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Double Bass Realist Sound Clip?

#21
damonsmith said:
A bit more to report:
I had two part project this weekend. Saxophone / Bass / Drums trio. Studio recording on Sat. and an outdoor show on Sun.
I did the first part of the recording with just my old bass, no amp. The drummer had just gotten a new set and it really did sound amazing, so for the last two tracks the engineer plugged in a bespoke tube bass amp and quickly dialed up a great sound with the Sound Clip.
It is bit odd - the arco sound is great, the pizz takes a bit of fiddling, not much, though.
The next day, we played in an open pavilion. I used my Clarus 1 to the Upshot (George L cables) with my Chadwick hybrid and quickly dialed up a great sound. I was able to play a pretty heavy free jazz set with no volume issues and a tone I was very happy with.
If you play a lot of arco like me, you might find this to be a great pick up. There are better pick ups or at least easier to use pick ups for pizz out there, but with good gear, this is actually a solid pick up.
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That's interesting. One of my peers tried the Realist SoundClip on a nice bass, and it was not possible to get a good sound. We fiddled with it for a couple of days; tried different weights and different mounting locations, and it was a total waste of time. He even bought a Fishman Platinum Pro preamp/EQ with a 10meg input.

It was absolutely the worst sounding pickup I have ever heard. The next pickup he tried was an Ehrlund EAP, which is the best sounding pickup I have ever heard :thumbsup:.

Glad the SoundClip is working for you though ;).
 
#22
I had one of these for a while. I liked that I could put it on and take it off. The TB'er who I traded for it with sent some strips of rubber in various thicknesses and firmnesses to put between the pickup and the bridge and they made a difference. I got good sounds out of it on some nights, but not others. It also started coming a little bit loose while I was playing and how tight you have it changes the sound too, so I'd have to check it sometimes between songs. All in all, not reliable and too fiddly, but I wouldn't say unusable. I just got tired of fiddling with it. I could say the same about several others.

I picked up a Realist Lifeline next and that's what I'm still using. Not as practical to take off after a gig, but it is possible to install and uninstall it when I don't want it on there, just not gig-to-gig like I was doing with the EAP and Soundclip.
 
#23
Well, how reliable it is remains to be seen, it has not come loose on me yet. I can imagine it varying from amp to amp as well. These were both in context in a group, which is different from trying to get an ideal sound from just the bass in the room.
I am using the lighter of the two weights, and attaching to the bridge leg between the body and the adjuster on both basses.
 
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#25
damonsmith said:
Well, how reliable it is remains to be seen, it has not come loose on me yet. I can imagine it varying from amp to amp as well. These were both in context in a group, which is different from trying to get an ideal sound from just the bass in the room.
I am using the lighter of the two weights, and attaching to the bridge leg between the body and the adjuster on both basses.
Click to expand...

Th only time it slipped off on me was when I was leaving it on the bass while it was in the bag. Now I just put it on after I plug in the cord and take it off before I unplug; it's no more an issue than when I use a mic up between the bridge feet. I actually removed all the weights (@TroyK that might help with the slippage problem) and have found that it makes adjustments at the amp easier.

I still prefer the sound of the mic'ed bass through the house system (as long as the house system is lacking in idiots).
 
#26
Ed Fuqua said:
I actually removed all the weights
Click to expand...
I did that hoping the acoustic sound would be better, it muffled it a bit - however, I only really NEEDED the acoustic sound for nice clean arco moments, since the arco sound is great with this pick up, I just dialed more amp into the off position of the volume pedal. Once that became the concept, I found the amp sound to be better with some weight.
Ed, I assume you are in it for the same reason as me - that you generally want the bass pick-up free.
I think the high price raises expectations that it doesn't meet. For half the price, which is what I paid it is a solid deal. They need to try to bring down the price, really.
Though as has been said - it is the best arco sound I've ever gotten from a pick up. If you play 40% or more arco on loud gigs this would be a good investment.
 
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#32
Sean Riddle said:
When gigs are for sure back in SoCal I'm gonna try out that Kremona DB-1 pickup, only because I don't need a piezo on all the time since I'm able to get a great workable sound out of an Ischell contact mic that has worked in most settings for me.

You might like the Ischell Damon. It's super easy to take on and off, especially if you mount the output jack to the tailpiece, and can have a pretty strong realistic sound that can hang in some loud settings if it's mounted right and is a good fit for your bass. Plus no piezo snarl when you use the bow.
Click to expand...
I use the DB-1 with a Realist super docking station preamp and it sounds more "acoustic" than my lifeline piezo. Next up is the meyer's upright bass mic.

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