Double Bass set up suggestions?

[Les Fret]

I have an Aguilar AG500 amp and an Aguilar DB410 cabinet and also an Eden XLT210 cabinet.

I am thinking about using the Aguilar AG500 in combination with the Eden XLT 210 for my double bass.

Also I have an Aguilar Tonehammer preamp and a Fishman Platinum preamp.

The pickup I use is the Full circle.

I still have to experiment what sounds best on my DB.

Any comments on what might be the best set up with this gear?
And are there also other Aguilar AG500SC users who use this amp for DB?

 

[Marc Piane]

The key is the Platinum Pro. Impedance matching, phase reverse, HPF. All important. I have used all kinds of amps in my travels and I always keep a Plat Pro and a Sansamp in my bag whenever I have to use backline.

A suggestion. When you have that much amp behind you the tendency is to let the amp do the work. This logic follows with chop but not DB. It'll actually change to way you play and thus change your tone. It is a strange feeling playing an acoustic instrument but hearing the majority of your tone from the amp not the bass itself. The way I handle this is to set the volume just a touch low and make up the difference by attacking the bass harder. With chop this'll just choke the tone but with DB it'll get you playing more like you usually do.

Don't let the power go to your head and remember your roots.

 

[Les Fret]

You are right about the amp volume vs attack.

For that reason I was thinking about using the 2x10" cabinet instead of the 4x10" because that might be too much. But this I also have to try out.

I only have the Platinum for a few days and haven't even plugged it in yet. I Have to experiment with that.

Think I will use the Tonehammer for my electric bass and the Platinum for my DB. So I have two seperate channels each with its own EQ. I will leave the amp EQ in the middle.
And use both preamps as DI's to go directly to the house board.

 

[robgrow]

I owned an Eden D-210XLT briefly. Besides the fact that it was big and heavy (over 70 lbs.), I thought it was far less than an ideal double bass cabinet. Lots of low end (that you end up trying to get rid of for DB) and scooped out mids. A nice bass guitar cabinet if that's the sound you like, but not so good for DB.

The Aguilar amp is also designed for bass guitar (and not DB) IMO. Unless you like a very electric DB sound, you're going to end up fighting the voicing of both the Eden cab and the Aguilar amp. The Fishman preamp may help, but it can't completely compensate for the way your amp and cab are designed.

Just my opinion of course.

 

[Les Fret]

I don't find the Eden 210 too heavy. My Aguilar DB410 is 90 lbs. That is really (too) heavy.

I think the Aguilar AG500 is used by some famous double bass players. So it can't be that bad.
Also I am not sure if every amp that is designed for electric bass will sound 'electric' for DB.

Also I use my amp/cabinet purely as my monitor and use the Platinum as DI. So the people watching won't hear my amp sound.
Suppose this setup doesn't work what are your suggestions if I want to buy a new DB amp?

The reason that I want to use the same setup as for my electric bass is that I use both electric and DB at gigs and I don't want to carry much more stuff than I already do.