Nasty Feedback with Realist

[Whisper]

Hi,

I am experiencing some problems with my Realist pickup - the sound of the pickup is incredibly mid-rangey. If I set the EQ of my amp flat, I get a nasty, squealing feedback that has nothing to do with the vibrations of the bass - I can hold all the strings and it still feeds back, even at a relatively low volume. I have to totally EQ out the mid-range of the bass to make it sound somewhat normal! (even then, it doesn't sound that great)

Now, my bass isn't the deepest sounding bass, but I think there's something definitely wrong with the pickup. It seems to be seated firmly, and the bridge hasn't moved. Should I contact Gage and try to get a replacement pickup, or is the problem something else?

Thanks!

[Uncletoad]

It's most likely the amp. If you are using the Sunn into the 410 you'll feed back like crazy. Bass amps are voiced to increase low end and as such cause lots of feedback in double basses.

This subject has been discussed at great length here. Do a search on "feedback" and read the threads, then come back and ask more specific questions.

[Whisper]

Sorry, to clarify - this is happening with pretty much any amp, and the feedback is not in the low end - it's a squealing mid-range thing.

[Christopher]

You might want to consider an acoustic-pickup friendly preamp with a feedback-busting notch filter like an LR Baggs or Fishman.

Despite the marketing hype, the Realist isn't really meant to be plugged directly into an amp without some impedance matching device in between. I often get nasty incurable feedback with mine when plugging directly into EB amps.

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Whisper

Sorry, to clarify - this is happening with pretty much any amp, and the feedback is not in the low end - it's a squealing mid-range thing.

Sounds weird then. Make a call.

[Jaromir]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Despite the marketing hype, the Realist isn't really meant to be plugged directly into an amp without some impedance matching device in between. I often get nasty incurable feedback with mine when plugging directly into EB amps.

My experience is just the opposite - the Realist is the only pickup which works the best going straight into the input of whatever amp. It's very "impedance tolerant" and sounds quite natural with basically any amp. With no preamp. If I need to go crazy loud, I put a piece of molitane (the soft plastic material some mattresses are made of) into both f holes to dampen the front plate a little.
Assuming I'm talking about the "classical" Realist, NOT the bright sounding one.