I recently had the Upton Revolution pickup system put into my bass. It's pretty easy to find it through the Upton Bass homepage.
http://uptonbass.com
Before I give my impressions, I just have to say that unlike some other people here, I haven't been searching for the perfect sound for years. This is the first pickup I've ever owned, so I'm not speaking from someone who has experienced many different pickups.
That being said, I did a lot of research, I've played on other basses with different pickups, and I pay close attention to the pickup sound whenever I see a bass player perform. One thing I noticed from watching people play is that in general, Realist pickups do tend to sound muddy, especially at high volumes, while Underwood style pickups tend to be way to bright, and have too much string noise. As for microphones, usually when I see someone performing with one, the bass isn't loud enough.
Anyway, as you can read from the website, this is pickup system is two pickups: An under the foot element, and a wing pickup. There is a single knob that is used to blend the two.
The sound is extremely impressive. Both pickups sound great. I was expecting to not like the wing pickup that much, because I wasn't too crazy about the K&K Bass Max, which is what a friend of mine has on his bass. The Upton wing pickup is seems much warmer and more natural. As for the under the foot pickup, at low volumes at least, it sounds even better. As cliche' as this sounds, I really was decieved at first when I turned the amp on. It didn't even sound like it was working until I turned the amp back off and realized how much louder I had been before. I haven't yet used it on any gigs, or even at any jam sessions, but my guess is that at higher volumes, the most natural sound will be achieved by blending the two pickups. It just makes so much sense to me to have two different pickups. They both take care of different aspects of the instruments sound.
Unfortunately, Gary can't make the under the foot style pickup anymore due to a legal dispute with another company, but he told me about a new version that blends the wing pickup with an in between pickup sort of like the Fishman Full Circle. I'll post more when I get to try it out with a band.
http://uptonbass.com
Before I give my impressions, I just have to say that unlike some other people here, I haven't been searching for the perfect sound for years. This is the first pickup I've ever owned, so I'm not speaking from someone who has experienced many different pickups.
That being said, I did a lot of research, I've played on other basses with different pickups, and I pay close attention to the pickup sound whenever I see a bass player perform. One thing I noticed from watching people play is that in general, Realist pickups do tend to sound muddy, especially at high volumes, while Underwood style pickups tend to be way to bright, and have too much string noise. As for microphones, usually when I see someone performing with one, the bass isn't loud enough.
Anyway, as you can read from the website, this is pickup system is two pickups: An under the foot element, and a wing pickup. There is a single knob that is used to blend the two.
The sound is extremely impressive. Both pickups sound great. I was expecting to not like the wing pickup that much, because I wasn't too crazy about the K&K Bass Max, which is what a friend of mine has on his bass. The Upton wing pickup is seems much warmer and more natural. As for the under the foot pickup, at low volumes at least, it sounds even better. As cliche' as this sounds, I really was decieved at first when I turned the amp on. It didn't even sound like it was working until I turned the amp back off and realized how much louder I had been before. I haven't yet used it on any gigs, or even at any jam sessions, but my guess is that at higher volumes, the most natural sound will be achieved by blending the two pickups. It just makes so much sense to me to have two different pickups. They both take care of different aspects of the instruments sound.
Unfortunately, Gary can't make the under the foot style pickup anymore due to a legal dispute with another company, but he told me about a new version that blends the wing pickup with an in between pickup sort of like the Fishman Full Circle. I'll post more when I get to try it out with a band.
