• 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 The Realist Pickup, Too low on volume

N

novo

Feb 20, 2007
217
9
#1
Good Afternoon

I am new to the double bass and yesterday I got the chance to plug in my double bass with the Realist pickup to my amp (Ampeg SVT2 Pro with a 6x10 Cabinet) and the sound is incredibly low and not clear (Imagine the Volume of the amp is Gain 5 and Master 8...after that it starts to feedback like crazy)
When the drums comes in I just get buried.

Any body can suggest me to a higher output pickup please?
Would a Fishman pre amp help me out on the volume thing?

Thanks and Best Regards

Chris
 
#2
There is quite a bit of info here about the pros and cons of the Realist so I encourage you do do a search on TBDB.

Cliff notes:
-It tends to work better on basses with solid tops than laminated basses.
-It tends to work better at lower volume.
-Like all pickups it must fit well without any gaps between the bridge foot, pickup and top.

If you can tell us something about your bass etc. People here can get you some answers. A different pickup is probably in your future but don't expect that to be the end of it. :hiding:

Where's that 'can of worms' emoticon??
 
#3
novo said:
Good Afternoon
I am new to the double bass and yesterday I got the chance to plug in my double bass with the Realist pickup to my amp (Ampeg SVT2 Pro with a 6x10 Cabinet) and the sound is incredibly low and not clear (Imagine the Volume of the amp is Gain 5 and Master 8...after that it starts to feedback like crazy)
When the drums comes in I just get buried.

Any body can suggest me to a higher output pickup please?
Would a Fishman pre amp help me out on the volume thing?
Click to expand...

There are a couple of things you could try after you've done all the things that Greg mentioned in his post above.

The cabinet your using isn't ideal for Double Bass, with all that speaker surface, it's going to be feedback prone, so putting yourself at a 90 degree angle to the cabinet may help.

I'm assuming that this is a new Realist Pickup, because if it isn't, they do have a shelf life on some basses and will just crap after about 4 years mounted on the instrument.

If the feedback is in the low register, then the Fishman Pro Platinum Pre or the HPF/Buffer Pre can help work that out.

The Realist, when it's working correctly, has a fairly high output so you can get a good volume bump before it starts to feedback. Taking a look at your profile I see that you have a Trace Elliot 715 SMC, that amp would probably work better with a DB and pickup. I'd give it a try and see if the pickup is really the culprit, or it's the

6x10. If you don't get the volume out of it, then it might be the pickup. Realists tend to get louder very quickly as you begin to turn the volume past 3, but if it's at 5 and the output is low, I sense that it's gone south, but that's just based on what I think might be going on. Another thing that might be a problem is

input impedance, as it's best IMHO, IME to have some kind of buffer pre amp with amps that have an input impedance that's lower that 1 meg ohm. The Fishman Pro Platinum or the HPF Pre will correct that problem, and provide you with a High Pass Filter to get rid of the boom in the room

Ric



novo said:
Thanks and Best Regards

Chris
Click to expand...
 
#4
Thanks guys

My double bass is full carved maple sides and back and spruce top..blondie!

Ric I was amazed by your reply! I actually tried the double bass on my trace elliot and it had HUGE volume on it...Kind of strange considering the type (and the money) I spent on the Ampeg SVT 2....I think getting a fishman full circle is a no go as I read around that it needs an adjustable bridge which frankly I dont know what it is and I'm assuming that its not on my bass

What do you suggest I do?? Pre-amp? or a new small head?

Thanks :)
 
#5
Getting the simplest of HPF-Pre preamps (Series 1) from FDECK would be my move. $55 shipped, and you've got it then....no matter what amp or pickup you use in the future. An essential piece of gear for many of us.

...Lyle
 
#6
LyleRyan said:
Getting the simplest of HPF-Pre preamps (Series 1) from FDECK would be my move. $55 shipped, and you've got it then....no matter what amp or pickup you use in the future. An essential piece of gear for many of us.
Click to expand...

Lyle beat me to it. I'm using the Realist with FDECK's preamp, and I'm having no trouble with volume - in fact, it's slightly louder than when I run my electric bass into the same amp.
 
#7
So an FDECK pre-amp is the way

Can you give me the exact name of the pre-amp as I am looking for it from 'thomann' but can't find it and I'm worried that i do not know the exact name of it

Would a Fishman Platinum pre-amp do the job as good?

Thanks:)
 
#9
https://sites.google.com/site/hpftechllc/home/hpf-pre

It's a product made by a forum member that greatly increases the ease of use of DB amplification by matching impedance between your bass and amp. Some models have a variable filter so that you can cut sub bass lows and/or notes that that are feeding back. They also offers a phase reversal switch to further reduce feedback.
 
#11
I believe all three models have the high pass filter and the phase switch, both excellent feedback fighting tools. Series 1 and 2 both boost the signal a bit (2 dB I believe), while Series 3 is unity gain - if you're looking for a bit more volume, that might actually make 1 or 2 more desireable.

I have the Series 1 and love it.
 
#13
novo said:
Thanks guys

My double bass is full carved maple sides and back and spruce top..blondie!

Ric I was amazed by your reply! I actually tried the double bass on my trace elliot and it had HUGE volume on it...Kind of strange considering the type (and the money) I spent on the Ampeg SVT 2....I think getting a fishman full circle is a no go as I read around that it needs an adjustable bridge which frankly I dont know what it is and I'm assuming that its not on my bass

What do you suggest I do?? Pre-amp? or a new small head?



Thanks :)
Click to expand...

Novo,
Do you live outside the U.S. and Canada? I noticed you were looking at Thomann. Unfortunately the HPF isn't available from commercial vendors, as it's sold directly by Francis Deck, and he doesn't offer outside the United States and Canada. If you are interested in one, send me a P.M. and I'll see if we can work something out. You shouldn't need a new head.

Ric
 
#14
dperrott said:
Gage used to offer a realist with higher output. It doesn't have the same resistor. I have a planet waves cable with a resistor in it in case I needed it. I think even with the cable with a resistor, it had bit of a higher output than the regular one. For me this worked better. I don't use the pickup anymore though...
Click to expand...

D Perrott,
Now I understand why I preferred my first two Realists (without the logo on the jack) better than the new one I have on my backup instrument. I've moved to the Ehrlund EAP and Pre Amp, but I still have one of the newer Realists on my Knilling Flatback, it's not quite the same pickup, as the original one. Interesting.

Ric
 
#15
dperrott said:
Gage used to offer a realist with higher output. It doesn't have the same resistor. I have a planet waves cable with a resistor in it in case I needed it. I think even with the cable with a resistor, it had bit of a higher output than the regular one. For me this worked better. I don't use the pickup anymore though...
Click to expand...

D Perrott,
Now I understand why I preferred my first two Realists (without the logo on the jack) better than the new one I have on my backup instrument. I've moved to the Ehrlund EAP and Pre Amp, but I still have one of the newer Realists on my Knilling Flatback, it's not quite the same pickup, as the original one. Interesting. If Headway had known about the padded cable I would have never had my EDB-1 modified.

Ric
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back