is Shcertler STAT-B easy and safe to mount / unmount?

[ilya]

I am looking for a pickup that would give me a nice acoustic tone, either pizz or arco, but could be also mounted / unmounted repeatedly on my bass, easily and without any damage to the unit. Does anyone has an idea of how resistant is the STAT-B is for such manipulations?

I guess the DYN-B would be better for such purpose, but the price is higher...

thanks a lot

[Roger Davis]

The Vektor, in its latest guise, is probably the easiest to mount/demount but I can't yet vouch for its sound. There are plenty of enthusiasts, however.

[Eric Hochberg]

The Stat-B is fairly easy to fit (you have to cut and shape the cork) and it can be put on or taken off the bass in a couple of seconds. I swap mine between two basses (same size bridge opening).

I like this pickup!

[Mark Perna]

Stat-B is a piece of cake to swap out in under a minute.

I love the Stat-B with gut strings. I wasn't as thrilled with it and didn't use it as much when I used Spiros. That was my bass, though.

mark

[kurt]

It's fairly easy to put on and take off. The problem is getting it to sound just right. I suspect a lot of the people here that don't like it never got it set up just right. It can lead to endless fiddling. When it is set just right it can sound pretty great though. The amount of pressure really affects the tone and also how much it is turned towards the middle of the bass. I put it on my carved bass the way it shows in the manual and when I put it on my plywood the hole was too big. I took a small piece of cork and wedged it into the bridge slot and that works pretty good, maybe even better than the normal way. A lot of on and off and some of the cork can start to chip away but it hasn't seemed to affect it's performance.

I just got the new adjustable Vektor and I quite like it. similar to the stat-b in some ways but it's taking the sound from the top of the bass not the bridge so it sounds more natural. A little less lows and more mids. It absolutely KILLS the stat-B for arco though. It is just as finicky as the stat-b when setting it up, lots of fiddling to get it to sound just right, but easier because it's not wedged into the bridge. I haven't gotten to use it on a gig yet though so I'm not sure how it will act at louder volumes through a PA. It seems pretty promising so far though.

[Roger Davis]

Kurt, hope you'll post your experiences after the gig. I'm interested in getting one to use on jazz trio gigs, so not a great deal of volume. I'd like to tread cautiously on this one so I don't have to make any more additions to my drawer of redundant pickups.

[Nuno A.]

I said it before, on my basses the Stat was the worst and the best sounding pickup depending on the mounting.....
i dont like the Schertler advertising mounting..... i prefer to mount the pickup with the cork facing the table... tight pressure. just drink a bottle of wine and cut a bit of the cork of the bottle, use it to fit the pickup ..........
i have less finger noise and a fatter sound.... also even when using the schertler amps which provide phantom power, i always use the Stat B pre amp. simply because it has kind of high pass filter... this pickup needs time.... mount and remount... but once on the sweet spot , it sounds great.


Nuno

[ilya]

thank you all for sharing information. but I am thinking finally of buying the DYN-B, I found it for a good price, and it seems to promise a better acoustic sound, which I'm after. and the mounting/unmounting is the easiest- it is basically just an attached mic, no adjusting to the bass/bridge/etc. needed.

[greitzer]

Originally Posted by ehochberg

The Stat-B is fairly easy to fit (you have to cut and shape the cork) and it can be put on or taken off the bass in a couple of seconds. I swap mine between two basses (same size bridge opening).

I like this pickup!

Coming in a few months after the fact, and a bit off from the original subject -- how is the Stat-B in terms of volume before feedback? Could it handle a big band situation?

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by greitzer

Coming in a few months after the fact, and a bit off from the original subject -- how is the Stat-B in terms of volume before feedback? Could it handle a big band situation?

Yes, it can handle high volume gigs very well.

[greitzer]

Ok thanks Eric, I will look into that one. I need a new pickup and it sounds promising.

[robobass]

Originally Posted by Nuno A.

I said it before, on my basses the Stat was the worst and the best sounding pickup depending on the mounting.....
i dont like the Schertler advertising mounting..... i prefer to mount the pickup with the cork facing the table... tight pressure. just drink a bottle of wine and cut a bit of the cork of the bottle, use it to fit the pickup ..........
i have less finger noise and a fatter sound.... also even when using the schertler amps which provide phantom power, i always use the Stat B pre amp. simply because it has kind of high pass filter... this pickup needs time.... mount and remount... but once on the sweet spot , it sounds great.
Nuno

That's an interesting way to do it. I'll have to try it! I believe most people add a wedge to the leg, as I have done. I have the original dual capsule model, so I've got wedges like this on both sides of both basses. I can mount or unmount in a few seconds, and keep some cork shims in the bag to get it right. My best results have been when the capsule is perfectly vertical, and medium tight. I still can't decide if it's better to put the shim on the bottom or the top. Putting it on the top makes the sound a bit more direct?

[greitzer]

In the photos and descriptions, it looks like the pickup is mounted on the G side bridge opening. Can you also mount it on the E side opening?

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by greitzer

In the photos and descriptions, it looks like the pickup is mounted on the G side bridge opening. Can you also mount it on the E side opening?

The stat works much better on my basses in the E opening. The G position results in a lower volume E string.

[greitzer]

Thanks again, I appreciate the prompt replies.

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by greitzer

Thanks again, I appreciate the prompt replies.

My pleasure!