Double Bass Shadow RB Pro Update

[DukeCC]

It's been a while since I've touched 'bass' on my foray into DB (haughty laugh). It occurred to me that after some initial tweaking of my Shadow RB preamp I rarely have had to touch the thing--other than to adjust the volume--so I thought I might share my settings. See the attached pic from Saturday's gig. And a brief long-term review to follow below.
I will occasionally still tweak the Bass knob a bit, but that's about it.
The only feedback issues I have are if the acoustic guitar is too hot in the monitors. it happens so rarely that I usually forget what the cause is! It causes the D notes to wolf howl a bit.
Battery life is good. I would say the advertised 150 hours is not unheard of.
I don't like the decimal point (#21 in your SRB Pro Manual) that indicates a half step. I have missed it twice and gone into a set tuned a half step off. The angle is bad--you really have to lean the bass back to make sure you see it.
Anyway attached is a pic of my settings. It sounds good to my ears. We rarely play with a soundman, but when we do I usually get comments on how good it sounds. I use the same amp settings on my Fender Rumble 200 as I do for my Stingray 5 (Maybe I should have taken a pic of that--hmm. I'm doing a bit of low mid cutting on that--IIRC). I usually adjust the amp based on the Stingray, then the DB sounds pretty good too. I just use a Fender passive A/B switch between the 2 basses.
I have not done any feedback abatement to the bass, FYI--no foam, no double sound post, no balloons, no f-hole covers, etc.
I'm not playing any rockabilly really, but some country slap stuff has been sounding good--some Hank 3, Honky Tonk Nighttime Man by Merle sounds good with some slap thrown in, Etcetera and so forth.
I feel like my technique has elevated sufficiently to do a credible job on the double slaps. I'm not playing enough to really worry about triples or too much advanced stuff. I'm only playing it on maybe 12 to 15 songs, and we only gig 6 or 7 times a month.
The Shadow RB Pro has held up well on my CCB, el-cheapo bass. I can't imagine even a full-time pro with good gear needing much more, lol! YMMV
Just sharing this as a measure of thanks/paying forward for all the startup assistance I got here on TB!!

 

[jasonrp]

Awesome. I've been seriously thinking about swapping out my K&K rockabilly for this thing just because of the on the fly tweaking you can do with it. Plus the K&K is really heavy on the midrange and I've had to do a lot of tweaking to get my upright sounding normal.

As far as the slapping, if it sounds good and compliments the whole song, you're doing it right. Too many triples and heel drags just makes it sound like a broken typewriter anyways

 

[jasonrp]

Does that clack against the tailpiece or is it fairly secure?

 

[GoofusInsanius]

How do you like the 'clicky'? (element underneat the fingerboard).
I have been tempted to take a shot at this system, but the inputs turned me off. It's mini jack, right? So if you were to mix and match other piezo's with this preamp, you'd have to use adapters.
I like that it can handle a wireless connection

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

I like that it can handle a wireless connection

It can handle a wireless connection, but I had some trouble with the Line 6 Relay G10. The Shadow thinks the G10 has a stereo plug, and cuts the signal (took me a while to understand what happened). Had to use a mono adapter to make it work.

 

[DukeCC]

Sorry--I had notifications turned off!

I've never noticed any issue with the unit flopping around on the tailpiece at all. I don't do a lot of spins and whatnot though--but I don't see it being a problem at all. For now I'm connected, but if that handy dandy wireless option works though, that could change! And if I was doing a full rockabilly thing I would want wireless.

I think the fingerboard click works great. I probably need to spend a little time tweaking the eq on it--it may be a little full right now. Maybe cut at 8k and bost the treble a bit?
There is plenty of signal for sure. I run the bridge pickup nearly turned all the way up. The fingerboard pickup is less than halfway.

But honestly I just plug the thing in and go and it just works. I'll tweak the knobs slightly if I start getting feedback. Try the phase button maybe. Get it calmed down as much as I can before turning down the volume as a last resort. I have confirmed that if I run some gain on the amp (Fender Rumble 200) it does tend to make it howl. And I had to run some gain to get some stage volume with a full PA setup at our last gig.

I'll probably make some f-hole plugs this week.

 

[jasonrp]

I'm surprised you're having so many feedback issues with a rumble 200. I can run my doubler more than half cranked with no issues at all. I'd say try the phase and subsonic switches

BTW: Why don't you just put in a second soundpost yourself? They're only 20 bucks

 

[DukeCC]

I'm surprised you're having so many feedback issues with a rumble 200. I can run my doubler more than half cranked with no issues at all. I'd say try the phase and subsonic switches

BTW: Why don't you just put in a second soundpost yourself? They're only 20 bucks

I haven't gotten my head around that DIY project just yet. I keep thinking about the money I'm putting into this $325 bass, lol! But if it's working, then why not, eh? Let me investigate more seriously.

I play with an acoustic guitarist. I think it is only the combination of a full PA and the acoustic guitar in the mix that does it. I try to keep his amp away from mine, and out of the monitors. We don't really soundcheck, so for sure more tweaking, time permitting, should help. And our travel PA is fine. It's these full club PA's with bass bins and tops and monitors everywhere that make it challenging.

 

[DukeCC]

Pretty good discussion developed on the topic of an adjustable sound post here:
adjustable soundpost – Anima Nova

Which I would think the scope of it being a second one makes the adjustable part more appealing. It wouldn't need the tone transmitting facility of a solid post. In fact, the idea referenced there and pictured here would seem to be a good candidate, since we're worried about dampening more than accentuating. I may check into it. Will it go in? How to adjust it?
FWIW the Blast Cult sound posts are attached to the back with screws--at least from the pictures of the one I saw on sale online the other day. Interesting. With the right tools the setup would be pretty straightforward, no? Again--especially since we're going for an amplified sound primarily. See 3 attached pics.

 

[redwookie]

BTW: Why don't you just put in a second soundpost yourself? They're only 20 bucks

Where is a 2nd sound post put in, same place only opposite half of the bass?