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Double Bass DPA 4099 vs AMT SP25B

#421
Ric Vice said:
Jonas,
This is very interesting, but as you say it's only for comparison. I was thinking that it might be possible to mount one of the units (Realist or APT Flex)under the G foot of the bridge, but wouldn't that put it to far away from the bass bar and thus give you a less than ideal sound? It could also really compromise the bridge with two elements sitting between the bridge feet and the top of the bass. Additionally, you would have two pickup elements of different thicknesses on opposing sides of the bridge. Not a lot of difference mind you, but not the same either.


Ric
Click to expand...


Well, when I came across the Realist for the first time, my thought was: do I really want to have something that thick and soft under my (accurately fitted) bridge feet? But: the Realist does sound good (in general), and many many players use it without significant loss of sound quality. So what?
The APTflex just adds 0,5 mm of thickness, so doesn't change much. With the height adjusters, I can adopt the bridge heights for each side accordingly.
I'm not sure if using pickups under both feet helps: in most cases, the bassbar side gives the far better results, you don't have to deal with phase cancelling.
 
#422
Rick Middleton said:
Jonas, thanks for that photo - is that a Full Circle on there as well?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's my pickup testing bass with (currently) as much as 7 pickups installed. Full Circle, Realist (Wood), APTflex, Upton, ANS Bassbalsereit, Wilson K1 and Ehrlund. I'm thinking of making some sound clips, along with the dpa4099 (--> 8 tracks), but haven't found time yet.
 
#424
geoffbassist said:
Hi Jonas,
you have an amazing web site! Thanks for all your hard work.
I would love to try your comparison bass. Which pickup do you prefer for everyday gigs?

Cheers Geoff
Click to expand...

+
I first encountered the Headway EDB-1 on Jonas' site. It's the most comprehensive and useful listing of all the different pickups and amps in the world. There's also a good balance between the amps and pickups that are designed in Europe alongside the U.S. and Asian products. It's a real treasure. Kudos to him for all the hard work putting site together and keeping it up to date.

Ric
 
#425
Ric Vice said:
+
I first encountered the Headway EDB-1 on Jonas' site. It's the most comprehensive and useful listing of all the different pickups and amps in the world. There's also a good balance between the amps and pickups that are designed in Europe alongside the U.S. and Asian products. It's a real treasure. Kudos to him for all the hard work putting site together and keeping it up to date.

Ric
Click to expand...

Amen to that.
 
#429
jonas said:
Yes, it's my pickup testing bass with (currently) as much as 7 pickups installed. Full Circle, Realist (Wood), APTflex, Upton, ANS Bassbalsereit, Wilson K1 and Ehrlund. I'm thinking of making some sound clips, along with the dpa4099 (--> 8 tracks), but haven't found time yet.
Click to expand...

I've had a look through your site Jonas, and it's a great source of information. Thanks for your work on that :)

It would be really great if you do get time to make some sound clips with your pickup testing bass. Preferably with all pickups (and the 4099!) recorded simultaneously (and a drumkit playing in the room please?). Then we will be able to compare each clip, and decide for ourselves which pickup might work best for us.

I'm aware that every bass has it's own charachter that may suit one pickup rather than another, but I would agree with comments earlier in this thread that each pickup also has it's own character that should still be noticeable even when combined with a particular bass's own unique qualities.

Thinking about it.... making the sound clips does seem like a bit of a job actually - you'd need 7 or 8 identical >1M Ohm preamps to get a good and comparable signal from each piezo pickup.... and who has those lying around?


Rick
 
#430
Rick Middleton said:
Thinking about it.... making the sound clips does seem like a bit of a job actually - you'd need 7 or 8 identical >1M Ohm preamps to get a good and comparable signal from each piezo pickup.... and who has those lying around?


Rick
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I will make this clips, but probably not before August/September. I will use the Lehle Sunday Driver preamps for that, since they have no EQ controls, so they won't alter the pickups' sound too much.

Jonas
 
#431
geoffbassist said:
Hi Jonas,
you have an amazing web site! Thanks for all your hard work.
I would love to try your comparison bass. Which pickup do you prefer for everyday gigs?

Cheers Geoff
Click to expand...

Thanks.
I have a couple of basses, but the APTflex works fine on all of them. And it's easy to mount. However, I also have the Wilson K1 on my Framus, and the Bassbalsereit pickup on my Christophers. I choose whatever sounds better in a particular setting and location (also depending on what amp/preamp I use). I don't mix them - too much work ;-)
Jonas
 
#433
Feral Feline said:
Did anyone DL the pics that Vunz posted?

The links to them don't work anymore and a lot of people praised his use of the violin attachment, so I'm curious what the deal was with his mounting method.
Click to expand...
I sent Vunz an email, and he sent me these pics. Not sure if they are the same ones he originally posted, but here they are.
 

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#434
bolo said:
I sent Vunz an email, and he sent me these pics. Not sure if they are the same ones he originally posted, but here they are.
Click to expand...

I tried this mount with my 4099 and it just kept falling off the bridge or laying right up against the top. IMHO the bass clip works better on my bass, than violin clip and it frees up the bridge and f holes. Whether or not that actually makes any difference in the sound of the bass is debatable, but it makes me feel more comfortable. Personally, I'd get the bass mount version, now that it's available. Just my opinion though.

Ric
 
#440
Ric Vice said:
What I've experienced so far is that the 4099 has very good off axis rejection, so the Realist seems to feedback way before the mic does.

Ric
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I was just re-reading your post again Ric, and if what you just said is true, that is totally amazing!! If it really is as you say I will definately get a 4099. I've been looking at the Ehrlund Acoustic Pickup too as they sound a bit like a mic but supposedly have excellent feedback resistance.

Will I really be able to get enough level off the 4099 through backline to compete with a drummer?

If I'll need to blend some Realist... how much 50/50?

With my Realist what tends to happen with feedback is that the body of the instrument amplifies the sound from my backline speaker, which in turn gets picked up and reamplified... you know how it is! It is often the open D string that is the culprit, although I have noticed problems with 'fretted' B on the A string in some rooms.

Is this what happens with the 4099 in your experience then, or is the feedback you get more of the traditional 'squeal' as you mentioned before??

I'm still waiting for my EA stuff :hmm: ... Apparently it was shipped by US parcel mail or something and the UK retailer reckons they are normally about as speedy as our Royal Mail Parcelforce (parcelfarce!).

On a happier note I have adjusted by soundpost (it was leaning at a peculiar angle) and done some work on my bridge (also leaning at a wierd angle) and I just can't stop playing my bass now, it sounds and feels so good.

Rick

(PS - check my thread about my bendy bridge and see what
you think it will do... I might take time lapse photos for fun!)
 

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