pickup guestion

Highly recommended by many bassists of all genres of music:

http://www.uptonbass.com/Double-Bass-Pickup-Revolution-SOLO-II-RS2/

I have one - flawless performance - no pre-amp required - direct plug-in to amp and/or sound system.

You can't beat the price / quality.

 

I haven't tried the Revolution, but also consider the Gage Realistic. Mounts on the body under the foot of the bridge, and I think is around the same price.

 

You can get an Underwood from Lemur which I've had great luck with.

http://shop1.mailordercentral.com/lemurmusic/products.asp?dept=58

I now use the Realist by David Gage and have great sound with. See the following link:

http://www.urbbob.com/realist.html Bob has a bunch of other pickups as well.

 

I've had good luck with the Realist and also use the Fishman Full Circle. All those mentioned are similar designs but will all sound different on different basses. YMMV. Only thing you should be aware of is the impedance -- some of these pickups (the Realist is one) will need some kind of transformer/DI/preamp before going into some PAs, and it's a rare breed of sound person that knows about this. The realist will blow out a system if you're not careful. Beware!

 

I've an list on many (if not all) pickups for double bass on my www.doublebassguide.com site. Maybe it helps to get an overview on what's available. And if you have chosen your pickup, I'd be glad to find your comment there!
Jonas

 

Normally I use a very expensive condenser mic (DPA 4021) which sounds fantastic. Lately I've been mixing it with my old K&K bassmax to get more volume when I need it. At last night's gig, I spaced and left the mic at home so I used the K&K by itself and I had forgotten just how good this thing is all by itself. It doesn't need a pre-amp and I can run the EQ flat on my bass with this pickup.

I know a bunch of fellows who use the Realist and it sounds very good to me. Perhaps a bit "woodier" but I also think it feeds back faster. I've also heard a fellow using the Rev Solo, and that was a good amped sound, very similar to the K&K Bassmax.

Pickups like these often sound very different on different basses, so you might want to experiment a bit. I used to use the K&K on my old plywood bass and on that bass it sounded more like an electric guitar. On my present carved bass it sounds altogether different;- much more the true character of the bass.

You mentioned the sound man, and that does make a very big difference. Unfortunately it is one that is not so easy to fix because many of these techs have no experience with a DB. Some things I have found that helped in that department:

If these are available on the mixer, the rumble filters (low frequency cut) should be active on all the channels but yours.

Have the sound man reduce the volume of your instrument in the monitors. Many times the monitor send from the board channel is "dry" and can't be EQ'd so it will be impossible to control any feedback frequencies in the monitor mix.

If your amp has good EQ controls (best is a parametric cut or a sweepable notch filter), work on getting adequate stage volume from your amp and send a post-EQ signal directly to the board if your amp allows it. Some direct outs have a post / pre button.

I prefer to get the feedback out at the stage source and then send that out to the board with my EQ. That way the stage amp, the board, and the monitors are all getting an EQ'd signal.

 

My point is that the pickup sounds different on different basses. Since it is bridge mounted, some of that could just be the different bridges. It may have had very little to do with the plywood, or everything to do with it, or some combination, or even another variable that went unnoticed. A great deal of nearly impossible experimentation would be involved to know what made the difference.

I think the best thing to do is get one of the pickups (which one is not so important) and try it out. If you know someone who has one of these try to get a listen. If it is a pickup that can be easily swapped onto your bass (the Realist is not), see if someone will let you try it out. I've heard very different results even on two basses that otherwise seem very similar.

 

get an underwood
cheep and sounds decent

 

I have a ply, and have gotten good results with the Bass Max. I prefer the Rev Solo and use it now, but it takes some very exacting work to get the fit right in the bridge; the Bass Max is much more forgiving.

I tried the Realist, but found it sounded too dark on my bass, and had something of a mid-bass honk - called it my "foghorn" sound! I mention this only because I've heard several players comment that the Realist didn't work well for them on laminated basses, but sounds great with a carved top.

No comment on the six rounds. Looks cheap and homemade to me (which I think it is).

 

I got the Full Circle on my LaScala,and it sounds great.

 

That's exactly what I use and have had no problems with it. It's easy to install and easy to maintain. It sounds great.

 

I was about to post almost the same thing. I have a big-sounding plywood bass (New Standard Cleveland). It came with a Realist and I could never get rid of the boomy bass or dial in clear highs, even with a preamp. Got a BassMax which has much of the oomph of the Realist, with a nice dose of clarity. "Forgiving" is a good description--not 100% perfect tone, but very easy to dial in a 90% tone quickly 95% of the time.

Rev Solo is also pretty good--it's more true to the acoustic sound but very sensitive to the slightest changes in pressure & location. Tried an Underwood-with Pirastro Jazzer strings it gave me the best amplified pizz & arco tone I've had but didn't like their acoustic tone, and didn't like the Underwood when I changed strings.

 

I like the Rev Solo II for the simplicity (see Tejano's posting above) but I love best of all the sound I get from a big condenser microphone. I used to use it on a stand, but tomorrow I'll be trying it with the H-clamp from Bob Gollihur, which just arrived in today's mail.

 

As seems to be the case for others, the Bass Max also made any bass I had sound like a big bass guitar. It's quick and easy and is a "hot" pickup in terms of output but, in my experience, has a very unrefined, mid-range-heavy sound. I much prefer the Rev Solo. It does require more effort to achieve the right fit but, for me anyway, it's well worth it.