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Double Bass Need help with Barcus Berry

N

Nivaca

Jan 8, 2005
84
0
#1
Hi! I own a nice carved bass which sounds really nice by itself. I use a Barcus Berry pickup (with its pre) with a Nemesis NC 250 combo. I'm having much trouble getting a good sound with it (even though the volume is fine).
I play mostly pizz (comping and soloing) and I haven't been able to manage a fine EQ tuning. Can anybody help me with that? Anybody owns a Barcus Berry? Suggestions accepted.
 
#2
I have never really got a good sound with the Barcus Berry pickup. It just doesn't sound natural at all to me. If you aren't opposed to it, I would sell it and look into a better sounding pickup like a Full Circle.
 
#3
First, which pickup do you have, the old clip kind or the new one?
I still use the old clip/thumbscrew kind, and all the tweaking I do is on the light side, a little bit can go a long way; start with it all flat and slowly make changes.

I find EQ wise that all the problem frequencies are in the mids and upper mids and trebles, ie all the honk & sizzle. Right now I am using two older boss EQ peddles a 7 band graphic and a parametric [they aren't pretty but they don't color the sound], if you want I can go and tell you what the settings are. But you might want something with a wider range so you can really pinpoint the sound you are after.

Also, a compressor is your best friend with this pickup. They really help to keep the sound controlled; I use a very old Alesis micro limiter.
 
#4
Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog. I would recomend a K&K Bass Max coupled with a preamp, or a Gage Realist. I tried the full circle and it didn't sound very good on my bass. Ther are other more expensive options but thats a good place to start.
 
#5
Brennan said:
Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog.
Click to expand...

True. But if it is all someone has until they upgrade, it is a good way to practice on get anything to sound good. I fide that if you play well and know how to adjust the sound, you can make anything work.

Actually all I use the pickup for anymore is for when I build a new EUB. If it will sound good with this pickup it will sound great with a better pickup.
 
#6
Brennan said:
Man, I dont mean to be a jerk but you might consider junking the BB. I've tried nearly all of the PU on the market and thats a real dog. I would recomend a K&K Bass Max coupled with a preamp, or a Gage Realist. I tried the full circle and it didn't sound very good on my bass. Ther are other more expensive options but thats a good place to start.
Click to expand...
Is the K&K Bass Max a good choice?
 
#7
Aaron Noguer said:
True. But if it is all someone has until they upgrade, it is a good way to practice on get anything to sound good. I fide that if you play well and know how to adjust the sound, you can make anything work.
Actually all I use the pickup for anymore is for when I build a new EUB. If it will sound good with this pickup it will sound great with a better pickup.
Click to expand...
I use a BB 3150 pickup on my (modified) Carruthers EUB and it works great! A big improvement over the stock bridge/pickup system.
I took an old acoustic upright bridge to replace the stock bridge. (cut the legs, reshaped the crown, etc.)
 
#10
francois said:
I took an old acoustic upright bridge to replace the stock bridge. (cut the legs, reshaped the crown, etc.)
Click to expand...

This was why my first EUB was built around a acoustic bridge; so that I could use any bridge mounted DB pickup. I know this might sound a bit contradictory but for the big EUB I like the sound of the BB, but on the DB it is to edgy for me. On the little travel EUB I made I still haven’t found “the one”, and am working on building a bridge with a internal pickup.
 
#11
I've tried many things since I'm playing EUB only since about 8 years now.
I'd look at the Barbera system or something similar. (one piezo per string)
All the other things I tried (Underwood, Fishman, and another brand whose name escapes me right now; it was two elements that I installed with epoxy resin into holes drilled in the bridge) were giving poor results. Uneven volume from string to string, or too much string noise, etc.
The BB 3150 I use now is the best so far.
 
#15
LOL on some of this, and I really am NOT trying to be a jerk.

Why did I buy my first BB pup about 30 years ago? Because ( if I remember it correctly )
Rufus Reid suggested it in The Evolving Bassist. I figured putting it on my Kay would make
it sound like a Preston. Right?

Wait for it: It did not! But BB started a LONG time ago, gotta give them credit for that, IMHO. YMMV.

:)
 
#18
etorgerson said:
Just checking, but you just plug the rca plug straight from the pickup into your D.I? I haven’t Looked up the impedance yet.
Click to expand...

There was preamp with an RCA input made for the 3150. The preamp model was 3000A and it provided impedance buffering and corrective EQ. I believe input impedance was 2.2Meg ohms.

I tried a 3150 without the preamp a few decades ago, and IMHO my Underwood sounded far superior.

I also had a bass during that time with a Barcus Berry pickup that looked like pieces of a Popsicle stick glued to the bridge. It also had a buffer preamp that ran off a single AAA battery. This pickup sounded fabulous, but was discontinued long ago.
 
#19
Wasnex said:
There was preamp with an RCA input made for the 3150. The preamp model was 3000A and it provided impedance buffering and corrective EQ. I believe input impedance was 2.2Meg ohms.

I tried a 3150 without the preamp a few decades ago, and IMHO my Underwood sounded far superior.

I also had a bass during that time with a Barcus Berry pickup that looked like pieces of a Popsicle stick glued to the bridge. It also had a buffer preamp that ran off a single AAA battery. This pickup sounded fabulous, but was discontinued long ago.
Click to expand...

Never saw that particular model. I had the Barcus Berry silver bar, that attached to the underside of the bridge with putty. It sounded god awful. It had a little preamp

As well.
 
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#20
Wasnex said:
and IMHO my Underwood sounded far superior.
Click to expand...
The Underwood has more output and is in many ways a better pickup. What the BB clamp has over it is the lightness and smaller contact points which interfere with the acoustic sound the least of any PU I've found that isn't invasive. I used to use a volume pedal with the amp off most of the time, now I use a kill switch.
The Underwood significantly mutes the acoustic sound.
 
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