• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass realist vd underwood

B

bassplayer48

May 1, 2006
288
1
Melbourne Australia
#1
Hi Guys,
after some thoughts on the underwood i use the realist on my czech hybrid through an EA setup which sounds good for bluegrass etc but also play in a rockabilly band. Anyway i as using a backline on sat night also an EA setup and the guy was saying that the realist is quite a low output he said th underwood is a much higher output and would work better for rockabilly, the volume i was playing at he said using his bass with an underwood would blow the speakers? so anyway after some fedback on the underwood.
 
#2
BS! An Underwood will allow you to play louder than a Realist but I wouldn't say there is much difference in output. After using both the Realist sounds great at lower volumes but isn't a pickup I would choose for high volume application.
 
#4
thanks guys thats kind of what i thought the realist is a pretty hot out put as far as i knew, however with theunderwood if you can play at louder volumes then this may be the answer i also read somewhere that it makes your bass sound a bit more like a bass guitar whih to be honest for this application is probably what i am after
 
#6
Ok well i pulled trigger on an underwood and i'm prettty impressed. I would say its a bit like a magnetic pickup in sound however it still maintains the DB nuances and very feedbackk resistant. Definately not the sound of you bass only louder but a very usable sound that sits nicely in a mix

I'm using it through the headway pre into EA iamp 800 and NL210 and it sounds very good to my ears. My bass is quite mid range sounding so the pickup adds a lot of bottom warmth, the tops are a little thin but EQ helps even it out. I an using both elements without any phasing problems.
 
#7
vin*tone said:
"Underwood would blow the speakers"? This comment alone shows that this guy has no idea. At worst it will clip the preamp section.
Click to expand...

not true. i think you have an idea, but before making that comment you might want to do some more homework, study the possibilities of the volume situation the the op is talking about.

ok so ya wanna play loud......regardless of the pickup, you've got to have some kind of limiter or high pass type eq, unless it's built into the eq curve amp. gk amps is a good choice for this, imo. the pu will do more than just clip the preamp, and if it's pushed past that. either the amp is going to switch off (protection circuitry) or you are going to fry the drivers. i've seen this happen,and those speakers flapping past the max excursion isn't pretty. 50-100 bucks a driver for repair.

that said, the underwood is probably a better bet for a player who needs to play at that kind of rock and roll volume level. it's a good idea to understand the limitations of your chosen equipment
 
#8
I play jazz and used Underwood for yeeeeears! Great pickup with lots of string details but lacks balls but if it's mixed well hard to beat! Realist has plenty of balls but sounded like mud on both my old basses carved/ply although same as the Underwood if mixed well it can produce nice sound but not at a loud level. I honestly think that with a blender using both pickups utilizing the mids from the Realist and the bottom and top from Underwood a great sound can be produced!
 
#9
hi guys i solved this one by getting a headway preamp and i blend the realist with the underwood. This works out great. The underwood has great bottom end but thin in the mids and high mids, the realist has more of a mid punch to it so the kind of compliment each other and get a nice full sound that sits in the mix nicely
 
#10
IME The Realist is much pickier about the bass it is coupled with and how it is fit. Wing pickups that I've tried (Underwood, Bassmax, RSII) have always made my basses sound the same. Nice on one hand but you get none of the nuance of the instrument. The opposite is true of the Realist. It kills at any volume one one of my basses and gets a thumpy tubby tone that feedback easily on the other.
 
#11
Marc, my experience too.

I tried an Underwood on a gig in 2010 and was told I'd never sounded better. Although every note was clear and the low end was solid enough I didn't care for it. It doesn't capture the acoustic quality of my bass like the Realist or to a slightly lesser extent, the Full Circle which I'm using now.
 
#12
There are several valid comments there, about the truer acoustic nuances that the Realist picks up, for example. But if you're doing a gig with anything larger than a quintet all these subtle tones will get buried and you'll need a pickup that gives a good clear well defined sound. Hence the Underwood. The only time you need to worry about a true double bass tone is in the recording studio - IMHO, of course.

Heresy? Well, I was playing in a club not so long ago on a boomy stage that gave me a lot of trouble. I used a 10" Wizzy and a guy in the audience came and saw me after the gig and said the last time he heard a bass like that it was being played by Mingus! Ho ho ho. With an Underwood, of course. Good job I don't take comments too seriously.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back