Biesele Magnetic Pick Up

[Les Fret]

I really like that sound.
But when you play a lot of arco how do you prevent the strings from clashing against the fingerboard? especially in ff orchestral parts.
I also like my set up medium to low but then I have to compromise on the bowing dynamics. How do you handle this?

[hensonbass]

I've completed three gigs now with my Vektor/Full Circle/Biesele combination. All three gigs were a success. I recorded two of them and the the bass came through perfectly. One was a loud club gig with cranked guitar and drums. Another was an outdoor show with about 30,000 people in attendance. The last gig was a medium volume jazz gig. I basically would bring in the Biesele at various volume levels to compensate how much frontal attack I needed for each song. At no time did I overpower the basic upright tone.

I think the Biesele is the best solution if you need to cut through loud and dense mixes or if you need a quicker attack time for funkier playing. I also should mention that any effect I ran with the Biesele sounded great as well. So far my favorite is an octaver with some modulation.

[Les Fret]

great! Now I am looking forward to use my Biesele in a gig. Maybe my feedback troubles are over.

What do you think of the Vector? (sound and feedback resistance)

[hensonbass]

The Vektor has had good feedback resistance. It's not as resistant as the Full Circle system. You can't expect a microphone to compete on that level.

The funny thing is when I begin to experience feedback with the Vektor I blend in the Full Circle and it seems to 'comb' away the offending frequency and I experience more gain. I don't think that would work on every bass but fortunately it works on mine.

[Les Fret]

So do you use all three pickups together? what preamp and/or blender do you use then? since the Biesele preamp only has two inputs.

It must be hard to decide which pickup combination you use, since you have 8 options in total.

Did you experience any tonal difference (for example in TP, like Jazzman) when playing unamplified with Biesele attached?

[hensonbass]

I just bought the Biesele as a pickup with no preamp.

I have a Headway preamp that blends the Vektor and the Full-Circle for my acoustic sound. Then I blend that signal with the Biesele into a Radial PZ-Pre 2 channel DI. I know that's a lot of gear for a typical upright player, but I tour 175 days out of the year and the stages and venues are big and LOUD so it's worth it to me to have those options.

With the Biesele attatched there is one dead spot on my fingerboard now in thumb position on the g string around 'b'. Keep in mind I also have a five string bass with a high 'c' string so it doesn't matter to me that much. Otherwise, I think it improved the overall sound of the bass for the tone I need. It seemed to brighten up the bass and make it more growly which helps me cut through.

[Les Fret]

ok, thanks

That are many gigs a year. What kind of band is it that you play in these loud and big settings?

[hensonbass]

This is a video of a concert we recorded last year in Washington D.C. :

http://www.tenthrow.com/video/watch/.../15-Jul-2009#2

This is when I was touring with my Azola EUB. I just bought an DB trunk last week and am going to try touring with the big boy again. It's not going to be as easy but I'm hoping the sonic and visual benefits will be worth it.

I must say the Azola did wonders on that gig and I will continue to carry it as a backup.

[Les Fret]

The Azola sounds great for that style! good playing.
If you have some videoclips of your Biesele/vector/FC setup please let us know.

[Mike Carr]

Hensonbass, you and that Azola sound real good! Love the lyric of that song too.

[hensonbass]

Thanks guys for the feedback.

I'm looking forward to going back to the 9:30 venue in D.C. on June 18th to record another show. This time I'll have my DB and new pickup system on hand. It will be interesting to hear the difference between that and the Azola.

[hensonbass]

So far I have logged in a few more shows with my DB and triple pickup threat and it has worked out nicely. There was one club where the PA cabs were to close to the bass and even just running mostly the Biesele PU in the mix (which I don't prefer doing) I could not get the bass to stop physically vibrating from the sound pressure level. So I brought out the Azola instead and had no problems getting through the show.

There really isn't anything like a doublebass booming out of a big PA when it's properly amplified. That low end bounce that every note has just cannot be duplicated with an EUB. It's a very physical sensation that adds a lot to the music. However, if the SPL is too high to where the bass body can't stop vibrating you'll never get rid of the feedback.

I now know why some of the basses I've seen on the road are so dead sounding acoustically. It really works against you in some ways. I still like having some life in the instrument and I think I've found the right balance so far with this setup. When it's right it just KILLS.

I'll always keep the Azola around just in case.