Double Bass Old Barcus Berry Pickup---repair advice

[Charley Sabatino]

Hi,

I have this old Barcus Berry pickup---the sound is nice and warm, but it is noisy---it sounds like there is a grounding problem---I checked the jack connections and everything seems OK. There is a capacitor and a resistor in the jack---could the capacitor be bad? I emailed Barcus Barry---they say it is too old and they have no info.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!!

 

[robgrow]

Those pickups were problematic when they were new, and unfortunately age doesn't make them any better. These days there are pickups available that are so much better than the old Barcus Berry, such as the Fishman Full Circle and Gage Realist. In the long run, I think you'd be much better off with one of those.

Good luck.

Edit: Everyone is right of course that it's a Polytone pickup. If you contact Polytone, they may be able to help with service issues on the pickup. PM me if you need their phone number.

 

[MingusAmongUs]

Those pickups were problematic when they were new, and unfortunately age doesn't make them any better. These days there are pickups available that are so much better than the old Barcus Berry, such as the Fishman Full Circle and Gage Realist. In the long run, I think you'd be much better off with one those.

Good luck.

I must agree. My first bass came with a Barcus Berry bridge with pickup built in. If it sounds anything like that, you can do much better. But if you like the sound of it I guess the first thing to do would be to try cleaning out the contacts. Others would know better what to use but I think a carbeurator cleaning product might work?

 

[Charley Sabatino]

Thanks,

I have a realist on my working bass---I was just trying to play around with this one on one of my other basses.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[SAlcott]

Looks like an old Polytone to me; put in a drawer. Don't waste your time on something that will not sound good even when it's working perfectly.

 

[Jaromir]

Yes, it's a Polytone, not Barcus Berry. However - if it works with someone's bass, why to change it...

 

[Charley Sabatino]

Thanks everyone---I am just messing around with it to see if I can get it to work----

Thanks for all your input!!!!

 

[Bob Branstetter]

The old Polytone pickups have two brass sections. Many times these pickups can be put back in service by carefully cutting away the white caulking seal between the two pieces and gently pulling the two sections apart. Be careful with the smaller section since the element is attached inside on the other end and can be broken if you are not careflul when handling it. On this smaller section there will be a ring that looks like a wide rubber band with a piece of conducting foil wrapped around it (I think this is the ground). If this part is hard and won't move easily, cut it off and reuse the foil on another similar size rubber band. Polish all the inside brass surfaces with steel wool or something similar. When this is done, replace the rubber band/foil around the smaller section and carefully slide the two sections back together and then seal the end with bathroom silicon caulk. I can't guarantee this will work for you, but I've fixed a lot of them over the years with this method.

By today's standards, the old brass Polytone pickups would not be considered to be especially good. However, before the modern transducers arrived on the scene, they were one of the best pickups out there IMO. I used one on my bass and used several Polytone amps with it for about 20 years.

 

[CB3000]

Hi,

I have this old Barcus Berry pickup---the sound is nice and warm, but it is noisy---it sounds like there is a grounding problem---I checked the jack connections and everything seems OK. There is a capacitor and a resistor in the jack---could the capacitor be bad? I emailed Barcus Barry---they say it is too old and they have no info.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!!

View attachment 79819

if it was me i would remove the pickup pleads from the jack and try a new jack. just straight to the jack. then i would plug that into and amp see how it sounds. then i would try it thru a preamp with eq and see if i could get a good sound. (if you don't have another jack you can remove the cap and resistor).

my guess is the cap and resistor are there to warm up the sound a bit because this thing was made when you just had to run right to an amp.
if that works then bingo. if not, i would replace the cap and resistor. i would also look really closely to see if shielding and ground wires are all still solid.

 

[petersenbass]

What does everybody think of the clamp-style Barcus Berry?
I saw one on ebay, new for $60 plus shipping

 

[CB3000]

What does everybody think of the clamp-style Barcus Berry?
I saw one on ebay, new for $60 plus shipping

is that with the preamp? if so, jump all over it. but i think that is for the pickup only. from what i remember it "needs" the barcus berry preamp. but i am not sure. that would be the thing to check closely. it may work fine without it!

 

[petersenbass]

It's the pickup only. I'm thinking any piezo pickup will need a preamp.
It just seems I've heard of pros using the Barcus Berry and the clamp style seems
easy to deal with.

I'm also trying to get in touch with TB user "jflojazz" about his pickups.

 

[Ike Harris]

Was doing a search on Polytone history and ran into this thread. I have somewhere in my house an old Barcus preamp if you or someone wants it. PM me. BTW, which came first, the BB or Polytone?

Ike