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Double Bass pickups that do not affect acoustic tone

northpaul

northpaul

Feb 4, 2006
104
49
46
New Jersey, USA
#1
I have used a Realist for about 10 years now and love the sound. This has been on my Kay. However I just recently got my hybrid set up which I usually use for chamber music and classical stuff but after this setup I am just loving the bass and would not mind using it for jazz, but I don't want to put on anything that will hurt it's acoustic tone like a Realist (as much as I love the pickup).

As I have been satisfied with the Reallist for so long I have no idea where to start looking in terms of a natural sounding pickup. I also have an old Underwood which I was never crazy about tone-wise and it doesn't fit the bridge anyways. Any suggestions?
 
#2
In my experience with the Realist the acoustic sound of my bass didn't change. If you want an easy off and on bridge pickup, the Schertler Stat-B works well and has a nice natural sound, including the mids I never got from the Realist. Toby Timber's new pickup might be worth a look, too. It is a "body" oriented p/u like the Realist. Neither of these is a piezo p/u. The Full Circle is in an adjuster wheel and stays on the bass. If you have adjusters already this would work for you and is a highly regarded p/u.
 
#3
I've used both the Realist and Full Circle pickups and can't hear any difference before and after. It's obvious to me that pickups such as the Fishman BP 100, Underwood, the old Polytone, etc., that clamp onto or otherwise mount on the bridge will have a muting effect on the sound of the bass, but adjusters (FC) or a thin piece of soft copper (Realist) don't seem to me to be capable of having a noticeable influence one way or another. Maybe my ears just aren't sensitive enough, but after a while this starts to remind me of guitar players who claim they can hear the difference between brands of batteries in their effects pedals.
 
#5
salcott said:
Maybe my ears just aren't sensitive enough, but after a while this starts to remind me of guitar players who claim they can hear the difference between brands of batteries in their effects pedals.
Click to expand...

Ha! Been there.

I only say it affects the tone because while the foil is flat, the elements are not and on my Kay it causes a slightly less tight fit of the bass foot of the bridge and that is prime real estate for tone above the bass bar. I figure it depends on the bass too, but I did hear a difference when I removed the pickup a while back (and since put it on again) but being that this other bass gets used for classical stuff I need to make sure the tone is as good as it can be.

I have a stereo mic that I can turn off one side of so that the one element is pointing right towards the bass when put under the arch of the bridge in a clothand it will work for the time being. Also I should clarify that while the pickup is on I don't care as much as long as it is removable in that case. I will have to check out those suggestions above though, thanks.
 
#6
Just to muddy the water: I never had a problem with a BP-100 noticeably muting the bass or changing the acoustic tone in any way despite the hardware hanging off the end of the bridge but I did notice a difference with The Realist on vs. off which I why I won't use a Realist.

The Stat-B doesn't seem to affect the acoustic tone but I didn't like the pickup with steel strings (Spiro Mittels). If it was mounted on the G side of the bridge, the E and A strings were noticeably lower in volume than the G and D and visa versa if it was mounted on the E side. However, with gut strings, I love the Stat-B and it is my pickup of choice so take that for what it's worth.

I think, ultimately, you'll just have to experiment like the rest of us and spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to see what works on your bass and eventually you'll have a drawer full of unused pickups that you won't want to get rid of because there is chance you might want to try one again someday maybe on a different bass but you never will or if you do, you'll try it and only confirm why you didn't like it in the first place and it'll go back into the drawer.

mark
 
#7
calivox said:
I think, ultimately, you'll just have to experiment like the rest of us and spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to see what works on your bass and eventually you'll have a drawer full of unused pickups that you won't want to get rid of because there is chance you might want to try one again someday maybe on a different bass but you never will or if you do, you'll try it and only confirm why you didn't like it in the first place and it'll go back into the drawer.
Click to expand...

Makes me feel better that Im not the only one:hiding:
 
#9
The Rev Solo and the Planet Wing are also easy to take off and put back on the bass once you get them properly fitted in the bridge wing slot. You can just take them off for the legit stuff, put it back on for jazz.

It all depends like calivox said, but as a very broad generalization, I think some people have found that either one of these can be made to sound more "natural" than the Underwood. YMMV ...

What about using a mic instead of a pickup maybe?
 
#10
When I bring my carved bass out on gigs I need to amplify on I either use an amt mic or k&k bassmax, both are very non permanent, removed from the bass very easily so no chance of affecting acoustic tone. before I got the amt mic my old bridge was fitted for the k&k on e string side and with a revolution solo II on g string side for the quieter gigs, I loved how accurately the revolution reproduced the details in the sound of the carved bass, a little better than the K&K, but the k&k blows the revolution away in volume potential before feedback. messed around with blending pickup and mic at home, but never came to a result that satisfied me in the end more than what I can do with either on their own. And if you dont have a fishman platinum pro eq, or fdeck hpf/acoustic image amp with a variable high pass filter in it, you will never have an easy time amplifying an upright to any decent level.
 
#11
salcott said:
Maybe my ears just aren't sensitive enough, but after a while this starts to remind me of guitar players who claim they can hear the difference between brands of batteries in their effects pedals.
Click to expand...
This is supposedly based on the voltage sag of conventional carbon-zinc batteries as opposed to the stronger alkaline batteries, which those that espouse the view claim the voltage sag creates a little bit of compression, in the same vein as those who prefer a tube rectifier over a solid state rectifier for the same reason: voltage sag from peak demands creating a type of compression that is deemed desireable to tone.

Oh, yeah, pickups -- what the rest of the guys said -- it depends.
 
#12
Mark Perna said:
The Stat-B doesn't seem to affect the acoustic tone but I didn't like the pickup with steel strings (Spiro Mittels). If it was mounted on the G side of the bridge, the E and A strings were noticeably lower in volume than the G and D and visa versa if it was mounted on the E side. However, with gut strings, I love the Stat-B and it is my pickup of choice so take that for what it's worth.
Click to expand...

I don't have the problem of unbalanced volume with the Stat-B on the E side. On the G side, the E string is weaker. I like it with steels, hybrids and guts and it works well on both of my basses.
 
#13
salcott said:
I've used both the Realist and Full Circle pickups and can't hear any difference before and after. It's obvious to me that pickups such as the Fishman BP 100, Underwood, the old Polytone, etc., that clamp onto or otherwise mount on the bridge will have a muting effect on the sound of the bass, but adjusters (FC) or a thin piece of soft copper (Realist) don't seem to me to be capable of having a noticeable influence one way or another. Maybe my ears just aren't sensitive enough, but after a while this starts to remind me of guitar players who claim they can hear the difference between brands of batteries in their effects pedals.
Click to expand...

Salcott,
I always felt this way too until I got an Ehrlund pickup. Now.
they certainly have there own set of quirks and issues, and maybe it's my ears deceiving me but the bass started to open up and produce more sound once I removed the Realist. My bass is a 5/8 Mirecourt with a pretty big sound that's a little bigger these days.
 

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