JPJ

So I’ve been browsing options and as I want a reliable system, pedalboard mounted, with a proper body pack rather than a dongle so it looks like the Shure GLXD+16 is the only option unless the Basschat collective have any better alternatives?

If you want to include rack mount, then trawl through the Amps for sale section far enough and you’ll find I was trying to sell the superb SWR Marcus Miller pre a while ago with zero interest.

I know what you mean. We had a couple of sit-in’s on Sunday, both of whom are capable players/singers, but it does make you think what’s the point of rehearsing when the band leader just gets his old mates up and shouts ‘twelve bar in A’ at you and off you go. Having said that, the locals loved it 🤷‍♂️

After my Line6 G50 died i needed a quick replacement and the only thing available immediately was the Line6 G30. Despite being decidedly more plasticy than my old G50, its performed well but recently one of our guitarists (who just happens to be stage left with me) has bought himself the Boss unit and I’ve started to get interference issues, At first I simply moved to another channel and that was fine, but at yesterday’s gig we were in very close proximity and when he turned my way, his transmitter was knocking one of the three bars of reception off on my Line6 and occasionally causing a momentary complete drop in signal. So it looks like I’m going to be in the market for a new setup 😤

We were up in the wilds of Northumberland again plying our Americana trade. Great gig, well attended and received, which is all the more note worthy given it was about 25C and sunny outside. For the first time, we had the drunk punter, an older guy who ‘wanted to get up and play a song he’d written’. No amount of explaining that we couldn’t do that, that the audience were there to see us and not him etc could dissuade him. Fortunately, shortly after the start of the second set he got the message and left.

In the interests of fairness, the Fender Tony Franklin P bass has an unlined ebony board 😎

I’ve still got both the SWR Grand Prix and Marcus Miller preamps cluttering the place up here. The MM is a serious bit of kit, but completely overkill for my modest needs. The Grand Prix is a much simpler and more valvey sounding pre, but is superseded by pedal pre’s such as my EBS Stanley Clarke. I run either through the marvellous little 1/2 U SWR Amplite power amp which is tiny but rated at 400W into 4ohms.

Looking fantastic, just needs an aluminium fretboard……….I’ll get my coat 😂

I was just going to suggest a wooden dowel in the drill press and grinding paste. It’s how they taught me at apprentice training school when I had to put a machined finish on a centre-finder I made in toolmaking class.

It’s not Christmas until Noddy says it’s Christmas 😂

Yep, one of the best explanations of compression I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few)

So, the gig went well, and with the German bass mic 6 in use, I got a sound that suited the country/blue grass feel of our female fronted acoustic trio. Whereas before I could dial in a pretty convincing double bass tone out of the D & G strings, the E & A just lacked ‘something’. With the IR loaded, that something is definitely there. Call it body, reverb, or my preferred description ‘resonance’ it’s definitely there. So, I think I’ve answered my own question, IR’s do work live.

Just played an hour and half acoustic set in the courtyard of the Star Inn, Harbottle, Northumberland. Great setting, and an attentive and appreciative crowd, many of whom will now be enjoying the acoustic night in the bar. The weather gods were good to us too and whilst the sun went into hiding shortly after we started, the rain that was threatening never made an appearance. Plenty of guests joining us, and at one stage we had a twelve string acoustic, a cellist, and a cajon’ist on ‘stage’. I love these stripped down acoustic gigs, oh and so does the landlady who has booked us back in November (this time in the bar). Today’s rig was my NS NXT, the TC Impulse with the 3Sigma German bass (mic 6) running into the EBS Stanley Clarke, then out to the desk and the TC 250 208 combo (for personal monitoring) via the SushiBox with bass in mind Finally valve DI. I think I am becoming addicted to double bass, and I can see the real thing making an appearance in my arsenal in the not too distant future.

So she’s finished, sort of. Tonight I’ve put the Hipshot Ultralites on that I’ve been hoarding ready to do the next time I restrung her. I’ve put the old strings on for now as I love them (La Bella Low Tension flats) and oh boy does she growl. She needs a good setup and probably about 1mm taken off the bottom of the bridge saddle, and I may need to tweak the plastic just-a-nut because I probably need to loose about 0.5mm here too to get the action to where I like it on my fretless’s. Good news is I haven’t turned her into a pile of firewood 😎

The TC impulse arrived yesterday, but I only got a chance to play with it today. Using the TC app, it was very easy to upload the 3Sigma impulses and I’ve got all ten Czech & German bass IR’s for NS EUB at 96Khz with loads of room to spare. Initial testing at home suggested I preferred microphone 1 and 6 on both basses (Joe Quick Modern 1, and Neumann U47 respectively). Again, the volume drop was evident, but running the TC with the volume at maximum levels up the IR/non-IR signal perfectly without any added noise. At rehearsal tonight for an acoustic gig on Saturday where I will be playing the NS NXT for the whole gig (I know its not technically acoustic but even the acoustics will be going through the PA) the sound was definitely more acoustic sounding. The German bass IR’s were very warm and resonant, but I had to adjust my eq as they are also quite ‘dark’ out of the box. A quick EQ tweak and problem solved. If anyone is interested, once I get this gig out of the way I’ll record a few comparisons and stick them up on here.

Oh ok, if you insist, ordered and on its way 😎

Brilliant video, thanks for sharing.

Ok, so much more faffing about with this over the weekend. Bottom line is the IR’s definitely make the NS sound ‘more’ double bass like to me but this is a subjective judgement. The double bass sound I have in my head is the country/blue grass style sound. I can get pretty close using the NS, the NinoMute, and the EBS Stanley Clarke - close enough to have been complimented on my sound (but strangely not my playing 😂) but the 3Sigma IR’s add the missing dimension which I’d describe as ‘resonance’. It’s not reverb per se, I’ve tried that and for me it just doesn’t work live. That said, using the 3Sigma impulse VST (Impulsive) in GarageBand results in quite a significant drop in signal level. Even with the input and output controls maxed (at which point you start to hear ‘noise’) the signal is significantly below that of the input when not running the VST. So here’s the rub, will the 3Sigma IR add enough live to justify purchasing the TC IR loader? Will the level drop be as noticeable with the TC and if so, can I make this up in the TC? As I am such a gear slut can I avoid buying the TC just to find out? Stand-by for further updates…….

Do you know whether it’s a nitro or poly finish? My Fender Tony Franklin has a nitro finish that marks up from sweat and the only option is the lightest of light buffing compounds to shift it. Whilst it hasn’t affected the colour, it has added a natural looking aged patina which I really like.

Are you using the pedals in the loop of the EBS or in front/behind the EBS? One option might be to put them in the loop and run the loop in parallel mode so you get a mixture of your original and affected signals. That should preserve the bottom end you are missing.

Update - I did some internet research around the topic last night and it seems one of my issues is that the Sonicake can only really handle IR's of 27ms whereas the 3Sigma ones are all 200ms. So today I purchased the 3Sigma impulse loader, and during my lunch break did a quick test into GarageBand. Much better and the IR really does add some air to the NS (using the German bass, NS pickup, microphone 2, IR). More experimentation to follow when time permits but promising enough to warrant sticking with this. If it's successful I guess my next purchase will be the TC Electronic Impulse IR loader pedal that is in the same form factor as the Sonicake so will (just about) fit on my board with the benefit that it can handle IR's of 200ms.

….or following a Star Wars theme “The Rebel Bass” (I’ll get my coat) 😂

So I picked up a little Sonicake IR loader from Berserker on here, and I’ve purchased the German bass and Czech bass packs from 3Sigma. Firstly, if you think the 3Sigma packs are pricey for a single IR, you actually get a whole lot more. The IR’s come in multiple sample rates to match your system/device and multiple IR’s in each sample rate each, one of which is specifically designed for NS basses, and then each IR having multiple microphone options. Tonight I loaded up a few of the German bass IR/mic combinations, and plugged the IR loader into my pedalboard in front of my EBS Stanley Clarke. First impressions are that the IR definitely adds something, but not something discernible enough to constitute a wow lightbulb moment. I’ll have more time to play about and try some of the other non-NS specific IR’s at the weekend, but at the moment I can’t see the Sonicake becoming a permanent feature on my live board.