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Double Bass Warmest sounding pickup?

#6
Ric Vice said:
1. You cannot play it at high volumes
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I've played plenty of rock clubs and large outdoor venues with mine. You just have to know how to work with it.

Ric Vice said:
2. It will probably wear out in around 4 years
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I've had the same one on my german ply for 10 years. (watch it'll crap out tonight)


Ric Vice said:
3. It will feed back if you are in close proximity to the amp.
(of course this is true for other pickups as well)
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This is true and where a good HPF comes into play. I use the Fishman Platinum Pro but I've heard of lots of guys having nice results with fdeck's thing. I've played at (what I would consider) silly volumes and been able to tame feedback with my Fishman.
 
#7
IconBasser said:
howdy y'all!

what would you recommend as a warm sounding DB pickup?

my school's DB has a fishman, and it sounds INCREDIBLY bright and nasally when un-eqed. I hate it.

thanks.

-your friendly neighborhood IconBasser
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Are you plugging directly into the Amp? If so you probably need a preamp.
Otherwise it will sound bright and nasally like you describe.
Many regular bass amps aren't equiped to handle a very high impedance pickup.
 
#8
seamonkey said:
Are you plugging directly into the Amp? If so you probably need a preamp.
Otherwise it will sound bright and nasally like you describe.
Many regular bass amps aren't equiped to handle a very high impedance pickup.
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I'll second that! It's the first thing that came to mind when the OP said "bright and nasally."

To the OP: If you're not loading a piezo pickup with at least 1 MOhm, most will sound exactly as you describe.
 
#10
fingers said:
Which Fishman are we talkin'? All the eq and preamps in the world are not going to make the BP-100 sound anything but thin and nasally.
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I have to disagree with you there. It really depends on the bass. I have the BP-100 on my main bass (an 80 year old Juzek) and it sounds defined but warm. It also has the greatest dynamic range of any pickup I've ever used. A preamp is absolutely required though. I rarely have to EQ it either. In fact, depending on the room, I sometimes plug it into the effects return of my Focus III bypassing the EQ.

Now to be fair to your comment, out of the 8 basses I've owned, the BP-100 was completely unusable on 5 of them. Thin and nasally would be complimentary to what it sounded like.

Based on my extremely small (and therefore unscientific) sample, the BP-100 seems to work well with old carved basses and not well or at all with newer or plywood basses. All of the basses that I couldn't get it work on were either plywood or made post 1970.


mark
 
#11
Sure. There is a guy here is Chicago that has a BP-100 and gets a decent sound. I heard Dan Burglund from EST using one and he got a nice sound (albeit on the electricy side).

I had one a tried it on 3 different basses. With preamps. Awful. I would never recommend to anyone that they check that pickup out.
 
#13
fingers said:
The Realist is the most organic imho.
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Hmm ... I've been using the Realist with my AI Coda -- until I heard a recording from my line out. It's hard to evaluate a P/U when you're also hearing your bass acoustically. Yeah the realist sounds fine "at low volumes" because you're hearing a mix of realist and acoustic. After hearing just what my realist sounds like on tape, I took it off. Now I'm getting by a SM57 mic in the tailpiece.

It did actually sound pretty good bowed, but not pizz -- for me anyways.
 
#15
IconBasser said:
howdy y'all!

what would you recommend as a warm sounding DB pickup?

my school's DB has a fishman, and it sounds INCREDIBLY bright and nasally when un-eqed. I hate it.

thanks.

-your friendly neighborhood IconBasser
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as a warm sounding DB pickup.

I'd recommend that you experiment with a preamp/EQ before moving on from the Fishman.
 
#16
fingers said:
I've played plenty of rock clubs and large outdoor venues with mine. You just have to know how to work with it.
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Unfortunately, with my bass, if I have to really crank the Realist it begins to sound harsh, the attack shortens, and the tone quality changes, but that may only apply to my particular situation. The HPF really helps with
low frequency feedback but it won't get me past the volume threshold where the bass begins to sound like it's strung with Weed Whacker Strings. :D

Ric
 
#17
How about trying the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ + for bass?
I have found mine to be very useful and flexible for a number of situations.
It should at least help the OP's pickup sound better by buffering the impedance, and if a different Pup is needed, it should prove useful for whatever you end up with, either into an amp or for eq'ing for the DI, or both.
Just my 2 cents.
 

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