Double Bass Pickup Mounting Material

[stringtapper]

What kind of material is best/what have you used to mount a K&K Bass Max pickup onto the bridge of an upright?

I'm thinking it needs material for where the pickup itself goes on the bridge as well as material for the jack portion to sit on the A snd D strings below the bridge.

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Remyd]

I use a wine cork with my piezo because it's springy and keeps everything wedged in pretty good. Isn't there a mounting bracket for the jack included with the pickup?

 

[carl h.]

I use a clarinet reed to wedge in the piezo.

 

[stringtapper]

Yeah the bracket is there but it's metal so I'm thinking there will need to be something thin between it and the strings…?

I'll look into cork as a solution for the pickup itself. Thanks!

 

[carl h.]

No need for something in the 1/4 mounting. String tension keeps it quiet.

 

[Remyd]

Yeah the bracket is there but it's metal so I'm thinking there will need to be something thin between it and the strings…?

It never came up in 10 years of playing one of those - the string vibrates appropriately for the bracket and I never heard anything.

 

[stringtapper]

Ok that's a relief!

 

[Francois Blais]

I use a piece of thick cardboard to shim the PU.

 

[Roger Davis]

Go to the Deli and buy a cheese in a wooden package. The wood is usually in two thicknesses so you can cut out a shim to the right size. (Whisper it softly) I have even used a cheese package to make up a couple of shims to go under the bridge feet to raise the action by 2mm.

Of course, if you're allergic to cheese..................

 

[stringtapper]

Just an update on this. I got the pickup and the preamp mounted successfully. Thanks to everyone for the replies.

As far as this goes:

It never came up in 10 years of playing one of those - the string vibrates appropriately for the bracket and I never heard anything.

I did end up having to put a little bit of foam on both sides of the pickup jack bracket because I was getting a vibration I couldn't stand. It may not have even been bleeding into the signal but I could hear it and feel it from the bass itself and it was bugging the hell out of me!

The K&K isn't sounding too bad through my AI Ten2!