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Double Bass Acoustic pickup for upright bass?

S

ShiftyShift

Guest
Mar 12, 2012
398
2
#1
I have re-entered my upright bass playing career, and I need some sort of amplification for it. I'm not really sure what I should use, a transducer/piezo element (I'm not 100% sure what it is, I'm a bit of a noob about acoustic amplification :help:), or can I use an acoustic guitar pickup mounted at the end of the fingerboard? I need this pickup/transducer thing to be under 80$, and be reliable (I don't really want to have to replace it any time soon), and not have an extreme amount of feedback. Any thoughts?
 
#2
It's really hard to find a good pickup solution for under $80. A used underwood or k&k bassmax might be your best bet. However, both these pickups will need a preamp to sound their best. You really need a budget more in the 150 range. It is really tough to amplify the upright bass, and lots of guys on this forum have put years into it, and thousands of dollars. What will help, is if you describe your bass, your amp, your playing style and goals. A jazz player with a 100 year old carved bass will have different needs than a bluegrass player with an engelhardt. Let us know some more info about you please.
 
#3
The bass I am using is some sort of cheap Canadian bass thats probably around 50 years old. The action is pretty high (but comfortable), and I will ONLY be playing figerstyle/pizzicato. My amp is a 100 watt no-name bass amp (I don't need to be terribly loud). I want the pickup to basically just amplify the strings, I don't need all the nuances of the instrument. I'll be playing in a school band, so basically the stuff I'll be playing will be up tempo (non slapping) stuff.
 
#4
Well, I would check the tb classifieds for either of the two pickups I mentioned. Most pickups just amplify the sound of the strings anyway, unless you are spending bucks on a system like the erhlund. Any of the wingmounted piezo pickups will be ok for you, Upton is another one that come up on the classifieds often. What might matter more is new strings, a new bridge, or a setup for the bass. And please tell me you have a teacher of some kind. Upright bass is not a good instruments to go self taught as serious injury can result from bad technique. Carpal tunnel and tendinitis or something like that. Best of luck.
 
#5
engedi1 said:
Well, I would check the tb classifieds for either of the two pickups I mentioned. Most pickups just amplify the sound of the strings anyway, unless you are spending bucks on a system like the erhlund. Any of the wingmounted piezo pickups will be ok for you, Upton is another one that come up on the classifieds often. What might matter more is new strings, a new bridge, or a setup for the bass. And please tell me you have a teacher of some kind. Upright bass is not a good instruments to go self taught as serious injury can result from bad technique. Carpal tunnel and tendinitis or something like that. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

No way to get a setup (school instrument), no chance of a new bridge, and the bass has had new strings in the last year. No teacher, but I have asked numerous professionals if my tecnique was okay, and they said it was very unusual, but would work fine (I use a technique thats a lot more like an electric bass). But, to answer my original question, could I use an acoustic pickup to amplify the bass to some extent?
 
#9
I am not sure how you would mount
The pickup in way that would work. Also, some strings won't work with magnetic pickups. That is why most bass players use piezo pickups, as they will work with every string type. You will just have to figure out how to mount it, and then you will have no guarantee it will work at all.
 
#10
engedi1 said:
I am not sure how you would mount
The pickup in way that would work. Also, some strings won't work with magnetic pickups. That is why most bass players use piezo pickups, as they will work with every string type. You will just have to figure out how to mount it, and then you will have no guarantee it will work at all.
Click to expand...

Well, the strings on the bass currently appear to be some sort of mostly flat (They're almost flats, too flat to be rounds but not flat enough to be flats.) I'm pretty sure the strings are steel strings, not gut or faux gut. The pickup I'm looking at has mounting clamps attahced, and I'm planning to mount it at the end on the fingerboard.
 
#14
ShiftyShift said:
I have re-entered my upright bass playing career, and I need some sort of amplification for it. I'm not really sure what I should use, a transducer/piezo element (I'm not 100% sure what it is, I'm a bit of a noob about acoustic amplification :help:), or can I use an acoustic guitar pickup mounted at the end of the fingerboard? I need this pickup/transducer thing to be under 80$, and be reliable (I don't really want to have to replace it any time soon), and not have an extreme amount of feedback. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
http://www.sixrounds.com - get their Original model, tastes great, less filling, slides into the bass side bridge wing. I've had mine on my bass for a few years, works great.

-S-
 

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