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Double Bass Solid State Problems

M

MerryPrankster

Feb 20, 2003
174
0
38
Toms River , New Jersey
#1
I am using a (freebie from friend) Peavey Session Master 200 watt Solid State bass head and for some reason with my Fishman BP100 it sounds horrible. I mean bad! I can get a moderate thump but i dont want to explode my carvin 210 (also freebie).When i bring up the treble it sounds like ass.
When i cut the treble enough to take care of nastiness , and bring out the high-mids , i get the same .The low-mids make it too thumpy.I dont know what to do.

I want to get an Acoustic image , and a tech 21 Di. But for the meantime?...........
 
#2
That type of pickup will probably require something with a higher input impedance to plug into. Try putting a direct box between your bass and amp. The tech 21 acoustic DI would be a good solution IMO.
 
#3
Carvin horns have a nasty shrill. If it is one of the newer ones, try fully or mostly attenuating the horn. There should be a pot on the back. This will give you more flexibility with the highs on the amp without chasing off dogs.

Also, I don't know how loud you are pushing it, but Carvin cabs are also very inefficient. 200 watts into one of those 210 cabinets probably won't get nearly as loud as you think it will without starting to clip. SS amps with even the slightest amount of clipping can sound absolutely awful.

The above mentioned impedance issue certainly is a possibility as well.
 
#5
I strongly suggest you get the tech 21 DI box first!
I second the impedance mismatch problem already suggested.
Or try to get (or borrow) a small Fishman B-II preamp for cheap.
They have a 10 megaohms input impedance, which is ideal with piezo pickups.
This will proove if the problem is impedance mismatch.
Loaded piezo pickups sound thin, shallow and nasal, with no bottom.
 

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