Double Bass Magnetic Pickups - Why Aren't We All Using Them?

[Ludwig]

Using a magnetic pickup requires you to use strings that work with them. Someone playing gut strings or most synthetic stings has no use for magneti pickups. Same with guitar, have never seen a magnetic pickup for a classical guitar with nylon strings.
==> Only piezo pickups or microphones for me....

 

[Ric Vice]

Same here, as a mater of fact of a microphone will work I always go there first before I resort to the pickup. Weird thing about synthetic strings and magnetic pickups even within a particular set of strings one string will work with the magnetic pickup while the others won’t. Evah Parazzi’s G works but the D,A,and E do not.

 

[lurk]

We're not all using them because we're chasing some ideal sound in our brains and are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money and effort to find it. I played a $50 gig last week and used my (round numbers off the top of my head) $250 pickup, $400 preamp, $400 amp, and $400 speaker. Wasn't 100% happy with my sound. I saw Richard Davis many times with Elvin Jones using a magnetic pickup and he sounded beautiful.

 

[Ric Vice]

Very true. Over the course of many years I’ve certainly done my part, but primarily only with pickups and speakers. Once the Ehrlund EAP came along I was set. So I’m going on 12 years with the EAP. I used a Realist Copper for close to ten years, but after the second one failed, I stopped. It took a long time for speaker cabinets to get the sound I was looking for, so I invested a lot of cash in that process. That said, I sold all of my speakers to others. The one constant for many. many years was a Walter Woods Amp.I got my first Woods MI 100 8 in 1980 and I’d still be using it, if I hadn’t decided to move to powered speakers and preamps because Walter has been phasing out repair service for his older models and the cost of repairing one has “skyrocketed” from $100.00 in 1990 to $500.00 in 2005. Just my take, I always try to buy used before I shell out the cash for something brand new,

 

[rickwolff]

We're not all using them because we're chasing some ideal sound in our brains and are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money and effort to find it. I played a $50 gig last week................

Each of us may have a different ideal sound in our brain, and I am very happy to say I have come as close to mine as I have any need or desire to.

For recording (in our rehearsal studio - not a 'high-end' pro studio) I have had excellent results with my Xlson Mic.

Last Saturday I decided to bring my 'good bass' to the gig. I usually bring my 'second bass' as it is crowded getting in and out, but I really wanted the sound of my best bass. I blended my Ischell C3 contact mic which gives a very good 'MBOL' sound along with my KNA DB-1 bridge wing pickup which adds some extra 'punch' which is nice to cut through in a rather noisy room. I ran them both through my 'Genzlihur' Acoustic Pro amp with two totally separate channels and EQ with sweepable mids on both channels.

I was as happy with my live sound as I have ever been. The pianist I work with (who moved here a couple of years ago from NYC when he retired from his 'day gig') was equally impressed.

Mission Accomplished.

 

[Marty Forrer]

I have a Krivo and a Zac Victor piezo on my bass. They are not blended, I have two output jack sockets. With Eurosonics I actually prefer the sound of the Krivo, it is more full range. It needs more gain in the amp than the piezo but the tone is better. I play jazz, americana and 50s r n r (3 different bands). I initially put both pickups on so I'd have a backup, but I find I mostly use the Krivo. It definitely does not sound like a bass guitar, it is the best upright sound I've had in 32 years of playing upright, including previous pickups by Underwood, Shadow, Barbera and Fishman. Might not work for anyone else, but it sure works for me. For reference it is a 1989 German carved bass into a choice of GK MB200, AI Clarus Series 4 and Genz Benz Streamliner 600 amp heads, and a choice of 1x10, 2x10 sealed or 2x12 cabs.

 

[Sam Reese]

One thing I've noticed recently is that the timbre of my Upton is more similar between my Krivo mag and Lifeline piezo since I put a set of Spiros on it. The Spiros are still zingy with mwah. That probably has something to do with it, then again I dunno...

 

[Ric Vice]

One thing I've noticed recently is that the timbre of my Upton is more similar between my Krivo mag and Lifeline piezo since I put a set of Spiros on it. The Spiros are still zingy with mwah. That probably has something to do with it, then again I dunno...

I can hear that, the Revolution Solo has a lot of low mid's, less treble, and a higher output than my Ehrlund EAP. Could be that the wooden shell of the pickup has something to do with that, hard to say.

 

[Sam Reese]

I can hear that, the Revolution Solo has a lot of low mid's, less treble, and a higher output than my Ehrlund EAP. Could be that the wooden shell of the pickup has something to do with that, hard to say.

I'm saying my Upton bass's timbre is similar between the two aforementioned pickups. Sorry if I was unclear. I don't own the Upton Revolution Solo.

 

[Ric Vice]

Ahhha! Then as Megan Traynor says "It's All About The Bass". Spirocore's are the king/queen of Mwah that's for sure. It's just very difficult to bow solo with them. Just my take.
The Krivo must be something to get a sound close to the Life Line, that's a big ask for a magnetic pickup. Me thinks the Spirocore's are the secret sauce in that setup.
Spiro's sound like spiro's through just about anything. Of, course that's just my experience. I don't use them nowadays. since I moved to Evah Parazzi's

 

[Sam Reese]

Ric, I think you're right, "Spiro's sound like spiro's through just about anything." Can't say the same for my set of "dead Spiros", just "alive Spiros"...

 

[lurk]

I don't use steel strings and have a tone Dexter in front of my amp, so I'm pretty far from the magnetic pickup scheme, but I did use one in the 70s, and it's much better than a fretless bass guitar sound. Really a lot of the sound of the bass is the attack and decay and the general wave which the string produces which is influenced by it's interaction with the top. It can be quite a nice sound and is pretty worry free and idiot proof. Don't discount it out of hand. For some folks it might be the solution.

 

[Ric Vice]

When I switched to Evah Parazzi Strings, that eliminated me from ever using a Krivo pickup or the like. Synthetic strings don’t track with that type of pickup. I had my time with a magnetic pickup designed by Paul Tonneinges. At the time (pre Underwood) it was far better than the Polytone or Barcus Berry sliver sliver. With the Realist, Yamahiko, and Ehrlund EAP pickups got so much better that I moved on. Fortunately, I don't have to play in really loud ensembles

 

[Sam Reese]

...or loud venues. The mag pickup definitely helps cut above a crowd. At that point, there's nobody that gives a hoot about whether it's MBOL or my loud bass only LOUDER.

 

[Ric Vice]

Yes, I'm very fortunate that many of the places I play are "relatively" listening rooms. I subbed for a friend at a small little club in December last year, and as one would expect it was noisy, just by the
small stage, close to the patrons, and bar, I took my Lakland 55/94 Lined Fretless and it was even hard to hear with that instrument. I'd have been better off with my Lakiand 55/94 fretted.
My Mirecourt DB has it's limitations even with modern pickups and amps, so if I were to use a DB in those situations, I'd definitely need something else for a pickup. Fortunately, EB so common place
I just take that instead.

 

[Sam Reese]

I'm interested in this topic as well. I am losing sleep at night debating between piezo and magnetic. The Krivo looks impressive but if it just sounds like a bass guitar why get it? On the other hand, I will likely use my bass in higher volume settings where feedback could be an issue...

I would be very interested to hear people chime in on this topic. As I am torn between piezo and magnetic.

I have all three- magnetic, piezo and microphone. I have used Eurosonics that are magnetic with piezo years ago, so I cannot speak about these "gut-like" strings with magnetic or microphone. What I can report with certainty is that each of these technologies handle the attack of the string and the subsequent waveform differently. I'll use my Spiro Mitts as the example that I've come to realize over the past few months. With the ETL Nadine microphone, as it might be suspected, it is MBOL to a degree. If you are used to listening to your bass below the bridge at about 2-3" away, then it would be MBOL. Positioning the mic does affect the output, both tone and hotness of the signal. In bluegrassy/slappy playing, it gives you what you give it. Amplified volume is the trade off. Great sound/low volume- which works for some and not so much for others. The Lifeline piezo is closer to the microphone with how it responds to the attack sound caused by slapping than the Krivo mag. The piezo can handle pretty loud situations as long as the pickup and the speaker are placed in a fashion that will reduce the likelihood of a feedback loop. In my studies, the attack of the magnetic pickup (Krivo for me) is the weakest aspect of using this style of pickup. It does not thwack and thump like the piezo, but if I'm playing more straight ahead pizzicato, like jazz/blues- the Krivo excels and I cannot tell much difference between it and the Lifeline (of course, not forgetting to attribute much of this to my Spiros). I get involved with a lot of different musical shenanigans and am happy I have all three to choose from. Ultimately, for me, the Lifeline is the best all-around choice because when playing slappy/thwacky this pickup delivers the attack in a far more convincing manner than the magnetic pickup. The magnetic pickup on the other hand, in spite of it's sonic deficiencies, is like pressing the Easy Button. No muss, no fuss just tradeoffs. It definitely doesn't sound like either of my Fender P basses. It sounds phatter. I hope this helps a little. And one last thing, right now I have a Lifeline and Krivo w/ Spiros on my Upton Super Swing and I have a Lifeline and Nadine on my Czech Flatback strung with Evah Pirazzi Slaps.

 

[Ric Vice]

The only differences I notice between Spiro's and Evah's are, Evah's only last about 18 months then their done. Spiro's depending on your taste can last many years. Evah's break in quickly, Spiro's take a while, and their a PITA during the process.
Arco with Spiro's will work in a Orchestra Bass Section, but soloing on them is a nightmare, at least for me. My take is the bigger the concert the more I rely on the FOH, and just use enough onstage for myself and the band to hear each other. I have
a Life Line but for straight ahead and contemporary jazz (whatever that means ) the Ehrlund EAP just sounds better, it is a piezo, but the tone is very different. My issue with a magnetic (at the time I was playing through a B/15 N(C)) is that
the timbre of the pickup through the amp is different than the sound of the bass in the room. For me, that's not acceptable regardless of the volume. I'm sure the Krivo sounds way better than the old Tonneinges 4 magnet I used to use. With my
5/8's Mirecourt (French) bass the magnetic I had actually sounded thinner than my Lakland's. So, I guess it greatly depends on your basses and what pickup and amp you are using. Just my take.

 

[Ric Vice]

The Tone Dexter looks amazing I’ve seen several for sale here on Talkbass
so if I wanted to try one I’d go with a used one. For me, a good microphone
decent pickup, and a decent preamp will get you a great sound. The Tone Dexter is actually less expensive than my Grace Designs Felix, two channel mixer. That said the Grace sounds great and it’s paid for

 

[bassically_eli]

So does the Krivo work well with arco? Seems like there is a strong consensus that it's the best magnetic around. Early on in this thread, there also seemed to be consensus that magnetics generally don't work (well) with arco, but with so many fans I'm wondering if the Krivo is different (maybe it has magnets oriented in two directions?).

Sorry if this was addressed already and I missed it. For now, I'm happy with my Obligato G & D, so it's a mute point, but if I ever go full Spiro...

 

[Sam Reese]

In 2020, I recorded a bit of arco with Krivo during an ad lib jam session and did not like the results. Lately I've considered trying again to see if my technique or lack thereof will make for a more pleasant result. I'd like to hear from others that are playing arco thru the Krivo.