I have been using a fishman pickup on an engelhardt swingmaster for awhile now. The sound im getting is so treblely and fingery that it doesant even sound like a bass. Ive done some research and have heard that the realist pickup would be a good choice, im looking for a more natural sounding pickup. What would be a good pickup replacement for an engelhardt swingmaster?
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Double Bass Need help replacing fishman
- Thread starter beefcake92
- Start date
The Realist is, in my opinion, the most natural sounding pick up, or, better, it makes your bass sounding as it has a good microphone, but with less feedback.
I use to let my amp totally flat when I'm using it.
I use to let my amp totally flat when I'm using it.
What amp are you using?
A high impedance input preamp is necessary with the BP-100, otherwise the sound is very thin and brittle.
Just a thought.
A high impedance input preamp is necessary with the BP-100, otherwise the sound is very thin and brittle.
Just a thought.
From what I gather, that pickup needs a 10 megohm load. You can get one of FDecks HPF Preamps. That should help, but frankly I'd get a Realist or a Full Circle. They sound way better.
Ric
According this the manual, this unit has a 1 Megohms input impedance.
Not bad, but somewhat short for a BP-100.
You can get a second-hand B-II preamp here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=624612
Always nice to get such a thing at hand anyway.
Best pickup is a subjective thing. The Realist sounded terrible on my bass, the Fishman Full Circle sounded pretty good. Lot's of people love the Revolution solo: it didn't work for me.
"natural sound" is really tough. Only a mic will get it, in my opinion. But a mic is a pain in the neck for the kind of low-end gigs I do. I ended up with the pickup that worked for me and had the least objectionable qualities, and that was the Schertler DYN-B. It sounds good, but it really doesn't sound like "my bass only louder." It's kinda close, but not really.
"natural sound" is really tough. Only a mic will get it, in my opinion. But a mic is a pain in the neck for the kind of low-end gigs I do. I ended up with the pickup that worked for me and had the least objectionable qualities, and that was the Schertler DYN-B. It sounds good, but it really doesn't sound like "my bass only louder." It's kinda close, but not really.
I would also agree that the Realist is a really good option. I have had 1 bass that it didn't sound good on(and probably 7-8 that it sounded just great). It is a very natural sounding pickup. Its only downside is that it gets a bit boomy when you playing at loud volumes. The Full Circle is my favorite pickup from all that I have tried. Very similar to the Realist. A lot more difficult to install though...
I have done a bit more research and i found a K&K Bass Max pickup, this one is quite a bit cheaper than the Realist. Is it worth it to spend the extra 100$ on a Realist, or will i still get a good sound with the Bass Max?
The Bassmax is a decent pickup, but not even close to as natural sounding as the Realist(though you can probably play louder with the Bassmax). You get what you pay for. Its the same with strings. If you buy cheap, you will regret it later.
I would definitely go with the Full Circle over the Realist. The Realist doesn't have as strong of a low end in my opinion. Also the full circle is much more evenly balanced on all the strings.
couple of things i didn't see mentioned you could check if you haven't already
is it installed on the right leg of the bridge?
double check that the wheel posts are not misaligned?
what is the position of the white wire?
do you have a decent gap between the threaded side of the wheel and the bridge wood?
is the hot side of the pickup (the flat side) in complete contact with the bridge wood?
is it installed on the right leg of the bridge?
double check that the wheel posts are not misaligned?
what is the position of the white wire?
do you have a decent gap between the threaded side of the wheel and the bridge wood?
is the hot side of the pickup (the flat side) in complete contact with the bridge wood?
The OP was using a BP-100, not the Full Circle. (although he didn't specify, we all assumed so from the sound he was getting
)
The OP was using a BP-100, not the Full Circle. (although he didn't specify, we all assumed so from the sound he was getting
ah well. crap. i got nothing then
While the Full Circle is clearer(generally) than a Realist, your statement would ideally have an "it depends on the bass". I have had a Realist on several basses in the past that have had a ton of low end and sounded terrific. While I use the Full Circle now, I would never discount the Realist. Pickups and basses need to be matched.
