Buddy

[tom_the_LD]

Hi guys,

 

Been working Buddy a lot at the theatre this week (as FOH staff), and there is always one bit which intrigues me. The double bass. At first I thought it just had a mic inside it which was then plugged into something offstage - like the guitar. However I soon noticed this not to be the case. Soon after this I noticed there was a pickup right at the bottom of the neck - like you get on electric bases - however I could still see no wires coming out from the bass.

 

So my question is - would there be a wireless transmitter inside the bass which then links to a wireless receiver off stage - much like a lapel mic concept? But then would it not be really difficult to get into it to change batteries? And as the bass gets waved around and stood on a lot, it would have to be fixed somewhere, and surely fixing something like this to the wood inside would have some acoustic impact?

 

 

Look forward to hearing from you very clever people!

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Tom

[Bobbsy]

Well, obviously I've not seen the setup you're asking about but I know that in the past I've been able to hide a radio TX pack behind the extended neck just above the bridge--a bit of stick on velcro on the back of the neck and on the TX pack worked a treat.

 

Bob

[themadhippy]

Are you certain the bass is being played live

[Stan Hope-Streeter]

Why not just ask the sound operator? He or she will probably be very happy to tell you if it's a radio pack or not, and most likely anything else you want to know about the show sound.

[paulears]

I know one of the show crew well, so I asked him - this is what he says.

Both double basses are radio'd up. It's a metal pickup that looks like a decoration on the end of the fingerboard, and the pack sits behind the strings on a plate - just behind where you pluck it. It is very well hidden. The only thing you can see is the right angle jack that plugs in at the very bottom of the fingerboard.

 

So hope that helps

[tom_the_LD]

Thanks for that, Paul. Most interesting!