Magnetic Pickup +DB = bass guitar sound?

[truckplayer]

I'm really curious if a DB with a magnetic pickup can sound somewhat like an electric bass guitar. Is that possible? If so, What kind of pickup is used? What type of strings? Should the bass not have the deep, projecting sound as expected when playing it acoustically?

Appreciate of comments and suggestions,

[Marcus Johnson]

No, a standup bass could never match the rich tones of a real bass guitar.

[Marcus Johnson]

Sorry, I couldn't resist that.

The rockabilly guys seem to have a handle on playing DBs with magnetic pups. But in my experience, a lot of it has to do with how you articulate and phrase. If you want to play electric bass stuff on upright, you can go a long way with string choices and how you actually set the strings in motion. I'm not sure how much the pickup has to do with it in the long run.

My personal string choice for that type of situation would be Thomastik Spirocores. And yeah, I think the bass should be deep and projecting.

Good thread question.

[BPeder]

Touch has a lot to do with it. I think one thing that happens is that on an electric with shorter string length you are plucking much nearer the bridge. This gives you a harder tone. I guess if you sat on a stool you could plant your forearm on your thigh and pluck near the bridge on your URB - kinda like classical guitarists - with the plucking hand suspended.

You can try a mag PUP easy enough and cheap too. Take a junked out old P-Bass PUP and mount it on a cut-to-size piece of about 100pt aluminum sheeting. You can cut the sheet to fit under the split coils and screw the covers to to the plate. Thin nuts and bolts work too. Leave a tab of the plate about 3" long and just wide enough to go under the fingerboard. This aluminum is stiff enough to hold the PUP firmly, but can also be bent so the split coils can be rounded to match the curve under the fingerboard. The tab can be Velcro-ed in place. Don't forget to insulate the underside of the magnets so they can't short to each other through the Aluminum.

There's actually more to this if you want to make a more permanent installation. I could post pictures and get into it, but maybe a PM would be better if the OP really wants to hear it - or we could move to the Rockabilly forum...

[fdeck]

I played with a mag pup on my DB for many years. It did sound halfway between DB and fretless BG, which I also play. The pickup produces the same sort of buzz that one hears from a BG, which I think is a bit of harmonic distortion. Also, I think it emphasizes the same harmonics that a BG does. None of this is based on hard data of course. It also eliminates the sub-harmonic thump of the acoustic instrument. This allowed me to "bite" into notes, Jaco-like if you will allow me to say that.

If I wanted a more electricky tone, e.g., for pop tunes, I took advantage of being able to turn up the gain on my amp beyond where a piezo would feed back, and playing with a fairly light touch. In fact that became a bad habit that I had to break when I finally went cold turkey and forced myself to get my piezo tone together.

Also, like trying to make a BG sound like a DB, works the other way around, that a lot of it turns out to be about style.

I used Spiro's, and still do with the piezo.

[JtheJazzMan]

I have a rather pricey biesele sitting around. Its a great pickup, and I would agree that its somewhere in between a "double bass" sound and an electric sound. A magnetic pickup on double bass really has a distinct unique tone.

Alas, I dont use it anymore. Dont get me wrong it sounds fantastic, I just havent found a use for that particular pizz tone since I could just take the EUB if its needed.

[Rvl]

My Aria EUB has a magnetic and a piezo
All my other basses have piezos
The piezo is more direct sounding with a very quick response
The opposite of the magnetic

The magnetic pickup is mounted on the end of the fingerboard and it makes the bass sound wooly(not clear and not defined)

Playing with piezos has made me tighten up my playing and technique

I still cant play well

I cant play things on the UB that I can on the electric bass
And I cant play things on the electric bass that I can on the mandolin

For me scale length does make a difference on fast complicated passages

I tend to lay back and play simpler lines on upright bass , compared to EB , AB or mandolin or guitar

Thanks

Robert VanLane

[Jefenator]

I've used a Biesele for many years. It had an input for the piezo pickup so I could mix the two & change settings very quickly, mid-song if I wanted. Very handy.

IME, running 100% "electric" effectively dumped most of the acoustic nuance and made the bass sound like the fretless P-bass Zeus might play. So IMHO, yes, it did give a very "BG" sound, without much need for trickery (just make sure to use steel strings).

FWIW I think with a magnetic pickup, DB can mimic BG far more effectively than the reverse.

[Bass]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

No, a standup bass could never match the rich tones of a real bass guitar.

Ha ha!!