I was wondering if anyone has ever had a problem with their Underwood? Recently iv been noticing distortion when I play a little harder. At first I thought it was my amp or a bad cable but then I realized it was only happening with my upright. When I play my electric thought the same amp its totally fine. Do piezo pickups go bad? I think mine is really old as it was on the bass when I bought it and the previous owner hadn't played it in years. Any thoughts?
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Double Bass Can an Underwood pickup go bad?
- Thread starter limmlimm
- Start date
Yes they can. I used one side of an Underwood for a while after the other side died. It was the far side that went bad on mine so I just cut it off and peeled back the shielding to avoid a short. Check yours. If one side is still good it might still work for you at least as a backup if not your main pickup.
Have you checked the fit of the elements in the wing slots? One might be (too) loose and vibrating. If it is loose, try shimming with a piece of paper or a business card to see if it improves or gets worse.
Try having someone lightly hold/touch the elements while you play to see if the "distortion" goes away.
Try removing 1 element at a time to see if the problem is specific to only 1 of the elements.
Good Luck.
Agree with both that it can go bad, and with Don that you may also be hearing the pickup amplify a vibration. I recently heard a student play at a soundcheck (not an Underwood, but same principle) and thought that his amplifier was about to fracture apart and dissolve on the spot. Turns out that jack where the cable plugs in was loose and causing the cable connection to vibrate, but it too a bit of sleuthing to find the problem. Don's advice is sound.
No it just stopped working. As Don and Chris recommend check for a loose fit (easily shimmed with saxophone reeds) and check for shorting elsewhere in the system. When checking the wingslot fit you can also try over-shimming it and squashing the hell outta the pickup. This won't give you very nice sound but it might tell you if the element itself is delaminating and causing the problem.
I needed to repair my Shadow SH-950 (it's the prototype, so it might have some flaws in manufacturing) twice because of a broken shield connection at one element. Try to wiggle the cable(s) at the elements. If you get crackling or temporary sound it might be a broken cable. If this is the case, tell Don Underwood what you found out and I'm sure he will repair or replace it.
My understanding is that Don is retired and his daughters are running the company (and quite well, by all reports).
I had #008. About eight years ago I called Don to let him know my pickup was "finally" going bad. He absolutely insisted on sending me a new one. I tried to argue with him that I had owned the pickup many years longer than I ever expected, and I was actually happy to buy another. He still gave me a free replacement.
I had a similar experience when my Underwood pickup crapped out after at least 10 years of use. Don sent me a brand new one and wouldn't hear of taking any money for it.
I've had some recent correspondence with one of the girls. I don't think they're replacing pick-ups the way they used to. I got 20+ years out of my first one before it started acting funny. Don't know if Don is retired or not but he told me that to test the pick-up you plug in, place one the elements between your fingers and squeeze them. If there's a crackling noise it's about time to replace it.
I've heard by several reliable sources that Don't daughter is ow in charge of the company and operations. Returns are not as honored with lifetime replacement as Don did, plus the price has gone up considerably.
I've heard that Don't daughter is running things now and that there is a new and more restrictive return policy.
- Aug 30, 2017
- 9
- 37
- Disclosures
- Head of Operations, Underwood Pickups
Hi fellow bassists,
Melissa from Underwood Pickups here. Just checking in, I know I'm not on here a lot, but for future people looking at this forum just want to say that we are always willing to help you guys out with any issues you may have. Just contact us! We do have a warranty policy, but it is by no means restrictive, most inquiries are taken on a case by case situation. There are plenty of happy customers who have just asked us for help. FYI, we don't recommend or suggest cutting off the end case at all because the pickup is a closed circuit design (you need both transducers) and this will ruin the pickup that may have been able to have been repaired. Also to address the prices, we are and have always been competitive with our pricing in the bass pickup world. Parts, gas, shipping, etc. all go up in price and we have never raised anything more than 8%, which is a standard price increase that most manufacturers of anything do at least once a year (if they are not able to increase their returns by finding lower priced sources for labor or materials). Our last increase was two years ago, and that was in the wholesale market. Our retail price we have kept the same for several years. I'd also like to mention that we are 100% made in the USA. Always have been, as it's a family business. We are very careful to source nearly all of our parts from US companies, as well. We are very thankful for all the support over the years. By the way, Don is still on hand to help out with lots of advice. So do say hi!
Melissa from Underwood Pickups here. Just checking in, I know I'm not on here a lot, but for future people looking at this forum just want to say that we are always willing to help you guys out with any issues you may have. Just contact us! We do have a warranty policy, but it is by no means restrictive, most inquiries are taken on a case by case situation. There are plenty of happy customers who have just asked us for help. FYI, we don't recommend or suggest cutting off the end case at all because the pickup is a closed circuit design (you need both transducers) and this will ruin the pickup that may have been able to have been repaired. Also to address the prices, we are and have always been competitive with our pricing in the bass pickup world. Parts, gas, shipping, etc. all go up in price and we have never raised anything more than 8%, which is a standard price increase that most manufacturers of anything do at least once a year (if they are not able to increase their returns by finding lower priced sources for labor or materials). Our last increase was two years ago, and that was in the wholesale market. Our retail price we have kept the same for several years. I'd also like to mention that we are 100% made in the USA. Always have been, as it's a family business. We are very careful to source nearly all of our parts from US companies, as well. We are very thankful for all the support over the years. By the way, Don is still on hand to help out with lots of advice. So do say hi!
- Aug 30, 2017
- 9
- 37
- Disclosures
- Head of Operations, Underwood Pickups
