Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
- 6,349
- 607
- Disclosures
- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
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Double Bass Revolution SOLO Pickup Reviews
- Thread starter drurb
- Start date
I would suggest trimming a saxophone reed and using it as a shim. Alternatively, you could add a layer of scotch tape to the front and back of the pickup. I'm not sure whether than will quite make up for 1 mm.
Edit: Oops-- didn't see Jake's post on what was the next page.
Edit: Oops-- didn't see Jake's post on what was the next page.
My Solo pickup sounds best when the R is facing the belly of the bass. Really fat, clear sounding. I tried it facing away...my first thought is that the luthier who initially installed it didn't do a perfect job fitting the bridge to the pickup...very low output and weak sounding. I flipped it, and BOOM...lots of volume, great clarity. Very strange. If the pickup is perfectly flat on both sides, should't it fit the same way, regardless of "R side up/down"?
I think inside the wood casing the transducer is closer to the side w/ the "R" symbol on it. I suspected it some time ago and I think drurb confirmed it recently in another thread.
I've also observed that if you sand the back of the p/u, it follows that the distance between the transducer inside and the exterior of the casing decreases. So the variance in tone between 'R' up and 'R' down seems to decrease as well IMO.
I'm assuming the transducer inside the casing or the piezo element itself does not have one side more sensitive than the other I guess.
I'm assuming the transducer inside the casing or the piezo element itself does not have one side more sensitive than the other I guess.
I made a custom shim for my Planet Wing pickup using three layers of the thin wood strip they sent with it, one layer of one of my business cards, bonded w/ Gorilla Glue and cut into a circle the same diameter as the PW. I spent a long time getting my bridge sanded and sized the way I wanted it for my RS II, so I went w/ shims for the PW. Besides the PW is much thinner. It seems like they almost expect you to use shims with it.Unfortunatly,my new Revolution Solo pickup too thin for my German type bridge(( 7мм against 8 mm
How can I install PU?
I too made the observation that the difference between the two faces of the RS is the thickness of the spruce on each side. This is a little off topic, but I've often wondered what the old Fishman B100 pickups would sound like if you were to encase the elements in spruce and mount them like the RS. 
Thought I'd throw in my own experience with my new Rev Solo II.
I had my luthier install it for me. His first comment was that it was so trebly and thin sounding that it wasn't really usable. Thanks to this forum, I knew it was most likely a fitment issue.
So I took it home and played with it through my F1/Berg AE112, turning the volume down for adjustments and turning it back up to about 9 'o clock each time. I knew I had the fitment just right when I turned it up the last time. I had to check my amp to make sure I didn't accidently turn it off, b/c I didn't hear the tone change at all!
Of course, I marked the pickup with a sharp pencil in case it ever gets bumped out of place.
I found after a few EQ adjustments that it sounds almost totally natural with the gain turned down a bit, the high mids cut slightly and the treble down about to 9 on the clock. That 's also due largely in part to the F1 being a little upper-mid heavy and the Berg having a little upper mid bite to it as well.
Anyways, I'm sooo happy with this pickup! I highly recommend it, especially at its current price point.
I had my luthier install it for me. His first comment was that it was so trebly and thin sounding that it wasn't really usable. Thanks to this forum, I knew it was most likely a fitment issue.
So I took it home and played with it through my F1/Berg AE112, turning the volume down for adjustments and turning it back up to about 9 'o clock each time. I knew I had the fitment just right when I turned it up the last time. I had to check my amp to make sure I didn't accidently turn it off, b/c I didn't hear the tone change at all!
Of course, I marked the pickup with a sharp pencil in case it ever gets bumped out of place.I found after a few EQ adjustments that it sounds almost totally natural with the gain turned down a bit, the high mids cut slightly and the treble down about to 9 on the clock. That 's also due largely in part to the F1 being a little upper-mid heavy and the Berg having a little upper mid bite to it as well.
Anyways, I'm sooo happy with this pickup! I highly recommend it, especially at its current price point.
New to the party, read the whole thread.
Anybody having luck bowing with one of these, or is it pretty much agreed upon that it's not so good for arco?
Anybody having luck bowing with one of these, or is it pretty much agreed upon that it's not so good for arco?
My Musima/Eberle bass arrived yesterday, and the bridge wings are absolutely not the right shape for fitting a pickup such as this one. Does anyone have any recommendations for an aftermarket bridge which would enable me to use this pickup? Or would any bridge with narrow and parallel gaps suffice?
Most bridges need to be filed a bit to accommodate the RSII. The pickup can be filed a little too, but only on one side (the side not stamped). You might consider having a little wood filed out of your bass/E side wing, and maybe a little from the non-"RS" side of your pickup. It should be snug, but not too tight or loose.
Of course, apologies if you knew this already, etc.
Of course, apologies if you knew this already, etc.
I think he probably means that the bridge wings are the "curly" shaped ones, instead of having the flat areas under the bridge "arms". Dresden style, I think they are sometimes called
The wings could be modified and/or shims made to create a flat area for the pickup, IMO.
The wings could be modified and/or shims made to create a flat area for the pickup, IMO.
Ja, that's what I meant... If I had a digital camera I'd have taken a photo to illustrate... The bottoms of the wings are curved and are in no way parallel to the tops of the legs, and there's quite a gap there too....
It's similar to this:
Invalid Link Removed
Hello Lunar 
....... I believe the Rev II would probably still work with that type of bridge wing as long as the gap isn't too wide to start with. Measure that gap and we can see if the Rev II is thicker to start with. I have a new one at home that I could measure. You would work with a file to flatten the "hip" and could probably leave the outboard pointy wing alone. Most people run the "R" symbol facing into the bass. The vibrations would be coming into the p-up piezo from the flattened hip and the pointy wing would just be the pinch point .... not many vibes enter the "backside" of the p-up anyway so contact area isn't all that critical. In the thread referenced above, I described how I did my Rev II, working with a flat file mostly on the bridge hip (not the outboard wing) and then fine-tuning the final fit of the p-up with fine sandpaper taking material off the backside of the p-up. Warning .... I don't know if any of what I just wrote makes any sense .
....... I believe the Rev II would probably still work with that type of bridge wing as long as the gap isn't too wide to start with. Measure that gap and we can see if the Rev II is thicker to start with. I have a new one at home that I could measure. You would work with a file to flatten the "hip" and could probably leave the outboard pointy wing alone. Most people run the "R" symbol facing into the bass. The vibrations would be coming into the p-up piezo from the flattened hip and the pointy wing would just be the pinch point .... not many vibes enter the "backside" of the p-up anyway so contact area isn't all that critical. In the thread referenced above, I described how I did my Rev II, working with a flat file mostly on the bridge hip (not the outboard wing) and then fine-tuning the final fit of the p-up with fine sandpaper taking material off the backside of the p-up. Warning .... I don't know if any of what I just wrote makes any sense .
Wow, that's a whole 'nuther story. I'm sorry Lunar... I guess I didn't understand how much different the design of your bridge is! Yeah, the recommendations following my post sound good to me. Though it's not terribly helpful for fitting the RSII, that is a very fine-looking bridge.
FWIW, Upton's default position is with the "RS" branded side facing away from the bass. They do say that it works either way and flipping it over changes the tonal character. It's a matter of preference. Mine is placed with the branded side facing away from the bass.
Mine's facing away from the bass too. I tried it facing the bass, and I apparently didn't care for it, but I can't remember why, exactly. I may turn it around to remind myself sometime. I get plenty of compliments on the amplified sound, so it would seem that facing it away from the top works out well in my case.
