DB Amps..

[Marcus Johnson]

I tried something the other night, on a duo gig..... my AMT mic, skipped the Raven Labs blender, and just went straight into my Series 1 Contra. Sounded incredible, pizz and arco. I've been busting out the Contra (aka "The Shopvac") more and more lately.

[Phil Maneri]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I tried something the other night, on a duo gig..... my AMT mic, skipped the Raven Labs blender, and just went straight into my Series 1 Contra. Sounded incredible, pizz and arco. I've been busting out the Contra (aka "The Shopvac") more and more lately.

I put my Raven blender in a box last summer. I like the front end of the AI a lot better.

I don't know anything about the Contra but I do like the flat sound of the AI preamp/blending thing quite a bit. The EQ isn't very good but I rarely need it.

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I tried something the other night, on a duo gig..... my AMT mic, skipped the Raven Labs blender, and just went straight into my Series 1 Contra. Sounded incredible, pizz and arco. I've been busting out the Contra (aka "The Shopvac") more and more lately.

I used a Series I AI Contra before I got my Series III Coda. I think the down firing AI speaker is more mic friendly than the traditional front firing speaker. Of course with the Contra you only have one channel and need to carry a blender/mixer to mix a pickup with the mic. I found this a bit of limitation for louder gigs since I was sometimes forced to use a pickup alone. (I didn't want to carry around another box and cords). The Series III Coda gives me everything I need in one small box. I mix my tailpiece mounted AMT mic with a Full Circle pickup and I have been very pleased with the sound quality I can obtain by mixing the two since I can adjust the relative volume of mic and pickup to suit the gig without having to carry around anything extra. Best of all (especially for us older guys), it only weighs 20lbs.

[David Powell]

I was holding out for an AI Coda III and got impatient so now I'm using an Ampeg PB800 with a PB212H. I really bought this pair (cab first, then head) thinking EBG amp. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well it works for my DB amped rig. I use the K&K bassmax with it and as "electric" as that pickup sounds, it sounds much better both pizzacato and arco with the Ampeg rig. I did A-B the Ampeg with an AI Focus head with the PB212H on both heads and there was not much difference that I could hear. If I invoked the notch filter on the AI, I could get a little more before feedback than with the PB800. I still think I might get the AI Coda for it's compactness. I'd also like to use a mic when possible rather than a pickup and AI makes that no hassle.

Interesting how you fellows with WW amps and the Focus have compared them. That speaks well for the Focus.

[Jay Kilbride]

Anyone out there still using Polytone gear? I'm still with the blue vinyl mini-brute III, bought when I first started playing DB. I'd dearly like to upgrade, but unfortunately the price of equipment in the UK is outrageous. For example, the list price for an AI contra combo from the only UK stockist is £899.00 (their cheapest offer - when the series III first arrived they were over £1k ). This is equivalent to approx $1,765. That's basically twice as expensive as a Lemur or Gollihur. (Dunno how relative salaries etc stack up - but my hourly rate in childcare is £7/$13.75, which compares to bar staff or call-centre staff etc: minimum MU gig rate is allegedly £60/$118 but often we end up with £40-£50 & full corporate gig rate from agencies is usually £130/$255)
Anyway, maybe my children will stop eating & wearing clothes soon and I can get hold of a Schertler pub 280 & 380

[Bob Branstetter]

Originally Posted by Jay Kilbride

Anyone out there still using Polytone gear?

Paul Warburton still uses one. I have one, but it is strictly backup insurance for my Series III AI Coda combo amp (which I absolutely love).

[Bob Chandler]

Originally Posted by Bob Branstetter

... The Series III Coda gives me everything I need in one small box. I mix my tailpiece mounted AMT mic with a Full Circle pickup and I have been very pleased with the sound quality I can obtain by mixing the two since I can adjust the relative volume of mic and pickup to suit the gig without having to carry around anything extra. Best of all (especially for us older guys), it only weighs 20lbs.

Doesn't the AMT mic require phantom power? Does the Coda provide phantom or are you using an outboard preamp/phantom power source for the AMT?


thanks



bob

[Phil Maneri]

The AMT requires a preamp to function which powers the mic element. It can be run on phantom which the AI stuff will provide.

[Mike O'Malley]

Because I use a schertler Dyn-B and do a lot of doubling I like the Markbass 121P. It's small, very light, very loud, and I can plug the Schertler directly into the xlr input of the markbass. It's fine for double bass but a little boxy and thick sounnding. It's excellent for electric bass if you like a more old school kind of sound--it doesn't have the "hi fi" quality a lot of amps have. Can't beat it for convenience

If I'm being picky I run the Schertler into an avalon u5 and then into an AI focus Sa power amp, and then into an epifani UL 110

[Flint Buchanan]

Hope I'm not totally OT, but my rig consists of an Ashdown ABM 500 C210 500-EVO and a K&K bassmax. I hope to trade out the bassmax in the near future for the Uptonbass Revolution Solo II, in an effort to get a bit better tone out of the bass.

Not really playing out with this rig, so I can't comment too much. However the Ashdown combo has great tone with both my slab (fender Jazz) and upright.

[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

[Terry Takahashi]

After using AI Contra (IIb & a newer model) or a Polytone Minibrute (80's) for about 3 years, I found to my surprise that the best, most transparent sound was a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 driving a Bergantino HT112. I have Fishman Full Circle whose output is fed into an LR Baggs GigPro (the girls think it's hot when you wear it on your belt - kinda like wearing a slide rule - but I digress). Everything is set flat except on occasion I dial back the lows on the Baggs given the room.

I bought the Genz for quiet electric BG work but it turns out to be even better for my acoustic upright and better than AI or Polytone.

Good gigs y'all.