My Realist?

showfeet · #1 12-27-2012, 08:14 AM

Hi everyone,
I am having trouble with my realist. I went for about a month period of only playing acoustic shows, and using microphones. I went to a jam session with a drummer, tried to plug my realist in, and barely any sound, and it always cuts out. What sound is there is super distorted, like a heavy metal bass guitar. I don't have a preamp, but it has never done this before. I've tried cables, amps, and ect. Is my realist dead? What can I do about this? I was thinking of getting an EAP soon, anyway, but I'm a student with not a ton of money. Post your thoughts. Thanks.

Greg Clinkingbeard · #2 12-27-2012, 08:18 AM

Check to see if the bridge foot has moved or tilted but you probably need a new pickup. If the fit is good it's dead. You might want to try another cable but it's probably the pickup.

showfeet · #3 12-27-2012, 09:16 AM

Yeah, the fit is good. As a sound guy, I do own a Audio Technica Pro 35. If I where to mount that from the F hole, and get a pre amp, would that work well? I know that feedback and bleed would be a problem.

DoubleMIDI · #4 12-27-2012, 07:32 PM

I used an Audio Technica ATM-35 with the DPA Bass holder with a bigband (other can clip it to an adjuster, but this doesn't work with my bridge). I have a XLR to instrument adapter for the power adapter and this works fine with an amp.
Of course there is a limit for amplification, but putting the amp a bit away or directing it away from the bass body helps to get a bit more out of the amp before feedback starts. And digging in more gets more out of the amp, so if you can play a bit harder (and probably also closer to the bridge at the end of the fingerboard) this might help.

My mic sits about 2 cm above the top a few cm "south" of the bridge.
Of course there was some bleeding of the drums, but it was acceptable.

Michael Case · #5 12-27-2012, 08:41 PM

They do die after a while. My realist had the same problem. The wire between the jack and the pick up just lost the connection.

showfeet · #6 12-27-2012, 10:59 PM

Thanks so much guys!

And doublemidi, can you post a link of a mic/instrument adapter? You are helping me so much.
Thanks

DoubleMIDI · #7 12-28-2012, 03:24 PM

Not during the next 7 days, I'm away from the bass and microphone at the moment.

It is a black box about 10 cm or 4 inches long, containing a 9 volts battery, a special connector for the microphone cable, an XLR connector and a power switch with off, bass damping and full range positions. There is also a belt clip mounted at the box.

It is the older version of the actual Audio Technica microphones, that is no longer available. I got it used for a good price and since the high frequencies are more attenuated than on the DPA, the drum/cymbal bleeding is not as bad as with the DPA. The sound quality is not as good as with a studio condenser mic or the DPA, but much better than the signal from a pickup. And it seems to be rather feedback resistive.