I was just curious if anyone had any experience with the magnetic pickup that came with/from King Doublebass. I ran some searches of previous posts and came up dry. The web site advertises a pricey magnetic pickup, as well as a Piezo pickup and preamp. The website has a pdf that states it uses four magnetic pickups designed and built in conjunction with EMG, that it includes a fingerboard transducer, and volume and tone for the magnetic pickups and transducer. Now, I have used the Stringcharger with good results and we like playing loud so sounding like an electric isn't a big deal for me. Still, I'm in interested in another magnetic pickup but 630 bucks is staggering expensive at this point. Anyone get to try this thing for real? I'll say it looks rather cool.
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Double Bass Magnetic pickup from King Doublebass?
- Thread starter FlatNate
- Start date
A friend of mine talked about getting one but didn't, not because of the price but because of what it would do to the fingerboard. It looks like you have to drill four dime sized holes in there.
Yeah I can't figure that out yet. Do the magnets for the magnetic part of the pickup actually drill into the fingerboard? That seems strange to me. Where does the piezo portion of the pickup attatch? I think I may email King for more literature on it. If I could read some reviews or see it in action I may actually consider buying the thing in a few months.
Hello. I haven't tried the pickup you mentioned but I do have a great magnetic pickup that is good for louder venues. It is made by a guy named Clark Biesele. When I got mine he was making them 'on order'. I have the smaller one and the preamp/blender that goes with it. It sounds good combined with a piezo pickup. Anyway, his website is www.biesele.org
Thanke shoeline, I've been interested in the Biesele for some time as well now. It looks like it may be a little more robust than the StringCharger. Have you had experience with both?
FN,
I used a stringcharger for several years on a 1/2 sized bass and it worked great...except it doesn't have a very "natural" sound. At louder sound levels this is not a problem, but at "cocktail hour" levels it is noticeable. the unit is very robust and is easy to remove if you chose. I never took it off the bass it was on for 4-5 years. I used it mostly for playing arty rock music and it was always plenty loud with no feedback.
-JK
I used a stringcharger for several years on a 1/2 sized bass and it worked great...except it doesn't have a very "natural" sound. At louder sound levels this is not a problem, but at "cocktail hour" levels it is noticeable. the unit is very robust and is easy to remove if you chose. I never took it off the bass it was on for 4-5 years. I used it mostly for playing arty rock music and it was always plenty loud with no feedback.
-JK
zadow electronics in germany makes a niice magnetic pickup that blends well with piezos, passively, with a box that comes with the pickup. mine has save my life and made it possible for me to gig upright LOUD. michael zadow is a great guy and when a solder point on mine broke a year-plus later, he repaired it for free (tho i had to ship it to germany and back, which cost a few bucks!)
www.zadow-electronics.de
www.zadow-electronics.de
it is nice. beats the crazy thing i built out of p-bass pickups!
the mixer is passive, unobtrusive and probably the cheapest part of the rig. he puts a 1/8" jack on the magnet, but with an adapter there's no reason you couldn't use it by itself or with a diff. blender box... i've found with my k&k piezo it's real round and fat, but with my vintage realist (which sounds real thin and tinny by itself) it sounds very "true" -- or as true as the ub can be at rock band levels!
if you buy one, tell him tim sway sent ya ;-)
the mixer is passive, unobtrusive and probably the cheapest part of the rig. he puts a 1/8" jack on the magnet, but with an adapter there's no reason you couldn't use it by itself or with a diff. blender box... i've found with my k&k piezo it's real round and fat, but with my vintage realist (which sounds real thin and tinny by itself) it sounds very "true" -- or as true as the ub can be at rock band levels!
if you buy one, tell him tim sway sent ya ;-)
Timsway,
I also built a doublebass pickup out of a p-bass pickup. It worked pretty well, but then again the bass mostly sounded like a p-bass. Not to hijack the thread too much, but I'm very happy with a Realist on my current bass. It much more accurately reproduces of the sound of my bass. It's pretty loud, but I don't think it can compete with rock band volumes.
-JK
I also built a doublebass pickup out of a p-bass pickup. It worked pretty well, but then again the bass mostly sounded like a p-bass. Not to hijack the thread too much, but I'm very happy with a Realist on my current bass. It much more accurately reproduces of the sound of my bass. It's pretty loud, but I don't think it can compete with rock band volumes.
-JK
Whatever happened to those cool chrome Schaller pups?
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I used a Pierre Josephs String Charger for years and dug it, but it did sound like a fretless p-bass. You can here it on the track "Been Right There" on my Link Removed
Tony
Invalid Link Removed
I used a Pierre Josephs String Charger for years and dug it, but it did sound like a fretless p-bass. You can here it on the track "Been Right There" on my Link Removed
Tony
Invalid Link Removed
Pickup for Double Basses
High-gloss chrome-plated double-bass pickup, with adjustableindividual maggnnets and volume control, for mounting on the chord bridge.
Model Ref.No.
10/70 411
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Here can find a list of US dealers Invalid Link Removed
Pickup for Double Basses
High-gloss chrome-plated double-bass pickup, with adjustableindividual maggnnets and volume control, for mounting on the chord bridge.
Model Ref.No.
10/70 411
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Here can find a list of US dealers Invalid Link Removed
FlatNate said:
Actually, I haven't tried the StringCharger but I found some audio samples of the Biesele pickup. It is my old teacher Skip playing. He is probably using it combined with a piezo pickup. I recommend the track ''clichés''.
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Thanks for all the input. The Schaller looks really nice and I wasn't really aware that they even had anything on the market. The Stringcharger is a good value and I enjoyed playing it, but I like the ability to adjust the volume for each string. So, I think it may be down to the Schaeler and the Biesele. Still haven't found anyone who has played that King rig.
FlatNate said:
I have two of the Kingdoublebass/EMG pick ups one in each of my King basses (though I just took one out because I strung it with guts) Basically the pick up is similar to the EMG pick ups in the NS electric upright. It consist of four pole pieces that mount into the end of the fingerboard, so yes you have to drill out the fingerboard. being set up like this makes each strings pick up hieght adjustable. The piezo element mounts behind the fingerboard to pick up the "slap" . This pick up was designed for rockabilly slap playing. The two control pots that mount in the bridge along with the battery control the piezos vol. and tone the mag part is pre set. It is hard to make this pick up feed back. I use a Bergie 6x10 and it has rarely fed back. Yes this pickup is exspensive( it was only like a $280 up grade when I ordered my Kings now its $680!) but it works very well for what it was designed for I also do alot of pizz and works very well for that haven't tried arco because I don't have a bow or know how to. If your in a loud band and need to cut through and be heard this is a great pickup
Thanks for the input on that King pickup Demon. You answered pretty much everything I was wondering. Now, this does sound like a great rig and I would love to try it out to possibly purchase. However at 680 bucks it may have to wait till I upgrade to a better upright or to a King myself. Thanks again.
