Realist losing volume?

[Chrix]

The long and the short of my question is this: can the Realist lose volume over time? I've been happy with the overall sound of the pickup, but I feel sometimes that I have to crank my amp up more than normal. Or if other people use my amp, they don't have to turn it up as much. Same if I use a different amp. I usually have to turn it up quite a bit. I was thinking about trying a new Realist, thinking that maybe it can lose volume over time, unless it's just my bass, but that doesn't seem logical to me. Any thoughts?

I've had the same issue with my realist, and I think it's quite a common problem. After awhile (third year of use) I had to use a preamp to get more volume. Some people replace their realist every couple of years. I'm using a fishman fullcircle now and haven't turned back (not that the realist isn't a good pickup). Hope that helps.

[Jaromir]

The two piezo elements in the Realist pickup gradually dig holes into the wood. This doesn't cause any significant damage to the bass, but the result is that the initial presure of the bridge to the piezo elements decreases.
So, all you have to do is to reinstall the pickup - just change it's position a little bit and the sound will be strong again.