Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass ARRRGG! Barbera craps out...again!
- Thread starter Jason Hollar
- Start date
I love these pickups, but am on my second one also. First failed twice... Still nothing I've heard comes close to them in tone. Hoping this current one holds up better.
Can't believe he's still in business. The pick up sounds okay, very electricy , and the bridge that he needs to use is so thick it robs much of your acoustic tone. I switched to fishman full circle on that bass and never looked back. I've had the Barbara on two different bases and they both broke multiple times
He’s still in business but no longer making bass pickups. I just love the sound of them.
I have a buddy who swears by this pickup, but his has broken a couple of times too. I can't deal with issues like that in a live setting. I need plug and play that's reliable.
The Barbera pickup seems to have been one of those devices that bridged the gap between the Underwoods of the world and the newer pickups (Lifeline, Full Circle, Vic’s, etc.). It appears to be obsolete now.
The Barbera pickup seems to have been one of those devices that bridged the gap between the Underwoods of the world and the newer pickups (Lifeline, Full Circle, Vic’s, etc.). It appears to be obsolete now.
Last edited:
I looked at the Barbera years ago. He used to send out a little plastic/paper record that demonstrated the pickup. It was expensive even, then.
Based on the that demo and the cost, I passed. I think the issue with the bass version is that pulling a case on and of over that insert damages
the piezo elements over time, where the violins with Barbara’s don’t have that issue because of the way they are placed in their case and the top closes.
Just my take however, it I had my choice of instruments I’d want one one like Nick Lloyd’s neck system that tilts the neck angle so adjusters aren’t necessary.
I like bridges to have as much mass as possible with nothing in the way of sound transmission.
I remember this pickup from back in the day, along with the Wilson. When they were working , their owners loved them. When they weren’t, they made pirate noises like the OP. Good to see that some things remain constant in life!
Hey Don't heap the Wilson in with the Barbera. THe Wilson coupled with an MAS cabinet and a tube preamp sounds damn good. I did a gig the other night with the MAS 46 and Sarno V8 and the stage was super conductive, with the Yamahiko there was so much bass it sounded wrong no matter what I did. Switch to the Wilson and it was a great pickup sound. I really like the Wilson with a tube preamp and the right impedance buffer...Everybody gave up on bridge pickups near the strings in favor of the leg mounted or under leg, but the Wilson can sound great. (and can kick it in a rhythm section)...
The Sarno cuts bass great. I fricken love that preamp. The Wilson has body to it, just more articulate. Somehow in my house I dont like the sound as much but when I get to the gig it sounds great and makes it really easy to play and hear. It's not just about cutting bass I think.
If it's a fender tone stack I think the best that you can get is a flat bass response with the bass at zero. Best to check the duncan tone stack simulator
I went from a Shadow to a Barbera. I loved it but the G string disappeared after many years. A fellow fixed it for me, but it was never quite as good after that so I went back to the Shadow. Around 4 or 5 years ago I switched to a Deuce bridge and Rev Solo but could not get the Solo to sound good so swapped for a Bassmax, which I also could not get to sound good. Changed to a Zac Victor and boom! There it is. My sound. I gotta say, the Zac Victor sounds better than the Barbera ever did
I hear you. My Vic’s Model C has given me the sound that has been in my head that I could never get before. Such a great pickup with amazing customer service! No more $200-$300 pickups for me.
I’ll loo
I’ll look into this as a backup. Tried a Shadow after my first Barbera failed (g string) again. I got a usable sound out of it but didn’t like it nearly as much as the Barbera.
Thanks for the tip.
I’ll look into this as a backup. Tried a Shadow after my first Barbera failed (g string) again. I got a usable sound out of it but didn’t like it nearly as much as the Barbera.
Thanks for the tip.
@Marty Forrer & @tsarter
Could you please be a bit more precise which kind of the very different Shadow pickups you have used?
There are very different ones. One has piezo disks to be glued onto the bridge, another is a clone of the Underwood with one or two elements and a third is a bridge foot pickup (both sides, but could also be used wirth one element only) made from piezo film with a battery adapter for the underlengths.
Without this information it is like not being precise if a Fishman BP100, an Underwood or a Realist has been used.
Could you please be a bit more precise which kind of the very different Shadow pickups you have used?
There are very different ones. One has piezo disks to be glued onto the bridge, another is a clone of the Underwood with one or two elements and a third is a bridge foot pickup (both sides, but could also be used wirth one element only) made from piezo film with a battery adapter for the underlengths.
Without this information it is like not being precise if a Fishman BP100, an Underwood or a Realist has been used.
I think mine was the clone of the underwood with two elements. I’ll have to dig it out of my box
Thanks. I once got the prototype of that bridge wing pickup used.
It was sitting very tight in the wings and I got an unpleasant “compressed” sound. Decades later I opened up the bridge wings just a tiny bit with a fine file, the elements just keep in place if you don’t touch the cable and the sound was so much better that I probably wouldn’t have thought of getting something different then. But at that time I already had a Full Circle and a Shadow NFX bridge foot pickup and didn’t really needed a second backup. But I still kept that pickup that I needed to repair twice during the two decades I used it (shield broken at sensor element).
It was sitting very tight in the wings and I got an unpleasant “compressed” sound. Decades later I opened up the bridge wings just a tiny bit with a fine file, the elements just keep in place if you don’t touch the cable and the sound was so much better that I probably wouldn’t have thought of getting something different then. But at that time I already had a Full Circle and a Shadow NFX bridge foot pickup and didn’t really needed a second backup. But I still kept that pickup that I needed to repair twice during the two decades I used it (shield broken at sensor element).
DoubleMIDI. My Shadow was the Underwood clone, I think it was SH950. I still have the Vic fitted as a backup, but now have a Krivo, and to me it sounds better again. Mainly playing jazz standards these days, and the Krivo with Eurosonic Lights is a far better sound than my old Shadow and Barbera. Funny how things change, I thought the Barbera was the cats whiskers when I got it in the mid 90s. Tried the Upton Solo and a Realist, didn't like either of them. Maybe my bass (German solid top) is fussy about pickups.
