Double Bass So I just picked up a JoeMeek 3Q....

[vin*tone]

I just picked up a JoeMeek 3Q - there's not much about it here so I thought I'd post a quick write-up. It's an affordable little mic pre with a few nifty tricks. I've had a little play - comparing it to my Headway EDB-1 and it's pretty impressive.

First up - this is mostly a mic pre-amp. If you want a straight piezo pre this is not your guy - with an input line impedance of 20k - but with a mic things start getting interesting. I have an ATM350 and Upton Rev Solo on my bass. The mic is beautiful and prefer to use it whenever I can but it's hard to get right in a live context so I don't use it nearly as often as I'd like. This is my goal - and up til now I've been relying on the Headway to deal with the mic signal. If I want to notch out the mic EQ signal I need a separate pedal after the Headway and LS2 to mix the piezo in. Thats a lot of devices.

The JoeMeek 3Q has a 3 way EQ with sweepable mid, compressor and effects send/return. It can actually take 3 separate input signals. So you can mix a pickup signal (I'm using an FDeck HPF 3) in with the mic.

IME The problem with the Headway is that you can't EQ the 2 signals separately. And this is important if you need/want to notch out frequencies from your mic signal. The JoeMeek mix (Fdeck) input is AFTER the mic processing and effects loop. So you can EQ the mic and plug a pedal into the loop and it will only effect the mic. This allows me to get more usable volume with the ATM350 and ultimately allows me to use the it in a wider variety of environments.... and that's the ultimate goal.

How does the sound compare? A/Bing them - the noise floor in both is very good - very similar. The JoeMeek seems a bit warmer and smoother but it's early days (maybe the input signal into the EDB-1 was a bit hot?).

I don't have a whole lot to say about the compressor - I tend not to use compression a great deal live and I'm not much of a compression conniosseur. But it seems pretty good/useable for catching peaks on bass. It doesn't alter the tone noticeably, has attack, release, threshold and LED display. Ratio is set at 1:5.

So... I haven't gigged with the Meek yet but ... jamming and practicing - so far so good. I'll need to be selling one of these guys soon. And ATM out of the JoeMeek and the Headway - I'm picking the Meek.

 

[Ric Vice]

First up - this is mostly a mic pre-amp. If you want a straight piezo pre this is not your guy - with an input line impedance of 20k - but with a mic things start getting interesting. I have an ATM350 and Upton Rev Solo on my bass. The mic is beautiful and prefer to use it whenever I can but it's hard to get right in a live context so I don't use it nearly as often as I'd like. This is my goal - and up til now I've been relying on the Headway to deal with the mic signal. If I want to notch out the mic EQ signal I need a separate pedal after the Headway and LS2 to mix the piezo in. Thats a lot of devices.

It's been my experience, that using a DPA 4099B and the Ehrlund EAP with a Headway EDB-2 is a great setup. What I'd really like to see is a output gain control on the ballanced out, but there's only so much realestate on that tiny box. I used to own the ATM 35, but that was before any of these boxes were available.

IME The problem with the Headway is that you can't EQ the 2 signals separately. And this is important if you need/want to notch out frequencies from your mic signal. The JoeMeek mix (Fdeck) input is AFTER the mic processing and effects loop. So you can EQ the mic and plug a pedal into the loop and it will only effect the mic. This allows me to get more usable volume with the ATM350 and ultimately allows me to use the it in a wider variety of environments.... and that's the ultimate goal

.

Having two complete channels would be very nice, so I'm looking at the Grace Designs Felix, but it's a lot more expensive than the Headway EDB-2 or the JoeMeek

How does the sound compare? A/Bing them - the noise floor in both is very good - very similar. The JoeMeek seems a bit warmer and smoother but it's early days (maybe the input signal into the EDB-1 was a bit hot?).

One of the issues with the EDB-1 was that it's input gain structure was really hot, I had to have my box modified by Headway to use it with the Realist or Revolution Solo. They addressed this, whey they released the EDB-2, but to get those design changes
you have to get the newer version. I could see why you might not want to invest in a second one, if you already shelled out the money for the original. Before the EDB-2, AI Flex, and Grace Felix. There were a lot of players interested in this box. It looks like a nice unit
but the EDB-2 matches up so well with the Ehrlund EAP that I'm not sure it would work in my particular setup. Glad it's working for you though.

 

[vin*tone]

...
One of the issues with the EDB-1 was that it's input gain structure was really hot, I had to have my box modified by Headway to use it with the Realist or Revolution Solo. They addressed this, whey they released the EDB-2, but to get those design changes... It looks like a nice unit
but the EDB-2 matches up so well with the Ehrlund EAP that I'm not sure it would work in my particular setup. Glad it's working for you though.

That's interesting to know - thanks.

The good thing about the Ehrlund is that - if you get it working well - it really doesn't need a whole lot of processing. HPF maybe - but that's it. A condensor mic's needs will be effected by its proximity to the sound source (how far off the board it is) and feedback frequency determined by the room and amp. The Empress Para EQ is great for this.

I only picked up the Meek bc it was a local bargain - knew nothing about it before-hand but after a bit of reading it looked pretty good on paper - good enough to have a look. It turned out a lot better than I was expecting.

 

[rickwolff]

IME The problem with the Headway is that you can't EQ the 2 signals separately. And this is important if you need/want to notch out frequencies from your mic signal.

It's true that the Headway doesn't have 2 separate EQ channels (however, for those not familiar with it you do get to choose to assign the EQ to channel 1, channel 2 or both).

However, for 'notching out frequencies for your mic signal' the notch filter is also separately assignable to either channel 1 OR channel 2.

So, assuming I want to JUST EQ channel 1 for my pickup (a Lifeline in my case) and take the mic signal WITHOUT any additional EQ (by selecting channel 1 only for the EQ) YOU CAN STILL ASSIGN THE NOTCH FILTER TO THE MIC ON CHANNEL 2. I have found this useful in that I find I need a notch filter MORE that EQ for the microphone channel. If you're getting a good, 'natural' sound from your mic but simply have to notch out a specific (usually very high) frequency to kill feedback you can do that with the EDB-2 (and 1 I would guess)..

While you probably already know/understand this, I'm adding this clarification for the benefit of other readers. I'm diving back into the pickup/mic combo on Monday when my ATM350 arrives. I'll post anything further that I learn when running it and the Lifeline through the EDB-2.

 

[vin*tone]

That's interesting. It's new on the EDB-2. Looks like you can assign the EQ as well.

EDB-1 doesn't do this.

With the ATM350 that may be all you need. One of the cool things about that mic is that it has its own switchable HPF.