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Double Bass D-Tar Solstice

flatback

flatback

May 6, 2004
2,990
2,667
#1
I received my new Solstice and I think it is close to a perfect box. (except for the funny paint job)
This box is brilliant in design in function and in performance. Check out their web site for info.
Highlights: First, the mic pre's are truely fine and there are two of them...I'm not going to go into all the ways that you can use this (very small) box, but just as a blender it is the best of them all. The mic sounds so great and there is so much usable gain that it makes me giddy. I am running it directly into a Mackie srm 450 powered pa speaker and my whole gigging package is down to the speaker and a shoulder bag with everything else. If the PA is good, I can just walk in with my bass and the box and get fantastic sound with a minimum of gear and fuss,
I was nervous about the preamp and eq for bass, but they absolutely floored me. Flat is beautiful and warm but not colored.If you got to fuss just a fraction of a turn gets you serious tonal control.
Everything on this box is useful and from the clipping led's to the way the volume is set to allow max gain/min noise to the stereo 1/4 ins on both channels it is simple yet really versatile.Oh and it is as quiet as a church mouse.
 
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#4
I, too, have been wondering about these. I tried to get one through Steve Dude Barr, but he hasn't set up a dealership yet.

I included my K&K 2 channel pre when I sold my 6 string ABG, so I need something to use with my upright at gigs!

Thanks for the info, and review!
 
#5
yep, i tried to buy one from dude too. but ended up buying one of the last raven labs pmbII's. i had a pmbI for years and really dug it but also sold it with a bass a year or so ago. i've also had a couple of rick turner's instruments and his electronics have always really, really impressed me...

anyone with the solstice have any experience with the raven unit that can make a comparison?

tony
 
#6
tony moore said:
yep, i tried to buy one from dude too. but ended up buying one of the last raven labs pmbII's. i had a pmbI for years and really dug it but also sold it with a bass a year or so ago. i've also had a couple of rick turner's instruments and his electronics have always really, really impressed me...

anyone with the solstice have any experience with the raven unit that can make a comparison?

tony
Click to expand...

I will soon, I got their Solstice and Equinox (EQ unit) in last week, sounds great so far. We're putting them through their paces, but it looks like we'll carry them based on their performance so far. It's great to have a box to replace the PMB that has even more features.
 
#10
I have one on the way from Bob. It will replace my old Fishman Bass Blender. I love all the extra features it has over the Fishman and Raven Labs. I really needed something that would mute the whole thing with a footswitch. It's perfect for fast switching between slab and double bass since I have some complex routing and it fits in my pedalboard. I'll run a String Charger and Full Circle through it on the road and maybe the Full Circle or Realist and Dyn-B (XLR inputs!) when I'm doing local jazz gigs. I'll let you know next week how it sounds compared to my Schertler, Fishman and Raven Labs gear.

John (pickup/preamp junkie)
 
#11
Looks like a great unit, and the little GAS wheels are turning in my head as we speak. Has anybody done the A/B comparison with the PMB-I or II that was being discussed here somewhere and I missed it? Looking forward to hearing about that.

Also, a minor point, but any chance they'll ever offer them with a slightly less...."theatrical" appearance? No offense to D-Tar, but that thing's uglier than a KY license plate. :D
 
#15
Mine came in a little while ago...thanks for the free shipping Bob.

at any rate this box is wonderful ! Incredible ! IT slices, It Dices !

seriously though, the sound using the xlr and a golden bullet mic is mondo transparent. The features on the back of the box are as useful as the front panel.

I'm glad i found this !
 
#16
LONG BRASTRAPS said:
Mine came in a little while ago...thanks for the free shipping Bob.

at any rate this box is wonderful ! Incredible ! IT slices, It Dices !

seriously though, the sound using the xlr and a golden bullet mic is mondo transparent. The features on the back of the box are as useful as the front panel.

I'm glad i found this !
Click to expand...

You don't perchance have any personal experience with the PMB-II by way of comparison? I love the PMB, but the Solstice has a couple of features that get the old salivary glands going. Of course, there's the ugly thing, but I just remembered I can do wonders with a roll of black duct tape. :)
 
#18
jar240 said:
The Solstice looks like it'll do everything for me except channel switching -- for the gigs where I play electric side and upright basses. The side bass has a volume, so no problem -- but the upright [Realist] doesn't, of course.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've seen the EBS MicroBass II, but apparently it's around $1000 US.

Chris
Click to expand...

I saw that the EBS Micro Bass was listed as cheaper in Canada than the US in another thread here. I can't remember which store, but I think it was around $400 CDN. It would be nice if the solstice could mute both channels individually. You would have to use a muting tuner or A/B box on your realist.
I was testing out the Solstice with all my pickups and I had four pickups running at once to compare them. My two Shertler (Dyn-B and Stat-B) pickups in the XLR inputs and my Full Circle and Underwood in the line inputs. Each has it's own level control with a blend for the two channels. It was way over the top, but it was fun seeing all that spaghetti hanging off my bass. I am using it with a String Charger and Full Circle for my current rock tour, but I can see using my Dyn-B and Full Circle together on some gigs.
 
#19
I have a Pub-280 that no longer "accepts" the preA-II as a preamp. I've been using a mackie 4 channel mixer in the mean time but haven't enjoyed that too much.

Anyway, I was looking at the back of the solstice picture and noticed it had a balanced output that was an XLR. I'm not all that good with this stuff so I was wondering if anybody knew if that balanced output could go into the back of my Pub-280. I sure would love to blend...
 
#20
Phranc, I don't know what the back of the Pub looks like, so I can't answer your question entirely. Sorry.

But as you probably noticed the Solstice has plenty of XLR outputs on the back. It has two balanced XLR outputs, one for Channel 1 and one for Channel 2, both of which are post-EQ. A third XLR out contains the blended signal from both channels, again post-EQ. All three XLR outs are described as balanced, low impedance outputs.

The owner's manual for the Solstice is well-written (IMO), if you haven't pored (or poured) over it already:

http://www.d-tar.com/images/solstice_manual.pdf

Hope this helps some.
 

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