polytone pickup?

[skacrow]

i was wondering if anyone has had experience with a polytone double bass pick up?i have seen one recently for sale but can find no useful information on it. thanks

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I used a polytone pickup a long time ago. It was made of brass and went in between the feet of the bridge. There were many reasons not to like this pickup, but the biggest one was the way it mounted - by unscrewing it, it was supposed to expand and hold itself in place by digging into the bridge feet....the problem with that is that once it starts to loosen, it rattles and makes a god-awful noise. Then, when you expand it some more, the noise stops but you eventually start pushing the bridge feet further apart than they are supposed to go. I'd avoid that one if I were you.

[Don Higdon]

Haven't heard this name mentioned in years. I think technology passed them by.

[Bob Gollihur]

My old Polytone died a few years after I bought it, and they fixed it for a nominal fee. Then it died again several years ago -- which was the best thing that ever happened, since it sent me in search of other pickups, finally discovering the K&K stuff. Don has got it right - technology passed them by.

However, I loved that small amp I had with a fifteen and two eights in a small and light box! (til it was stolen). But considering the state of bass amplification technology, I'll bet it wouldn't stand up to today's offerings, either.