Double Bass Pickups for Solid Body EUB

[Bassboy9764]

My apologies if this has been asked before, I searched and did not see it specifically addressed.


I am building a solid body electric upright bass out of Walnut. I have very little experience with upright basses, let alone EUBs. My question is would a transducer pickup like the David Gage Realist or Fishman Full Circle work if installed under the bridge on a solid body bass? If not, what alternatives should I consider? I am building a bass very similar to the one in this picture. It will be equipped with an adjustable bridge.
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[Francois Blais]

I think a Full-Circle would work better than the Realist on a solid-body instrument.
That said, you could consider a wing pickup as well.
Do you plan to get a regular DB bridge and fit it?

 

[Bassboy9764]

Yes I'll be fitting a standard double bass bridge on it. Would the fishman full circle be more appropriate because it mounts to the bridge (in place of an adjuster) instead of directly on the body? By that reasoning, should I also consider a realist lifeline?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

The Realist should work too. I build a pickup myself for my solid body Clevinger EUB using piezo disks cut into shape and sandwiched between wood (needed some experiments and cutting out some wood for the solder points). The sound of the pickup is very good, only the signal is rather weak because the piezo disks are thin and made for bending, not for pressure.

But the closer to the "top" and more distant to the string you place the pickup the more noise from the body and less attack from the strings you get. But this also makes the best bowing sound. If you don't play with the bow or rather seldom, a Full Circle might be better.