Best removable pickup?

[JAS]

I am looking for the best pickup that can be easily removed from the bass and put back on. I am going to use it on a bass that will be used for both jazz and classical music.

On my other bass, I have the full circle, which is pretty good, but I want something that I can easily take off the bass for this instrument (so I don't have to have it one when playing classical stuff).

I have an Underwood, but I am looking for something with a more natural sound.

Any suggestions?

[bolo]

The Upton Revolution SOLO and the K&K Bass Max both mount in the wing slot with pretty minimal hassle. Once you get a good fit, they are both very easy to take on & off your bass.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by bolo

The Upton Revolution SOLO and the K&K Bass Max both mount in the wing slot with pretty minimal hassle. Once you get a good fit, they are both very easy to take on & off your bass.

True-- but IMHO, the Rev. Solo sounds MUCH better than the BassMax.

[Farin]

I have always played the K&K Bass Max, and I like it. Could be better, but def. not bad, and cheap to boot.

[Aaron Saunders]

Personally, I'm a big fan of the Rev. Solo. It reproduces my acoustic sound wonderfully -- MUCH better than the Underwood I had on before (which is also a snap to install/remove.)

[reedo35]

Barkus-Berry is another easy one. Clips on and off in seconds.

[bolo]

You beat me to the punch w/ the Schertler recommendation. I was just about to add that to the list.

I believe the Schertler DYN-B is in a different ballpark in terms of price though - over $600 if I'm not mistaken.

Also, I wonder if Schertler STAT-B users would consider their p/u's as "easy on & off?" It's about half the cost of the DYN-B I think, but still costs more than the other options listed so far.

[bolo]

Originally Posted by DRURB

True-- but IMHO, the Rev. Solo sounds MUCH better than the BassMax.

Both of these pickups certainly have very large groups of satisfied users. I've tried both of them.

I could be wrong, but I think to some extent whether you prefer the Bass Max or the SOLO kinda boils down to your bass, your amp, and probably most important ... the sound you have in your head that you're striving for.

At roughly $100 each, you might even want to consider buying both of them, and let your ears decide which one sounds best to you. I figure if you work two club gigs or one private, they're both paid for.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by bolo

...

I could be wrong, but I think to some extent whether you prefer the Bass Max or the SOLO kinda boils down to your bass, your amp, and probably most important ... the sound you have in your head that you're striving for.

...

Well, I came to my judgment based on use with three very different basses and a number of amps. IMO, if the sound in your head is that of a double bass, the Rev. Solo is far superior. If the sound in your head is that of a modified BG, then the BassMax ought to do it for you.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by DRURB

Well, I came to my judgment based on use with three very different basses and a number of amps. IMO, if the sound in your head is that of a double bass, the Rev. Solo is far superior. If the sound in your head is that of a modified BG, then the BassMax ought to do it for you.

A bit of an oversimplification - I know of several people who got remarkably realistic woody sounds out of the Bass Max. I used to be one. I'm going to take Bolo's advice and order a Solo one of these days just to try it out, but I have a hard time imagining that it will work as well on every bass as you feel it works on yours. YMMV.

[Ric Vice]

I suppose one advantage of the Bass Max is that I can be resold if you
aren't happy with the sound on your instrument.

I don't know if you can do that with a Revolution Solo, the pickup is incased in wood and has to be sanded to fit the bridge wings. I know that Upton can recondition them in some cases, but I would check this out first if you're concerned about the ability to resell the pickup once it's been fitted for installation.

Since they are pretty close to the same price, aside from their difference in sound, which is a big consideration on any instrument, the Revolution Solo can most likely only be fitted to one bass before it has to be rebuilt, it that's even possible.

I also seem to remember that one should be cautious, conservative and judicious in the number of times that they take the Revolution Solo off the
bass. I think the E Roy mentioned that somewhere in that rather lengthy
thread on the Revolution Solo.

Ric

[Tbeers]

I grew to hate the Stat-B.... It fell off my bass several times during a gig recently. I'm through with it.

The Full Circle is working great for me. I have no reason to believe that it affects the acoustic tone of my instrument. My advice..? Keep the FC on.

[JAS]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am going to order the Rev. Solo pickup. On my Kay, I have used an Underwood, a magnetic pickup, and the Full Circle with the Full Circle giving me the best results on that bass. I also for a while was mixing the Full Circle with the magnetic pickup through a 2 chanell mixer.

On my new bass, I wanted to use something easily removable and the Rev. Solo sounds like it will be much more natural than the Underwood.

[mesmithnm]

I think Ric has some sage advice - I have a rev solo that just didn't work for me at all - both my german carved factory bass (from the 50's) and my Kay did not give me results that I cared for. I could get a fairly natural sound but not much volume and the pickup was very sensitive to position. It's large and hangs out of the wing slots, so it's vulnerable to getting bumped out of place. I had it positioned where it sounded pretty good (at least in my living room) and then I took it out to the gig. First, the natural sound that I liked in my living room seemed to get lost in the noise of the crowded restaurant where I play every Friday. Second, sometime in the second set the pickup got bumped out of place and I never did get it back where it sounded right - I'd either get low output or I'd get a howling bass. After the pianist asked whatever happened to the sound of my bass, I decided the RS wasn't for me. So now, I have a sanded down RS that probably doesn't have much resale value and I don't have any use for. So, although I've never used a Bass Max, I'd probably give that a shot - if you don't like it, I feel pretty sure you can post it for sale here and quickly get back half of what you paid and then try the RS - if you buy the RS and fit it to your bass, you're pretty much stuck with it.

Mark

[bolo]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

I also seem to remember that one should be cautious, conservative and judicious in the number of times that they take the Revolution Solo off the bass.

Ric, thanks for the post.

Actually, I don't remember this part about having to be so delicate when taking the pickup on & off. It's no big deal if you ask me.

The wire from the p/u to the jack is probably the weakest physical component in the overall design, but no moreso than other p/u designs probably. The wire does have a nice shrink-wrap type treatment. "Don't yank on the wire, ya brute!" is probably good advice for any p/u or cable. It's kinda like "Don't pull the electric cord out of the wall outlet by the cord itself. Grab the plug instead."

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by bolo

Ric, thanks for the post.

Actually, I don't remember this part about having to be so delicate when taking the pickup on & off. It's no big deal if you ask me.

The wire from the p/u to the jack is probably the weakest physical component in the overall design, but no moreso than other p/u designs probably. The wire does have a nice shrink-wrap type treatment. "Don't yank on the wire, ya brute!" is probably good advice for any p/u or cable. It's kinda like "Don't pull the electric cord out of the wall outlet by the cord itself. Grab the plug instead."

Bolo,
I dared to venture back through that massive thread on
the Revolution Solo, and for the life of me I can't find that post by E Roy, so I guess it was just a figment of my imagination. I like the stuff about Brute Yankovick, that's my laugh for the day.

Ric

[Mike Crumpton]

I just use a clip on mic from SD systems and there is a large amount of material on AMT mics. I get no feedback problems coz I know where to put things and me in relation to the amp (AI contra - basically don't put the AI against a wall and don't have any strainghtish line between the mic and the front where the 5" mid and tweeter is. The SD systems mic comes with its own pre-amp pack that delivers a line level signal and go into anything and is quiet enough to go direct without any problem. They do a pre-amp with a three pin out instead of a jack if you want to be doubly sure about cutting noise out.

Whatever - mics have to be a consideration no? Vunz is a mic user I remember amongst others on this board and I think he is using a high-end generic mic (ie one not designed just for a DB).

[anonymous8547j7d7b]

Originally Posted by Tbeers

I grew to hate the Stat-B.... It fell off my bass several times during a gig recently. I'm through with it.

The Full Circle is working great for me. I have no reason to believe that it affects the acoustic tone of my instrument. My advice..? Keep the FC on.

If your Stat-b fell off during a gig, then it must have been pretty poorly fitting @ the time. Usually before the cork becomes this compressed you notice a considerable "thinning" of the sound. A simple way to remedy this before you get the cork replaced & the pickup refitted is to shim it in the wing slot with business card thickness cardboard - add layers as necessary until the p/up fits properly & the sound returns. It can be a real pain in the ass, but IMHO, the sound quality is worth it.
However, to get back on track with the thread - I wouldn't recommend the Stat-b as a unit to be regularly removed & reinstalled - largely because cork is not the most robust material in the world & I reckon it refitting would be problematic after a while (as per the above).

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

A bit of an oversimplification - I know of several people who got remarkably realistic woody sounds out of the Bass Max. I used to be one. I'm going to take Bolo's advice and order a Solo one of these days just to try it out, but I have a hard time imagining that it will work as well on every bass as you feel it works on yours. YMMV.

Not an oversimplification at all. I spoke of MY experience. As for what can be imagined, the point is that I don't have to do that. I have used both pickups. Really, get hold of a Rev. Solo and then please tell us what you hear.

[hofner]

Barcus berry for me too.. not the most best looking one, but fit in one second and sound surprisingly good..