carpedebass Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 OK, I'm not too experienced with the acoustic/electric bass. It came with roundwounds on it, but it doesn't really sound very "acoustic." What strings do you guys recommend to get the most unplugged volume and sweetest "acoustic" tone? Love God...Love People! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpedebass Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 Also, let add this question. I plugged it in to the system at the Church and the sound guy had to push all the sliders way up to get the volume where it needed to be. Any ideas? It's a passive pickup...could that be part of it? Love God...Love People! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Valentino Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I use afew ABGs. I strongly recommend Thomastik-Infeld Acousticore strings. They were developed in conjunction with Rick Turner and are the only string out there specially designrd for piezo pickups. They are bronze roundwounds with a multi-filament nylon core--very low tension (a good thing with acoustics and piezos...)and will not work with magnetic pickups. Is Dean listed in your sig the bass in question? If so--and by your descrp.--I must point out that it is not a passive system. Stock they came with aShadow piezo system with an active (albeit a crappy one) preamp. Did you check the battery (flip up compartment on the upper side...)? Altho...if this is a passive piezo system, then you should invest in an outboard preamp to compensate for this. Max ...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I second Max's recommendation for Acousticore strings. However, they put out less volume than other types of strings. At one point I thought that my ABG was passive, but if you reach into the soundhole and feel around, I found a battery. Once I replaced the battery, the bass sounded better. (I had to get my wife to change the battery for me....my hand wouldn't fit in the soundhole.) Other possible kinds of strings for an ABG would be phosphor-bronze or tapewounds. It depends on the sound you want to get. There's nothing wrong with pulling up sliders. Does the mixing board have trim controls? Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Originally posted by Max Valentino: I use afew ABGs. I strongly recommend Thomastik-Infeld Acousticore strings.I'll third those strings. A sound guy complaining about doing his job? I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Valentino Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I hate those abg's with the battery hidden inside! Very, very few ABGs marketed have a passive system (this is sometimes made special order by Azola, Turner, even Rob Allen)...all others have some sort of preamp. It is a neccessity, after all. Passive piezo systems have such a high output impedence that they are virtually unusable without some sort of outboard buffer. Trim control...good call....perhaps the sound guy was thinking of another kinda trim? If the bass does not have a real hot output (which is most likely the case...) the "trim" (gain, pad, et al) needs to be cranked or set somewhere beyond the range of "inst/line level" allowing more gain to be given to the signal before it reaches the board's preamp.... Max ...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Thomastik-Infeld Acousticore strings are fantastic but very light in gauge. I guess this would not be everyone's cup of tea, but I adore them too. Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpedebass Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 Thanks for the info guys. The bass is indeed passive, so a pre-amp is in order. Also, the sound guy never complained, I just noticed the volume difference when I switched from my Traben to the acoustic. I will suggest to him, however, about the trim control. I usually just trust the sound personnel to do their job and don't really get into it that much so I'm not real sure what trim control is, but I'll tell him. Thanks again! Love God...Love People! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Valentino Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hmmm...a passive Dean ABG? Curious. There are a number of outboard pres on the market, yet most are designed for magnetic pu's. For use with passive piezos you need a preamp with a minumum of 10meg-ohm input impedence or else hum, buzz and high and low end attenuation will be major obstacle. I have had good results with the SansAmp Acoustic DI...but much better results with the Baggs ParaAcoustic DI (great unit!) and the Fishman Platinum Bass DI/preamp (I am not a big fan of the sansamp emulation...and it sounds a bit electronic for my taste). Right now, tho, I am using a series of D-TAR units (Mama Bear, Equinox and Solstice) which work wonderfully with all my basses (piezo-active and passive, and mag active and passive....) Another option is something like the Aphex Punch Factory compressor or Acoustic Xciter...both of which combine a fine DI with a 10meg input..but of course it will limit your tone and gain controls (which don't seem to be too much of an issue with you right now anyway). Max ...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpedebass Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 Thanks Max, I know it sounds curious, but this thing has no battery inside or out. Love God...Love People! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpedebass Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 By the way Max, I just wanted to extend a huge thanks to everyone really, but especially you. It's rare that someone with so much knowledge will actually extend that knowledge freely. I appreciate you, sir! The 10 Meg-Ohm input thing just blows me away...I'd have never known that! Love God...Love People! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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