Double Bass Full Circle issues

[ole Jason]

I've had a number of FCs, and I think that one important issue is making sure that your bridge stays vertical over time, not exerting too much stress on one aspect of the adjuster. I'm not always a perfect citizen about monitoring this bit of basic maintenance.

Yeah I'm still leaning towards that ultimately being the issue.... something creating uneven pressure on the wheel. I've leveled the contact area that abuts the wheel but I'm thinking the downward force from the strings to the adjuster is uneven just enough to cause issues but not be overtly visually apparent. It's just odd because I'd expect that to cause the pickup to cut in and out as things are manipulated but it's either 100% working or not working, there is really no in between.

My bass has a couple small rib cracks that need to be addressed and I plan on having the Bass Cellar guys double check the leveling of the bridge when it's there. If I haven't gotten it figured out by then I think that will help. I'll also try the replacement FC when it arrives but I'm hesitant to believe the pickup itself is at fault.

 

[Joshua]

I'm beginning to wonder if the fact that I've had such good luck with my FC pickups over the years is that they were installed by Nnick Lloyd, who took great pains to make sure the part of the bridge that contacted the wheel was perfectly flat on both basses.

That's a solid theory. I had one installed by Arnold Schnitzer @ a dozen years ago and it's still going strong. Note that I'm knocking on wood as I type this.

 

[ole Jason]

Funny enough I had two gigs over the weekend and the FC worked just fine on both of them. Could just be a coincidence but things started working again when the weather changed here in Louisville. Maybe when it was cold/dry the bridge or top was shrinking just enough when the bass left home to impact how much pressure was applied to the adjuster wheel? That would kind of line up with how I could get it working at home but then it would fail when I got to a gig.

I'm keeping an eye on it, I'm hesitant to change anything now that it seems to be working. I have the same gigs this weekend to try it out again. Thanks for reading along! As frustrated as I've been with things at this point I'm just curious what the actual problem is. I'll get it figured out even if it takes me until next winter haha

 

[ole Jason]

And it worked fine on every gig and rehearsal this week.. weird! It really does seem like the seasonal shift "fixed" the problem which I suspect is ultimately the bridge fitment. I'll have the Cellar guys take a look at my bridge when it's up there but fingers are crossed this is the end of my trouble until Winter rolls around again.

 

[Turnaround]

That's a solid theory. I had one installed by Arnold Schnitzer @ a dozen years ago and it's still going strong. Note that I'm knocking on wood as I type this.

Just be careful - knocking on wood has been known to cause cracks. Try tapping on CF instead.

 

[ole Jason]

I hadn't really updated this thread but the pickup did eventually start having issues again so I switched to my Shen for gigs after buying a brand new Full Circle for it, foolishly assuming all my issues were related to the bass somehow. Now the real fun, would you believe that Full Circle died on a gig last night? This makes three Full Circles dead within six months lol. I honestly don't see how that is even possible but it is what it is. I'll pull the pickup and send it back to Fishman for repair but I just can't trust this system for gigs anymore.

I'm going to order a LifeLine this week and see how that goes. The Vic's pickup will have to get me through gigs today and Tuesday, hopefully I can get the Realist before next weekend.

 

[Endlesssolo]

If you like the sound of the full circle, just not the reliability, the pickup you want is the Yamahiko. It’s the closest in sound that I’ve tried. The lifeline, at least on my bass, is very dark and lacks any upper mids.

 

[Bruce Calin]

I still have a full circle that gave out years ago and was never tempted to replace it. I played a fairly loud gig last night outdoors so I used the Vic's. I have to say, gang, that it sounded as good as any pickup I've ever used and I didn't have to be concerned about feedback, cutting out, weird noises or any other issues discussed here. A student of mine in the crowd came up and told me how clear and great the bass sounded. He swore he was telling the truth and not just punking his teacher. I know it's not a totally natural tone or whatever, but boy does it avoid a lot of potential problems, which on the gig is exactly what I want.

 

[ole Jason]

Yeah I like the Vic's too. It's been my emergency backup pickup on gigs a few times but I really need to sit down with it and dial it in better instead of throwing it on in a rush to get through things. I kind of feel like I need a little more EQ control with the Vic's than my amp offers though. I have a Fishman preamp I could try pairing with it for that. Thanks for the reminder Bruce, I have a little homework to do!

 

[ole Jason]

I've had a few gigs with the Realist Lifeline and have been pretty happy with it. Like any pickup there are pros and cons. On my bass the Full Circle has more punch and a tighter low end but the Lifeline has more string sound and note clarity so they both shine in their own way.

As luck would have it the FC is working right now on this bass. I have both installed right now so I may try running them with a blend pedal and see what that's like.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Use it as a backup or depending on the sound of the space.