Double Bass Problem with Pickup?

[Andy S]

I've been using a Revolution Solo II pickup on my Boosey laminate.

As this is the only pickup I've used, I'm wondering whether or not the whole bass should be amplified? If the jack lead happens to rest on the lower bout that gets picked up too (buzzing). Any slight tap on the bass is also amplified.

Using the RSII in the suggested position, there's way too much finger noise. Flipping it over gives much less finger noise, but there's a huge thunk on the front of the note. Either way 'round, the bass seems microphonic.

Is this usual with piezos, or do I have a dud?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[T-zone]

Some of the threads on here seem to suggest that different pickups work better with carved or hybrids than laminates. Maybe someone with some sort of engineering background knows why that is.

 

[Ric Vice]

I've been using a Revolution Solo II pickup on my Boosey laminate.

As this is the only pickup I've used, I'm wondering whether or not the whole bass should be amplified? If the jack lead happens to rest on the lower bout that gets picked up too (buzzing). Any slight tap on the bass is also amplified.

Using the RSII in the suggested position, there's way too much finger noise. Flipping it over gives much less finger noise, but there's a huge thunk on the front of the note. Either way 'round, the bass seems microphonic.

Is this usual with piezos, or do I have a dud?

Any help would be appreciated.

Andy,
I had my Revolution Solo fitted by a luthier and I had the same problem. Lots of hum, so it's in the basement on a shelf. Conversely, I know lots of players who really like the pickup. I think it depends on your bass, which is true for many different piezo's. Why one pickup will work on one bass and not on another is a mystery to me.

Ric

 

[Francois Blais]

What amp are you plugging it into?

 

[Gearhead43]

Infrasonic thump is going to be a reality unless you use a hi-pass filter - such as the one on the HPF-Pre or Fishman Pro Platimum.

I prefer the HPF-Pre because it is very transparent sounding and lets the tone of my bass / pickup / and amp come through without the inherent compression the Pro Plat seems to add (even when the comp is "off"). YMMV.

 

[Andy S]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm going into an EA Doubler. I understand that I shouldn't need a pre for this.

I guess what I'm asking is should a pick-up (that works well) amplify the whole bass?

 

[thebassbass]

What strings are you using? When i had EP's on i had the "thunk on the front of the note" with the E and A string with my RSII. I put some Spirocore's on and it fixed it

 

[AMJBASS]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm going into an EA Doubler. I understand that I shouldn't need a pre for this.

I guess what I'm asking is should a pick-up (that works well) amplify the whole bass?

In my experience EA amps tend to have a wider frequency response than a lot of other amps. Too much IMO as you get a lot of sub sonic frequencies coming through. Great sounding amps though. The Fdeck preamp would definitely fix this.

 

[Wallyphonic]

I guess what I'm asking is should a pick-up (that works well) amplify the whole bass?

Yes. Think about it, the piezo amplifies mechanical vibration. The strings vibrate the bridge which vibrates the pickup, or you tap on the body which vibrates the bridge, which vibrates the pickup. It doesn't matter to the pickup where the vibration comes from.