New Pickup on the Market...

That's a purty bridge.

 

I was looking at the website and the model number you're quoting was an electric bass bridge. I don't see any info on the upright p/u. Keep us posted...it looks interesting.

 

FYI: I just noticed that Lemur Music is selling this pickup now for $192.

 

Adrian already volunteered when he posted this message. Yo Adrian, did you get to try it yet?

 

I can't call this a review but I did have a look at the new Shadow pickup about one month ago at the big music expo in Shanghai. It's a trade show type event not unlike the NAMM show in the states, except most of the manufactures represented are Chinese, with some execptions. Never seen so many Chinese traditional stringed instruments in my life, along with many double basses and other western style stringed instruments, ranging from very good (Shen) to very poor quality. The Shadow was mounted on one of the very poor quality basses, a plywood that was not set-up well and had bad strings. The amp provided was very bad too. All this on a very busy and noisy trade show floor. I was dissapointed not be be able to give the pickup a fair try in this environment, so I only played for about a minute or two. It sounded very electric and boomy at the same time, but the bass and amp seemed more to blame than the pickup. It's got a pre-amp with volume control and a tone control that rolls off highs. It sounded best with most off the highs rolled off. I wish they had a better bass to demo it with, because with the bass and amp provided, it sounded pretty bad. As to it's features, the dual elements mounted under the bridge feet reminded me of The Realist, but they appear to be a bit thinner. The look of the tailpiece mounted pre-amp really bothered me, it's encased in an el-cheapo looking plastic case, maybe to save weight. It's vibe is kind of "space-age" looking, in a tacky sort of way. It's not something my bass would want to be seen in public wearing, all that silver colored plastic! Maybe it might be better hidden behind the tail-piece, but then it might be hard to reach the little volume and tone knobs, they are very small. In all fairness though, it might sound great on a proper bass and amp. Too bad they didn't have it presented in that manner at the show that day. Really a shame...

 

Just from lookin at da picture...t seems to me this offering is going to be similar to the Pick up the world. That uses piezo film and two elements, one under the foot and one on the bridge. I was into it for a minute.Piezo film pups have a very clear sound that some days can sound purty good and others like the most electric piezo ever. I couldn't figure it out. the real negative was that the wires were microphonic and would make all kinds of noise if they came into contact with anything.
Recently I tried the PUTW with my new rig and it sounded good. But instead of putting the element under the foot, i just taped it to the front of the bass. It sounded better that way.....I cant see any reason to hve TWO underfoot pick ups, on most basses the treble foot is just problematic.

 

Why is that? Does the pu need the frimness and/or vibrational qualities of the bass bar to work it's best? I was toying with the idea of trying a Realist under the treble foot, then blending in something else, but I'm getting the impression this may prove to be a waste of time.

 

Dude Mon,
It seems to my ears, that what there is underneath that foot generally ain't a great balance of what a bass's sound has to offer...It is much easier to take the mud out of the E foot side (with a realist or PUTW) then attempt to wrangle a sound out of the other side. Anyway there are better places to get treble sounds (like a little higher on the E foot)
I really like the full circle idea and wish it could work with these goofy (but great) adjusters I have.

 

As seen in this thread, I am not simply after "treble sounds". More like body sounds for the G/D, and string sounds for the E/A.

I liked the FC idea in theory as well. Then I heard it. Which is why I'm still experimenting. Not getting on with your Vektor?

 

Hi Piro,
The Full Circle can be made to work with the titanium adjusters, I talked to Mr. Moser recently and he said if I had any customers wanting the f c fitted, I should send them to him, he's got the machines to do it.

 

maybe a little far away from the thread, but: i use a fullcircle built into the moser-adjusters (aluminium) and that works really well.
FC sounds fine and moser-adjusters work like a swiss-watch-clockwork. in my opinion a great combination.

 

Oh no mon,
I am still way in to the Vektor. It is just the best pick up there is (properly fitted and preamped) There are times when I feel that I need that more direct, in my ear presence..Sometimes I play in really big washy halls (an absolute acoustic mess) and the Vektor is fine but, I dont know, I like choices.

Now how is this done with the FC and MPM adjusters? I just cant imagine how you fit both? Anybody got a picture?
Sorry for the hijack...

Thanks toby for the battery holder....The gigpro though...it really makes your pick up sing....


T-Bal let it resonate for a minute and then convince yourself to try the Vektor I think you will like it...especially with a hifi rig like you got...

 

here´s a picture of the mpm adjuster with FC

 

ah ha!
Oh I'll have that done. Although the full circle is the best piezo I've played (that is, the best piezo that is really useful to play gigs with, all the other having big faults somewhere in their make up...) it is way flat compared to the Vektor. But what it does well (the two extremes, the low end and the high) it does well. I heard Larry Greanadier play FC into a GK recently and although the mids always come out nasally, the rest sounded really nice. And it was great to hear all of what he was up to. I've heard him many times where his sound was often slightly hidden (he digs that sound a lot I think) and only a mic into the PA...and his acoustic sound of course (way big)
I think he would really dig the Vektor.

 

Just trying to understand your comparison. You say the FC is flat, but emphasizes lows and highs. This seems to be contradictory, unles you meant flat not in an EQ sense, but flat as in blah. In which case did you also mean the Vektor is not flat as in "not blah"?

I'm an L.G. fan. Is he still using Animas?

Sorry for th hijack

 

yea flat as in a sound that has a paucity of the rich body resonance and fatness of the bass. The Vektor is somewhere between a mic and a pup...more direct then a mic but without the nasal twang and unrealistic narrow sound of a piezo. That said, open sounding pickups can often have problems (indefinate sound wolfy tones etc...) this Vector (on my bass) sounds like what a pup should sound like, it does not have the air of a mic outside the bass, but it has a lot of the complexities of the instrument. It IS a mic picking up what the realist picks up. Sometimes if I play my melodica right next to my bass bridge, it bleeds into the mic and comes out the amp faintly, so it is a mic, just one in contact with the table of the instrument.
Toby sent one to my luthier who just put on Geoff Brennan's bass. I hope he weighs in here at some point and tells us what he thinks. He plays with a bunch of different kinds of bands and it would be interesting to hear what he thinks.
again sorry for the hijack...I'll continue this on the Vektor thread...