Am I missing something

acalvane92

Hey everybody! New guy to the forums here.

So I'm pretty new to the amp game (I'm admittedly extremely ignorant when it comes to equipment as a result of my strong penchant for acoustic music/instruments). But I'm trying to prepare myself for *fingers crossed* gigging soon, so I should be prepared.

Just picked up this guy https://schertler.com/en_US/shop/pickups/basik-set at Dr. Chang's recommendation, and a Fishman Loudbox Mini for my Paris Swing 42.

Now I know there's a thousand setup options and configurations and pros and cons and "you should use a mic instead", but for just this pickup, should I have a pre-amp between it and the amp?

Thanks for helping out the ill-informed.

MichaelHorowitz

@acalvane92 Hi Anthony....the Basik is an electrostatic pickup so it needs 10V power to work. Even if you wanted to use a preamp, it would have to be one that supplied 10V power which very few actually do. So for the most part, you'd have to use either the power module that it comes with or one of the Schertler preamps like the Stat Pre or Yellow which provide 10V power. The Yellow is nice as it has amazing eq and tone shaping features and is especially useful if you're having feedback problem. The Yellow (along with the David and Unico amps) have the Reson control which allows you to get about 20% more volume before feedback. I should also mention that you'll get far better results using the Basik with a Schertler amp. All the Schertler amps provide the 10V power you'll need for the Basik and also have all the advanced tone shaping and feedback resistant features of the Yellow preamp. Furthermore, they just sound way better than the Fishman amps which are constructed from inferior components which yield a much harsher, muddier tone that is very prone to feedback and other sonic issues.

Thanks!

Michael

TheHotClubofLickMyAxe

You should get a AKG Pro 70 or a Bartlett handmade microphone.

Schertler have a serious feedback issue.

acalvane92

@MichaelHorowitz I appreciate all the info. With my current skill level, I can't justify spending that much on an amp just yet, but I appreciate all the info and will take that into account in the future.

@Darius-Scheider I have heard good things about the Audiotechnica Pro 70, which I know Gonzalo used/uses, but I was afraid I would have feedback issues playing in noisier settings.

My next step will likely be to get the Pro 70 and use it along with the Schertler, or maybe just the Pro 70.

dennis

Wait, am I Dr Chang? Hahahahahaha I don’t remember recommending the Schertler (not that there’s anything wrong with it). What I’m more likely to say is that if you play in a very loud venue, then things like an audiotechnica pro 70 is likely to feedback. You don’t have the problem with the Schertler, but it’s obviously not as good sounding as a real mic. If I did recommend the Schertler, it must have been many years ago, because nowadays there are so many new companies releasing so many new gadgets. There’s so much more to choose from and something for all budgets.

For me though, I prefer to just put SM57s in front of the guitars and not use any monitoring, have all the musicians sit close to each other so we need no monitors. It works quite well even in fairly noisy indoor environments.

Actually tomorrow, I’llbe playing in a fairly noisy jazz bar, and I’ll bring the new Godin Gypsy Jazz Multiac

acalvane92

@dennis You are Dr. Chang, the all knowing! Haha.

Yes it was a while ago, so it's probably not fair of me to pull something you said 8 years ago and cite you as recommending something (djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/7391/gonzalos-pickup)

The one gig I have played, we had mics set up in front of us, and it worked out great (because there was a sound guy to handle everything). I'll probably grab a Pro 70 pretty soon.

Curious to know how the Godin works out. That one looks interesting.

P.S. it was cool meeting you at Fontainebleau last month (I was that guy from Atlanta).