Difference in Phil Jones Double4 and BG75 bass amp

Patrick Madsen said:
Just tried out my Double 4 for the first time today. Not impressed by the volume at all. My Rumbler 30 wt. puts out three times what the Double 4 does. I'm going to send it back if possible. Real let down and thought it was too good to be true, seems it was.
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Can I ask what bass you used and what both volume settings were at, as well as the input switch? I just want to see if we can troubleshoot this first before a return (and like I said, I used the DF for a large orchestral gig and was asked to turn down).
 
Hi Jon, I spoke with Mike from PJB today and he'll call back on Tuesday.

Both volumes up all the way, Bass dial on full, mid and treble set close to 0. I placed on floor close to a wall. Input switch set to high(passive)

The bass is a Jazzbox, Toby Chennell, acoustic archtop uke bass. I'm not sure on the quality of the passive pickup. I have a suspicion if anything, it may be the pickup used. I think Toby said it may have been an Aztec(?) pickup. I have an email in to him seeing if he remembered the make.

My wife thought it was loud for sure and much cleaner than the faunky Fender Rumbler 30. It may be I am just not used to such a clean sound and the size of the room and acoustics make a difference. the room size is around 14x16' with vaulted ceiling.

Mike said it could be the amp but doubted it and will make it right.
 
Biggest thing I found with PJB stuff is, instead of a directional volume (like many amps, where the loudest part is directly in front of it), it sounds more omni-directional. And yeah, it's super clean. You're hearing your instrument and not the *insert amp manufacturer* version of what their amp sounds like with your bass.

If you have a second bass - or instrument with a pickup - I'd give it a shot to see if that was the culprit. As said by others, the PJB stuff is so clean and clear that any weaknesses in your instrument will be amplified.
 
I have active preamps in most of my bass ukes and I have to be careful not to overdrive the amp. The Les Paul electric guitar conversion to bass puts out real well, but my custom Telecaster bass with cheap Chinese electronics I provided does not. I'm planning on replacing the electronics with good quality, which I'm told by my repair guy should make a big difference.
 
I'm sure the passive pickup in the Chennell is cheap. The Chennell is a wonderful handcarved archtop so putting in a good pickup is a no brainer. Will try the D4 with another bass.
 
I use my Double 4 in a good sized restaurant with 20-35 ukulele players and my u-bass. Most of the time I can't turn the volume up past 3 or 4. When I play at home in my living room, it is a very large room in a house with an open floor plan and a high ceiling. There is plenty of volume. BUT. If the battery is wearing down on my bass OR if there is an issue with the instrument cable, sometimes volume has been an issue. I also have Bass Cub which is 100 Watts but not much louder. The Cub has different speakers and is deeper with less relative midrange. The midrange on the Double 4 is so strong it does make it easier to hear.

With a decent passive pickup the Double 4 is plenty loud. But I have plugged in a bass with a bad pickup and had very little volume. Have you tried toggling the high low switch. The high adds about 15 db.
 
Hi Katy, Yes, I've done that. Low is for an active pickup and hi is for a passive. I just tested the D4 out with one of my old big basses and it works fine. Must be a cheap pickup Chennell put in. So will be on the lookout pronto for a good passive pickup. Perhaps one here may know or Mike from PJB. Will also contact my luthier guy. I wonder how much of a pain it'll be to change out as the bass is an archtop with f holes.
 

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My tenor has a Misi and played it thru the D4. Holy Moly, I couldn't believe the clarity and volume. I had to turn it way down. It showed me I need an active pickup on the bass that doesn't require cutting into the side and back.I wonder if a Misi would work on a bass. I imagine it would take some skill and unique tools to get it thru the f holes. I'll be taking it down to my luthier once the school instrument repair slows down.

Shadow wrote saying they don't have anything suitable other than the active for the Ubass.
 
I had a Fishman passive with strap button outlet added to my first mandolele with f-holes by U-Space, he said he uses a long nose angled forceps to get in there. The passive was too quiet for me so I gifted it and ordered a black custom mandolele.

I always install active preamps with tuners, have no concern what-so-ever cutting the side, but haven't done that yet in the mandolele. I've done so in my custom bass uke and custom gypsy uke, a cheap Chinese preamp that sounds really good, and replaced the preamp with a larger properly oriented one in my Gold Tone. I especially like having the built in tuner in all my preamps.
 
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how about using an external preamp like the LR Baggs gigpro. I just got one but haven't used it yet .
 
You do a really nice job retrofitting your instruments Mike. An active pickup would be the way to go if I can find the right one. Perhaps a Misi would work. I'm sure my guitar guy can figure out something.

I've thought about and external preamp and just came here to ask about them. Thinking about it, the Artec PP417 p/u he put in cost around 6 to14 dollars so am thinking I'd want to replace it anyway. I'll take the bass down to a music shop and try one out with the D4.

It sure is a nice amp befitting a wonderful bass; just need to get the p/u situation done.
 
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