Help with getting upright bass not to feedback.

[Paul D]

I am asking for my bass player. We are doing a rockabilly thing and he is trying to figure out how to get stage volume with out feeding back. He is trying different pickups, eq, preamps. Nothing really is working. Whats the secret?????

 

[RustyAxe]

Mic placement, speaker (and monitor) placement, bass placement, pickup type, etc, etc. LOWER the stage volume of the other instruments or you won't get very far in beating feedback from an upright.

 

[teleharmonium]

What works for me is having no bass in the monitors and carefully placing the speaker for my amp on stage (typically it produces all the bass sound, but sometimes I go through a PA for bigger shows) so that I can hear it but it isnt' blasting the body of the bass. Also I usually use piezo only for louder shows (I have a condensor mic and a piezo mounted on the bass), I have the gain structure for my rig set correctly for the least noise and distortion, and I usually use a Rane 7 band parametric EQ to get rid of unnecessary highs and lows, with the 5 bands in the middle used as narrow notch filters set to the resonant frequencies of my bass. You find them by sweeping the frequencies with each band set to a narrow boost, and when you find a frequency where the bass feeds back through the amp, change it from a boost to a cut, as narrow as possible, until the feedback goes away, and then repeat for the remaining EQ bands.

Even with all that, I don't think I could play in a band with really loud stage volume. Upright bass just isn't suited to everything. And that's fine. A rockabilly band that is retro enough to have an upright bass should also be retro enough to use smaller vintage style guitar amps, no drums in the PA, and keep the PA small or at least relatively quiet.

 

[Paul D]

Thanks for the help. Any thoughts on the King bass, I think its called a slap bass.

 

[Jeff Michael]

Foam in the f-holes, foam under the overstand (which is the fingerboard that sticks out over the body)...basically cram and smother that sucker. It ain't like you need pinky-up woody jazz/classical tone for rockabilly.

A rockabilly band that is retro enough to have an upright bass...

I have never seen a band claim to be rockabilly without an upright bass. At least half of the whole rockabilly experience is the aesthetic, in my experience.

JAM

 

[jimfog]

Foam in the f-holes, foam under the overstand (which is the fingerboard that sticks out over the body)...basically cram and smother that sucker. It ain't like you need pinky-up woody jazz/classical tone for rockabilly.



I have never seen a band claim to be rockabilly without an upright bass. At least half of the whole rockabilly experience is the aesthetic, in my experience.

JAM

Jeff,

You should take a pic of your set-up and post it.

It ain't pretty, but it sure works.

We're in a (sometimes too loud!) Swing/Blues band and Jeff's old, beat to hell doghouse, all stuffed up, gets some of the best amplified upright tones around, with very little feedback.

 

[Paul D]

Jeff. What dose your rig consist of ? Amp, graphic,comp. etc.

 

[musicofanatic5]

The only thing I can add to Jeff's bass suffocation techniques is a tennis ball wedged behind the tailpiece, up against the top. I have played upright in electric bands with drums (rockabilly, blues, country, etc) for a great portion of my life, and have had minimal problems with feedback. Lucky? Dunno, but if I was forced to put all kindsa EQ and crap in my signal chain, I'd either play Fndr bass or stay home. Employing common sense about spkr proximity, bass in the monitors (NONE!!, unless the drummer wants some and has his own mix), overall stage volume (one of my current bands features a gtrist with a seven watt amp and a drummer with brushes! Halla-f*ckin'-luyah!!) covers it for me. Without hearing your band, I would guess everyone turning down would help.

 

[cjdevine]

i tried a few preamps till i found this one. it is fantastic! it has 2 notch filters
that let you dial in problem frequencies and squash them. i do not represent
d-tar, i'm just a happy customer.

http://www.d-tar.com/equinox.shtml

i should also mention that this has a parametric eq which also helps dial up the perfect tone. feel free to let me know if you have any questions about it.

no matter the case, whatever you get, it sounds like you need something with at least 2 notch filters.