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Double Bass New Pickup MSP (Magnet Sandwiched Pickup)

#85
There must have been a magnet inside too or the magnet on the top would have fallen down.
That way he can remove the MSP and keep both magnets in place.
I think the less good sound comes from the position of the MSP. In my experience (on my bass only) the sound is better directly beneath the bass bar on the f-hole side. Sound can be varied by height (closer or less close to the bridge foot).
Depending on the amp connected an impedance buffer or high impedance preamp might enhance the sound a bit. It did with the Ehrlund pre and a bit less but still with Francis simple impedance buffer (Quick'n'dirty).
 
#88
It's not on but touching the outer side of the bass bar. As close to the bass bar as possible when you imagine the pickup would be below the top (inside the bass).
I looked at the pics in the Ehrlund threads. I remember that Ric Vice position of the Ehrlund is the same horizontally but closer to the bridge than mine. If I would go for a pizz only sound, I would probably go as close to the bridge as Ric.
BTW, I got the Ehrlund first, so I experimented with that one and used my experience to position the MSP at the same positions.

Distance from the bridge foot depends on your taste and bass. The natural bowed sound at home on my bass (4/4, 110 cm scale, thick top, Ehrlund) was about 20 to 25 cm under the bridge foot, but didn't work well on stage pizzed (much too dark sounding). Now I'm at about 15 cm away from the bridge foot (also with the Ehrlund). This is probably not final, but something that works better than before for pizz. Maybe my bass is also a bit dark sounding acoustically for my taste now, which gets reflected by the amplified sound. Unfortunately I have too less time currently for more experimentation.

I usually have the Ehrlund on currently, but the MSP works well at the same spot. When I tried a quick cable switch between Ehrlund and MSP a while ago for sound comparison, I mounted the MSP a bit closer to the bridge foot than the Ehrlund, at the same distance to the bass bar and almost touching the top corner of the Ehrlund. Not completely fair, but I think I also switched positions and there was not much difference in sound.
 
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#90
I've found that I've gone away from the MSP back to my lifeline. The MSP can sound better, but I swear every time I plugged it in it sounded different. I don't know if it was shifting somehow in the bag on the way to the gig, or if I was just imagining it. Also I had more troubles with feedback with the MSP, enough that switching back made sense.
 
#91
That's why you can fix the inner magnet with double sided tape that comes with the MSP once you found your sweet spot. The MSP will stick to the same position.

But it is wise to always have a bridge mounted pickup as a backup with the MSP or the Ehrlund. Even if some over here say they never needed them.
And for some music that is more bass guitar oriented, the bridge mounted pickups often sound better because of the longer sustain.
 
#93
DoubleMIDI said:
I looked at the pics in the Ehrlund threads. I remember that Ric Vice position of the Ehrlund is the same horizontally but closer to the bridge than mine. If I would go for a pizz only sound, I would probably go as close to the bridge as Ric. BTW, I got the Ehrlund first, so I experimented with that one and used my experience to position the MSP at the . same position.
Click to expand...

Using my bass as a template for positioning the EAP or the MAP, it's important to undersand that since it's only a 5/8 th's size instrument, the porportions are quite different from a more standard 3/4 size bass. The distances between the bass bar, bridge, and f holes, are closer together. So, where I place the EAP, doesn't necessarily translate to other Double Basses. On my particular Mirecourt Bass, both arco and Pizzicato sound beautiful, with the EAP placed in the location, shown in that picture. I used a set of Fostex T70RP's to find the sweet spot. Additionally, at that particular location and specific to my bass, there is a a swirled grain pattern that I believe focuses the sound coming from the top plate of my bass.

Ric
 
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#96
Ric Vice said:
Eexcellent point, while the neodymium magnets are
a somewhat novel approach. The TackIt used with the EAP, is very reliable and dependable way to mount the Erlund.

Ric
Click to expand...
Consider the situation in which one uses the double-stick tape to keep the magnet affixed inside the bass even when the pickup is removed. To the extent the tape is strong, then it would be difficult to reposition the magnet. To the extent the tape is not strong, then the risk would seem to be that the magnet would end up falling to the bottom of the bass.
 
#97
Ric Vice said:
Eexcellent point, while the neodymium magnets are
a somewhat novel approach. The TackIt used with the EAP, is very reliable and dependable way to mount the Erlund.

Ric
Click to expand...

The backup for my dyn-B is a Peterman piezo bender (just the bass component of the one shown at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] which also attaches with TackIt (a.k.a. Bluetack in our part of the world). I can't find the bass-only model any more. No connection to the maker/seller, but I think it is relevant as another alternative to the MSP as it is a relatively cheap body-mounted piezo.
 
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