Realist with GK MB200

[Turbocharbo]

Hey Guys,

I just received my Gallien MB200 that I bought on ebay. It's a really cool amp and sounds great when played through EB. When I plug it in my upright though, there is alot of noise coming from the amp. I've traced down the source and it seems to be coming from my realist pickup. Is it normal for my pickup to make so much noise? I've never had this problem with other amps except this MB200 I just got. Is the amp the problem?

Thanks.

[brooklynbassed]

Chances are, if your EB is working fine with the GK, then your Realist, if working properly, should be fine. It sounds like you may have a loose solder connection or something in your Realist. Check it out. I use a Realist with my 200MB and I play electric bass through the same amp with satisfactory results. I've had my GK for 20 years now. It's a fine plug and play amp. Ofcourse, there are better ones (I have a few of those too, Eden, Acoustic Image, and various cabinets).

Piezo pickups, like the Realist are prone to breaking up (i.e. becoming noisy) if a solder connection or something is broken. Also, check your jack for the Realist. It could have developed a problem (dust, dirt, loose connection, etc). I use DeOxit to clean my connections from time to time. It's very good for jacks, pots, etc. I learned this from an excellent guitar/amp tech.

I had a Fishman BP100 that had a similar problem, becoming a crackling noisy thing. The ceramic connection was broken on one of the piezo plates that attaches to the bridge (a different design than The Realsit). I sent it back to Fishman and they fixed it, free of charge. If there's a problem with your pickup, maybe David Gage's shop will do the same. He, and the rest of his staff are highly professional and stand by their products and fine work.

Good Luck,
Everett Boyd

[Turbocharbo]

Thanks Everette, I'll look into that.

[dar512]

What kind of noise? Have you checked to see if the impedance of your pickup matches the input impedance on the GK? You may just need a preamp (for impedance loading). Take a look at fdeck's deal if that turns out to be the case.

[Boardndave]

I've got a similar problem as well (i also use a Realist pickup), but mine is with my GK MB150S amp. It's mostly OK at lower volumes, but at about half, it gets real nasty distortion when I play harder. Also, it randomly gets buzzy/yucky noise as well. Anybody else have these issues? Would a pre-amp fix these problems?

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Boardndave

I've got a similar problem as well (i also use a Realist pickup), but mine is with my GK MB150S amp. It's mostly OK at lower volumes, but at about half, it gets real nasty distortion when I play harder. Also, it randomly gets buzzy/yucky noise as well. Anybody else have these issues? Would a pre-amp fix these problems?

I don't know about your Realist, but the modified Realist on my Eminence has a 3MOhm output. The input on the GK MB series is 1MOhm. I'm guessing that might be enough difference to warrant a preamp.

If I didn't already have a preamp, I'd look into the one made by fdeck (a talkbass member). It just fixes up the impedance. I've got enough tone controls on my amp. I don't need or want them on my preamp.