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Double Bass URB tone

M

mrfeeny

Guest
Apr 1, 2016
4
2
37
#1
Hi guys/gals,

I'm trying to get a fuller tone out of my DB to use it more with my latin funk group, where I have been playing electric. I'm rocking an Eden Time Traveler and 2 1x15" cabinets (yes, I know 12" is what people seem to like, but I don't have the coin to invest in new cabs). The trend I seem to be seeing is that 180-380 is the range people like to get the low end solid without being boomy, but my Eden only has (other than the dubious "enhance" control) Bass, Mid (selectable in 500 or 2.2k), and treble controls. The bass came with a K&K 2 channel preamp with a fingerboard and wing setup. HELP!
p.s. I know about the 40 foot rule, but rarely have the space to stand that far away.

anybody know what the center point for the Bass control is? the manual I found said 30hz, but that seems a lil bit counterproductive and I don't know why they'd set it to a frequency that conventional wisdom dictates is unuseable.
 
#2
First, unless you are playing rockabilly and need a lot of "click" for slap bass, you can take off the fingerboard pickup. The bassmax, for its strengths and weaknesses, has plenty of output and low end all on its own, and still picks up some "string" sound. Second, the K&K preamp is pretty old tech that lacks the crucial high pass filter option. I would recommend just using your bassmax with a $50 Fdeck HPF-pre and then come back to us. In my experience a HPF can really tighten up the low end without rolling it off. This will be particularly useful with big 15" speakers.

On a slightly more discouraging note, I could never find a way to get the preamp on my Eden to cooperate with my DB, and it was far and away the best amp I ever owned for BG. I ended up moving over to GK stuff, which is better voiced for DB IMHO, although I understand that is not an option for you. If you find some good settings, please post them!
 
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#3
Eden (in my experience) is fantastic for bass guitar, and frustrating for double bass. I had a WT head and could never get my double bass to sound good, even though my slab sounded great. I borrowed other guys heads and things improved greatly. I sold the Eden and replaced it with a borrowed lowly Behringer head which surprisingly was much, much better. I have ended up with Gallien Kruger and can get a great, natural sound with no knob-twiddling. One thing that many double bass players overlook with piezo pickups is the need to run them into a very high impedance input.
 
#4
I also used an Eden WT head for a number of years and was able to dial in a good usable sound for double bass. It replaced a Walter Woods and I wasn't disappointed with it until the EA Doubler came along. With two channels, micro weight and a very punchy sound, I was sold. There are better choices on the market now for DB than Eden, IMO. You might want to add some parametric eq if your model doesn't have it. Your pickup could be the culprit in your signal chain, too.
 
#5
Eric Hochberg said:
I also used an Eden WT head for a number of years and was able to dial in a good usable sound for double bass. It replaced a Walter Woods and I wasn't disappointed with it until the EA Doubler came along. With two channels, micro weight and a very punchy sound, I was sold. There are better choices on the market now for DB than Eden, IMO. You might want to add some parametric eq if your model doesn't have it. Your pickup could be the culprit in your signal chain, too.
Click to expand...

Not to veer to much of track here, but of all the Eden's I tried the only one I liked was the Time Traveler. My Walter Woods MI-400-8 sounded the best, but the Time Traveler had a very warm sound.
Few players have had the opportunity to hear either of these amps, since they weren't around for very long.

Ric
Eden Time Traveler.jpg
 
#6
Ditch the K&K and get an Underwood.

Years ago I caught a show by a Latin funk band called Sonando whose bassist used an Underwood.

Massive sound that nailed the rest of the band to the floor. That pickup doesn't work on every bass, but when they do, hang on.
 
#7
I have not used Eden gear in 15 years but I would mention among all the great choices available in the facilities of Lincoln center jazz almost all use the house Eden rig in the Rose Theatre. 410XLT and a Navigator. A U5 and a mic. But on stage the musicians are hearing the Eden, it always sounds great...

I'd get yourself a HPF and consider trying different pickups...
 
#8
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
Ditch the K&K and get an Underwood.

Years ago I caught a show by a Latin funk band called Sonando whose bassist used an Underwood.

Massive sound that nailed the rest of the band to the floor. That pickup doesn't work on every bass, but when they do, hang on.
Click to expand...
Sometimes using only one element is the solution.
If the two elements are badly phased together it may sound quite bad, so using only one may fix this.
Or get a Shadow SH951 which is exactly that.
(may be discontinued though, but I'm not sure)
 
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#10
I recently worked on a school bass that had an Underwood in the bridge. After I got the bass back together I plugged it in and was blown away by the sound. Simply amazing for an old plywood bass. No phasing issues at all. Just a big, natural tone with little or none of the 'electric' artifact associated with that pickup.
 
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#12
A few years ago I cut one in two and made two single element pickups. I gave one to a friend and had one on my old flatback for awhile. After fitting a new bridge, I went back to the Realist. Well, that died so I fit the hacked Underwood several days ago.

It sounds really good on that bass.
The Realist sounds warmer but the Underwood seems to more accurately capture the sound of that bass. I think the fit is very important.
 
#13
Greg Clinkingbeard said:
A few years ago I cut one in two and made two single element pickups. I gave one to a friend and had one on my old flatback for awhile. After fitting a new bridge, I went back to the Realist. Well, that died so I fit the hacked Underwood several days ago.

It sounds really good on that bass.
The Realist sounds warmer but the Underwood seems to more accurately capture the sound of that bass. I think the fit is very important.
Click to expand...
Never mind. I played a gig in a room I'd previously played with the Realist.

Clickety Clack pretty much sums it up. Buying another Realist.
 

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