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Double Bass Toby Timber's Vektor pick up review

#61
richhansen said:
I have Toby's newly designed Vektor pickup on my old German carved bass, and it's great. I'm totally loving the tone, and the volume to feedback ratio is definitely comparable to my Full Circle. It should be great for live use. The tone is nice and mic like, although it took some fiddling with the pickup adjusters and the soundpost to make it sound right without a bad standing wave feedback. I am getting a lot of noise, however, but I'm thinking that most of the problem is with my cheapo K&K Golden Trinity preamp. Has anyone had any luck using the LR Baggs Gigpro with this pickup, or is Toby's preamp the best one?
Nice job Toby, the Vektor is definitely a winner. My Realist is going on ebay!
Click to expand...
I had the gig pro with this pick up when i first got it (the old design) because i didn't like the idea of a battery pack on my bass. but the gigpro has a wierd eq curve. i went back to tobys which is just a signal boost at the source . it is more high endy but easier to eq at the amp stage and I really like having one cord into the amp.
The Focus/Avalon u5 combo sounds fantastic with the Vektor and the Focus alone sounds excellent.
 
#62
I have had the new Vektor on the bass for a few gigs now, and feel that I have something to add to the previous posts.
First, I think that the way to think of the Vektor is strictly as a mic. It should be judged with the other mics we use here and its problems and attributes compared to mics rather then pick ups. As a mic it has a lot going for it, like a super low profile, high gain, before feedback, an articulate woody acoustic tone and it blends very well with the
FC. The Vektor has some problems too, wolf tones possible uneveness, possible, feedback etc. A lot depends on placement and pressure and the sound of your bass.
I am finding that right out of the package the design is excellent, simple, and works very well. The variation in tone possible between the two bridge feet gives a lot of tone shaping possibilities just in placement. I found that minimum pressure works best or a natural even woody tone. I have only as of yet used the new Vektor with the Gigpro because I have not had the time to solder on Toby's preamp jack and the Gigpro is not a flat response preamp...
The Vektor sounds like close micing a bass and almost immediately I started expirimenting with adding a little FC to the mix. I ended up playing with them mixed about the same as I do with a dynamic or other mic.
Nothing is quite like the Heil PR 40 which is a great bass mic but thought of as a mic instead of a pickup the Vektor has a lot of great qualities.
If I played a lot of quieter gigs I would be tempted to use it solo also as an arco mic it sounds great, mixed it sounds great no phasing problems ( no more then any other mic) and the super low profile.
I really like the H clamp because you can put so many different mics on it but for the everyday into the amp sound with minimal visual impact this mic sounds great.
I still have to play a bunch with it and see if I like it a month from now or any problems emerge but right now I am digging it seriously.
....wolf tones seem to be due to uneven placement and easily fixed by evenly placing the mic head against the table ( and minimum pressure) ...just spent the afternoon A/B ing the Vektor with all my mics and the Vektor comes out way in front in terms of usable woody tone with little feedback and no bleed and a big woody tone. I am really digging it mixed with the FC.
 
#63
I'm having one shipped to me in a week with the new attachment that allows it to be installed with an adjustable bridge. It will also have the proprietary preamp as well.

I plan to use this p/u with my 7/8 Prescott. The last p/u on that bass was a Realist and I took it off 5 years ago to use with my 3/4 czech bass. I'm looking forward to using the new setup for an upcoming gig called "WIZARD" a musical review centered on the works of "WIZARD OF OZ" composer Harold Arlen.

For the last year I've been on tour using my Azola EUB so I hope I make the transition to the DB without too much trouble. I'll try to post some clips and give a review by the second week of March after I'm done with the upcoming show.
 
#64
Got the newly modified Vektor pickup today and it works perfectly. I've never heard my bass amplified with such natural detail and clarity outside of a recording studio. Like Flatback has described I'm still moving the pickup around to find the "sweet spot" but I know it's going to be great. I'm also impressed at how easy it is to install and adjust.

No other pickup I've used has the new Vektor's adjustable flexibility and ease of installation. My Prescott has a Kolstein wooden adjuster bridge so it wasn't possible to use the original Vektor design (drill into the bridge) or the Full Circle design. I could only use a Realist (too dark) or something that clamps onto the bridge. This new Vektor is the best solution for me.

This bass is going to be used only for lower volume gigs or high end gigs where I'm in a pit or stage setting and it calls for accurate amplification without mic bleed. If the gig requires a lot of volume I'm probably better off with my Azola.
 
#65
I just dont understand why more people have not tried this pick up (mic)
It seems like the perfect fit for so many cats here who are trying to get at that woody sound without the drawbacks of having a mic on the bass. Or anyone who has been thru the Dyn B haze and come out the other side wondering why the promise is so close but so far away. When I had a Dyn b what I wanted to hear was pretty much what the Vektor delivers.

Right now I am looking for a better preamp with phantom...well just the phantom...I cant get into having a battery on the bass (tobys preamp)although it sounds better then my other choice right now, the gigpro.
Frances (fdeck) said he could make one of his preamps with phantom and i'm waiting on that and I'd love to try the schertler preamp if i could find one to borrow??? I've yet to try plugging it straight into the focus and pressing the red button...dont want to destroy the pickup by pumping too much phantom juice into it.
Anyone have any great ideas for getting 10v phantom simple and easy?
 
#67
hensonbass said:
Got the newly modified Vektor pickup today and it works perfectly. I've never heard my bass amplified with such natural detail and clarity outside of a recording studio. Like Flatback has described I'm still moving the pickup around to find the "sweet spot" but I know it's going to be great. I'm also impressed at how easy it is to install and adjust.

No other pickup I've used has the new Vektor's adjustable flexibility and ease of installation. My Prescott has a Kolstein wooden adjuster bridge so it wasn't possible to use the original Vektor design (drill into the bridge) or the Full Circle design. I could only use a Realist (too dark) or something that clamps onto the bridge. This new Vektor is the best solution for me.

This bass is going to be used only for lower volume gigs or high end gigs where I'm in a pit or stage setting and it calls for accurate amplification without mic bleed. If the gig requires a lot of volume I'm probably better off with my Azola.
Click to expand...

Rob,

Can you post some clips?
 
#68
I'll try to get some clips up soon.

I'm glad I went with Toby's preamp/battery combo. The input jack and the battery holder are velcroed discreetly behind the tailpiece so there is easy access and at the same time visually hidden away.

I'm still messing around with placement. Everywhere you move the pickup you get a different sound. I'm also finding some interesting results when I run the Vektor into my Carl Martin parametric eq pedal and then into my AI Focus. I find the onboard eq section of the amp doesn't do much for tone shaping for me, although it's nice to have the high pass filter option. My bass is very bottom heavy sounding so if I can roll off some low end I find I get much better definition.
 
#69
Can you pl explain the 'messing about with placement' bit. I presume that you have the new version that screws under the bridge and makes contact with the bass top underneath. I would have thought that there would be very limited opportunity for finding different positions. Not being argumentative, just very interested!
 
#70
Roger Davis said:
Can you pl explain the 'messing about with placement' bit. I presume that you have the new version that screws under the bridge and makes contact with the bass top underneath. I would have thought that there would be very limited opportunity for finding different positions. Not being argumentative, just very interested!
Click to expand...

Well you can adjust the size and pressure so sliding the pick up all the way to the treble side sounds different from sliding over to the bass side.
I had it as Toby has it pictured way over to the bass side but have been getting a nice sound right in the middle too.
Once you get the eq right, shave off some mids and treble for me, it really shines.
 
#74
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Subscribed and interested, especially if this device is something that can be run straight into an AI XLR input and replace a mic.
Click to expand...

Toby has a version where the pick has a female 1/4" jack, and he provides a small K&K preamp (no batteries) with a female 1/4" jack (to bass) and xlr (to amp w/ phantom power). It should work with your AI amp. The K&K preamp is very small.

Jim
 
#76
Toby came to a gig I just played in Cologne. He brought a pickup for me to try. He was running a bit late, so I didn't have a chance to try it on the gig. Back in Chicago tomorrow, so I'll post my thoughts next week. He's a really nice guy. Had the pickup on my EUB and it sounded surprisingly good.
 
#80
I've been away for the Easter days so could not reply directly to questions here or via pm.
I know my website is not updated yet, but until it is, please just ask me for more info.
I have one pick-up unit with external preamp with a customer in the US, if anyone is interested, it would be possible to send with free postage (within USA only).
All others will be send from Germany but expect a couple of weeks waiting time, due to high demand and some delays in the supply chain.
 

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