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Double Bass Filing Bridge Wing for Pickup Installation

jdh3000

jdh3000

May 16, 2016
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#1
I just got a Vic's pickup that is a little thicker than I anticipated.

I have to file the bridge a bit.... Would it be better to file down and not up?

Filing up would be easier because there's less mass, but looks like it would compromise the integrity of the material.

Also, it should be a real fine file, correct?

Thanks!
 
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#2
Not sure about up or down, I have fitted different ones on my basses and both top and bottom might need work if one or both have any curves.
Yes, a very fine file and/or fine sandpaper wrapped around a steel ruler depending on how much you need to remove. Take a bit at a time, you can't put it back on. One of my pickups is a KNA DB1 and it comes with thin wooden shims to make final adjustments. I'm no expert but I know the amount of pressure on the pickup is very important, too much or two little can make a real difference in performance and each pickup seems to need a different amount of pressure so you will need to experiment a bit to get best performance. Good luck!
 
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#4
JD, you may want to shoot off an email to Zak Victor to get his recommendation. He's very good about service, including responding about questions.

(My bridge is made for bridge wing pickups on either or both sides, and uses a set screw to tighten the pickup in place, so I can't address this from experience.)

I hope you like the pickup when it's in place!
 
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#5
You might have better luck over on the upright bass side of the forum, but yes, usually you would file the lower surface (highlighted in green below) because there's less risk of breaking off the 'arm'.
xtzad.jpg
 
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#6
Up and Away said:
Not sure about up or down, I have fitted different ones on my basses and both top and bottom might need work if one or both have any curves.
Yes, a very fine file and/or fine sandpaper wrapped around a steel ruler depending on how much you need to remove. Take a bit at a time, you can't put it back on. One of my pickups is a KNA DB1 and it comes with thin wooden shims to make final adjustments. I'm no expert but I know the amount of pressure on the pickup is very important, too much or two little can make a real difference in performance and each pickup seems to need a different amount of pressure so you will need to experiment a bit to get best performance. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm going to gather a few shims just in case. Yes, I don't want to get carried away.
Thank you!

Don Hergert said:
JD, you may want to shoot off an email to Zak Victor to get his recommendation. He's very good about service, including responding about questions.

(My bridge is made for bridge wing pickups on either or both sides, and uses a set screw to tighten the pickup in place, so I can't address this from experience.)

I hope you like the pickup when it's in place!
Click to expand...

Thanks Don! Yea ai was in contact with Zac before ordering.

I've been experimenting with the click in junction with my realist. I'm keeping it on there for a backup, all it takes is a splitter to make them work together.
But I'm sure the model c will work good in stereo. Right now I'm fusing them with my zoom. I'm sure my boss LS-2 would s do as well or better.
 
#9
I would take the green area down to flat to match the area of the pickup, then carefully remove material from the wing - parallel to your "green" flat area - to adjust the pressure on the pickup. Too tight is no good, but too loose is easily fixed with a sax reed used as a wedge, so don't worry about removing too much material. Check often and don't go crazy removing wood, it will be fine...

Some bridges will not work well for wing mount pickups. A pic of your bridge would help us identify how to proceed.
 
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#10
The click pickup on the Model C is so strong that I've found I can attach it to the underside of my fingerboard just with Velcro. At least for my needs, it doesn't seem to need any tension to produce good strong click tone, like we always assume the bridge wing pickup needs. Zac's double crystal pickups may be the reason for this, or it may also be that we're looking more seriously for tone with the bridge wing pickup and for good tone tension may be required.

More than once I've thought seriusly about using a clothes pin or a binder clip to hold a bridge wing piezo on a bridge without modding the bridge. Haven't tried it on a standard wooden bridge yet, but this would allow experimentation for the best location.
 
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#14
carl h. said:
I would take the green area down to flat to match the area of the pickup, then carefully remove material from the wing - parallel to your "green" flat area - to adjust the pressure on the pickup. Too tight is no good, but too loose is easily fixed with a sax reed used as a wedge, so don't worry about removing too much material. Check often and don't go crazy removing wood, it will be fine...

Some bridges will not work well for wing mount pickups. A pic of your bridge would help us identify how to proceed.
Click to expand...

Yea I should have posted a pic... I will when I get home. It's more flat and less sloped than yhe picture above.

Thank you!
 
#15
Don Hergert said:
The click pickup on the Model C is so strong that I've found I can attach it to the underside of my fingerboard just with Velcro. At least for my needs, it doesn't seem to need any tension to produce good strong click tone, like we always assume the bridge wing pickup needs. Zac's double crystal pickups may be the reason for this, or it may also be that we're looking more seriously for tone with the bridge wing pickup and for good tone tension may be required.

More than once I've thought seriusly about using a clothes pin or a binder clip to hold a bridge wing piezo on a bridge without modding the bridge. Haven't tried it on a standard wooden bridge yet, but this would allow experimentation for the best location.
Click to expand...


Yea it seems to be a pretty hot click pickup.
On your k&k, did you roll off the bass on the click side? The way I'm running it in my experimental stage, I found it do be generating some bass ovrrtones, so I bumped it through an eq pedal to dual that back... I was hoping the k&k could remedy that.
 
#16
The most important part (beyond the „pressure“) would be that both sides are uncurved. So for the bridge on the picture before, I would take some wood from both sides, to get a straight part parallel on both sides.
If it is possible to avoid shims, that would be the best solution. They don‘t get lost if you need to remove the pickup, putting it in or taking it out is done really quickly. More important if you have several basses or bridges, but it can be helpful.
I haven‘t ever tried it, but if you took a tiny bit too much away, you might make the bridge contact area a little bit wet (without the pickup in) so the wood swells a bit and you have a second try where you can be more cautious to take the tiniest bit of wood away if needed.

Use very little pressure on the file. Think of handling it like very fine sandpaper or you easily take away far too much.
||: File, check :||
 
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#18
I harvested a K&K wing pickup from an old bass, and would like to install it on my own bass. I've read the pressure fit is important but like how much? Should it fit like when one uses a feeler gauge to set gap on spark plugs, or is that too loose? Also, I think I read about Upton's wooden wing pup, that to leave the wing tip profile a bit rounded so you can adjust where on the pup the squeeze is applied. Anyone have any experience with this nuance?
 
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#20
DoubleMIDI said:
The most important part (beyond the „pressure“) would be that both sides are uncurved. So for the bridge on the picture before, I would take some wood from both sides, to get a straight part parallel on both sides.
If it is possible to avoid shims, that would be the best solution. They don‘t get lost if you need to remove the pickup, putting it in or taking it out is done really quickly. More important if you have several basses or bridges, but it can be helpful.
I haven‘t ever tried it, but if you took a tiny bit too much away, you might make the bridge contact area a little bit wet (without the pickup in) so the wood swells a bit and you have a second try where you can be more cautious to take the tiniest bit of wood away if needed.

Use very little pressure on the file. Think of handling it like very fine sandpaper or you easily take away far too much.
||: File, check :||
Click to expand...

I will definitely take it very slow. The paper from Vic's said not too loos or too tight; loose enough to move to get the sound right, but tight enough to not fall out.

I wish I could just puddy it to the bridge.

KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
An emery board will work just fine.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if an emory board would do the trick... Thanks!
 
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