Double Bass Can I Remove the 1/4" Jack From a K&K Piezo?

[Nate74]

I'm wanting to use a K&K piezo pickup, like a Pure Bass, along with FDeck's quick and dirty Preamp in a electric upright bass I'm about halfway though building.

I don't have the pickup yet, but I'm wondering, can I unsolder the 1/4" jack from the leads and right into the preamp?

I can't imagine why not, but I figured I'd best ask...

 

[fdeck]

I have a K&K Bass Max, which has one of those jacks that mounts on the afterlengths. I wanted a tailpiece mounted jack. It was easy to unscrew the cap from the jack, de-solder the cable, and (in my case) splice it onto a longer wire.

 

[Nate74]

Thanks fdeck! I was sort of hoping you would show up.

Any input on which K&K I should be looking at? My design will have a 3.5 inch tall bridge, so I believe the Bass Max that you mentioned would give me an unbalanced sound across the strings. Should I be looking at a model where the contacts stick to the side of the bridge?

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Thanks fdeck! I was sort of hoping you would show up.

Any input on which K&K I should be looking at? My design will have a 3.5 inch tall bridge, so I believe the Bass Max that you mentioned would give me an unbalanced sound across the strings. Should I be looking at a model where the contacts stick to the side of the bridge?

As you assume a wing-mounted pickup won't do the job as it will favor the pair of strings on one side over the other. A top-mounted pickup like the K&K Double Big Twin or Fishman BP100 would work, or a lower one-side pickup like the Fishman Full Circle (better IMHO, but it depends on the type of response you want) provided the adjusters are very close to the bottom of the bridge. Finally, a Realist could be considered but only if the top of your EUB is active.

 

[Nate74]

Between Bob and Fdeck... this thing had better sound good

Bob, since you'll be getting some business from me for the pickup and maybe some other TBD items, it's great to hear from you!

I've been thinking the Double Big Twin would be the answer for me, but I keep reading that the orientation of the contacts makes a difference. Vertical vibration vs. Side-to-side vibration, etc.

Since I went with a 5" fingerboard radius and fairly narrow string spacing, I don't plan on bowing this. Will as "stick on the side" bridge mount Piezzo fit the bill?

I'm also wondering what I should keep in mind as I make the bridge. I was planning on maple for it, with some of Bob's height adjuster thumb screws. Do I want to keep it as thin as possible? The whole bridge assembly will only be about 2.25" tall with the current design. I could still change the neck/body angle from 88 degrees to say 86 degrees which would increase that by about 1.25".

It's nice to have options, but sometimes too many options hurt my brain...

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Between Bob and Fdeck... this thing had better sound good

Bob, since you'll be getting some business from me for the pickup and maybe some other TBD items, it's great to hear from you!

I've been thinking the Double Big Twin would be the answer for me, but I keep reading that the orientation of the contacts makes a difference. Vertical vibration vs. Side-to-side vibration, etc.

Since I went with a 5" fingerboard radius and fairly narrow string spacing, I don't plan on bowing this. Will as "stick on the side" bridge mount Piezzo fit the bill?

I'm also wondering what I should keep in mind as I make the bridge. I was planning on maple for it, with some of Bob's height adjuster thumb screws. Do I want to keep it as thin as possible? The whole bridge assembly will only be about 2.25" tall with the current design. I could still change the neck/body angle from 88 degrees to say 86 degrees which would increase that by about 1.25".

It's nice to have options, but sometimes too many options hurt my brain...

I've used the Double Big Twin with arco and pizz, and while the response is different (and is with virtually every pickup I've ever played) they are not so different as to make me feel the need for different orientation or another "side mounted" pickup.

I would suggest experimenting with bridge sizes and even materials. I did so with my own EUB project and think you'll be wise to try different things to see which works best. The bridge of EUBs is often, in effect, 'the bass', since the instrument gets its voice from how the bridge moves and is picked up and delivered by the attached transducer(s).

Generally speaking, the harder the wood, the brighter and more detailed the sound. Just as an example, I put the Double Big Twin on a graphite URB bass bridge - the detail and lack of warmth was painful.

Good luck with the project.