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  #1  
Old 06-10-2010, 10:24 AM
Hajime Hirose Hajime Hirose is offline
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Default Feed Back Issue

A customer / friend of mine asks me if there is any better way for avoiding feed back issue on double bass. If you know some way, please let me know.
Thank you very much.
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Old 06-10-2010, 11:12 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Originally Posted by Hajime Hirose View Post
A customer / friend of mine asks me if there is any better way for avoiding feed back issue on double bass. If you know some way, please let me know.
Thank you very much.
What kind of bass, strings, pickup and amp is he using? Playing where? House, club, stadium? Playing straight with amp to audience or thru board as well into sound system?
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Old 06-24-2010, 01:14 AM
Hajime Hirose Hajime Hirose is offline
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Default More Info

The Bass is from Romania & Flat Back.
Pickups are dual Fishman & Realist.
I think volume of drums or percussion is slightly big. Kick drum sound always cause feed back issue on his bass.
He asks me if there are any ways to avoid.
He feels problem are from floor and back of the bass, too.
Thank you very much.
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Old 06-24-2010, 03:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hajime Hirose View Post
The Bass is from Romania & Flat Back.
Pickups are dual Fishman & Realist.
I think volume of drums or percussion is slightly big. Kick drum sound always cause feed back issue on his bass.
He asks me if there are any ways to avoid.
He feels problem are from floor and back of the bass, too.
Thank you very much.
DB feedback can be a problem especially with basses that are not so loud to begin with and need more volume added to make louder. Raising the volume of these pickups is causing the feedback. Maybe using the PAPA preamp with one of them will help EQ the bass, make it cleaner sounding and pick up less surrounding noises.

For the last 8 years or so I have been using a Shadow pickup which is like an Underwood and fits in the wings of the bridge. For over a year using my former Batchelder bass I played with a 40-60 piece concert band and needed some decent volume to cut thru the brass and percussion, expecially on the big band jazz numbers not to mention the marches playing along with two loud tubas.

One one Symphony Orchestra concert I even used it for the 1812 overture with my Martini bass when we were short players one summer. I have played several times with an Amp in the Symphony doing pop and jazz numbers in a rhythm section within the symphony at the year end Pop concerts so even with a big Orchestra I am heard thru everything including outdoor concerts of which I have played many.

Using a good bass is a major factor as it is fairly loud and gives a bigger signal thru the pickup and into the Amp allowing less feedback in the process. Actually, I have never had feed back problems. The kind of Amp and speakers matter as well. Playing with a cheaper low volume bass is not far from a solid body electric once you start raising the amp volume.

Look how loud Stanley Clarke has played on the DB even with outdoor concerts and no feedback. I look first at the bass, then the pickups and so on. The bass being the hardest for the player to change I suggest the PAPA to clean up the EQ and get the most signal out of his bass and into the amp. I have tested this in the shop with both my Shadow pickup and the old AKG studio Mic I have. The headphones can be worn while using the Amp on a live gig as a monitor so you can hear yourself better as well.

I have amplified with the same exact pickup my Batchelder, Shen 7/8, Shen Gemunder, Old Bohemian, Tyrolean, Mittenwalder, Bisiach, Prescott, Loveri, Gilkes (b4 restoration), small Naples Italian, Mougenot and Martini from what I can remember, I also used with the same pickup or a Mic in foam in the bridge (don't recall which) with the Dodd as well out on one gig. I used a Mic to record with the Loveri and the pickup to the amp and used a Mic in the bridge a swell with a Piano/Duo one night with the Storioni only because I had the bass with me for a special occasion in the afternoon and couldn't carry two basses for my gig later than night.

Never any feedback. Just a lot of nice basses, same pickup, various amps, various playing venues, indoors, outdoors, concert halls, night clubs, from a Duo thru a full Symphony Orchester, Concert band or Big Band and everything inbetween and with ZERO feed back.

Some basses I only used once or twice amplified just to test it and others quite a few times. Of the 15 basses listed above, most have been sold already as I only have left a few from that long list, the Stroioni (in restoration), Martini, Mougenot (in restoration), Mittenwalder and Bohemian. My son Jon owns the Shen Gemunder so I only get to practice with it at home when he's not using it. Currently, my main Bass for using a Pickup is the Bohemian bass. It's a very comfortable 3/4, easy to carry around and not a 50-150K value bass so I feel more at ease using it in case something should happen. Also, it sound and plays great!

Although I am fortunate to have these basses tgo use and test I must mention that I am no stranger to using fine and expensive basses even in a night club gig. My main bass in NYC for 15 years of my professional career there was an old 18th century bass appraised as a Rogeri (now converted to a 5er) and now valued at about a quarter million U$D. Boy did I take some risks, huh!
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Old 06-29-2010, 03:54 PM
Hajime Hirose Hajime Hirose is offline
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Default Thank you very much

Thank you very much for your help.
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