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Double Bass Pickup with Gut Strings

#21
Hi Troy, I'll be honest I haven't read all of the replies here so I may be repeating someone..

Try a microphone.
I play guts, (NOS Artones at the moment- lucky me!!) and I use a small omni bug mic, similar to the DPA but way better) and I blu tak it on the belly next to the f hole. I go straight into a powered 12" PA speaker (far better than a bass amp with a mic) and I love the sound.
Solid bridge (no adjusters) helps get a fuller woodier pizz and arco sound too.
Try a mic :)
Sam
 
#25
samriley said:
Good smart arse comment though.
Click to expand...

It's what I do ;)

In all seriousness though - I think we're all on board with the "never-ending-journey" aspect if getting this stuff sorted. Me? Finished searching? Baahahahaha.....

Miking the bass is fine - sounds great, and some of the engineers I work with are moving past the "warming up to the idea" stage, and actually showing up to gigs with a Pro35 in their box, just so we can try it. Cool, I say...but you can't mike all the time - due to volume issues, fast changeovers, shoddy house systems with no phantom power for your condenser, guitar players that show up with weird un-isolated DI systems that can't take the 48v without blowing up, etc. etc... and sometimes you just want to know you have a good pickup-based backup solution in place so you don't wind up looking like a foo' at soundcheck when one of the above happens.
It's certainly worth discussing how to get a decent sound out of a pickup, especially when the OP had already tried a mike, and found a way to make the Underwood work better.
 
#26
I understand the need for a backup pickup for when a mic won't work so well but I am yet to find one that amplifies well the sound of a bass with gut strings and big action. I've tried underwood, hate them. Recently had a realist on my bass, that lasted one day before I removed it, sounded nothing like my bass. Therefore I stick by the micing method. Luckily I can get a very loud sound before feedback with my setup and then DI my speaker when I need to or sometimes I'll ask the sound tech to mic the bass acoustically near the f hole with my RE20, depending on the situation this can work really well. Still waiting for that magical pickup that sounds just like a mic. I just don't think they're anywhere close to it yet unfortunately
 
#27
I'm hating on the Realist that came with my latest bass purchase (50s Czech solid flat back). Dlugolecki D/G/A, Spiro E (for now). Super quacky, no body to the D/G strings. I've got a new Full Circle (love the FC on my other bass) that I need to install...just need to decide if I'm going to try to re-drill and tap the bridge that's on the bass now (different thread sizes), or go to the trouble of installing a new bridge. I also just got an EV Cardinal mic that I'm going to give a whirl...if I can figure out how to mount it. I think for super loud gigs, I'm less concerned with reproducing the sound of my bass than getting a good, full sound. The Realist isn't delivering either.

I love the guts on this bass, looking forward to figuring out the amplification! Thanks for reviving this thread, Samriley!
 
#29
Installed it last night (was able to enlarge and tap the holes without issue). Plugged it in at home (AE Doubler>Ampeg 2X8 cab), and immediately 100% better. Gig tonight, I'll report back. I really like the FC on my other bass, and have gigged with it for years. I'm expecting the same on this bass, especially when I get my BigE MAS85 this week!
 

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