Double Bass Krivo first impressions

[Chris Fitzgerald]

A question for the Krivo braintrust: has anybody got the new one with the L Bracket mount? I want to try one of these with the Busetto when I get it back, but it has the curved fingerboard end. The guy at the local shop said he could fashion a piece of ebony to make a straight edge if I needed, but if the L bracket could do it on its own, that would be even better.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

A question for the Krivo braintrust: has anybody got the new one with the L Bracket mount? I want to try one of these with the Busetto when I get it back, but it has the curved fingerboard end. The guy at the local shop said he could fashion a piece of ebony to make a straight edge if I needed, but if the L bracket could do it on its own, that would be even better.

Back in the day I had a Pierre Joseph’s String Charger that used an L bracket with dual lock and it was very secure. Much more so than the standard Krivo mounting method.

 

[Sam Reese]

A question for the Krivo braintrust: has anybody got the new one with the L Bracket mount? I want to try one of these with the Busetto when I get it back, but it has the curved fingerboard end. The guy at the local shop said he could fashion a piece of ebony to make a straight edge if I needed, but if the L bracket could do it on its own, that would be even better.

Yes, @Chris Fitzgerald I have two newer models with L-brackets. One is dedicated to my Upton that has the useless extended fingerboard and the other is on my Czech Flatback with standard fingerboard termination. They both have scooped out backsides of the fingerboards (is this what you're referring to?). I got a little disgusted in them falling off, but have addressed both pickup/bass dual-lock situations by upgrading to the more industrial dual-lock. Also, in the scooped Upton fingerboard, I have two dual-lock pieces installed perpendicular instead of vertical to allow more wiggle room for dealing with securing it. The L-bracket is pretty decent. You have two basic things that can be accomplished 1) distance that the Krivo resides from the strings and 2) being able to set the Krivo at an angle towards the G or E string if that is something that can help with the general set up.
EDIT: Sorry, I reread your post and I think what I did for the Upton is your potential fix. I used a razor knife and cut the dual-lock for the fingerboard to match the shape of the fingerboard. I don't have my bass with me, but I also extended the dual-lock on the L-bracket so that I would have more "bite" for securing things.

 

[JBarz]

Another quick Krivo question:

My favorite thing about this pickup is the quick attack it gets for playing high on the fingerboard, but I'm having to crank the volume all the way up and then EQ out a buzz at 2.5KHz. Is this just par for the course? I can't move the magnets any closer without losing some fingerboard territory on the high end.

I cut the cord and soldered on a little extender cable so I could plug it in at my endpin along with my other pickup without a bunch of 1/4" plug adapter weight on my tailpiece. I am afraid this maybe slightly unshielded (?) spot might be the source of my particular buzz. It's like a single-coil buzz, but not nearly as bad -- and it goes away entirely when you're in the right 20-degree position in relationship to the amp. Do yours do this, too?

 

[Sam Reese]

What strings are those Zoot?

 

[JBarz]

She's sporting Spriocore Stark E, Mitt A, Perpetual Stark D/G, and a Marvin tailpiece. I am 10 months into trying to get at least a solid decade on this set.

 

[JBarz]

One more quick Krivo question (sorry if over posting):

Would a semi-permanent installation with hide glue and/or ebony shims and screws to the fingerboard (wood on wood- stripping the foam, obviously) help reduce the vibrational drag the pickup’s weight has on the instrument’s arco voice? My reasoning is if it’s vibrating with the fingerboard, it wouldn’t dampen it so much, right?

I love the pickup and what it does for my amplified possibilities, but every time I take it off it feels like I’ve been jogging with weights on my ankles acoustically.

In other Krivo news, it sure does take to an octave up pedal and track infinitely better than a piezo, doesn’t it? The effects capabilities are staggering!

 

[JBarz]

It took two tries, but I got the Krivo on the fingerboard with HHG. If anyone else tries this, make sure you sand rough where the foam was to give the glue some teeth.

My suspicions are confirmed : there is a marked improvement acoustically, but no telling to what degree.

I installed it pretty much flush with the FB, so as an added bonus it adds a minor third to the top end of the range.

 

[Francois Blais]

HHG

Hot glue?

 

[JBarz]

Yep, I did away with the metal hardware, foam, and Velcro and heated up ye ole hide glue pot for the project. Used a small moleskin notebook over the bridge to wedge/clamp it in there… I didn’t know if it would hold, but it seems solid after 24hrs. The bass is a little cranky about the surgery (feels stiff), but she’ll get used to it…

 

[JBarz]

I take it all back and rescind my previous posts - sorry ya’ll… The hide glue didn’t hold. Frankly, I am happy to have it off again - I’m on a big arco kick and it really chokes the arco voice of the axe any way you shake it. I might try gluing it again with a ply bass at some point in the future, but just another testament to the illusion of the one-instrument-to-do-it-all.

 

[bherman]

I take it all back and rescind my previous posts - sorry ya’ll… The hide glue didn’t hold. Frankly, I am happy to have it off again - I’m on a big arco kick and it really chokes the arco voice of the axe any way you shake it. I might try gluing it again with a ply bass at some point in the future, but just another testament to the illusion of the one-instrument-to-do-it-all.

I can think of ways to get it to hold (epoxy for one) but it would never come off . I used mine on an Eminence EUB so the arco behavior wasn't as much of an issue.....