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Double Bass Old-school pickups thread

Peck_Time

Peck_Time

Mar 21, 2005
680
175
51
Wellington, New Zealand
#1
i’m starting a thread to celebrate those pickups we all ‘know’ are bad compared to todays latest gee-whiz doodackeys.

I’ve been using the Barcus-Berry pickup- the one that has two screws that attach it to the bridge, for the last 3 or 4 months.

It was a post by Damon Smith that got me interested in it.

I’m loving it, it has a refreshing clarity and none of the artificial muddiness of the full circle. Through my Headway preamp it sounds great!

So, obviously I could be an outlier with no musical taste, but is there anyone else out there playing a pickup from the dark days of the 70s?
 
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#4
I love the sound of un-amped bass and always play unamped if I can, but I appreciate the character of a good amped bass- some of those 1970s albums have really flavourful amped sounds- Ron Carter with CTI etc.

I think that’s why I like the Barcus Berry. It has a real flavour to the sound that makes the full circle sound dull to me.
 
#8
Peck_Time said:
I’ve been using the Barcus-Berry pickup- the one that has two screws that attach it to the bridge, for the last 3 or 4 months.

It was a post by Damon Smith that got me interested in it.

I’m loving it, it has a refreshing clarity and none of the artificial muddiness of the full circle. Through my Headway preamp it sounds great!
Click to expand...
Yes, who was it that posted a clip with some free jazz trio playing with that a couple of months ago? Sounded very god, clear indeed, through a 15" loudspeaker, if I remember correctly...
 
#9
If I remember correctly, after Polytone was Barcus-Berry stick on, Fishman clipon (Krazy glued to underside of bridge, clips attached only when plugging in), B-B bridge, Underwood, Schertler, Realist copper, Fishman FC, and finally the Realist Lifeline. Managed to avoid Barbera due to hassle and expense. Currently no pickup.
 
#10
Polytone to Barcus-Berry stick on, to Underwood, to Schertler Stat B, has been my trajectory. Still have the BB with preamp sitting around, occasionally use the Underwood which was full time for 20 years (1/2 that one element), and settled on the Schertler many years ago.

I remember the Polytone as being junk, poor sounding and difficult to keep mounted as the screws kept contracting. The BB stick-on I remember as clear sounding and quite good. I got the Underwood as so many were using it and I wanted to check it. I must have liked it better than the BB cause I stuck with it. I tried an original 2 element Schertler and thought it had a more open tone than the UW. It wasn't for sale, so I bought a one element and have been happy with it close to twenty years. I had a Realist mounted for a year, but didn't like the mud, nice Arco though..
 
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#12
Eric Hochberg said:
I remember the Polytone as being junk, poor sounding and difficult to keep mounted as the screws kept contracting.
Click to expand...
Eric,
Did you ever install the Polytone "diagonally" on the bridge? (NOT parallel with the top, but from the foot, up to the top part of that arc on the bridge.) I recall this producing a different, (though not necessarily better!), sound.
Thanks for the memories.
 
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#15
Ok,
Here we go, Barcus Berry Silver Bar with putty. ( treble and upper midrance, over emphasized, feedbacks quickly). I had to have the adjuster milled down, because the pickup was to large to
fit the arch of my bridge, feedback at low volumes. Paul Tonnenges Magnetic a four element magnetic pickup that mounted under the fingerboard. Loud as !#* if you want a giant bass guitar.
Underwood, great pickup into a Walter Woods MI-100-8 as long as you didn't use a bow, or play two loud. Fishman BP-100 absolutely the worst pickup I ever owned. To much upper midrange
and a terrible mounting system, very prone to feedback. I also played a D'Armond Bass Pickup when I subbed for another player. It couldn't get very loud, but it didn't sound terrible. Just my take.
Pickups are so much better now.
 
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#18
Don Kasper said:
Eric,
Did you ever install the Polytone "diagonally" on the bridge? (NOT parallel with the top, but from the foot, up to the top part of that arc on the bridge.) I recall this producing a different, (though not necessarily better!), sound.
Thanks for the memories.
Click to expand...
Yes. SlantedSlanted much better for me. Still have the indentations in my bridge 40 years later. How about the D'Armond contact mic with the cockamamie lever attached to the tailpiece? I actually liked the very first (I believe) Barcus Berry that was built into a bridge that you had fitted to your bass, ala the Barbera. When I sold that bass the pick up went with it.
 
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#20
Don Kasper said:
Eric,
Did you ever install the Polytone "diagonally" on the bridge? (NOT parallel with the top, but from the foot, up to the top part of that arc on the bridge.) I recall this producing a different, (though not necessarily better!), sound.
Thanks for the memories.
Click to expand...
Those pick ups especially that way can sound great through a modern amp. The main issue is getting them grounded. I used it for years. With the AI Clarus I get a pretty acoustic sound with the Barcus Berry, though my favorite aspects of it are that it comes off the bass easily and the lightness interferes less with the un-amplified sound so I can use a volume pedal and play acoustic when possible.
 

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