Double Bass Many pickups, one bass?

[christw]

Hey guys, I've been dabbling in URB until today really set me back onto it. I picked up a bass a year ago with intent to play mostly unamplified and learn to use it. It sat around for 99.5% of the last year. Today I picked it up and played some Iron Maiden on it. I was also making chord variations, didn't have much issue with intonation and placement, and found myself to be playing pretty fast and accurately for me being a URB amateur. I have gotten a heck of a lot better at all things strings so it's no big surprise I suppose. I have intention to start playing and gigging using it asap.

Anyways, I was wondering about pickups... I'd been looking at something like the K&K Bass Master Pro setup occasionally, but ruled it out as a no go because I can't try before I buy and it costs a bit for the college student on a budget. I also thought about putting a magnetic pickup like a Schaller on it but forgot about it until now. I though about snagging some used ones off of TB, but it comes down to the fact that I just want a lot of versatility and this might be over the top. Is it? Am I like the guy with 3 preamps, 2 pedals, and 4 pickups in a electric bass if I do this to an upright? Will be able to switch from situation to situation and get vastly different [and USABLE] tones?

 

[Steve Freides]

I have a $50 pickup on my upright that I like.

http://www.sixrounds.com

It does the job for me.

-S-

 

[TroyK]

I don't think having a lot of pickups is the answer to that riddle, especially for what you're playing. Grab something K&K like when you see it come up on the classifieds and then get a flexible pre-amp/DI, like the SansAmp bass driver or maybe the Headway (no personal experience with it. Dial your sounds in that way and with your power amp.

I would ignore all the posts about a natural sounding "my bass only louder" pursuit. Why would you want that for Iron Maiden? You need a lot of aggressive overtones and better to dial them out than try to fabricate them when they aren't there.

My advice, anyway.

 

[christw]

Well, my intent wasn't to play Maiden on it. It was more of a "can I do this?" that turned out well. In the case I did get that rambunctious, that's why I was thinking about a magnetic pickup too. I'll probably end up with a Bassmax or try the similar looking one that Steve mentioned above and try to hone my taste from there. I just don't want to repeat my experience where I went through TONS of guitars and basses before I knew what I want and how to get it and lost a ton of money in the process. I guess there isn't a good alternative to experience though.

 

[TroyK]

With a solid body electric bass guitar the pickup plays a much larger role in the production of the sound than it does on an acoustic instrument like a doublebass. Most of us are just trying to electronically capture the natural sound of our bass, which is hard, expensive and sometimes ill advised. When we're playing in a quiet trio and just need a little sound support, its fine, as the stage and volume requirements go up; certain drummers, bartender using the blender or shaking a martini that natural sound can get mushy and lost. So, we all suffer and struggle.

I don't play a lot of EBG gigs, but I've played 2 in the last few months and it's astounding how easy it is to amplify them in comparison.

I think your best strategy is to get a good pickup that will work reliably (the realist, full-circle, etc) and if you find that you want the bass to have dramatically different voices, do it with a box like the ones I mentioned before and/ore your amp section.

You can read in one of the stickies a review of the dozen or so pickups that we use (magnetic pickups are not unheard of, but quite abnormal in our world). All acoustic instrument amplification is problematic in some way or another. The two pickups I mentioned above are very common and predictable. Things that go in the bridge wing like the bass max work too, but will need some in-line help to get "natural" sounding if you decide you want that. Do your research, pick one and forget about whatever you know about EBG electronics. It's a new (old) world.

 

[bolo]

I just don't want to repeat my experience where I went through TONS of guitars and basses before I knew what I want and how to get it and lost a ton of money in the process. I guess there isn't a good alternative to experience though.

Amplifying a double bass can be ... a lot like that. It can also be very rewarding though. Glad to have you with us. This is the place to be for advice.

FWIW, I started off with the K&K Bass Master Pro. My current gear and everything in between are listed in my profile.

Enjoy. Keep us posted. And make a good sound.

 

[Steve Freides]

I'll probably ... try the similar looking one that Steve mentioned above and try to hone my taste from there.

If you buy one of those and don't like it, you can sell it to me, slightly used - I'd be happy to have a second one around to lend out to friends and students. Seriously.

NB: How much you play arco makes a difference. I've used borrowed pickups through which I loved the sound pizz but with a bow it was scratch city. Whatever you're trying, if you ever expect to pick up a bow, make sure you can live with the arco sound. It goes without saying that arco is the weakest thing about my playing, but I didn't see any need to point that out to the crowd, either.

I guess there isn't a good alternative to experience though.

Ah, grasshopper, now you begin the journey.

-S-

 

[christw]

If you buy one of those and don't like it, you can sell it to me, slightly used - I'd be happy to have a second one around to lend out to friends and students. Seriously.

NB: How much you play arco makes a difference. I've used borrowed pickups through which I loved the sound pizz but with a bow it was scratch city. Whatever you're trying, if you ever expect to pick up a bow, make sure you can live with the arco sound. It goes without saying that arco is the weakest thing about my playing, but I didn't see any need to point that out to the crowd, either.

Hah! I actually went with the Double Barrel. I only wish the clips they had were all of the same run or had clips of each pickup with each run. That would have helped me a bit...

If I hate it for some odd reason, you'll hear from me. Otherwise, I'll probably be happy with it [for now at least.]

Ah, grasshopper, now you begin the journey.

I'm actually happy with my SB80 right now! I hated it at first but somehow I really, really increased my left hand's strength and endurance in the last year. Probably all of the flashy electric playing I've been doing just to prove to myself that I can. At least I'm not hunting for basses. Pickups are a lot cheaper.

 

[christw]

I dropped in the Double Barrel today. They forgot the jack holster! D'oh! I sent them an email about that though. I might just run to Lowes and find something that'll do the trick because I'm so bad at waiting.

Anyways, I am so pleased with the tone! After some tweaking I had to figure out which was putting out the majority of the sound that I was hearing, my bass or amp! It's a better reproduction than what I was expecting, that's for sure. It wasn't hard to EQ at all either. Just a little bright on top. I should just cut the tweeter on my cab and that might do the trick better than the Ampeg's uber high treble control... Hmmm...

I'll actually be going for a magnetic pickup for the fun of it too. I've already got a great relationship with John (J Worrell Pickups) and he's been working on fingerboard mount pickups already for archtops. He made it seem like it wouldn't be too much of a big deal to put together one for the upright too. A super clean magnetic pickup too? Sounds like I'm having too much fun!

 

[christw]

And a jack holster is on it's way as of a day ago. Quick solution!