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Double Bass Audio Sprockets ToneDexter
- Thread starter jarrodtravis
- Start date
sorry not yet, but if it is of any help, the K4 works very well. Between that observation and the list of officially approved other PUs, I am guessing the K1 should present no problem.
Hi, I just got TD and so far sooo good. But I was wondering if there is a way to minimize the ambience sound. Setting the mic in other positions seems not to make any difference. I've tried changing the character to CH 1 or CH 0 to reduce the ambience, but that's not exactly what I'm looking for. I just wanted to make the sound come up front a bit more. Thks.
Keep twisting that character knob to the left. What you're seeking might be a little more pick-up sound.
That's my concern. If I keep twisting the know too much to the left I begin to hear more and more of the pick-up sound. I fact, what I really like is the knob all the way to the right. Maybe my room needs to be dryer or something, or it doesn't matter?
The distance and acoustics matter. The TD tries to replicate what the mic hears.
I’ve found that the Tonedexter works well with electric bass also. Using one of my DB wavemaps, the TD adds a fullness and richness to the sound. It doesn’t make it sound like a DB, but improves its electric sound.
Hi
I recently bought a Tonedexter and I’m in the process of getting to grips with it. I’ve ordered a KNA DB1 pickup as I wasn’t sure how the Wilson K1 would respond (although I'll try both).
I’m going to borrow a mic to do the Tonedexter training - I wondered if anyone had suggestions in terms of good models of microphone to use for this purpose?
Is it beneficial to do the training in an acoustically treated room/studio?
Thanks
Dan
I recently bought a Tonedexter and I’m in the process of getting to grips with it. I’ve ordered a KNA DB1 pickup as I wasn’t sure how the Wilson K1 would respond (although I'll try both).
I’m going to borrow a mic to do the Tonedexter training - I wondered if anyone had suggestions in terms of good models of microphone to use for this purpose?
Is it beneficial to do the training in an acoustically treated room/studio?
Thanks
Dan
James May
Commercial User
- Sep 14, 2017
- 67
- 85
- 4,631
- Disclosures
- Principal of Audio Sprockets, maker of ToneDexter
I thought I'd chime in since the questions posed are common ones.
We have recommended mics on our FAQ section. In general, the small diaphragm mics tend to have the flattest response and mics with flattest response tend to work best for any instrument, but especially bass.
Having a treated room is not necessary, but if it is very lively, you will hear some of the early room reflections in the created WaveMap. The WaveMap spans approximately 100ms, enough to capture some of the room sound. Sometimes that is good, but generally I would suggest a dry room and most importantly for bass, as big a space as you can find.
I may be preaching to the choir here, but room modes of small rooms can often drastically color the low frequencies such that you will end up with some notes booming, some notes dead. And it depends where you are in the room. Those effects will be captures by the WaveMap, so be alert for that.
The ideal place to train a WaveMap for bass would be outside. (I know, not that practical this time of year in a lot of places.)
We have recommended mics on our FAQ section. In general, the small diaphragm mics tend to have the flattest response and mics with flattest response tend to work best for any instrument, but especially bass.
Having a treated room is not necessary, but if it is very lively, you will hear some of the early room reflections in the created WaveMap. The WaveMap spans approximately 100ms, enough to capture some of the room sound. Sometimes that is good, but generally I would suggest a dry room and most importantly for bass, as big a space as you can find.
I may be preaching to the choir here, but room modes of small rooms can often drastically color the low frequencies such that you will end up with some notes booming, some notes dead. And it depends where you are in the room. Those effects will be captures by the WaveMap, so be alert for that.
The ideal place to train a WaveMap for bass would be outside. (I know, not that practical this time of year in a lot of places.)
Had a great time with mine this weekend at a gig. Played the Yamaha SLB200 through it because the patio was too cold for the upright. Sounded pretty fantastic. The drummer even worked it into our show by saying if we got enough in tips maybe I could buy the rest of the parts for my bass.
Thanks to James for showing me how to take the tones from the Double Bass and transfer them to the SLB200 with my DAW!
Thanks to James for showing me how to take the tones from the Double Bass and transfer them to the SLB200 with my DAW!
Nice. We would love to hear how you got it trained with the Yamaha, and maybe some sound samples if possible
How does it compare to playing you “normal” bass?
How does it compare to playing you “normal” bass?
Wow, I'd love to hear this setup and to know more about it as I am currently looking on how to improve the direct sound of my SLB200.
James May
Commercial User
- Sep 14, 2017
- 67
- 85
- 4,631
- Disclosures
- Principal of Audio Sprockets, maker of ToneDexter
This is very cool, and looks familiar. I played a community theatre show this last summer (Bridges of Madison County), and the bassist was doing this exact same thing. It sounded fabulous.
I think the sound is pretty darn close between the two. I prefer playing the "normal" bass, but find myself pulling out the EUB more frequently now because it sounds really good.
It's sort of spooky how well it picked it all up when making the wave maps. I used both a ribbon mic with a Lundahl transformer and an AKG P420 condenser. It seemed to like the condenser a little more, but I think that's because the room was a little on the live side. The pickup is a Realist Lifeline on the acoustic DB.
There are two ways to do this:
Option 1:
Here's a link to the AudioSprockets website that tells you exactly how to use a DAW for training:
Audio Sprockets | Creating Custom WaveMaps for ToneDexter with a DAW
The only real difference with the SLB200 was that I tweaked the EQ settings of the Upright bass piezo to sort of match the Yamaha (played open strings Arco on each to make it a bit easier to balance).
Option 2:
Set up the Tonedexter like you normally would, then just plug in the EUB instead of the acoustic DB and hope for the best.
I've actually got wave maps of both options and both sound pretty good to me. I'll see if I can get some sound samples and upload them.
Maybe I can try to re-record a super nice WaveMap and share it with you. Actually I think it would be cool if we had a wave map repository to share with each other. @James May , is anyone currently doing this in the bass world that you're aware of?
James May
Commercial User
- Sep 14, 2017
- 67
- 85
- 4,631
- Disclosures
- Principal of Audio Sprockets, maker of ToneDexter
There has been some talk of a guitar repository, but I'm not aware of anyone actually doing it. Haven't heard about it for bass at all.
actually such a repository is even available for download on the Tonedexter site, for the Yamaha Silent guitars-
Free ToneDexter WaveMaps for Yamaha Silent and Electric Guitars
no problem there if everyone is using the same instruments/PUs.. exchanging maps for and from basses with different PU systems will be trickier obviously.
Free ToneDexter WaveMaps for Yamaha Silent and Electric Guitars
no problem there if everyone is using the same instruments/PUs.. exchanging maps for and from basses with different PU systems will be trickier obviously.
In an attempt to get "real" acoustic upright sound from an EUB (which is likely the main point of map sharing), I'd surely give it a shot. Brand of piezo would matter much less than location. Foot, wing, under-string, face, body, etc.
While I was at it, I've got a few piezo equipped electric basses I'd try the maps on, too.
IF, any were to be found.
There aren't, though.
I've looked.
Rick