Double Bass K&K Bass Max and Playing Loud

[Stewie]

No one will ever see it. Grab a Line-6 G10 wireless and hang it behind your tailpiece. People will look at you funny wondering how you can be so loud. I’ve been told (by drinkers) that my bass would be louder if I put it through an amp

 

[Ric Vice]

I've gotten the impression that Krivo is a very small shop, when you take a look at the total number of DB pickups sold I would guess that the
Krivo's would be a significant but much smaller portion of the total. Handmade products look handmade, I don't think anyone in the audience
will be looking at your pickup and commenting on the finish. It's more likely that they'll be commenting positively on what it sounds like.
Just my take of course, if it really bugs you then I assume you can get a RMA and return it.

 

[sargebaker]

I've gotten the impression that Krivo is a very small shop, when you take a look at the total number of DB pickups sold I would guess that the
Krivo's would be a significant but much smaller portion of the total. Handmade products look handmade, I don't think anyone in the audience
will be looking at your pickup and commenting on the finish. It's more likely that they'll be commenting positively on what it sounds like.
Just my take of course, if it really bugs you then I assume you can get a RMA and return it.

I get where you're coming from and I understand "handmade things look handmade". I'm a one-man operation custom guitarmaker (going on almost 12 years now) - and I'm far from perfect. I can't compete with the CNC shops and UV cure lacquers (and I don't want to), but I'd never send out a guitar with finish or veneer peeling off the back (I can literally flake off that layer of black veneer/epoxy on the Krivo) or gouges on the front because people won't see it and it still sounds good/plays well. It just seems a bit careless to me, or a pass-off. Anyways, I don't think I want to bother Mark about it. I may drop Krivo an email to let them know I think it's kinda crummy (and crumby!).

On a different/positive note: Life - loud - without feedback is pretty good!

 

[Sam Reese]

Jason Flores, Krivo Pickups
Looks like the phone number is (503) 757-8054.
[email protected]
I'd try to call. I bet he's very reasonable.

 

[Stewie]

I get where you're coming from and I understand "handmade things look handmade". I'm a one-man operation custom guitarmaker (going on almost 12 years now) - and I'm far from perfect. I can't compete with the CNC shops and UV cure lacquers (and I don't want to), but I'd never send out a guitar with finish or veneer peeling off the back (I can literally flake off that layer of black veneer/epoxy on the Krivo) or gouges on the front because people won't see it and it still sounds good/plays well. It just seems a bit careless to me, or a pass-off. Anyways, I don't think I want to bother Mark about it. I may drop Krivo an email to let them know I think it's kinda crummy (and crumby!).

On a different/positive note: Life - loud - without feedback is pretty good!

I’ve had two Krivos. One maybe five years ago, and one maybe two or three(sold the first one with the bass). Both have been very smooth, but with a mat finish. I wouldn’t sweat the scratches, but the finish flaking off would definitely bother me. I bet Krivo will replace it for you.

 

[sargebaker]

Haven't shared a pic of my bass on here yet so here it is with Krivo:

 

[Ric Vice]

Here’s why I like the Ehrlund EAP. Is held on with non marring putty, is easy to remove, can get quite loud before it feeds back, and it doesn’t hang off the fb.

 

[D Garr]

Hi gang,

I'm having trouble dialing in a sound in jam setting with my upright and K&K (which I believe to be installed correctly and would like the remove that from the equation). I read through the stickied thread on killing feedback and I have some experimenting to do with stuffing foam everywhere (or buying a parametric EQ?!)

Our setting is a trio with guitar and a drummer playing a mixture of improv-jammy-noise stuff and kinda sludgy doomy stuff. I'm running my bass through a Fishman Platinum Stage into the PA (monitors on stands several feet up). I can get to the point where I can keep up with the drum and guitar level for quieter passages (or louder w/ bow) but that little extra gain to be heard pizz during louder passages and I'm either getting pretty serious feedback or a really unbalanced/unusable sound.

I'm wondering if maybe the K&K is just not the right pickup for this setup? As far as I know, Trevor Dunn uses the Underwood pickup, and my guitarist saw him live with The Melvins, playing WAYY louder than we do - so there's a way to get there. I am also flirting with the idea of a mag...

The Parametric EQ thing came back up repeatedly in the sticky thread - Sweetwater calls the Fishman parametric... but I don't think it is? Would a parametric be a/the solution?

Buy the Bieselie magnetic with the blender you won't look back it is the best mag/piezo setup

 

[james condino]

'Just back in from a rehearsal with my Krivo. I currently have seven different basses and an equal number of different pickups; none work perfect for all situations. Not a single person complained about my pickup or my bass choice today. They all said, "Nice playin'. Thanks for coming out tonight."

I've never seen a new Krivo that looked as beat up as the one in the photos above....but does it really matter? If finish = tone, then by all means; but it does not. My complaints with them are more centered around the big giant multiple output jacks, but I usually just cut off all of that junk and solder my own preference together at the connection end.

If you are unhappy with the fit and finish of the product, send it back and tell the manufacturer. By NOT doing that, you are enabling them and letting them know that nobody else will not give a $#!t about it in the future and that sets the bar pretty low...

 

[Sam Reese]

I've found that the magnetic Krivo and piezo Lifeline have many similarities when pizzing gently to medium, but if I lean into the strings with some authority (slap/snap) that the Lifeline reproduces what I am trying to convey better. It has a sharper edge on the attack. I must say that I'll almost always choose the Krivo when plugging into a bass (guitar) amplifier and will always use my Lifeline when plugging into my Euphonic Audio Doubler rig.

 

[Ric Vice]

I've found that the magnetic Krivo and piezo Lifeline have many similarities when pizzing gently to medium, but if I lean into the strings with some authority (slap/snap) that the Lifeline reproduces what I am trying to convey better. It has a sharper edge on the attack. I must say that I'll almost always choose the Krivo when plugging into a bass (guitar) amplifier and will always use my Lifeline when plugging into my Euphonic Audio Doubler rig.

I think that's one of the bigger issues with a piezo pickup. When I was using the Realist (Copper Foil) it sounded really nice but it was very dependent on what type of amplifier I was using on stage. At the time it seemed like everyone was either using SVT's or SWR's
for Jazz and Blues festivals. A Realist into the SWR was pretty much a disaster tonally. Conversely, if it was a SVT then I could get a very acceptable sound. Now days there are a lot of Markbass amps that were purchased by backline companies here in St. Louis and
last time I checked every Markbass Head and Combo have an input impedance impedance of 500 K ohms. with the exception of the Nanomark 300 and the Big Bang. Just my take of course, a majority of amplifiers are set at 1 Meg Ohm .