Double Bass Shuttle 9.0

[agedhorse]

The input impedance was fine-tuned to work the best with the widest range of pickups out there. Helps that in a former life I designed and built custom piezo crystal and film pickups.

 

[hasbeen]

Yes the Fdeck enables me to Double quite easily. Part of it I think, is the 9.0 really likes UB too.

Using the Fdeck, it took my gain level up equal to my EB which allows me not to have to adjust that during swaps. The HPF allows me to suck some of the low end out on UB but leave it in there on for my EB. Works great.

Perhaps it's the Realist but I could not tell any asset by improved impedance using the Pre as not. I think the 9.0s input impedance works pretty darn good to start with.

I've seen a number of guys that do not like the tone of the Realist. On my Bass, through my Shuttle, into my Cabs, I love the sound. Full body, round, warm, and balanced is the best way I can describe it.

I can not believe I am so lucky as to have the 9.0 as my amp. It is such a joy not to be obsessing over amps any more. All the time and effort spent trying to optimize my sound and get the job done without compromise was getting old.

At some point I really would like to try out some of the Uber Cabs. Judging from how I feel about this amp I think I might be surprised. Might like to have two of the Ubber 2x10s.

Cheers to you guys at Genz Benz for making such great products. I'm one happy camper.

the amp does work with the Realist really well. I'm using a Realist as are many DB players I know in NYC. I think David Gage's shop is till selling our amps.

 

[hairscrambled]

I'm using a Shuttle 9.0 and Bergantino AE210 with foam in the port and a Full Circle. It sounds pretty clear - almost like using a mic. My electric is active and easy to eq.

 

[Ric Vice]

Please expand on this.

Will I be able to keep up with a cranked tweed Pro, acoustic Drums, and Keyboards.

Should I look at a different pickup for higher volumes?

Red Planet,

I hadn't visited this thread for a while, and reading thorough it I found that I didn't answer your question. Now, Obviously you already have a Realist and like it. I'm also very fond of that pickup, but if I try to push it at a big out door concert it's tone characteristic's change and it becomes harsh and hollow with too much lower midrange. I call this the piezo honk. Lots of other players have noticed this as well. Since I rarely ever get that lout it's not really an issue.

Ric

 

[Red Planet]

Ric I have seen this posted before. I think maybe because of how I set my amp perhaps this is not an issue.

First off let me state exactly how I do set it. I tend to like an old school type of scooped sound with lots of bottom for Electric Bass with no tweeter from my cab. Hence I set the Bass, Mid, and High controls on my Shuttle flat but then turn on the Mid scoop and Bass boost switch. This gives me a wide glide fat tone that does not compete with our Vocals, Guitar, or Keyboards. I still have plenty of Mids though as my single coil 51 and 53 P basses are mid heavy. The later model split coil P Basses have a more scooped tone naturally for comparison.

Now fast forward to the Upright Bass. When I swap to it I switch off the Bass Boost and cut the Low Mids at 150 Hz just a smidgen while leaving on the Mid Scoop switch. For some this tone might not work but for the traditional swing/boogie Blues thing we do, it's perfect. This further accentuates the tone of the Realist (which some do not like) and really works well for me. I even play a little furthe up the neck to get even more of that round non mid cutting sound from my UB. Now bare in mind I'm also using the roll off of the Fdeck to keep me from being too bottom heavy. The setting of the Fdeck changes from room to room and I could not tell how I set it as I use my ears.

This goes against what many here say on how to achieve the goods but it works and sounds gloriously for me and my Band and that is what is important.

 

[Ric Vice]

Ric I have seen this posted before. I think maybe because of how I set my amp perhaps this is not an issue.

Using the Walter Woods with a Realist is really pretty simple and I can get fairly loud, just not Big Band loud, cause with that particular transducer, the low mid ugly honk just seems to jump out at you if you crank the amp. Past a certain level it's not pretty anymore.

First off let me state exactly how I do set it. I tend to like an old school type of scooped sound with lots of bottom for Electric Bass with no tweeter from my cab. Hence I set the Bass, Mid, and High controls on my Shuttle flat but then turn on the Mid scoop and Bass boost switch. This gives me a wide glide fat tone that does not compete with our Vocals, Guitar, or Keyboards..............

This makes perfect sense to me, except for the mid scoop, and since I don't know exactly what mid frequencies it effects on the Genz Benz I'd have to experiment with it myself. My bass likes the upper midrange but not the lower midrange

Now fast forward to the Upright Bass. When I swap to it I switch off the Bass Boost and cut the Low Mids at 150 Hz just a smidgen while leaving on the Mid Scoop switch. For some this tone might not work but for the traditional swing/boogie Blues thing we do, it's perfect. This further accentuates the tone of the Realist (which some do not like) and really works well for me. I even play a little furthe up the neck to get even more of that round non mid cutting sound from my UB. Now bare in mind I'm also using the roll off of the Fdeck to keep me from being too bottom heavy. The setting of the Fdeck changes from room to room and I could not tell how I set it as I use my ears.

This is very similar to what I do with the five band EQ on the Headway EDB-1 since the low midrange seems to be where that dreaded honk gets emphasized on most piezos. I've got that low mid control pretty backed off, so that ugly is gone for the most part. As far as bass goes I'm with you there as well, I try and keep as much low as I can but in some rooms I've had to set the cut off point on the HPF, or the Headway somewhere around 80 hertz.

This goes against what many here say on how to achieve the goods but it works and sounds gloriously for me and my Band and that is what is important.

What ever works is good isn't it? Since I have the advantage of a two channel amp with the Walter Woods, sometimes I have to send the mic into one channel and the Realist into the other, using different EQ settings on each device. That's probably the only reason I don't have a Genz Benz, cause they sound great.

Ric

 

[Red Planet]

This makes perfect sense to me, except for the mid scoop, and since I don't know exactly what mid frequencies it effects on the Genz Benz I'd have to experiment with it myself. My bass likes the upper midrange but not the lower midrange



This is very similar to what I do with the five band EQ on the Headway EDB-1 since the low midrange seems to be where that dreaded honk gets emphasized on most piezos. I've got that low mid control pretty backed off, so that ugly is gone for the most part. As far as bass goes I'm with you there as well, I try and keep as much low as I can but in some rooms I've had to set the cut off point on the HPF, or the Headway somewhere around 80 hertz.




Ric

By using the Mid Scoop I am aiming for a certain tonal range that is separate from the rest of the Band. We have soooooo much midrange going on, if I use the typical TB way by pushing the Mids to be heard I am competing with the whole rest of the band. I have just started doing this as I always believed in pushing the Mids the TB way but we get much better results from my sucking them out and I am very able to be heard. I actually tried this as our timbre needed some fixing. I never would in a million years have went there but for a group effort to try and make our package palatable to the audience.

I do use the Fdeck to affect the low end per taste, superseding the low end on the amp though I still have to turn off the low end boost when going to UB.

 

[Ric Vice]

By using the Mid Scoop I am aiming for a certain tonal range that is separate from the rest of the Band. We have soooooo much midrange going on, if I use the typical TB way by pushing the Mids to be heard I am competing with the whole rest of the band.

That makes perfect sense. Since I rarely play with a group of singers I have that range pretty much to myself. Sounds like I could do the same with the notch filter on the Headway EDB-1. I will have the opportunity to try that later this year when we do a concert that features lots of vocals.

I have just started doing this as I always believed in pushing the Mids the TB way but we get much better results from my sucking them out and I am very able to be heard. I actually tried this as our timbre needed some fixing. I never would in a million years have went there but for a group effort to try and make our package palatable to the audience.

Well, it sounds like you created a custom EQ that works well within the framework of a mix for the band. There are great advantages to that, since not only you can hear you, everyone can hear you.

I do use the Fdeck to affect the low end per taste, superseding the low end on the amp though I still have to turn off the low end boost when going to UB.

That's always a problem outside the confines of a studio, and sometimes you even have to adjust that to the overall mix. In certain halls I have to rase the threshold on the lower end with the HPF higher than I'd really like to just to hear things clearly. It's not ideal, but it's something you live with. My older Walter Woods MI-400-8 has boost and cut switches that operate with the bass and treble controls. I've rarely used the boost settings on the bass controls and then only with EB. They turn a DB into a muddy mess with the Realist.

Ric

 

[Red Planet]

That makes perfect sense. Since I rarely play with a group of singers I have that range pretty much to myself. Sounds like I could do the same with the notch filter on the Headway EDB-1. I will have the opportunity to try that later this year when we do a concert that features lots of vocals.




Well, it sounds like you created a custom EQ that works well within the framework of a mix for the band. There are great advantages to that, since not only you can hear you, everyone can hear you.



That's always a problem outside the confines of a studio, and sometimes you even have to adjust that to the overall mix. In certain halls I have to rase the threshold on the lower end with the HPF higher than I'd really like to just to hear things clearly. It's not ideal, but it's something you live with. My older Walter Woods MI-400-8 has boost and cut switches that operate with the bass and treble controls. I've rarely used the boost settings on the bass controls and then only with EB. They turn a DB into a muddy mess with the Realist.

Ric

I haven't thought of it as a custom EQ but now that you mention it, that is what it is.

I only use the Bass boost for my EB but it is a must since I mostly use my 8 ohm 2x10. It is so stinking easy to get a loud mega thumping sound from my little 2x10 with the 500 watts at 8 ohms of the Shuttle 9.0. Prior to getting the Shuttle I used a MarkBass LMIII and using that amp into my 2x10 was not an option, no matter how I EQ'ed it. The amp would run out of steam long before the cab would. I could run my 4 ohm 4x10 but that would defeat the advantages of that 37 pound little box in transport. Now if I only had a real Acoustic Upright sound without having to lug around my giant Bass I would be one happy camper.