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Double Bass Christmas Present for my Bass

What pickup should i get?

  • Realist

    Votes: 10 25.0%

  • Full Circle

    Votes: 24 60.0%

  • other

    Votes: 6 15.0%
  • Total voters
    40
Kevin Hsieh

Kevin Hsieh

Jun 2, 2007
1,043
2
37
New York City
www.myspace.com
#1
what should i get?:D

i have an underwood so a bridge wing pickup is not an option.
i'm leaning towards the realist because i'd like something that is more acoustic. i've heard that it doesn't sound all too great at louder volumes and it is at times unreliable and feeds back a lot. but i got my underwood and a fdeck HPF for the louder gigs.

if you choose other, please state what and why?
 
#2
On my bass, the FC is marginally better than the Realist. I will say that the Realist may actually sound better, but only at lower volumes. The FC always sounds pretty good.
Either will sound totally different than the Underwood. Certainly, the Realist more so.
 
#4
My realist sounded great while it lasted, which wasn't very long. Really dark. It was pretty much useless by itself into a Contra; might be okay if you have some decent EQ. It was really great for arco stuff compared to any other pickup I used. It basically disintegrated after about a year. I still have it in the whatnot drawer along with all my old strings, never bothered to rehab it. When it crapped out, I installed a K&K Double Big Twin. Sounds great, never gave me any problems, good price. Of course, I also pulled the trigger on the AMT mic, but that's another story.
 
#10
On one bass I have the Realist installed with gut strings. That sounds good through my GK MB150.

On the other I have the K & K Bass Max installed with Velvet Garbos. That sounds better (to me) through my GK MB150.

There's a third bass at home now, a King Moretone, the baby brother (in size) to the 2 American Standards. There's another Realist pickup at the house as well, but it hasn't been installed. If I were to buy another pickup, right now, it would be the Bass Max. I like the sound of it better.

YMMV
 
#11
I've been a Realist guy for 10 years. They do sound very different on different basses. You also have to like that 'old school' sound. I use it with a GK MB150 and think the two match very well. I just run the eq flat and go.

I have a student that has a Full Circle. It sounds very good too. A little bright for my taste going flat. I'm sure you could eq out that out if you wanted though.
 
#12
Is there anywhere in the NYC area that stocks both pickups and would let you try them both out? When I was looking for a new pickup a few years ago I was able to get a shop to put the Full Circle, Realist, Stat-B, and Bass Max all on my bass. They weren't too thrilled about the idea, but I promised them I would buy one of them so they did it. I ended up getting the Full Circle, but the Realist was a close second.

On an unrelated note, you have a PM.
 
#13
I used a realist for many years and am now using a FC. i have come to a conclusion that i like the natural tone of the realist better but for some reason it doesn't do well at high volumes.

also, i tend to think that a realist works better for guys who don't have a huge acoustic sound (not that thats bad) and therefore the bass doesn't vibrate too much which I think can cause a loss of clarity in the amped sound.

I use wrapped gut strings and pull hard for the sound and generally dont use amps. I find the FC more usable for this because the tone is less influenced by the bass vibrating. I kind of want a more "generic" sound because when I use an amp, it's typically just to support what the bass already puts out, not really "reproduce" it. This is just my experience and like all of us, I hate pickups and am generally at least a bit unhappy with any result.



However, watch the treble with the FC...it can get very twangy.
 
#14
I switched out my BassMax for a Full Circle. The FC is much more resistant to feedback. I have struggled with this lately on some louder stages.

Very pleased with the Full Circle. More detail in the midrange. The tone can also be adjusted by rotating the pickup which is quite handy.

Yep... no question the Full Circle is more expensive. However I liked it so much I bought one for my other bass!
 
#15
The Realist is a nice contrast to the Underwood. It is kind of dark but you can plug it into alot of slabby-type amps and get a good tone. Lately I've been using the Realist at lowish volumes and then switching to the Underwood when I need to ugly through a louder stage sound. I also have big plastic bridge adjusters and have never bothered to see if the Full Circle will fit. I guess I'm not really on the hunt so to speak.

I do often blend in a cheapish small condenser mic (Joe Meek) which I cram through the string afterlength in a block of foam. It sits right between my bridge feet and points toward the top of the bass at about 30 degrees. I find the mic improves the sound of both pickups but isn't really useful by itself.

I just sent Marco a PM today to find out what he was using on this clip. He recalls that it was the Realist, maybe or maybe not mixed with a clip-on mic. Of course, it sounds great because it's Marco!

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/marcopanascia/TouchOfYourLips.mp3

W
 
#16
my reasoning is that i already have a highly reliable pickup for high volume gigs. i tried a realist on a christopher bass that gage lent me while my bass was in the shop and really enjoyed the tone.

i think it's different if i was thinking about taking off the underwood. but i'm keeping my underwood on and adding something...

any objections? all comments are appreciated.
 
#20
I think Marc’s GAS warning is sound. But I also think sometimes a willingness to experiment (esp. w/ pickups and strings) is just part of our cost of doing business w/ amplified DB.

Since it can be rather difficult to accurately predict how any type pickup will sound with one particular bass and rig and strings, and given each player’s variance in tastes, I think it may be desirable to try several, over time ... That is if you really want to know what they will sound like, on your bass, instead of wondering what they might sound like. For me, I find the latter to be just as costly in a way as the former.
 

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