Double Bass Blending two pickups using k&k preamp?

[EvanGregor]

Hey everyone, I sent this question to Bob G but figured your collective wisdom might have some ideas as well.

Hopefully this is clear, it might be less so if you are not familiar with this K&K thing. Basically it's a combo wing/string pickup that you plug into the preamp w/ a stereo cable whch then splits it into two signals. If you plug in a mono cord, you just get the string pickup. I haven't used this thing in years as i like the FC / realist etc more, but i find i'm often too dark/boomy in loud situations and the string pickup- tinny and trebly and annoying by itself, adds a nice thing to FC. Wondering if i can blend the two using that 'stereo' k&k preamp- see below. Thanks all.
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Hey Bob- I have the k&k preamp as part of the bass master pro- which takes the input from the stereo cable and splits it into separate channels w/ two volumes/eq.

I’m really liking a combination of the full circle and the string pickup part of the pro (which is all you get when you plug a mono cable into the jack)

SO, could I use a stereo connection.. like a y connector or something (which I guess would have to be stereo on the male end too), plug a line from the full circle and a line from the pro in, and then have the preamp knobs work for both the FC and the string pickup? Is it clear what I am asking and if so do you know what I would need? Thanks much.

 

[Gearhead43]

Yes, you can use a Y-cable that has two female mono jacks and one stereo plug, plug the stereo plug into the K&K and blend away. You will need to run short patch cables from the pickups to the Y-cables.

When I was blending two pickups I had the K&K velcroed to my amp, and used a Dean Markley stereo cable:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Dean-Markley-West-Coast-Series-20-Stereo-Cable?sku=330237

That way I didn't have to use patch cords, y-cables, or mount the K&K to my bass. The K&K has plenty of gain to power a long cable. This cable worked well (considering it's low price) and I didn't notice any loss of tone. All I had to do was plug into my two pickups, & plug into my K&K. It will take some time to set your gain and EQ levels, but when you find your settings it works well.

 

[drurb]

...but you could get lucky (or unlucky) depending upon the phase relations of the two signals you are mixing. Give it a try.

 

[Mark Perna]

Depending on what amp you are using, you can run one of the pickups into the effects out and blend in as much of the other pickup as you want. No need for Y cables at all.

I sometimes do this with a Focus. My primary pickup is a BP-100 which generally works very well with my bass but there are times like when I'm in a very bright space, the stringiness of the BP-100 can get overwhelming. I also have a Schertler Stat-B on the bass. I'll run the Stat-B in the effects out and blend a little bit to the BP-100. It add a bit of body and thump to the sound. It isn't a perfect solution but it is way better than the BP-100 alone in those situations.

Interesting, the Focus has a second channel but I actually like the sound of blending the pickups through the effects out a little bit better.

mark

 

[Gearhead43]

He has a K&K dual channel preamp, generally you use them so you don't have to run two cables from your bass to the amp - thus the Y-cable.