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Double Bass Planet Wings tone vs. Underwood or any "one-winger".

L

lincland

Guest
Nov 8, 2004
65
3
63
Dallas, TX
#1
I have used an Underwood for years. I've tried others, including the Realist. This works best so far, along with a mic sometimes.

I'm liking what I read about the Planet Wings. However, it only fits under one wing. I am not fond of the result with the Underwood under only one wing, or the other, although it works really well for one guy I know.

I also have another pickup that is designed to fit under one wing that has the same characteristic I don't like. (Sorry I can't think of the brand.) The Underwood is the exaggerated version of this sound: under only one wing, it sounds like a compressor comes in right after the attack, and has some weird shape to the tone; kind of scooped. It first you think it sounds more natural, but later you realize it just sounds weird, and doesn't seem to work in all registers.

So, here's my point. How is the Planet Waves? Does anyone know what I'm talking about when I describe the Underwood under one wing vs. two wings? The question is, does the Planet Wings have this characteristic? I don't know if this is going to be common with all "one wing" pickups or maybe they have come up with some way to overcome this characteristic.

Thanks for anyone's comment.
 
#7
I had the opportunity to evaluate a Planet Wing pick-up on my German factory bass. I previously had an Underwood. The Underwood is back on. I never tried to use it with just a single element but I know some on this forum have done so and like the sound. The Planet Wing had awesome low end response. The trouble was that practically anything played on the D or G strings sounded thin or low volume. I used my Headway EDB-1 into an AI Clarus I and Epifani UL-110 cab. I could never dial in anything acceptable. The descriptions of pick up sounds vary from post to post on this forum. To this day I still don't know how to describe the sound that some call "nasal". Is it the sound that Branford dislikes so much when he refers to those "annoying bass pick ups"?
 
#8
I had the planet wing… I’ve also owned the realist…
After 10 years of thought and research, I just ordered an Underwood. The definition of the note, I believe, is better with the Underwood from what I’ve ascertained. That note definition with a microphone, is the best for what I’m trying for sonically. I also ordered some Spirocore weich’s, hoping to get even more definition of the front end attack of the note. I’m experimenting, but I’m hopeful…
 
#9
I used an Underwood with Spirocore Weichs , into a Walter Woods Amp for almost 10 years. It's a very consistent sound with pizz, but since I also play arco that sound just doesn't work for bowing (even though I did that for years).
I use Evah Parazzi Weichs now and their great for both, but end up costing more, because they wear out in about 18 months. I've heard that the new Pirastro Perpetuals are better with the bow and very similar to Spirocores. I had a long
conversation with Don Underwood years ago and he explained that the pickup was designed with two elements, to catch nuances that a single element wing pickup could not achieve. That said most players only use one side of the Underwood
The Underwood has a very different attack than any of the microphones I've ever recorded or played live with. Just my take however. There are still a whole lot of players using that pickup. I'm quite fond of the new KNA-DB1 wing pickup as it
seems to emphasize the right harmonics.
 
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