I guess you're talking about the BP-100. When Fishman first came out, it was the very best sounding pickup you could get (being the only one).
They still sound as good as they did 25 or so years ago... in fact they sound pretty much exactly the same as they did 25 or so years ago.
Since then, Competition has entered the ring, and done it's best (collectively) to improve sound.
The result is that by today's standards, Fishman makes one of the worst sounding pickups, usually considered thin and nasal compared to everyone else. In another thread, Ray Brown's Polytone pickup was described as having a "nasty Fishman-like sound" in a couple of live performances. When a pickup is used as the standard for Badness, It's time for a change in design...
Fishman has a new pickup out, called the "Full Circle". It's name has a dual significance. For one thing, it's built into an aluminum bridge adjuster, so it's circular. The other thing is that this new pickup is Fishman's attempt to bring things around Full-Circle, to the point where their pickup is considered the best, instead of the worst. The new pickup has only been available for a few weeks.
They may have succeeded, at least in their price range.
http://www.fishman.com/whatsnew/FullCircle.htm
Every report I've seen from people who have tried them has been glowing, and I'm waiting to receive one from
www.elderly.com ($166) right now. They seem to be on a par with the Realist, but with better feedback rejection, and a little better mixture of tone, between string-sound and body-sound.
In fact, there were some recent threads on them right here on TB.
Fishman adjustment wheel pickup http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...ht=full+circle
The BassMax is a nice-sounding pickup. I have one in a Golden Trinity setup. I can fiddle with the stereo preamp, turning the mic up, and the pickup all the way off, then turning the mic off and bringing up the pickup, and there is amazingly little difference between the two.
Before I got the Golden Trinity setup, I was using that BassMax with a Fishman B-II preamp, and when I went to the K&K preamp, I noted a big improvement in sound.
If you're thinking about a K&K pickup, visit
www.urbbob.com and pass a little email with Bob Gollihur (bob@gollihur.com). He has other K&K models which might or might not suit you better than a BassMax, though that seems to be what he recommends most often over the more expensive ones he carries.
The BassMax is definitely a step up from a BP-100, and at $87 from Gollihur it's a bargain by comparison. New BP-100's run about $120, for some reason.
I've used my Bassmax many times going straight into PA heads, with no preamp, and it sounded good. The only time it didn't, the guy was using a studio mixing board into a power amp, rather than a powered mixer. I didn't have the preamp with me, and by the time they finished doing the EQ it sounded mostly acceptable but real short on highs and midrange. Mids are important.
It usually sounds a little better with a preamp, but I can generally get by without one, if need be.
