Cheap Pickup.

Spikyone · #1 05-13-2007, 03:40 AM

My son has to play his Dbass through a bass guitar amp and the result at the moment is atroscious. (with very cheap piezos)

I was wondering if getting a magnetic pickup (Schaller?) might be a compromise? as we don't have much cash to throw around.

He plays with a 25 piece school jazz band, also (acoustically) with a classical ensemble.

bolo · #2 05-13-2007, 06:24 AM

I don't know much 'bout mag p/u's for DB, but you can find the Schaller you mentioned here. It might bring a scowl though from whoever directs his legit ensemble. (I don't know why. I like most all kinds of music myself.)

I would also maybe take a look at the Bass Max at the top of that page. Or the Rev Solo here. These pickups typically require some sanding to the bridge to get them fitted properly, but they go on and come off the bass easily once they are fitted. Keeps the classical crowd happy.

They might require a preamp though. What kind of bass amp is it?

Yours is the second "dad looking to help out his son" post that I've seen in the last two days. My 7 year old just finished his second year of Kindermusik. Gosh, in hindsight, a pee wee Fender bass would have been cheaper.

Happy Father's Day (a little early).

anon_6j591b0 · #3 05-13-2007, 11:25 AM

For cheap this is supposed to work pretty well: http://www.gollihur.com/kkbass/bassmax.html

ToneRanger · #4 05-14-2007, 07:37 AM

A Fender P-Bass pickup is the best Mag pickup I've heard. Mounting them takes a bit of ingenuity, but I've seen a simple arranged where one was taped to a piece of high-density foam that you jam under the fingerboard.

However I think there are better piezo options. Bass-Max seem to give solid sound. Cheapest is this DIY option that works beatufully in my solid-body EUB: www.fittell.id.au/piezo

Have you tried plugging the existing piezos through any sort of preamp? You may just have an impedance mis-match with the amp that sucks out all the low end.

Johnny Atomic · #5 05-14-2007, 12:06 PM

There's some $9 drum trigger piezo that somebody around here was raving about. check that out.

I've used the Rev 2, and the Bass Max. both sound good, both about $120.

Spikyone · #6 05-14-2007, 04:45 PM

What an amazing idea. I never thought about throwing Bass Guitar pickups onto a Db. Thanks, I will look into it.

Spikyone · #7 05-14-2007, 04:52 PM

Happy early father's day to you to. My son started on DB at about 8, he was better than other kids who had been playing for 2 years after a month. Just came to him really naturally, but now he is getting seduced by the bass guitar and all that wooten style playing.

Hope your fella does well and has heaps of fun with it.

anon_6j591b0 · #8 05-14-2007, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikyone

What an amazing idea. I never thought about throwing Bass Guitar pickups onto a Db. Thanks, I will look into it.

Autobody trim tape works well to stick a shelf onto the underside of the fingerboard on which you'd mount a mag PU. Go easy to start though the stuff is evilly sticky. I liked the cream coloured Duncan Pre pickups for this because a) any Pre pup will match the curve of the board well and b) that one has adjustable pole pieces to fine tune the output. I saw a rockabilly guy years ago who'd made a little body hung off the fingerboard he'd routed for some Pre's and finished black with a Strat jack on the back that looked really slick.

ToneRanger · #9 05-15-2007, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikyone

What an amazing idea. I never thought about throwing Bass Guitar pickups onto a Db. Thanks, I will look into it.

A P-Bass pickup is the obvious choice because it's in 2 parts so you can adjust the angles to balance your string volume. I bought a cheap copy for $20 that sounds fine. If possible, experiment with different positions - I prefer the sound about midway between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard

I also have a Moses magnetic pickup that attached to the end of the fingerboard - works fine but doesn't fit my current lo-profile EUB, so if anyone wants to make an offer...

**Bob Gollihur** · #10 05-15-2007, 06:37 PM

Before you choose a magnetic pickup be certain that the strings in use are compatible.

Piezo pickups sense vibration, and don't care what strings are used, but there has to be sufficient metal content for the magnetic pickup to produce a signal. I have a list of some compatible and incompatible strings on the Schaller page on my web site. If they'll work with the Schaller, they should work with other magnetic pickups.

However, I'd only go magnetic if very high volumes are necessary; their sound tends to be more electric sounding than most piezo-based transducers.

jeobas · #11 05-25-2007, 08:04 AM

In my experience (which isen't anything to brag about) it is a very good idea to try a preamp with your piezo. Piezo'es impedance doesn't match very well wit bassguitaramps. I've had nice results with behringers very cheap tube mic preamp (mic100)

radapaw · #12 05-29-2007, 08:51 AM

there was just a lil' thread up in the eub forum on magnetic pickups

Ric Vice · #13 05-29-2007, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Gollihur

Before you choose a magnetic pickup be certain that the strings in use are compatible.

However, I'd only go magnetic if very high volumes are necessary; their sound tends to be more electric sounding than most piezo-based transducers.

I had a Paul Toninges pickup with four adjustable magnets at one time.
Since the pickup only senses the strings you get none of the tone quality that an acoustic bass produces. It will sound just like a giant fender.

RIc

drurb · #14 05-29-2007, 11:18 AM

IMO, there's no reason to go down the road of mag pickups just because the current piezo in use sounds bad. I would, as others have suggested, look into a higher quality piezo pickup. To my ear and on my basses, the Rev Solo II has been the best of those. YMMV.

Impedance matching is likely to be an issue if your son is stuck with a typical EB amp. The input impedance when using most piezos should be >=1 M-ohm. Even that can be solved very easily by using a small outboard pre-amp.

clothsnake · #15 06-04-2007, 11:42 AM

hi...
i played my bass with a home-made piezo pickup through the K&K preamp, and this worked a treat... and sounded ok too.
i now have the shadow SH 965 NFX with its own little preamp that attaches to the tail end of the strings and i love it. its an easy fit with a 'piezo thing' mat under each bridge foot... took me two minutes and my soundpost didn't even fall over

i have heard basses with a Precision type pickup attached to the end of the finger-board, and i agree with whoever said it above... just sounded like a fretless electric really.