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Double Bass Pickups for Arco (any updates)?

bdengler

bdengler

Jan 23, 2000
248
1
New Albany, Ohio
#1
Have any of you had recent successes with pick ups that work best for arco? Currently, I'm using the Shadow pick up. Not bad, but still "crunchy" in sound. The one thing I can say in Shadow's favor is that the responss is fairly even across all strings. We've tried microphones at church but any mike that we we tried get's lost over the PA (I'm competing with electric guitars, keyboards, etc.). I'm moving to a smaller bass (I'm keeping my current one), so I need a second set of pickups and I'd like one that would sound good with arco.

Many thanks, Brian
 
#2
I guess my old, dead, Realist was a good arco pup. Pretty dark. Too fragile for the real world of full frontal bassing. I have a busted one in my string drawer if you want to try to fix it.

I think that the Full Circle that one of my students has would be great. Sounds very nice.

I've used a K&K Double Big Twin for some time now. It doesn't seem to get much love, but I like it a lot. Almost invisible, nice balance, great pizz, great arco. I had the other one, that mixed the two K&K pups (what was that called?... oh yeah, the Bass Master Pro)... but I prefer the DBT by itself. I thinks it's underrated, and overshadowed by some of the other "name" pups.

Some of these things are great in concept, but really, the best thing is something that stays out of the way and makes the bass loud. I have an expensive AMT mic with a tailpiece mount that has been sidelined several times by a cheapo cord that breaks when you look at it sideways. It's on the bench now, again. Sad and frustrating. I'll most likely sell it soon, because it's useless **** when it's broken. I don't think I'm hard on equipment, but I work in an environment where people step on my stuff, and it's a consideration when I buy equipment. I can't even count how many times people have strolled over my cables and popped out the little clip that mounts the pup to the afterlength of the strings. At this point, I think my K&K, maybe fdeck's little preamp that he makes, and I'm good. No more headaches.

This is "jazz arco" in my case, but pups only exist for that application anyway..

Are you using a preamp?
 
#3
I've been using a Stat-B for a few years now and think it works well for both pizz and arco. It could use a volume cut for arco work to match the pizz volume, like many other pups. I wear the included preamp on my belt and cut the volume a bit that way if needed. A foot pedal might be more convenient as it is hands off.

The arco sound is not as natural as the Realist, but the pizz is much more usable for me. It's a good compromise both ways and more refined sounding than the piezo pups I've heard. If you really want to get into it, I'd use the Realist (or other body oriented pup or mic) for arco and a pickup of your choice for pizz, and have an A/B switcher. There is a lengthy thread on this concept on the forum.
 
#4
I am using an old (1997 or so) Realist and a K&K Golden Bullet microphone, connected to a D-TAR Solstice preamp. The bowed sound is quite good, and the pizz sound is fantastic. The typically loud and nasal quality we have come to hate from our pickups when played arco is not an issue with this setup.
 
#5
lofreek said:
I am using an old (1997 or so) Realist and a K&K Golden Bullet microphone, connected to a D-TAR Solstice preamp. The bowed sound is quite good, and the pizz sound is fantastic. The typically loud and nasal quality we have come to hate from our pickups when played arco is not an issue with this setup.
Click to expand...


This sounds like a great combination. I currently have a Realist that I use for orchestra work (arco 95% of the time) and a K&K BassMax for mainly pizz work. If I wanted to let go of some cash and upgrade my setup, I would use this exact combo (or you could use the K&K Golden Trinity preamp for the more budget conscience choice).
 
#6
At the risk of being laughed at by all the fellows, I will say that I am still using an Underwood pickup and really like the arco sound.

Of course, I am putting it through a graphic equalizer and shaping the tone before it gets to the amp, to chill out the raspy/nasally thing. I just do the old sound-person thing of raising/lowering adjacent sliders, so that I set a trend in the shape I want, with alternating sliders heading in the opposite direction (one goes up, its neighbors go down).

Another disclaimer is that these days I am just a hobbyist/weekend warrior player, so have different needs/criteria/investment than I did when I was working nightly and professionally ambitious. I can deal with my ancient technology without shame or regret. It sounds fine, so it works for my needs. If I were out there, night after night, I might dig deeper into a more elegant, updated alternative.

The disadvantages to the Underwood and its ilk are obvious and thoroughly discussed; any bridge wing pickup alters acoustic sound. So, I just pull the Underwood out if I need optimal acoustic sound. Mostly, I just leave it in...
 
#9
On a side note, I am always puzzled by that expression, even though I use it myself.

Some of the most compelling natural beauty I have ever encountered was in the posteriors of a few lovely women.

How did we ever make this a bad thing? Anyone? :)
 
#11
I've gone from the realist(3-4 years) to full circle (3-4 years) and now i've settled on the yamahiko pickup from japan.
I believe this is where fishman got it's inspiration for the full circle pickup.

The response however is very different from full circle. It actually captures the resonance of the bass in a way a mic would. As you hit the body of the bass, you can hear the air chamber resonating and fading off. Most pickups would just die off almost immediately.

The arco sound is great and not nasal. Volume balance between arco and pizz is very much acceptable, altho if i can remember properly, the realist might be a hair better. Not very far off at all.

And fyi, the same pickup is used for miking up piano and koto(traditional japan zither), therefore you can really hear the full frequency spectrum of your double bass.
 
#13
brandonwong said:
I've gone from the realist(3-4 years) to full circle (3-4 years) and now i've settled on the yamahiko pickup from japan.
I believe this is where fishman got it's inspiration for the full circle pickup.

The response however is very different from full circle. It actually captures the resonance of the bass in a way a mic would. As you hit the body of the bass, you can hear the air chamber resonating and fading off. Most pickups would just die off almost immediately.

The arco sound is great and not nasal. Volume balance between arco and pizz is very much acceptable, altho if i can remember properly, the realist might be a hair better. Not very far off at all.

And fyi, the same pickup is used for miking up piano and koto(traditional japan zither), therefore you can really hear the full frequency spectrum of your double bass.
Click to expand...

Very cool. Thanks for mentioning this.

Here's a photo link:

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and more about the product, etc.:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#16
I think that is Eddie Gomez by the way, and it is just how he wants it to sound. If you have seen most of his footage or his heard his CDs, he likes it that way.
I have the pickup and somehow it doesn't sound anything like the website, at least to me.
I just did a couple of tracks this week for a singer. I'll see if i can get them up and put them up.
 
#17
Thanks for you suggestions. I basically play orchestral style at church. The church seats 1,400. The other strings use mikes, which we tried for the bass but it wasn't clear enough to cut through the din. The Shadow at least provided a clear signal. The Realist may be good for bowing, but I may pizz a few pieces (e.g., Jazz or folk style). So, I'm wondering if I'm better of with a Realist or Full Circle. I don't want to get too complicated by using a mike, another pickup, a pre-amp, etc. Too much stuff with very little space. Right now, I just plug the Shadow into a GK amp, which serves as a good "floor monitor" and seems to pre-amp the signal sufficiently for the sound board.

Regards, Brian
 

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