Need help with Barcus Berry

Nivaca · #1 01-08-2005, 08:39 PM

Hi! I own a nice carved bass which sounds really nice by itself. I use a Barcus Berry pickup (with its pre) with a Nemesis NC 250 combo. I'm having much trouble getting a good sound with it (even though the volume is fine).
I play mostly pizz (comping and soloing) and I haven't been able to manage a fine EQ tuning. Can anybody help me with that? Anybody owns a Barcus Berry? Suggestions accepted.

AMJBASS · #2 01-08-2005, 09:51 PM

I have never really got a good sound with the Barcus Berry pickup. It just doesn't sound natural at all to me. If you aren't opposed to it, I would sell it and look into a better sounding pickup like a Full Circle.

Mudfuzz · #3 01-11-2005, 08:11 PM

First, which pickup do you have, the old clip kind or the new one?
I still use the old clip/thumbscrew kind, and all the tweaking I do is on the light side, a little bit can go a long way; start with it all flat and slowly make changes.

I find EQ wise that all the problem frequencies are in the mids and upper mids and trebles, ie all the honk & sizzle. Right now I am using two older boss EQ peddles a 7 band graphic and a parametric [they aren't pretty but they don't color the sound], if you want I can go and tell you what the settings are. But you might want something with a wider range so you can really pinpoint the sound you are after.

Also, a compressor is your best friend with this pickup. They really help to keep the sound controlled; I use a very old Alesis micro limiter.

Brennan · #4 01-11-2005, 10:06 PM

Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog. I would recomend a K&K Bass Max coupled with a preamp, or a Gage Realist. I tried the full circle and it didn't sound very good on my bass. Ther are other more expensive options but thats a good place to start.

Mudfuzz · #5 01-12-2005, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brennan

Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog.

True. But if it is all someone has until they upgrade, it is a good way to practice on get anything to sound good. I fide that if you play well and know how to adjust the sound, you can make anything work.

Actually all I use the pickup for anymore is for when I build a new EUB. If it will sound good with this pickup it will sound great with a better pickup.

Nivaca · #6 01-12-2005, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brennan

Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog. I would recomend a K&K Bass Max coupled with a preamp, or a Gage Realist. I tried the full circle and it didn't sound very good on my bass. Ther are other more expensive options but thats a good place to start.

Is the K&K Bass Max a good choice?

**Francois Blais** · #7 01-12-2005, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

True. But if it is all someone has until they upgrade, it is a good way to practice on get anything to sound good. I fide that if you play well and know how to adjust the sound, you can make anything work.
Actually all I use the pickup for anymore is for when I build a new EUB. If it will sound good with this pickup it will sound great with a better pickup.

I use a BB 3150 pickup on my (modified) Carruthers EUB and it works great! A big improvement over the stock bridge/pickup system.
I took an old acoustic upright bridge to replace the stock bridge. (cut the legs, reshaped the crown, etc.)

olivier · #8 01-12-2005, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nivaca

Is the K&K Bass Max a good choice?

It's the most afordable and it works great. That gives it the best bang for buck ratio of them all. Even if you upgrade to something more sophisticated, the K&K Bass Max is a good spare part in the gigbag...

Eric Jackson · #9 01-12-2005, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivier

It's the most afordable and it works great. That gives it the best bang for buck ratio of them all. Even if you upgrade to something more sophisticated, the K&K Bass Max is a good spare part in the gigbag...

+1

Mudfuzz · #10 01-12-2005, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by francois

I took an old acoustic upright bridge to replace the stock bridge. (cut the legs, reshaped the crown, etc.)

This was why my first EUB was built around a acoustic bridge; so that I could use any bridge mounted DB pickup. I know this might sound a bit contradictory but for the big EUB I like the sound of the BB, but on the DB it is to edgy for me. On the little travel EUB I made I still haven’t found “the one”, and am working on building a bridge with a internal pickup.

**Francois Blais** · #11 01-12-2005, 07:42 PM

I've tried many things since I'm playing EUB only since about 8 years now.
I'd look at the Barbera system or something similar. (one piezo per string)
All the other things I tried (Underwood, Fishman, and another brand whose name escapes me right now; it was two elements that I installed with epoxy resin into holes drilled in the bridge) were giving poor results. Uneven volume from string to string, or too much string noise, etc.
The BB 3150 I use now is the best so far.

T-Bal · #12 01-12-2005, 11:04 PM

I'm not familiar with the BB 3150. Is that an EUB specific thing?

**Francois Blais** · #13 01-13-2005, 06:57 AM

The Barcus Berry 3150 pickup.
A regular piezo upright bass pickup.
You can view it here:
http://www.barcusberry.com/products/...113&sSKU=B3150

and here:

http://www.doublebassguide.com/4_pickups.html

I don't use the preamp.
I use a Tubeworks 4001 tube DI.

François