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Double Bass Revolution SOLO Pickup Reviews

#121
I just got my Solo yesterday and have spent an hour last night shaving it down. Tried it tonight and it's not bad. I think I had similar results as everyone else, mic-like and low output. I'm afraid of shaving it down any further as I feel like I have a snug fit. The solo is kinda wedge like so I stick it in from the side of the bridge wing instead of from the back. My bridge seems better suited to fitting it this way.

Soundwise, it's kinda like the full circle but not exactly the same. I've noticed that the full circle can be kinda dull (I have it hot side down because the bridge came with the turns going up into the bridge instead of into the feet). Sometimes the FC is not consistent sounded in all registers either. The Solo sounds great played up in the higher registers but not as good as the FC down low.

So I tried something else altogether. Dropped by Radio Smack and picked up a RCA y-jack and jacked the two together. Now it sounds alot more even across all the registers. The Solo seems to liven the FC up, and the FC adds more low end oomph to the Solo. It's a $5 experiment so hopefully one of you guys who have both will give it whirl and let us know what you think. I think it's worth trying out.

So now I have it as: Full Circle (hot side down) + Revolution Solo (hot side up) => RCA y-jack => Fishman Pro Plat. Bass EQ Preamp => Focus SA => Flite 1x10. The preamp is set with the equalizer pretty much flat. Volume at 12 o'clock, compression off and depth at like 9 o'clock. With the two pickups it's by far the most natural sound I've gotten out of the few pickups I've tried. The Solo with the hot side down is impressive by itself but the gain was too low for my tastes. It was very mic-like but I couldn't get my rig to go as loud as I would've liked. The Solo definitely doesn't have as much output as the FC. Could be a fit issue tho, who knows.

ZEEERRRYY INTERESSSTTINK!!!! :)
 
#122
hdidddy,

Thanks for that post. I was very curious about the sound of the RS to the FC because it does remind of it. I got the RS to replace a Bass Max which I thought had gone bad. (turns out it was a loose wire in the jack) true to form the output is less but I agree with most posts here that it has things going for it. The 'naturalness' that everyone mentions, and IMHO a sweeter, more 'hi-fi' & less clanky top end then most bridge mount piezos I've personally tried.
I am mixing it with a realist but instead of the RCA Y cord you've come up with, I am using a D-tar as I feel some rooms/gigs require a different blend of the two. So going RS + realist=>solstice->AI Focus ll SA->LDS 1x8.
And like you I feel that each pickups is filling a gap in the others sound.

One other thing, I did try the RS one the treble side and that actually sounded better when blended with the realist but more and more I find I am using less of the realist so I moved the RS back to the e string side.
 
#123
Univac jr.,

Sounds like the original RS!

The Revolution started life as a dual element system. It consisted of a maple element for under the foot, and a spruce element for the bridge wing. Both elements fed into a blender box made of flamed maple. This box was a sealed, passive unit with two RCA female connectors, a pan pot and a 1/4 mono out. It really was quite beautiful, and with the ability to blend the two elements together...you could really dial in the sound you were looking for. I think about 5 or so systems were sold when the party was crashed by lawyers. After looking at the options it was decided to put the full system on the back burner.

It took about a year of re-developement to get the RS to where it is today. The original wing element was MUCH brighter...very punchy. It didn't need to have warmth as the foot element took care of that. I do have to say that it forced us to completely re-think the element and completely redo it...and the wing element we have out today does a superb job on its own. That was the reason why we named it Revolution SOLO. It had to do the job by itself.

Someday...when we have enough loot...we will fight the lawyers.

In the meantime, there is a good reason why the RS has an RCA connector. It is our hope that someday RS owners will have the option to upgrade the system when we re-launch it.
 
#124
Checking the archives I found this, the first prototype Revolution, all from scratch. The underfoot, not a "Realist", prior to the development of embedding it in maple.
 

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#125
Univac, yeah I'm essentially doing the same thing but not using a realist. I had the FC totally 90 degrees or on fully open sound but it seemed like the lows coming from both pickups were "clashing" and I got something like a werid wolfy tone for a split second sometimes. If I mute the afterlengths, it helps that out a little. Turning the FC so that it's a little more focused gives me some clearer lows.

Since I don't have a blender I'm just EQ'ing the two pickups through the pre-amp. I think it kinda works out since the RS has less output so when I put it face up, it gives just the right amount of treble. I have both pickups on the E string side. For me to put the RS on the G-string side, I'd have to shave down the wing as it's too small for the pick, as per the instructions on the RS.

But with both Eroy's and Gary's posts, I might just go solder myself up a 1-meg ohm blend pot and recreate their original invention.

Thanks guys! :)
 
#126
Gary and Eric;

Thanks for the history lesson! The maple under the foot element sounds very interesting although a little hard to imagine the fitting. It is interesting, particularly when one considers how the RS spruce bridge mount has unique (and I believe) some superior qualities when compared to similar style piezos. It would be nice to compare the revolution under the foot pickup to the others.

At one point I had considered doing some sort of in-depth output comparison between the bass Max and the RS. But we had a little hurricane named Wilma here in south Florida, and it seems unnecessary anyway. My conclusion are that,yes, there is a slight volume difference even with a good fit for the RS but I personally prefer the sound of the RS so it is acceptable to me. And the sound is what it's all about anyway. IMHO YMMV.

hdiddy, let us know how it works out with your DIY blend pot.
 
#127
univac jr. said:
...The maple under the foot element sounds very interesting although a little hard to imagine the fitting...
Click to expand...
It required no fitting as it was about 1mm thick or a bit less and very flexible. A "dummy" spacer was suppiled for the other foot so as not to cause the feet to push into the top. The only downside was that it raised the string height by about 1mm, but that is easy to compensate for. Oh, I guess there was another downside...patents. ;)

I found an old blender box...pic attached...
 

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#128
eroy said:
Oh, I guess there was another downside...patents. ;)
Click to expand...

what technological aspect of this pickup design is covered by a patent? Placing a sensor under the bridge's foot? Besides the Realist™, there are some more "under foot"-PUs out there: the new Shadow model, the BBand, the Alter Ego (Italy), the APT flex (Russia) ... just to name a few.
Jonas
 
#129
Guys, I think I'm sold. I tried futzing around with my cheap RS/FC "blender" again today and the FC just doesn't sound as good on my bass as the RS. In the Y-Jack configuration, the FC seemed to actually detract from the overall sound of the solo making it mellow and not as punchy. Maybe because it's hot side down and the threads need to be in the feet instead of the bridge. The FC still sounds more sterile to me and uneven in certain places (like on spots on the E string), and sounds very boxy. Adjusting the EQ only helped so much and it still sounded sterile.

The RS is much consistent and lively throughout the bass. However, the FC sounds like it does a much better job amplifying arco. The RS didn't do as well with arco sounded a little nasal. That didn't bother me at all with pizz. The lack of output on the RS seemed to be better today for some reason and I didn't have a problem with it at all. And yes, very feedback resistant. Also I found that the RS isn't exactly perfect either, but I can adjust the sound using the EQ on my pre-amp to get what I want out of it.

I was gonna take the Full Circle off the bridge tonight but I seem to have lost my old adjusters. :rolleyes: Time to shop for a new set of 1/4x20mm so I can do the install myself.
 
#130
Ever since I first got the SOLO, one of the things I liked the most was that I found a sweet spot in the wing slot that fit really snug. The thing didn't budge for months and months of gigging.

But I recently noticed that the p/u does not fit as snug as it used to. And the timing of this change corresponds exactly to seasonal changes in temperature and humidity where I live.

So I found another sweet spot, with the p/u a wee bit more centered physically in the wing slot. Same great sound.

I guess what puzzles me is that with cooler temperatures, the bridge should probably be shrinking, right? That would make the pickup fit tighter, not looser, eh? I'm assuming the pickup itself isn't changing, rather that the bridge around it is.

I know this topic came up previously (posts #80 and #81), but wanted to pass along my experience.
 
#134
Ah, if only I had ready Bassbuddy's post sooner!

It was pretty painless (removing the G string, that is... the sanding is another story... ended up sanding off part of my left index fingertip! I wasn't even aware of it... my calouses must be good! It wasn't until I saw some blood that I said, gee what is this?)

So far, I am digging the sound... what I'm not digging isn't due to the PU, but to the amp (it's a Hartke B20... small practice amp, which I'm saving up $$$ to replace)... and the fact that I'm not going through a pre-amp... but so far I am feeling good about the purchase. :cool:
 
#137
Guys... I noticed last night that I get a audible hum from my RS. If I touch the RCA jack, the hum goes away. So I'm thinking it's a grounding problem. I've contacted Upton about it by email and awaiting a response. Anybody else had this problem? Might be a one-off thing.

The PUP has been sounding good lately, the only thing that still bothers me is that the output is still relatively low. It just freaks me out a little that i put my pre at 12 o'click and my Focus SA at 3 just to get a loud volume. With the FC, I hardly use that much power to get the same volume. I didn't hear the hum problem until I had to turn up. I don't htink it's on that tight and hesitant to sand it down any further.
 
#139
hdiddy said:
Did I mention the service was great? :)
Click to expand...
A couple of things... I too had a problem with the hum. My symptoms were nearly exactly as you encountered where touching it made the hum go away.

Eric took the time to work with me on a few possible solutions, but ultimately it went back for replacement. His service throughout was above and beyond anything I could've expected. Clearly this was personal service from someone who cares! A real pro. Thanks Eric!
 

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