• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Pickup/Preamp combinations you've owned

#41
I have a BP100 and Fishman bass preamp vintage around 1993. The preamp is the old metal housing one, bass, treble, and gain knobs. I fasten it to the tailpiece with velcro. I used to clip the BP100 to the treble side F hole on my old Kay, but now I have it superglued to the back side of the bridge on my new Roma. I have an SWR Workingmans 12, but I rarely ever use it. I usually just go straight to the board. I get an ok sound unless its a really bad room, and then what can you do anyway? For recording, or if theres a really good pa and soundman, I'll ditch the pu and play into a good condenser. I prefer using the pu cause of convenience and not being tied to a mic. Never have found a suitable clip on mic. Never enough gain before feedback is usually the prob with that.
I'm sure there's better p.u.s nowadays, but what I've got works so I've never shelled out bucks just to experiment. I don't play jazz, just bluegrass or really old time country. All my band needs is a good audible thump on the downbeat.
One of these days the old rig is bound to fail so then I'll prob get a K&K, Revolution, or a Realist.

Prior to the BP100, its was wrap a mic in foam and stuff it behind the tailpiece.
 
#42
Hopefully reviving this thread. . .

I'm an eager amateur, having struggled with electric bass setups in huge PA systems decades ago, recently joining a 6 piece bluegrass band. They want to keep the PA simple, using one central Audio Technica AT 4033 mic with no monitor, all of us standing in a wide semicircle around it. This works great in fine concert halls with enormous stages and silent audiences (the one time we actually had such a gig); it was like playing unamplified in rehearsal, and my bass reportedly sounded pretty good. But this works poorly in parties and coffee shops and bars where we typically play, with no additional amplification on monitors. My bass is a 7/8 Christopher, Model 303.

Now, the group is giving up on the single mike idea, and adding side mics and possible monitors. So, I'm back to amplifying myself. I tried a small lavalier mic pinned into the f-hole, running straight into the mixing board, and it seemed marginally adequate, although hearing myself was still a problem. Now, I'm trying a Realist fed straight into the mixer, which I'm told sounds particularly good through the main speakers. But I still need to hear myself better. Later, I'd like to try adding a small mic, mixed with the Realist.

Is there a way to use the Realist without a separate amp/speaker for the bass alone (relying on the stage monitors)? If so, is there some ideal preamp I should consider? Or, can I use a small bass amp that has an auxiliary send to the board?
 
#44
BP 100 (w/Fishman Preamp)=CRAP

Realist= CRAP that then died after 3 years

BP 100+Realist mixed by Ravenlabs MDB-1= a little better. Awful arco sound, even with orchestral strings

B Band Statement into Avalon U5= big improvement; bband best amplified arco sound I've gotten. This setup is good for quiet theatre/bluegrass festival audiences/PAs. Venues with big PAs including VW-Bug-sized subs= feedback nightmare.

Almost nothing has been said about the bass plugged into all this electronic hoo-ha. I recently played a plywood bass set up for rockabilly w/gut strings et al. The instrument had almost no sound compared with my carved Juzek. Aha!! Just wish I could afford a good plywood intrument for amplified gigs. The lesson here seems to be the better the bass (by "better" I mean a bass with a big natural sound), the harder it is to amplify.

I also have been using Velvet SUITs (best combo jazz/orchestral string out there IMO). These strings are expensive pains-in-the-ass that are totally worth the tribulations as long as one is playing low-volume gigs. Beautiful, silky feel with a sweet clear tone. A pleasure to bow and they still go "pwaaa" when played pizz. Just don't put them on until you can give them a week to settle down. Had to take these off to go back to a steel-core string (Helicore Hybrids) for use with magnetic pickups @8-(*

Awaiting a String Charger that I will then mix with the BBand via the Ravenlabs. That way at high-volume gigs I can have a "giant P-bass" that, per my band, still "looks cool onstage" (read: "it's an upright!") and I can blend the magnetic PU out at the low volume gigs. The Helicore Hybrid G string sounds like chainsaw arco, BTW.

Shaun Kelley
 
#47
Hi,

Does anyone know of Bryk magnetic pick ups for DB?I have been searching for months and can't seem to get in touch with Bryk.

They have a web-site that times out after a while,think they are made in Germany or Poland? Ideally if I can find a distributor over here that would be great.

Thanks
Calum
 
#48
My first pickup/amp combo was a De-Armond contact pickup with a 20w Gibson amp in 1960. It was louder and that was good then.
1965...L&K magnetic pickup with the Gibson Amp

Left the music business for 10 years.

1985...L&K pickup with a Kustom 200 amp.

1991...Fishman BP-100 with a stompbox preamp & the Kustom amp.

1993.. Tried an Underwood on a few gigs then went back to the Fishman.

1996...Fishman BP-100 + Crown GLM mic through a Fishman Blender into the Kustom amp.

2000...Fishman BP-100 + Crown GLM into a rack mounted Rane AP-13 preamp (blender on steroids), QSC PLX-2402 amp & 2 EA VL-110 cabinets. A nice rig with tons of headroom but a bit too much to move from gig to gig.

2004... Tried a Fishman Full Circle but just on a couple of gigs then went back to the BP-100.

2005...Fishman BP-100 & AMT mic into the Rane & QSC with the EAs.

2009...Still the Fishman and AMT and a Phil Jones Bass Suitcase amp (2 individual channels) with their 4B extension cab. The nicest sound yet.

2010..No more Fishman! I'm now using a Wilson pickup (bridge mounted piezo) and the AMT mic, both into the Phil Jones.
This set up is my final rig. I can't imagine a nicer, more natural sound. Hardly a gig goes by that someone doesn't say something about how nice it sounds. At one local jazz club they say I have the nicest sounding bass in town, even other bassists say it. The best comment yet was a vocalist that said she was amazed at how nice and full my bass sounded on the gig with out using an amplifier. I had used the amp all night but was just standing in front of it! It cuts through any band but still sounds like an acoustic bass. I can even play with a 14 piece big band without feedback. I turn down the mic with big bands and use just the Wilson pickup.

I hope I didn't ramble too much. I have been trying to find a nice amplified accoustic sound for a long time and finally got it right for me. It might not be the right sound for you but keep trying until you find yours.

Thanks for listening.
 
#49
Rees Chapman said:
Is there a way to use the Realist without a separate amp/speaker for the bass alone (relying on the stage monitors)? If so, is there some ideal preamp I should consider? Or, can I use a small bass amp that has an auxiliary send to the board?
Click to expand...

I thought you wrote that's how you are using the realist, straight to the mixer into the PA? IMO, don't try and reinvent the wheel, get a small amp for your bass, so you and the audience can hear what you are doing, and you can easily control the sound. Most have XLR or 1/4" line outs to run into a sound system if necessary. With this setup, you shouldn't need any bass in the monitors, which will help with feedback.
 
#50
Rees Chapman said:
Hopefully reviving this thread. . ....... Now, I'm trying a Realist fed straight into the mixer, which I'm told sounds particularly good through the main speakers. But I still need to hear myself better. Later, I'd like to try adding a small mic, mixed with the Realist.
Click to expand...

Rees,
You don't necessarily need to add the microphone at all, frankly it just makes things a lot more complicated. Now personally, I've never liked the way the Realist sounds through a P.A., so, if you're going to do that then you either need to buffer the input into the P.A. or just get a small amp like the GK MB112 that will do that for you and send the line out to the mains. Which would be much simpler.


Rees Chapman said:
Is there a way to use the Realist without a separate amp/speaker for the bass alone (relying on the stage monitors)? If so, is there some ideal preamp I should consider? Or, can I use a small bass amp that has an auxiliary send to the board?
Click to expand...

You could certainly do that, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Sending a Realist back through the monitors unless you have a separate channel for the bass is also likely to create feedback and you're going to hear all the the other instruments coming from the monitor.
 
#51
I've got a pickup that resembles an EMG or similar that I bought off the bass player for Kukuruza Band in '98 (?)...Andrei Baslyk I believe.
It might be Russian or USA parts. No idea. No labels on the pickup. I've had it for 12or so years and never tried to use it. I play a Meisel 3/4 and use have used all sorts of mics and have a BP-100 mounted on the bridge. Never cared much for the Fishman. Had decent success with various mics.
Got curious to see if the pickup would work...it does, and has a really nice sound when set to about neck level, close to the end of the fingerboard, with one pickup centered beneath G and D, and the other pickup beneath A and E. There is a 'best' location for them.
Gonna be a tidy bit of work to mount these things without modifications to the bass. Don't want to alter the bass.
I like the sound of the pickups. I did the same experiment with a set of Ibanez pickups some years ago and didn't care for the sound at all.
Hate to fab a bracket for the 'soap bar' pickups and have them fail. The Kukuruza bass sounded great. The sound seems what I have with these pickups. Like to be able to ID and replace them should a need arise...if I install them.
Any ideas and comments welcomed!
Thanks, JR
 

Attachments

  • Bass Pickup.jpg
    Bass Pickup.jpg
    48.4 KB · Views: 80
#52
HLJ said:
I've got a pickup that resembles an EMG or similar that I bought off the bass player for Kukuruza Band in '98 (?)...Andrei Baslyk I believe.
It might be Russian or USA parts. No idea. No labels on the pickup. I've had it for 12or so years and never tried to use it. I play a Meisel 3/4 and use have used all sorts of mics and have a BP-100 mounted on the bridge. Never cared much for the Fishman. Had decent success with various mics.
Got curious to see if the pickup would work...it does, and has a really nice sound when set to about neck level, close to the end of the fingerboard, with one pickup centered beneath G and D, and the other pickup beneath A and E. There is a 'best' location for them.
Gonna be a tidy bit of work to mount these things without modifications to the bass. Don't want to alter the bass.
I like the sound of the pickups. I did the same experiment with a set of Ibanez pickups some years ago and didn't care for the sound at all.
Hate to fab a bracket for the 'soap bar' pickups and have them fail. The Kukuruza bass sounded great. The sound seems what I have with these pickups. Like to be able to ID and replace them should a need arise...if I install them.
Any ideas and comments welcomed!
Thanks, JR
Click to expand...

JR.

You posted this in the Double Bass forums. You'll get a better response on the Bass Guitar side, since this is a BG pickup.

Ric
 
#53
FWIW, I believe the pickup is a Schaller 265. Rummaging thru active bass pickups and found the units listed as replacement for Fender. They are also being used on upright bass, but for the time I'm unable to find a pick of them mounted.
One other minor issue, all of the factory data is in German...however, anyone can interpret the schematic. Same unit with two pots rather than my one pot arrangement.
Thanks, JR
 
#54
FWIW, this is the outcome on my DB. Works great! I play old rock, honky tonk, bluegrass and folk. The rock and honky tonk really didn't cut it on the upright using mics or Fishman pups. Now it does with the P-Bass pickups.
The project took less time to complete than figuring out what the pups were. They are Schaller P-Bass.
It's got easy, clean volume, same level on all of the strings, and is way easier to get into house mix. Much easier to hear when the monitors are **eff'ed...typical with acoustic sound.
Couple of pix of the finished project.
 

Attachments

  • IMAG0141.jpg
    IMAG0141.jpg
    60.1 KB · Views: 77
  • IMAG0140.jpg
    IMAG0140.jpg
    65.1 KB · Views: 96
#55
HLJ said:
FWIW, this is the outcome on my DB. Works great! I play old rock, honky tonk, bluegrass and folk. The rock and honky tonk really didn't cut it on the upright using mics or Fishman pups. Now it does with the P-Bass pickups.
The project took less time to complete than figuring out what the pups were. They are Schaller P-Bass.
It's got easy, clean volume, same level on all of the strings, and is way easier to get into house mix. Much easier to hear when the monitors are **eff'ed...typical with acoustic sound.
Couple of pix of the finished project.
Click to expand...

HLJ,
There were once magnetic pickups built specifically for the Double Bass. Toby Guynn in Fort Worth Texas built a Dual Element P Bass Style Magnetic Pickup in the 1980's. The difference was that his pickup was custom wound and had larger elements than regular P Bass pickups.
They took into account the excursion of the double bass strings better than off the shelf Fender style bass guitar pickups.
I have a smaller set of Bartolini P Bass pickups on my old Clevenger EUB. They were modified to work with the Double Bass and sound pretty nice.
Your mounting and installation of the pickups is very nice. I had a Paul T four element magnetic pickup and didn't like it as well as the two element Toby Bass Bug. Personally, I prefer a different kind of pickup, but you're design and installation is great!

You can read about Toby Guynn here.

Untitled Document
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back