the Contra's head to drive only the Acme B1. This Contra head/Acme B1 setup was much better defined than the Contra with its own cab, more even in response and somehow richer and truer. It made a profound difference. The all-ply EUB Eminence sounded like a fine 3/4 DB. Remarkable. There wasn't even that much of a volume loss switching from the 4ohm Contra setup to the 8ohm Contra head/B1.
The band results went a bit differently. The Contra could play louder than the Briefcase, limiting the Briefcase tests to lower volume trio tunes. In this setting, the Briefcase was better defined than the Contra. My bass never got lost. The band actually played better. The same result was found with the Contra head/B1 over the Contra with its own speakers. The B1 had better definition, clarity and never got lost, no matter what the tune. The band played better, but for whatever reason, I played a lot more intensely. I could hear/feel/express in a way I hadn't previously. This was not a small improvement. My bandmates were happlily surprised. I was happily surprised.
I remember having a similar experience 30 years ago when forced to use the house amp in a club. It was an all tube Orange guitar amp, my first high-end tube amp experience. It was the best peformance I had given up to that date.
My Conclusion: For me, the 'best' small setup is any Acoustic Image head with an Acme B1. I have a Focus on order as well as a second B1. The Briefcase, is my ultra small rig where lower volumes are expected. I'll be fooling around with ganging two of these together in the future. Thanks again to Phil Jones Bass, Acoustic Image and Acme for their inspired designs.
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I don't know how to express this correctly in a short form.
Qualifiers: My search was very limited in scope. I wanted the smallest and lightest setup. I cut off my search below 12" based cabinets as I decided they would be too big and/or heavy. I'm know that I eliminated lots of otherwise great gear. I am now a double bassist, but for 25 year, played bass guitar exclusively. My comments are based (pun not intended!) on the results I got from DB. However, I've found that my bass guitar results usually mimic DB results. Additionally, my performance parameters, for the purposes of these comments, are acoustic jazz, in small rooms, up to about 15x40 with medium to high ceilings. Roughly the size of a small jazz club. I don't know what results one would get in larger rooms, on big stages or playing louder music. My jazz trio is a moderatly loud group. The pianist uses a Roland 700 keyboard through twin EV PA speakers. The drummer is heavy handed. Having enough power and most importantly, clarity, is a requirement. Lastly and most important, the setup must "sound like my bass, only louder." Although this sounds like an objective demand, I found this to be a lot more subjective than I would have expected.
My References: The list of basses and amps I've owned is extensive. Bass guitars ranged from Fenders to Foderas, from Pedullas to Ken Smiths, from Steinbergers to Zons. Amps have been from Mesas to Edens, from Euphonic Audios to Polytones, from G&K's to Ampegs. EUB's have included Azolas, Kydds and NS Designs. Like many of you, it would be easier to list what I haven't owned! My favorite bass guitar setup, and I suppose a bit of a reference, was a Steinberger XL2 (for that grand piano like clarity) through an original Ampeg B15 (tweaked by a high-end audio engineer) for the richness of tubes.
My current DB setups are a Wilfer 3/4 solid wood, an Eberle 3/4 Hybrid and an Eminence EUB. I've tried numerous pickup and string combinations to get the best sound, to my ears, out of each instrument. My tests were run with various K&K's and a Realist. Cables were all Monster Studios. I like the modern sound, as opposed to 'old school.' The amp reference is an Acoustic Image Contra with and without the EX extension cabinet.
This is where the quest began. I think the Contra is an amazing product. It enabled me to get rid of much bigger rigs (how bout an Eden 100/1000 pre/amp with 2-210XST's!) The Contra gave me deeper bass, better definition and clarity on EUB and DB. The Contra's build quality, useful functions and size became my reference for many months. I thought I was done searching. But over time, I started to wonder if I could get a better sound, without an increase in size. This was partly motivated by the band members telling me they couldn't hear me on some tunes, especially Latin style pieces, where I wasn't 'walking'. No matter the settings, I eventually decided that I wanted my definition to improve. Was there a better micro bass setup out there? I decided to have a look.
My search of available products that met my parameters left me with few choices. They came down to the Phil Jones Bass Briefcase and the Acme B1, running off the Contra's head. In my testing, both would be used in comparison with the Contra. I tested them over the course of several days, both in low volume solo settings for pure tone results, and with the group in higher volume situations.
Results: What a pleasure it is to work with each of these products. They are all winners in my book. But there are differences. First the low volume results. The Contra was richer and deeper than the Briefcase at low volumes. But the best was yet to come...that was using the Contra's head to drive only the Acme B1. This Contra head/Acme B1 setup was much better defined than the Contra with its own cab, more even in response and somehow richer and truer. It made a profound difference. The all-ply EUB Eminence sounded like a fine 3/4 DB. Remarkable. There wasn't even that much of a volume loss switching from the 4ohm Contra setup to the 8ohm Contra head/B1.
The band results went a bit differently. The Contra could play louder than the Briefcase, limiting the Briefcase tests to lower volume trio tunes. In this setting, the Briefcase was better defined than the Contra. My bass never got lost. The band actually played better. The same result was found with the Contra head/B1 over the Contra with its own speakers. The B1 had better definition, clarity and never got lost, no matter what the tune. The band played better, but for whatever reason, I played a lot more intensely. I could hear/feel/express in a way I hadn't previously. This was not a small improvement. My bandmates were happlily surprised. I was happily surprised.
I remember having a similar experience 30 years ago when forced to use the house amp in a club. It was an all tube Orange guitar amp, my first high-end tube amp experience. It was the best peformance I had given up to that date.
My Conclusion: For me, the 'best' small setup is any Acoustic Image head with an Acme B1. I have a Focus on order as well as a second B1. The Briefcase, is my ultra small rig where lower volumes are expected. I'll be fooling around with ganging two of these together in the future. Thanks again to Phil Jones Bass, Acoustic Image and Acme for their inspired designs.
