Double Bass DG Realist + Headway EDB-1 = Problem?

[sumeursault]

I just switched from a Fishman Full Circle to a DG Realist and it seems to be clipping the input stage of the Headway EDB-1, even with the input gain turned to near zero. Is my EDB-1 busted, or is it just in need of an input attenuator? Kind of sucks, because I think I might like how the Realist balances out the midrangey sound of my bass....

 

[Francois Blais]

Battery dying?

 

[sumeursault]

Battery dying?

No I had it plugged into 18v power source.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The gain control is after the input stage, so it is possible that the input is overloaded even if the gain control is down.
An attenuator would help with it (use a capacitor from hot to shield in your instrument cable at the piezo to keep a high input impedance).
But the best value depends on the pickup.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

That seems unusual for the gain to be post volume?
Also the Realist is pretty average regarding output. Is there a switchable pad on the input of your preamp?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

That’s because of the high impedance input. But I had this with a portable DAT-recorder too.
You might not have it with input impedances below a few hundred KOhms.

 

[Ric Vice]

The Headway EDB-1 was known to have issues with the Realist because the master gain was simply to hot. This was rectified in the later EDB-2 and EDB-2 H.E. models.I actually sent mine back to Headway to have it modified. David Gage used to send an attenuated Planet Waves guitar cord that would also solve the problem. DoubleMIDI has the right idea. Each if the preamp gain controls are +30 into the master volume.

 

[sumeursault]

The Headway EDB-1 was known to have issues with the Realist because the master gain was simply to hot. This was rectified in the later EDB-2 and EDB-2 H.E. models.I actually sent mine back to Headway to have it modified. David Gage used to send an attenuated Planet Waves guitar cord that would also solve the problem. DoubleMIDI has the right idea. Each if the preamp gain controls are +30 into the master volume.

Ugh...Okay. I should've done research on this beforehand. Just figured it was one of the most widely used pickups, so it should be plug and play. I'll contact headway and see if he'll work with me on it...

 

[Ric Vice]

Not sure that’s the easiest way to “solve the issue” It cost me @ $58.00 to send my EDB-1 overseas. At the time Headway paid for the return shipping. You should check with them first unless you live in GB. If you can get an attenuated cable it could be cheaper. I’d contact Sam Findlay at Gage and Findlay to see if they still sell them. Just my take.