DB Amps..

[Brian Casey]

Currently, AI Contra (Series I) with Full Circle - I'm pretty happy with the transparency of the amp. It pretty much sounds pretty much just like my bass without an amp, only with more volume. There are some rooms I play where it's a little harder to get the right sound off the bat. EQ straight up sometimes does the trick, sometimes not.

I also like the 80's Roland Cube 60 Bass I was using before I got the Contra. It seemed like I could access something close to the tone I wanted more readily, but doesn't have the penetration the AI has on a small stage.

I'm currently looking at acquiring another bass (Older German vs. my current Christopher 401) and I'm trying to figure out what PU config. might work best with either of those amps - anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

Brian

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

This thread has been dormant for awhile, so I thought I'd wake it up.
I just got an Eden WTX-260 head to run with a little homemade 12".

http://www.eden-electronics.com/info...260feature.asp

So far I really like it, however I haven't gigged on DB with it yet. It is easy to get a nice tone that sounds pretty much like my bass when trying it at home. It fits in the front pocket of my Mooradian bag making portability a no-brainer.

With all the buzz (pun intended) about the other new micro head, I thought I'd just put in a plug for the Eden. It doesn't seem to get much love in DB circles, but it seems like a pretty good choice.

[David Powell]

Well I finally accomplished what I set out to acquire about a year ago. I now have an Acoustic Image Coda R series III and it is everything Bob Branstetter crows about. I picked it up Tuesday and used it Wednesday for a private 4th of July party that we have now played for 8 years straight. It was such a difference that the client commented while we were doing the sound check. Over the past 8 years he has seen my gear change quite dramatically, but in steps. An integral part of the system I used is my Ampeg PB212H cab. This is the box I normally use with a PB800 head for my EBG gigs. Coupled with the AI Coda, I now have what is for me the most versatile set of amp gear that I could want or imagine. Both the AI and Ampeg PB800 are two channel heads so I can easily set up to double on EBG and DB when a gig calls for that. I can also go very light weight if need be and take nothing but the Coda. Or I can really gear it up and use the extension cab. If I have only EBG to play, I can stick with the Ampeg rig and run fretless and fretted.

Last night I used the Coda and Ampeg ext. cab in a way that I had not really anticipated. We have a jazz gig in a very small venue with only about 6 or 7 tables and a bar. Keeping our footprint small is really important and there is just no room for a PA. Using the Coda and the extension we were able to run the vocal through the 2nd Coda channel and put the guitar through a smaller combo amp that stacked nicely on the Ampeg cab.

Before the place had to turn on a noisy HVAC system we were able to do the gig with no amps. So now we can be heard again and we take up no more room than we did before. We had done a couple of the gigs with the vocal running through a two channel guitar amp (sounded horrible of course) and I ran the DB through my old Fender RAD to keep it small. Using the Coda cleaned everything up nicely, plus using an extension we were able to get the same wrap around that a PA would give. It's a very versatile amp. When you consider how many other gear items it eliminates the need for (6 of Alesis' best effects to boot), and how compact it is and how powerful it is, it really is a great value for the price. Of course if one is in the UK, I suppose that might not be the same thing. What is up with that? There must be huge import duty or something. Are all the American products that expensive in the UK??

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Well,
I've been using a Full Circle for a few months and got a Clarus III shortly thereafter. Speaker is still my little DIY 12 containing an Eminence 2512 Neo driver. Lately, I've been troubled by the lack of low end in my amped sound and have decided the main culprit is the cabinet. It rolls off quickly below 80hz and has a rise around 2K. Not bad for slab, but unnatural for DB.
I played a trio gig in a large restaurant at the Art Museum last night-marble and stone everywhere. I finally set the EQ with the bass all the way up and the mid and treble at 9:00. Surely, this was an extreme situation, but it's been hard to get a full natural tone lately.
I think I'm headed down the route to an AI combo before long.
I just want to forget about everything but the music.

[David Powell]

I had that same experience with a 10" speaker that is in my Fender RAD. I'm pretty sure it is an Eminence as well. It sounds really excellent for EBG, but very weak at the bottom for DB. Even in a ported reflex cab design, the lows you expect from a DB were extremely thin.

Not all speakers for EBG are equal though. If you are considering a forward firing cab that might deliver more low end from the Clarus III, Ampeg created the Portabass series with double bass in mind. My ampeg cab really has excellent low end with 2 neodymium 12" speakers and a tweeter. Ampeg makes a 2x10 version also. These are lightweight for what they deliver in sound although not as light weight as the AI combos. These are 4 Ohm cabs, so you would get 400 Watts from the Clarus. I used the 212H cab once around with a borrowed Focus head and it worked really well. Lots of bottom end. I think this is the best sounding cab I've used since my old Acoustic 106 2x15 ported reflex.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Thanks David.
I am currently borrowing a series II Contra and have been trying it at home. Unfortunately, I've got to give it back the first of next week so I can't try it on a gig. I have played through a couple of AI combos around town and always found them to sound closer to my ideal than anything else.
I like the tone I'm getting. It has a much more solid low end than my DIY cabinet. From top to bottom, it is very tight, almost like it is heavily damped. I wonder if loading the woofer downward adds some mechanical damping.
Anyway, when using a long cable, standing at a distance from the Contra it sounds very natural to me, where my cabinet sounds like an amp.
At this point, I am planning to go the AI route, either selling my Clarus and buying a Coda or Contra combo or possibly just buying a Contra EX.

[David Powell]

Well, I certainly won't discourage that approach, because the combo (Coda) is what I preferred over a separate head. Getting an EX cab is a good idea also. I don't know if it would be as loud as the Ampeg cabs, but if you don't need that, it is much lighter in weight.

I think the type of floor does make a difference in damping the Coda's woofer. I have better results on wood or concrete and acceptable results on carpet, but it seems to soak up some punch if the carpet is too thick. Whenever I use the Ampeg cab for an extension it still has the sound of the Coda. That 212H cab is super neutral. I have recorded from the direct outs of both the AI head and and Ampeg head and the recordings sounded as if I had mic'd the cab.