Double Bass Using effects on upright?

[Matt81]

Hey all-
I would really like to get weird with my bass and run it through an effects chain, but I'm having no success with it. I run a Kay bass through a Gage Realist Lifeline into an AI Clarus 2 powering an AI DoubleShot. I've tried using the effects loop of the Clarus to add a Mu-Tron Mini-Mu envelope filter, but it just seems like the Clarus is cancelling out the effects from the pedal. Like the first note or two will have the effect, but then it gets evened out and kind of disappears.
Anyway, if anyone out there has had success getting some electric-style effects on their upright... how!?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

What happens if you use the effect in front of your amp? Maybe it is the effect that acts strange?

 

[WG Plum]

Check out Miles Mosely.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I've seen James Singleton of Astral project use loopers and effects live, so I'm sure it can be done.

 

[Timm]

I've tried using the effects loop of the Clarus

Be aware that the effect loop on the Clarus is parallel. So the dry signal is always mixed with the affected.
This can be cool for delays and reverbs, but with an envelope filter I would guess it’s a phase cancellation nightmare…

Try it up front as DoubleMidi said, maybe with a good preamp in front…

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Check our Ali Friend from Red Snapper. There are awesome

 

[Keith Rawlings]

I've seen James Singleton of Astral project use loopers and effects live, so I'm sure it can be done.

That guy is awesome! Next time I’m in NOLA I want to see if Astral Project is playing.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The only amp with a parallel effects loop I have has a dry/wet control knob that sets the amount of dry vs. effect in the output signal.

But this does not explain the fact that it works in the beginning but not afterwards. If there is a release control on the effect, it might have been set too high.

 

[Wasnex]

If possible run the piezo into something with at least 1Meg input impedance. This is to buffer the pickup so the frequency response and tone is acceptable. Run your effects pedals between the buffer and the amp.

Why? Effects loops generally run at line level. Pedals generally run at instrument level. If you put an instrument level pedal in a line level loop, the S/N ratio will be low and it will be difficult to adjust the level without overdriving the pedals.

 

[klyph]

Live, 45+ years ago. If he could do it with what was available back then….
That said, if I was going to get serious about effects, I would use a magnetic pickup.

 

[LaFaro01]

Check out Miles Mosely.

Indeed!
An Interview with Miles Mosley

 

[Jason Hollar]

If I were to chase this tonal path again I’ve considered getting a newer magnetic pickup and having two separate setups with two combo amps - one straight up piezo/clean and the other mag/fx plus volume pedal to blend it in.

 

[MrLenny1]

I heard a recording of an upright thru a WahWah pedal
being bowed. Wild!

 

[sean_on_bass]

In my experience it simply takes a lot of tweaking to get the effect to express effectively off of the tone being fed to it, and that not all effects will play nice with a double bass. The pickup you use will matter quite a bit, as you want enough range of frequency to give the effect pedal something to bounce off of. I would think that something like a Full Circle would behave a little better than say a copper Realist for example.

 

[Matt81]

Thanks so much all. This is all very useful info - I’ll keep working at it!