Double Bass Praise for the K&K Bass Max!

[scotch]

I'm very new to the upright bass, but have about 20 years in as a full-time professional electric bassist. I'm new to double bass gear, but I think I know what to listen for in great amplified double bass tone (it helps living in a town with so many world-class gigging upright players!).

I chose the simple K&K Bass Max after spending time here on talkbass and reading the very helpful descriptions on the gollihur music page. The K&K sounded like a smart starting point with easy installation, good pizz and arco performance + a friend here in town is a K&K dealer...

3 months into using it & I'm astounded how well it is working on my Shen ply bass! I've already done some recording (blending with a mic) and a real acid test- playing the Grand Ole Opry. On the Opry, you get about 30 seconds to walk on stage, get a sound and GO! Not even time to set up my preamp, it was straight into a passive Radial di and an SVT 4x10 on stage set flat. It sounded instantly great! (It probably helps that the Opry's monitor engineer is a friend and used to tour with me years ago )

Overall, for such an unsophisticatd unit (just a single piece wedged into the E side bridge wing), I wasn't expecting it to sound so good. There is a little bit of a low-mid peak that I tend to eq out (but isn't really necessary with careful right hand technique, particularly on the A string), but tone is full and true to the bass. I imagine a better carved bass is trickier to capture, but my ply's decent tone is coming through easily. String to string balance is really good too- at first the G string seemed a bit less 'present', but after a month on the bass (and likely my technique improving) the G string sounds really good and balanced through an amp. The K&K is proving to punch well above its' $100 price point for me!

I am running it through a Radial PZ Pre with nearly flat eq (but the high pass engaged at 80hz) into an Aguilar TH350 head and SL1x12 cab. Plenty of volume (pickup is pretty hot, actually) and easily controllable tone! Switching to arco sounds great, but volume increases (to be expected).

I'm sure I will try other pickups in the future (I never leave well enough alone), but for now the diminutive K&K is doing the job!

 

[drurb]

Glad you've had such a fine experience with the Bassmax. The most important part is that YOU like it. The Bassmax is a very reliable and easy-to-install device. It sure does provide bang for the buck. Many, including me, find its sound to be rather unrefined as compared to the more highly touted piezo-based pickups discussed in these threads, such as the Realist, Full-Circle, Rev Solo, etc. When I've used the Bassmax, it tended to make my DB sound like a big BG. Maybe you'll end up exploring some of those other pickups in the future. Maybe not. Again, good to hear that you've found a pickup that works so well for you. Enjoy!

 

[scotch]

I'm sure I'll try some others down the road... I bet there are a range of subtleties that I may not be hearing with the Bass Max.

I've got pretty good ears, but really don't hear the "bass guitar-ish" thing at all. Not saying you didn't (and I've read a couple of other opinions that echo your sentiment) - but for whatever reason the K&K sounds pretty much like my bass, warts & all! A bass guitar, whether a roundwound strung Jazz Bass or an EB2 with old flat sound nothing like what I'm hearing from the Bass Max. It's hard for me to hear the potential for it even.

I did notice a "blanketing" sort of sound with my Fishman Platinum Pro Bass pre. Definitely was masking some of the 'woodier' qualities of the upright, but even that still sounded nothing like a bass guitar of any variety (and I've got a stable of about 20 of those!). It was more of a thumpy, undefined sound - but not at all 'electric'.

So far the other musicians and engineers I've worked with have actually dug the tone - even commented upon it. I don't think much of that is attributable my skill at this point either! lol I'm getting better every week though...

 

[winston]

Playing the Grand Ole Opry, now that's a good acid test...

After trying a bunch of pickups on my bass (New Standard Cleveland ply) the BassMax is my 2nd favorite. #1 is Full Circle, the others I've had were Schertler Stat-B, Realist, Revolution Solo, and Underwood.

I find the BassMax very forgiving compared to the others (except Full Circle which IMO always sounds great). May not be the absolute pinnacle of tone but I always find it easy to get a good usable sound with my bass. My pet theory is that the rubber coating mechanically filters out a lot of the weirdness that comes through the other piezos, especially with arco on steel strings.

 

[drurb]

Hehe... and then there's the Ehrlund.

 

[scotch]

Hehe... and then there's the Ehrlund.

Yeah, EAP would be my next likely choice.

 

[tinyd]

I was always worried about my Bass Max sounding a bit BG-ish as well but i recently bought a better amp (GK MB150) and by removing some of the mids using the amp's eq it sounds pretty good. I have a Plat Pro preamp but I prefer the sound going direct into the amp.

Having said this, I haven't actually tried any of the higher-end pickups on my bass. But I think I'll have to become a better player before I need to start worrying

 

[DoubleMIDI]

But I think I'll have to become a better player before I need to start worrying

Always a good idea.
Becoming a better player is a lot more important than getting a better sounding pickup.

 

[Marc Piane]

Always a good idea.
Becoming a better player is a lot more important than getting a better sounding pickup.

..and as you become a better player your acoustic sound will evolve.


It also important to consider how the pickup is used. I have two basses. One is a carved bass with a Realist and guts that I use mainly for jazz. I play mostly acoustic or with little amplification and often throw a mic to the pa if there is one.

The other is a ply with Spiros and a Bassmax that I use with a singer/songwriter doing RAWK venues. I often have to use whatever backline is provided and soundmen laugh when I propose a mic. I also have to get pretty loud. Of all the pickups I've tried the Bassmax is the most plug and play on that bass.

Two points.

1. Every bass is different.

2. You have to figure out the compromise that works best for you. All pickups suck in the end. You just have to figure out which one sucks the least for what you need.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

All pickups suck in the end. You just have to figure out which one sucks the least for what you need.

Completely O/T, but this reminds me of a comment I once heard about women -

"Being with any woman will shorten your life; the key is to marry the one who kills you the slowest."

Now, back to your originally scheduled topic.