Double Bass Cheap emergency pickup with fast shipping?

[coldsalmon]

I'm playing my first gig in many years on Sunday (3 days from now) and I need a temporary replacement for my Realist, which has finally stopped working after about 25 years. Does anyone have experience with cheap, easily-installed pickups available with fast shipping (from Amazon or elsewhere)? Thanks for the help.

 

[Brad_Pearson]

KNA from Golihur and pay for faster shipping is my recommendation. I think its about $100.

Also I see you are in NY. Theres gotta be a music store near by that carries the realist.

 

[Martin Spure]

David Gage String Instruments
95 Reade St., ground floor
New York, NY 10013

Link Removed

Since he’s the manufacturer, I’d think he’d have a spare Realist, perhaps ? There’s a phone no. to him on the bottom of the page; he might be able to sort you out, in a jiffy…

 

[truckplayer]

I also recommend the KNA from Gollihur. I went from using Realist pickups (two over many years) to KNA. It has worked well on my bass.

 

[Don Hergert]

Vis's Pickups

 

[Mr Ralph]

I 2nd Vics

 

[Earl]

https://www.amazon.com/KNA-Pickups-...693509011&sprefix=kna+bass,aps,83&sr=8-2&th=1

 

[Stuart.C]

Can you just use a mic?

 

[SAlcott]

A or 1 to Chambers St. Gage is very close.

 

[bassically_eli]

Vis's Pickups

+1 for Vic's. They're a fraction of the price of other options, but perform about as well as any bridge wing pickup can. But you'll need to email Zach for shipping time.

The KNA may be easier to fit, though, depending on your bridge.

 

[Jay Corwin]

Vic's model B is one of the best value for the dollar pickups on the market.

 

[Diplock]

Vic's and tell him you need it quick.

 

[coldsalmon]

Thanks for all of the recommendations and help! I called Gage but unfortunately I couldn't make it over there due to my schedule yesterday. I'm going to wait to visit Gage until I can make it a real visit with a setup etc.

I ended up getting the Realist Lifeline, which I just found out about. It made sense for me since I could install it myself, and the description sounded great to me: like my old copper Realist but with more definition. It's not cheap, but I think it should work as a permanent replacement so that's okay. I installed the Lifeline and sound is coming out, so mission accomplished for now.

Can you just use a mic?

Yes, that was my backup plan. I generally dislike using a mic because I tend to move around a lot when I play and I'm always getting off mic, or bumping into it. And I've never managed to get a satisfactory tone with a single microphone in a live performance (though I have tried many, many times). The gig is for a swing band, so I like to spin the bass etc., and having a mic stand in the way makes that difficult. Of course the pickup cable gets twisted around the endpin when the bass spins, but that just means I have to spin it again in the other direction.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[bassically_eli]

Thanks for all of the recommendations and help! I called Gage but unfortunately I couldn't make it over there due to my schedule yesterday. I'm going to wait to visit Gage until I can make it a real visit with a setup etc.

I ended up getting the Realist Lifeline, which I just found out about. It made sense for me since I could install it myself, and the description sounded great to me: like my old copper Realist but with more definition. It's not cheap, but I think it should work as a permanent replacement so that's okay. I installed the Lifeline and sound is coming out, so mission accomplished for now.


Yes, that was my backup plan. I generally dislike using a mic because I tend to move around a lot when I play and I'm always getting off mic, or bumping into it. And I've never managed to get a satisfactory tone with a single microphone in a live performance (though I have tried many, many times). The gig is for a swing band, so I like to spin the bass etc., and having a mic stand in the way makes that difficult. Of course the pickup cable gets twisted around the endpin when the bass spins, but that just means I have to spin it again in the other direction.

Thanks again everyone!

Good choice. The Lifeline is my favorite out of all the pickups I've tried. I think the bridge adjuster location is just a much better place for a pickup then the wing or under the foot.

As for the mic, you should try mounting it to the bass, stuffing it between the bridge legs or behind the tailpiece, etc., But there are plenty of other threads about that.

 

[Don Hergert]

Of course the pickup cable gets twisted around the endpin when the bass spins, but that just means I have to spin it again in the other direction.

Going OT here, but that's a strong argument for going wireless in the near future. It's easy and extremely inexpensive these days, you don't have to get fancy and they are available for a song in either 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz. For example here are some wireless dongles on Amazon (guitar wireless gear works fine on DB).

 

[coldsalmon]

As for the mic, you should try mounting it to the bass, stuffing it between the bridge legs or behind the tailpiece, etc., But there are plenty of other threads about that.

At one point I just got tired of bringing my amp to a restaurant gig I had, but the only way to use the house PA was to use a house mic. So I wrapped their beat-up Shure SM58 in a table napkin and just wedged it behind the tailpiece. Those were the days.

 

[Bruce Calin]

I recommended a Vic's model B to a local band director friend for his school jazz band bass. He let me know how happy he is with it for all the reasons they are so popular- great sound, ease of use, and low cost. They're the same reasons I'm using one myself now.

 

[Ed S]

Gollihur's recommended the KNA DB-1 to me. Anyone have experience to compare it to Vic's B? Or compare Vic's B w/ C?

 

[Earl]

KNA is brighter (think Full Circle), Vic’s is darker (think Realist).

 

[statsc]

KNA and Vic’s Model B are pretty comparable to my ears (not necessarily disagreeing with @Earl though!).