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Double Bass Listen up and guess! Realist Vs Full Circle

Which pickup sound did you like better?

  • The first one.

    Votes: 58 52.7%

  • The second one

    Votes: 26 23.6%

  • Mmmmm, Carrots!

    Votes: 26 23.6%
  • Total voters
    110
  • Poll closed .
#21
Last night I did my first gig with my new realist and it sounded good--effective, people dug it, it sounded like bass in the mix, no feedback, no woofing. But it didn't sound like the acoustic sound of my bass, which I love. I'm more and more convinced that you need to develop an acoustic sound and an amped sound, and they aren't the same, unless you want to deal with mics, which is maybe the thing to do but what a headache

Of the two sounds, both had good and bad but the second one made me want to reach for the eq knobs and tweak a little

Maybe I'll do one of these tests with a realist and a rev solo--when I get my firewire box back from the guy i lent it to
 
#24
You know, now that I think of it you could load a bass down with pickups and mics and record them all at once--dyn-b stuck on there, amt mic, realist, solo, full circle, clip an old fishman or a barcus-berry on there. You could get a lot of pickups on one bass

Comical thought, actually.
 
#26
Jason Sypher said:
that my sound set up is probably pretty unsuitable for making a good judgement... Ive got one of those subwolfer things with the satelites but it's very boomy. That may have something to do with my preference for the second clip. It's likely I'm getting alot more warmth out if it than most speaker setups and too much warmth out of the first clip...
Click to expand...
Although through an electric bass specific amp that would be the sound I think. One would need a more "flat" amp to use clip one. Clip two might work better through a traditional bass amp that is voiced to overcome the low end deficiencies of the porkchop.

So is anyone going to let me know what clip is what or am I just going to have to wait for the "unveiling"?
 
#27
I'm with those guessing Realist first and FC second - I have used a Realist (and still have it on my Kay) but I've never used a FC. The second clip sounded a lot more like my Underwood than my Realist, so that's why I'm going with the FC as number 2. Also, this is really a useful idea! Making high quality clips available to A/B pickups still has lots of variables (no two basses/setups are exactly alike), but at least we get rid of the problem of trying to objectively describe the differences in our results in words - just put the sound out there and let everyone decide for themselves. Also, my Realist doesn't sound as good to me as either of these two recordings - mine (on both the Kay and my carved bass) has lots of low end and volume (back to using imprecise words!) but really seems to lack definition. Anyone ever experimented with variability of two pickups of the same type (like two different Realists) on the same bass to see if they sound the same?

I believe you said you went straight into the MBox - happen to know what the input impedance is? I am sorely tempted to try the same thing with my Digi001 setup and post the results on my website.

Thaks for the comparison and I enjoyed your playing!

Mark
 
#28
I liked the first one better. Although it had stuff I would roll off with EQ (the sub 80hz stuff and the roughly 1.5khz and up range), it seemed to cover more of the full range of the DB sound. The second one already had chunks of the sound missing, sounding very scooped in the mids and high end...kinda boxy, like a Polytone amp turned up too high. IMO, of course. :)
 
#29
One might think the first recording is the Realist, but having used one for 7-8 years I think the second one is the Realist. The first recorded tone immediately sounded unfamiliar to me, more like my K&K bass max which I used partially on one gig until I tripped over my lead and the whole pickup flew out of the bridge wing and hit the drummer in the back - bassy and highs but no mid.

Comments on Realist tone is dark, but I have no problem dialing up a nasty mid-tone for those hard to hear situations. Also the second recording sounds like it's clipping more which sounds exactly like my Realist when I put it into a preamp, the output is so hot that I can't use my Fishman Platinum EQ without a clipping/squashed sound. Doesn't need a preamp. However the Realist output on my Eminence is lower and I could go either way with a preamp.

Should we start taking bets?:)
 
#31
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I liked the first one better. Although it had stuff I would roll off with EQ (the sub 80hz stuff and the roughly 1.5khz and up range), it seemed to cover more of the full range of the DB sound. The second one already had chunks of the sound missing, sounding very scooped in the mids and high end...kinda boxy, like a Polytone amp turned up too high. IMO, of course. :)
Click to expand...
Here we go again with terminology. To my ear, the second one has exaggerated mids - definately not scooped...

The first seemed to be all highs and lows. If you roll those off, what would you be left with?

I'm also curious about the input impedance on the recording device - that could affect what we are hearing. For example, if the impedance is not high enough, aren't the low freqs compromised? (I could have that all wrong).
 
#32
GOOD GOLLY said:
Here we go again with terminology. To my ear, the second one has exaggerated mids - definately not scooped...
Click to expand...

That's funny...I hear exaggerated lows and low mids (like 200-600hz) on the second one that are not balanced by the true "mid" frequencies, which makes the whole thing sound boxy or muddy.

LUCILLE said:
The first seemed to be all highs and lows. If you roll those off, what would you be left with?
Click to expand...

I hear what you're saying. I think the highs and lows are a little exaggerated on the first one, kind of a "Ron Carter on State of the Tenor" kinda vibe, only much less so. Roll the lows back a bit, do the same to the highs, and you get...a pretty balanced sound, I would think.

BASKE said:
I'm also curious about the input impedance on the recording device - that could affect what we are hearing.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same thing. FWIW, I think the first one is the FC, and the second one is the Realist. They definitely have different amp preferences, don't they? :eyebrow:
 
#34
I can't tell which is which.
The second one sounds really good to me like an up right

the first one could be an electric fretless, tweaked and EQ'd reazlly well , if we weren't told in advance it was flat upright

yes the second one appeals to my ears more than the first, because I like them both not withstanding

I too may cop some of your blues lines.....:hyper:
 
#36
being primarily a bass guitarist and not messing around much at ALL with double basses...I can give a completely unbiased opinion...(I think)...

the first one sounds (the bit around the middle of the clip, around the 1 min mark) has a more airy, breathing double bass sound. The latter sound is too compressed, too edgy (at least for the blues progression as played).

I'd go with this one...it has a much nicer dynamic and overall tone quality.
 
#37
My perspective is completely different from Pilbara - I agree that the nature of what's being played informs my opinion, but given the driving, blues based sound of the performance, I prefer the more agressive sound of clip #2. I;m also imagining it in the context of a full band; at least a trio. If it was a ballad, I'd probably go for #1 though. Both sound great to me!
 
#38
I am impressed with the amount of answers that this thread got... even a poll! Well... me being from Europe you guys have to explain what the carrots are.

I just came back from a gig where I tried the FC for the first time... I want to wait a couple of days to give it up until I can make a more honest judgement on the subject...

The answer will be unveiled soon.

Thanks

Alexis

www.alexiscuadrado.com
 
#39
# 1 is my favorite hands down. I listened to them through headphones, and I thought that number one had a nice hi fi type of sound. It was kinda like Rufus Reid meets Ron Carter. I would very much like to hear some higher pitches and long sustained notes. In my experience it is rare that an amplifier warms a pickups sound all that much (unless you're playing an Acoustic image or maybe a WW). I'm afraid that sound two's harshness would only be made worse through an amp. This could be cured with a preamp, etc. , but coming straight from a pickup I think that number one really sounds hip. Very nice playing as well. I'm not that familiar with either pickup, but I would guess that the Full Circle is number one and that the Realist is number two. The thought of having something under the bridge foot has always made me nervous. THANK YOU for the thread!
Chris
 

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