New Product in the Wings!

[Ken Smith]

Tonight for the first time ever, I used my own PAPA on a gig. It was an outdoor park venue in Philly with a 5-pc combo. The leader emailed me yesterday and said to save schlepping I could leave my amp home and just go through the sound system. I brought the PAPA so I could EQ it to my liking and boost or cut volume or EQ if need be between tunes. I worked out great. I tested it in the office with the bass I was bringing but was surprised how great it sounded live, outdoors and without an amp near me.

By the way, I left the DIP settings on the normal default which is how they are set in the Smith basses. It works just fine with a 3/4 Czech bass thru a portable sound system. They all said the bass sounded good and there was plenty of it as well.

My fingers don't hurt hardly at all after 2 sets in a park without an amp..

[Ken Smith]

At this weeks show in NJ I ran into Jazz Guitarist Frank DiBussolo who was scheduled to do a solo Show each afternoon. When I read on-line that he was scheduled to play I called him before driving down to let him know I would be there with Bass in hand. We had done a few gigs together before getting busy with the local Orchestra work about 5-6 years ago.

Well, there was a sound system set-up on the small stage so I used my PAPA, plugged it into the system (Frank did as well) and EQ'd the bass as needed and just played. The Bass sounded great on stage and according to the audience as well.

Because I had the PAPA and a nice set of head phones, I didn't bother bringing an Amp for the show to demo the Smith basses either. I knew that the PAPA could work just as well if I needed to demo the Basses on display.

The last concert I played I had my 3/4 old Bohemian bass. This time I brought the 7/8 Mittenwald which I have used for some Jazz tunes within a Classical Concert but never thru the PAPA.

I have to tell you that the more I use this PAPA, the more I see how valuable it can be. The EQ is clean and pure sounding.

I had a borrowed AMP in the booth each day but plugged into the sound system direct with the PAPA, the Amp as not missed at all!

When it got loud from all the Guitars blasting their licks, I used the headphones to practice my orchestra music which I had brought along as well. I felt almost like I was in another place..

[Bill Sallee]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

The last concert I played I had my 3/4 old Bohemian bass. This time I brought the 7/8 Mittenwald which I have used for some Jazz tunes within a Classical Concert but never thru the PAPA.

I have to tell you that the more I use this PAPA, the more I see how valuable it can be. The EQ is clean and pure sounding.

Ken, what pickups or mics do you use with this setup?
Thanks,
Bill

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Bill Sallee

Ken, what pickups or mics do you use with this setup?
Thanks,
Bill

Well, I have an Underwood type made by Shadow as shown in the PAPA pic page. That doesn't matter all that much because it works with any pickup or Mic or instrument.

The convenience is that regardless of the bass or pick-up used, I can EQ 3 bands at once. If the settings are too high or low for the bs/md/tr bands, then it can be re-set internally on the DIP switch to better match the needs of that bass or type of music being played. I used the exact same setting as pre-set on Smith basses currently but with the Double Bass. It worked great.

In a room with blasting guitars around me, I plugged the bass into the PAPA and used my headphones and just worked on some of my Orchestra music. On stage, the headphones can also be used as a monitor if the sound in the speaker isn't loud enough for you as well.

[Bill Sallee]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Well, I have an Underwood type made by Shadow as shown in the PAPA pic page. That doesn't matter all that much because it works with any pickup or Mic or instrument.

The convenience is that regardless of the bass or pick-up used, I can EQ 3 bands at once. If the settings are too high or low for the bs/md/tr bands, then it can be re-set internally on the DIP switch to better match the needs of that bass or type of music being played. I used the exact same setting as pre-set on Smith basses currently but with the Double Bass. It worked great.

In a room with blasting guitars around me, I plugged the bass into the PAPA and used my headphones and just worked on some of my Orchestra music. On stage, the headphones can also be used as a monitor if the sound in the speaker isn't loud enough for you as well.

Can it go between the pickup and an amp to allow placement of the amp so as to avoid feedback and still provide a headphone out?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Bill Sallee

Can it go between the pickup and an amp to allow placement of the amp so as to avoid feedback and still provide a headphone out?

It's main use is as a Pre-amp.. Bass to PAPA, PAPA to Amp. The headphones can be used if desired as it has its own volume control, different than the one fed to the Amp. Dual usage.

The answer directly is Yes!