I’m wondering if someone here is able to tell me what kind of pick up this is. Going through some old parts that I have in trying to figure out what is what
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Double Bass What kind of pickup is this?
- Thread starter tsarter
- Start date
Fishman BP-100. (Missing the 2 metal clips that hold each disk onto the bridge.)
There are various opinions and experiences with this pickup.
I'll just leave it at that.
Thanks.
There are various opinions and experiences with this pickup.
I'll just leave it at that.
Thanks.
Thanks, Don. I think it was put in my parts box and not being used for a reason.
I’ve heard them sound good clipped to the E-side ff-hole.
They sound best when the garbage truck is driving away with it securely tucked inside and I'm playing any other pickup.
I haven’t tried it, but bluegrass guys seem to like it. The physics make sense.
Fred Hopkins and Marc Johnson both got incredible results from them. The tone isn't the best but the signal is nice and hot. Not a bad PU if you need to be loud.
Absolutely. Red Mitchell too along with lots of others. Don't use those metal mute-like clips, but attach with a drop of Superglue. You'll be able to easily pop them off with a thin blade if you want. I've moved on to other things - I'm using a Lifeline now - but you can get a very useful sound with that pickup. As long as you own it, give it a shot.
Agreed! I used to run it with one superglued in the rear center bottom of the bridge and one with a bit of electrical tape over it on the body between the bridge feet. It was an incredible, woody, strong amplified tone. Not sure I would go as far as recommending it...
Red Mitchell used to used it turned way up and he played soft and up the finer board near his left hand with his right. One of the most incredible sounds of all time.
Wow. That IS a remarkable tone. I’ll hook the pickup up and give it a try.
Been using a Barbera - with the two transducers for each string built into the bridge - for years now. Put a Shadow pickup in my latest, new to me, 1940 Kay. I like both those pickups, but will try this Fissn sometime as well. I do
Remember not
Liking it much in the past, but I had it installed with the clips.
Been using a Barbera - with the two transducers for each string built into the bridge - for years now. Put a Shadow pickup in my latest, new to me, 1940 Kay. I like both those pickups, but will try this Fissn sometime as well. I do
Remember not
Liking it much in the past, but I had it installed with the clips.
It was my first pickup and I recall it was very bright sounding. It really needs a buffer preamp to not sound like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Getting a tight fit is critical with the BP100, the bridge may need sanding to get as gapless a fit as possible. I don’t think I ever got an optimal fit with mine, but it got me through a lot of gigs before I started my long search for the best pickup. Ironically, it was back to Fishman…the Full Circle is what I use on both my basses.
Getting a tight fit is critical with the BP100, the bridge may need sanding to get as gapless a fit as possible. I don’t think I ever got an optimal fit with mine, but it got me through a lot of gigs before I started my long search for the best pickup. Ironically, it was back to Fishman…the Full Circle is what I use on both my basses.
I've never met a "bluegrass guy" who liked it, including me. And I've met a lot of them.
Red definitely had one of the most effective and interesting pickup sounds of the 70s/80s. I think he spent a lot of time experimenting with pickups and technique to get a new and unique sound, as opposed to many bassists who just seemed to plug in and hope for the best.
However, I think that on the Lee Konitz record it may just be mic (looks like a Neumann KM84 or KM85). There are a number of great photos from that session on Getty Images. He has (at least) two pickup on the bass--a magnetic one under the end of the fingerboard and another one (piezo? maybe built into the bridge?)--but they are not plugged in. Maybe they ended up taking a line after the photos were taken, but in any case, no BP100 in sight.
The clips are glistening here! you can hear just a touch of the problematic "nasal" tone this PU can give, but he is subverting it with his touch. There are some other LPs with the BP-100 on the cover. Though you are clearly right and when faced with it, we have to be honest and say not even Red could make a BP-100 sound as good as he sounds on that LP with Lee!
Red definitely had one of the most effective and interesting pickup sounds of the 70s/80s. I think he spent a lot of time experimenting with pickups and technique to get a new and unique sound, as opposed to many bassists who just seemed to plug in and hope for the best.
However, I think that on the Lee Konitz record it may just be mic (looks like a Neumann KM84 or KM85). There are a number of great photos from that session on Getty Images. He has (at least) two pickup on the bass--a magnetic one under the end of the fingerboard and another one (piezo? maybe built into the bridge?)--but they are not plugged in. Maybe they ended up taking a line after the photos were taken, but in any case, no BP100 in sight.
What bass is that?!? Did he play a Prescott for a while?
Don't know about those recordings, but I spent quite a few nights at Bradley's listening to Red play with various top tier pianists and chatted with him a few times. He was very much into his Fishman BP plugged into his little black box GK and he had a specific EQ he insisted was ideal: bass and treble at 3 o'clock and the two mid-range knobs at 9. He tried a few preamps, but rejected them because he claimed they made the sound more electronic. He said he played a hybrid acoustic/electric instrument like a guitarist with a hollow body guitar. He had had his bow stolen a few years earlier and never replaced it - he did not own a bow. He felt that even a slight residue of rosin on the strings acted like a mute and took away from his sound. He also felt that since a bassist spent 90% of his time playing pizz, that it was silly to grab a bow for a solo when it was his time in the spotlight. He tuned in 5ths and had two tiny screws in the back of the neck that he felt with his thumb to help with intonation. He insisted that his students do the same. I had a friend with a Claudot who did that (yikes!). Bradley's had duos six nights a week and Red would fly in from Europe and do a week with, say Tommy Flanagan followed by a week with Kenny Barron, that sort of thing, for a month or two. It was open late and had no cover charge, so in addition to music lovers there were a lot of noisy drinkers. Red said he made a cassette tape of the crowd during an intermission and practiced with it playing so he could get used to playing with that sound. Quite an interesting man and a unique artist.
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