TheRev

Yup - semi hollow piezo only bass would be the way to go. Check out Scojack's and Jabba the Guts' piezo basses in the Build Diaries forum.

I thought they might have been Obligatos but they have ball ends (and the silks are wrong anyway...) So you've got a set of metal wrapped synthetic gut strings - that might narrow the search down?

Do they have ball ends or are they knotted behind the tailpiece?

Yep, looks like synthetic core to me.

As long as the interface input has an high enough input impedance to work with the Shadow, you should be fine. *Edit* Just checked out the specs of the Scarlett and it says the input impedance is 8kOhm. That's a lot lower than the impedance that piezo pickups normally like to see (5-10MOhm). That doesn't mean it won't work, but the sound might be a bit thin and nasal. Ultimately it's a case of plug it in and give it a go, if you like the sound that comes out, you're good to go.

That's not even the full list, just the ones that I felt were lighter than Helicores.

Easy, a combination of money and unrealistic expectations.

For tension, I liked the Super Silvers but preferred the sound of the Evahs. If you like an old school sound, then the Super Silver's will do the job. If you want a more focussed sound then go for the Evahs.

I dont think the 301 was active though? Mine certainly wasn't and that one looks to be of the same era (early 90s) as mine.

Of all the different strings I've used on my Eminence, these all felt lighter than the stock Helicore hybrid/orchestral set: Velvet Garbos Velvet Blues Innovation Super Silvers Preston Nylon wound Thomastik spiricore weich Thomastik Superflexibles Evah Pirazzi weich.

Wow, a Blen EUB. I forgot he made those - it's a beautiful looking thing.

You're not alone! My Doubler sat in a cupboard, unloved, for 6 months before I took the time to read up on how to actually use the bugger.

I didn't like my EA Doubler much when I got it - I felt the sound was underwhelming. But one I'd spent a bit of time with it (and read the manual) I realised that you need to crank the EQ noticeably more than you would on other amps to get a noticeable change in tone. Maybe the amp is super flat with the EQ centered, so it sounds less lively than other amps when they're at 0 on the EQ. Or maybe they use linear pots so you have to turn the knob further to get the same change in tonight, either way, once I got over my fear of pushing the EQ section, I was a lot happier with the sound. Also have you tried adjusting the input gain and HPF trim pots on the top of the Doubler?

I've had similar experiences and this sort of attitude is why jazz is perceived as elitist and exclusive. I love listening to Bill Evans at the Village Vanguard - there's loads of background chatter, there aren't any pretentious tw@ts going 'shush!' at anyone who dares communicate above a whisper and when the band does something interesting, people shut up and listen. That's how a jazz gig should be.

He probably fears jazz...

Yep, but I seem to prefer either the late 50s 'Kind of blue era stuff, or the very modern stuff like Red Snapper (jazz/breakbeat?), E.S.T. Get The Blessing and GoGo Penguin. Which reminds me....must buy tickets for GoGo Penguin in November...

Pretty loud, sometimes.... For me it was the festival gigs with 10 minute changeovers or pub gigs where you're expected to cram 4 of you into a tiny corner so I'm wedged between the FOH and a monitor. Switching to magnetic just made the unpredictability of those gigs disappear.

The input impedance is 500kOhm, which is too low for a piezo pickup, so it would probably need a buffering preamp. Also, no high pass filter - unless that's what the anti-feedback control does?

I'm trying very hard to resist buying one..... but the summer festival gig cash glut is trying to convince me I NEED a new amp....

Yes. That one. It suits me at the moment to use the fishman as a DI to FOH and then set the amp as I need it for backline monitoring. For that purposes the Doubler works quite well as the DB channel has EQ centres optimised for double bass but, as you say, I might as well use any amp, especially if you go via the effect send /return. The Tecamp Puma works quite well for Double bass apparently...

I have no problem with the EA Doubler, though I'm using a magnetic pickup and a Fishman DI, so I don't have issues with the input impedance. I have experimented with going direct into the front of the amp and using the on board HPF, but the signal was pretty low (due to my pickup's output rather than the input gain on the Doubler) and the HPF didn't seem as effective as the HPF on my Fishman. USA cab guru Mike Arnapol was involved with the design of the EA Doubler and I'm sure I read somewhere, probably on Talkbass, that he wasn't happy with EA's HPF, saying that the frequency/ratio/something was next to useless for the double bass. If I was buying again, I'd probably go with the new Acoustic Image amp. Although I never got on with the AI Ten2 combo that I had, but that was more to do with the cab than the actual amp.

1) Don't be afraid to play/dep/jam with someone when they ask - you don't have to be flash, or even that good..... Most people just want you to be dependable, turn up when you say you'll tun up and cover the basics. 2) Start playing double bass as soon as you can. 3) When that bell end of a a guitarist accuses you of stealing band money, kick him very, very hard in the happy sack, cos you'll regret not doing it when he quits the band ten days before the U.S. tour.

Euphponic Audio Doubler? Has a HPF and two channels, one with DB optimised EQ frequency centres.

Excellent. I'm proper jealous.