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Double Bass Those with Bass Max Pro pickups...

B

bobbykokinos

Dec 2, 2004
1,882
4
#1
Do you have your wing pickup mounted on the E or G side?? Right now I have mine on the E side but thinking of moving it to the G.. Whenever I play on the G string it seems to get lost. Just lookin to see what you all are doing with your setups.

Also, I've been having a problem with my D string. When I hit it, it just seems to keep reverberating to the point of feedback. None of the other strings do this except for this string. I've wrapped a cloth around the strings below the bridge and it has helped mute it a bit but its still an issue.. (actually, its not only the open D.. Its the D on the A string that causes this also) Any ideas or help on this??
 
#2
bobbykokinos said:
Do you have your wing pickup mounted on the E or G side?? Right now I have mine on the E side but thinking of moving it to the G.. Whenever I play on the G string it seems to get lost. Just lookin to see what you all are doing with your setups.

Also, I've been having a problem with my D string. When I hit it, it just seems to keep reverberating to the point of feedback. None of the other strings do this except for this string. I've wrapped a cloth around the strings below the bridge and it has helped mute it a bit but its still an issue.. (actually, its not only the open D.. Its the D on the A string that causes this also) Any ideas or help on this??
Click to expand...

I would consider moving the Bass Max to the G side. I have one, and it worked well on the G side of my old bass, but not my new one. Can't hurt to try it out.
I'm starting to find that I'm out-growing the Bass Max, if that make's any sense. When I first got it I thought it sounded amazing, but now that I am starting to explore the upper register of my bass, I'm starting to find the it is a little clunky. It sounds decent in the lower range, but I just can't get that sound I'm looking for higher up on the neck.
 
#3
I have mine as a backup--first line of PUs is Underwood, Schertler Stat-B, or Rev Solo. I use mine on the E side, I tried it on G side but didn't pick up the lower strings well. Be sure to experiment with both sides up, probably one side will sound better.

The BassMax was the first pickup I bought (though a Realist came with my bass). I have a theory that the rubber covering filters out some of the harsh frequencies that sound bad on other piezos like the Underwood, BP-100 and RS, but it also cuts out some detail. IME it's hard to get my BassMax to sound really bad, but it's equally hard to get it to sound great.
 
#4
Farin said:
I would consider moving the Bass Max to the G side. I have one, and it worked well on the G side of my old bass, but not my new one. Can't hurt to try it out.
I'm starting to find that I'm out-growing the Bass Max, if that make's any sense. When I first got it I thought it sounded amazing, but now that I am starting to explore the upper register of my bass, I'm starting to find the it is a little clunky. It sounds decent in the lower range, but I just can't get that sound I'm looking for higher up on the neck.
Click to expand...

I'm followin ya and thanks for the info..

Right now I'm doing mainly big band playing so I dont do much upper register stuff right now. Just trying to bring out the G a bit more..

I think I'll try sanding the wing down a bit this weekend and moving it over to see what it does..
 
#7
I have the BassMax. On my Englehardt, I got the best results with it on the G side; on the E side, it was very boomy, uneven, and had little definition of the G string. On my hybrid, it favors the E side, but I think I'm having similar problems like Farin, so I've got a Solo on the way to try.
 
#8
winston said:
I have mine as a backup--first line of PUs is Underwood, Schertler Stat-B, or Rev Solo.
Click to expand...

+1! I also found that I could improve my BassMax sound tremendously by buying a Rev. Solo and carrying the BassMax in the gig bag as a backup to my backup Rev. Solo!
 
#10
bobbykokinos said:
Just curious.

Are you guys using the BassMax or BassMax Pro?? I have the wing and the 4 pickups under each string.. I'm getting some decent detail with this setup..
Click to expand...

That's the Bass Master Pro, the system that combines the Bass Max with the Double Big Twin and a Two Channel Preamp.
 
#12
bobbykokinos said:
Ahh ok.. I always get them confused.. Do you have any suggestions for my situation?
Click to expand...

Basses tend to have a specific resonant frequency that also tends to drive us nuts, sometimes not only when amplified.
It usually lies around A/Bb/B but it sounds as if yours is D -- the fact that the specific note on the D string or a D stopped on the A string reinforces that diagnosis. It really has nothing to do with any pickup, all it does is pass on what it hears, and when the D resonance starts to boom your amp reinforces your bass' love for that note.

It's not an easy thing to mitigate -- a notch filter could help cut back on that specific frequency a bit -- one of the Kays I owned had a great love for Bb, and I actually got in the habit of manually dampening the note after striking it, to stem the resonance.
 
#13
Bob Gollihur said:
It's not an easy thing to mitigate -- a notch filter could help cut back on that specific frequency a bit -- one of the Kays I owned had a great love for Bb, and I actually got in the habit of manually dampening the note after striking it, to stem the resonance.
Click to expand...

I've noticed myself dampening it also.. Its just difficult, say, when I'm playing Impressions and 3/4s of the head is in Dm. Everytime I hit the root, my drummer has a heart attack. :)

Would moving the piezo on the D string down help at all? Or, since this a very resonant note on this bass, anywhere I put the pickup wouldnt make much difference?
 
#14
bobbykokinos said:
Would moving the piezo on the D string down help at all? Or, since this a very resonant note on this bass, anywhere I put the pickup wouldnt make much difference?
Click to expand...

I don't think moving the bridge-top transducer at the D string will make any real difference, the proximity to the string is quite tolerant given that the G and A transducers are not that much further away.
 
#15
winston said:
The BassMax was the first pickup I bought (though a Realist came with my bass). I have a theory that the rubber covering filters out some of the harsh frequencies that sound bad on other piezos like the Underwood, BP-100 and RS, but it also cuts out some detail. IME it's hard to get my BassMax to sound really bad, but it's equally hard to get it to sound great.
Click to expand...
winston, I don't know if you're right or wrong, but I like your theory.

I think about the Rev SOLO and its spruce casing kind of the same way. The outside of the pickup has an effect on the performance of the piezo(s) inside.

I know in both cases this is kind of part physics (?), and partly a stretch of imagination perhaps.

Regardless, I still like your theory.
 
#16
bobbyk, have you tried various types of strings on this DB?

I'm thinking maybe if you have light tension strings now, maybe you want to try a medium or heavy set to see if the D doesn't get so carried away. Maybe with more (or less) tension, all the notes will resonate more evenly in all registers. I think some basses do respond to changes in string tension like this, mine for one.

If you have an adjustable bridge, raising or lowering it might also change the tension and thus the response. Course you have to be able to play comfortably at that new height I realize ...

I dunno. Either that or a notch filter like Bob G. said.
 
#18
bobbyk, have you tried something to dampen the afterlength of the D string? I've seen wolf tone eliminators, but I don't know if that's exactly what's happening in your case.

I did try the Bass Max on the G side of the bridge at one time. The sound definitely had more clarity I thought and was much more open. But it also had a lot less heft, and was a little too thin for me. I felt I needed the heft, so the Bass Max went back to the E side.
 
#19
bolo said:
bobbyk, have you tried something to dampen the afterlength of the D string? I've seen wolf tone eliminators, but I don't know if that's exactly what's happening in your case.

I did try the Bass Max on the G side of the bridge at one time. The sound definitely had more clarity I thought and was much more open. But it also had a lot less heft, and was a little too thin for me. I felt I needed the heft, so the Bass Max went back to the E side.
Click to expand...

Yup, as a temp fix I used a towel woven in and out of the strings.. Helped a bit but not much.
 

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