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Double Bass Wilson K4
- Thread starter flatback
- Start date
True, and when the Wilson and Barbera pickups were first available
there were only two amplifiers that I’m aware of with 1 Meg Ohm input impedance. One was a Walter Woods the other was a Gallien Krueger 200MB. Fishman made the standalone Model B Transducer Interface, which I believe was 10 Meg Ohms, but none of us would have thought to use it with the Wilson K4 and theirs no tube inside only SS components.
I had a Barbera and I loved it too except when one of the 8 pickups went bad and it was totally uneven and embeded in the bridge and Mr B was impossible to communicate with and it became a led balloon.
That's what I heard, he evidently thought that bridge splice of his was "bullet proof" and according to all the posts here on Talkbass nothing could be further from the truth.
One of the great features of this pickup is the adjustment of the pickup for volume. I hadn’t really done more then a slight turn but I was thinking today what if the pickup is facing the wrong direction? Sure enough it is not so much volume that this pickup alters by twisting the 4 brass piezos, but phase to each other and timbre. Dang. The standard straight across sounds the thinnist and most attenuated. both of these are super woody. I really think the directionality either picks up different vibrations, changes the phase relationship (and therefor what freq are cancelled out) or both, but it seems a very strong built in eq.
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Twisting my K4 piezos, a rabbit hole I would not want to get into. But that's just me getting old...
well for anyone else out there who isn't too old and has a K4 twisting the pickups can offer some pretty radical timbre alterations. Highly recommended.
Let's be careful out their folks. You want to avoid damaging the lead wires into the piezoelectric elements on the Wilson while
not causing the wood around the holes to split or crack, birds eye maple is really durable but it can dry out with time. Just a suggestion.
not causing the wood around the holes to split or crack, birds eye maple is really durable but it can dry out with time. Just a suggestion.
I always twist my k1 around before I touch the eq. It changes the sound of my bass dramatically!
Yeah, twisting the pickups get you huge shifts in tone. I am really liking the range of tones available from this pickup without altering the amp eq
Did you try using just one of the elements in the leg? Gives you a more natural sound but you loose the ability to adjust the volume of the individual strings.
This has been my solution for more than 10 years but right now, I got lucky finding a good spot with my ehrlund...
Did you try using just one of the elements in the leg? Gives you a more natural sound but you loose the ability to adjust the volume of the individual strings.
This has been my solution for more than 10 years but right now, I got lucky finding a good spot with my ehrlund...
Kristian,
I found a great spot on my Mirecourt Bass for the Ehrlund EAP as well.
Well K, I have the two Yamahikos in the bridge doing a great job. I can't imagine a better all around pickup then the Yama. What I wanted the K4 for it does really well (especially now that i have discovered twisting) which is picking up the sound at the top of the bridge. It is a different punchier more middy, but very FAST sound, very articulate the notes distinguish themselves from one another in the mix and in your ear when you are playing in a noisy context. It is not as natural because of where it is, but with the twisting it gets a lot more natural. I think that the original Wilson (Ole is his son and now the main person at Wilson) had in mind that you should twist these puckups around to get the best sound...it is in the product lit...but he also says in the same place that mostly people dont and just leave them. My experience with pickups is that a bass bridge is a vast place with tons of different nodes and rivers of vibration (look up sand on a timpani to see what I mean, and by turning the directional Wilson piezos you can tap into the stream.Still from string end of the bridge, but I have the other end covered.
Also about that clarity, the bridge legs sum all the energy going into the top so it is a good place to pickup but the Wilson K4 picks up each string the way an electric guitar does (where the other strings pickup is getting some vibration but really it is the one per string picking up the main sound) I call it tracking but I dont really know what it is supposed to be called. The effect is that it puts the focus of your sonic picture up front (and IN FOCUS) so you can adjust where you want to be in the mix thru dynamics rather then being forced into the back corner where bass players have always lived....I love the back corner but I want to be able to step out of it too (and the K4's 4 pickups on the edge of the bridge enable that control)
Also about that clarity, the bridge legs sum all the energy going into the top so it is a good place to pickup but the Wilson K4 picks up each string the way an electric guitar does (where the other strings pickup is getting some vibration but really it is the one per string picking up the main sound) I call it tracking but I dont really know what it is supposed to be called. The effect is that it puts the focus of your sonic picture up front (and IN FOCUS) so you can adjust where you want to be in the mix thru dynamics rather then being forced into the back corner where bass players have always lived....I love the back corner but I want to be able to step out of it too (and the K4's 4 pickups on the edge of the bridge enable that control)
The Wilson will also change character depending on how far into the holes you have the elements. Between that and twisting them you can change the pickups response quite a lot as Piro is saying. Totally agree about how “quick” it feels. It is also very consistent and reliable, which is why every bass I have used for travel has worn one since the late 80’s. With my “good” bass I am after a more acoustic sound, but the Kolstein travel bass has the Wilson and I have no desire to change it.
Good to know, I have a Ehrlund EAP on mine and it sounds very nice, but both the Wilson K1 and the Yamahiko interest me on the Kolstein
I have used the Ehrlund on mine, usually blended with the Wilson via Felix. It can definitely sound good. Mine suffers from some weird resonances in some rooms that are difficult to deal with regardless of placement so I am going just Wilson lately on that bass. It does what I need it to, and it is somewhat of a relief to just let it have its own voice rather than trying to make it sound like what it’s not (i.e. my other bass). I am sure that the Yamahiko would de great on there as well....
I just got one three weeks ago. I'm really liking it. It's my second one. I had one on a bass I owned years ago but sold.
I've missed the Wilson K4 ever since. So nice to be back to the Wilson sound. As others have said, twisting the pickups makes a huge difference as does moving it in or out slightly in the holes. Once I found the sweet spots for mine it's been a delight to play. I've tried it with an F Deck pre amp, a Raven Labs PMB and also raw-dogged it straight into a big Ampeg SVT tube/solid state head that's pushing an Ampeg 4/10 cabinet. It's the house amp at one of the places I play often. I got to say.. straight into that rock & roll rig and blending in the tube front end, timing everything south of 80 htz and dipping the mids a bit gave me an awesome sound! If you are willing to EQ a bit it's not so in your face stringy sounding if you don't want it to be. When playing with the drums and piano it's sound places nicely with the other instruments. I never felt a need to reach back to turn up to be heard, even when the drummer really started hitting hard.
I'd say the Wilson K4 is a very nice pickup that's very useful!
I've missed the Wilson K4 ever since. So nice to be back to the Wilson sound. As others have said, twisting the pickups makes a huge difference as does moving it in or out slightly in the holes. Once I found the sweet spots for mine it's been a delight to play. I've tried it with an F Deck pre amp, a Raven Labs PMB and also raw-dogged it straight into a big Ampeg SVT tube/solid state head that's pushing an Ampeg 4/10 cabinet. It's the house amp at one of the places I play often. I got to say.. straight into that rock & roll rig and blending in the tube front end, timing everything south of 80 htz and dipping the mids a bit gave me an awesome sound! If you are willing to EQ a bit it's not so in your face stringy sounding if you don't want it to be. When playing with the drums and piano it's sound places nicely with the other instruments. I never felt a need to reach back to turn up to be heard, even when the drummer really started hitting hard.
I'd say the Wilson K4 is a very nice pickup that's very useful!
