Double Bass Wilson K4

[crd]

I've been curious about what twisting the element actually does. I know the Wilson promotional materials make it sound just like a volume control but it seems like it must be more complicated than that. It can't be the same as having individual gain for each string.

I'm also really curious about how the different string elements are summed.

 

[flatback]

When you turn the pickup you are turning the narrow stethoscope lens of the pickup toward different nodal/ vibration parts of the bridge. There is no volume control other then accessing more or less vibration by feel and sound. The pickups are summed at the jack nothing special. There are many ways to use the 4 elements though …. Besides just putting them under each string. You can put them much farther back to get more body sound or on on each side of each leg etc.

 

[crd]

The pickups are summed at the jack nothing special.

That seems like it would be very complicated to do optimally. The Wilson avoids phasing issues by having the piezo close to the string but it seems like it might lose some headroom summing the four strings together ? I wish trying both the Wilson and Yamahiko didn't involve maiming my bridge.

 

[flatback]

Get the Yamahiko I have both on the same bass and the Yama wind hands down
The Wilson sounds good but the Yamahiko is way better

 

[Kristian]

Get the Yamahiko I have both on the same bass and the Yama wind hands down
The Wilson sounds good but the Yamahiko is way better

On my bass though, the Wilson sounds a lot better. The yamahiko sounded great on my other bass but has to much phasing problems on my new one.

 

[crd]

On my bass though, the Wilson sounds a lot better. The yamahiko sounded great on my other bass but has to much phasing problems on my new one.

If you had to guess, what do you think the difference could be attributed to?

 

[Kristian]

I think bad luck with the bridge.
I had another bridge on my old bridge before and also had bad phasing problems with the yamahiko. Then, I had a new bridge made and suddenly the yamahiko sounded great. I guess very small differences between different bridges make the vibration reach the pickups at different intervals and thus creates either mild or severe phasing…

 

[Kristian]

…on my old bass… sorry!

 

[crd]

Got it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Were both basses 5 strings?

 

[Kristian]

Got it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Were both basses 5 strings?

Yes! Tuned in fifths… it’s really hard to get all the strings/registers balanced. The Wilson makes it easier. Now, my main signal is the Xlson and I just blend some Wilson in there for definition.

 

[crd]

@Kristian One last question about the Wilson, is it easy to over play and distort the piezo? I am kind of heavy handed and often "play hard."

 

[Kristian]

@Kristian One last question about the Wilson, is it easy to over play and distort the piezo? I am kind of heavy handed and often "play hard."

I play relatively hard as well but never had any problems. My pickups are installed 1cm from the strings (slightly further away than recomended) and I guess this makes them less sensitive. You can also fine tune them but turning them, if they should be to „hot“.

 

[mav]

I have a K4 sitting in the draw and am feeling very temped to have it installed. Currently have a Lifeline and underwood fitted, really liking the lifeline, underwood sounding harsh and unnatural compared. My concern is the K4 will sound harsh like the underwood, I don't mind mid heavy as I can EQ that out. What do you think?

 

[Mike Carr]

I've had l each of the pickups you mentioned on my bass at various times. Right now it's got my K4. The Wilson certainly is mid forward sounding but it's much smoother sounding than the Underwood.

 

[Kristian]

I have a K4 sitting in the draw and am feeling very temped to have it installed. Currently have a Lifeline and underwood fitted, really liking the lifeline, underwood sounding harsh and unnatural compared. My concern is the K4 will sound harsh like the underwood, I don't mind mid heavy as I can EQ that out. What do you think?

I’ve also had all the pickups you mentioned and I would say that it depends on what you want from the pickup. Personally, I prefer a pickup that’s super clean and always cut through and then I can mix that signal with a mic. If I didn’t use a mic and only want a pickup that sounds fairly “acoustic”, I would stick with the lifeline. However, in some rooms I find it too boomy. The Wilson together with a red eye and/or a tube preamp sounds quite nice and if you mix it with a mic, then you have a lot of flexibility.

 

[mav]

I installed the K4, had my friend who is an amatuer builder with a drill press. The provided tools made it really simple. I went for 10mm from string. Haven't had a chance to gig it yet.

• Output considerably lower than the Lifeline and Underwood, had to bump up the gain on my preamp
• Very clean accurate sound
• Doesn't sound too stringy/scratchy
• Haven't needed to scoop out mids, balanced frequency for a piezo
• With a 10mohm preamp I don't sound like NHOP

 

[Kristian]

I installed the K4, had my friend who is an amatuer builder with a drill press. The provided tools made it really simple. I went for 10mm from string. Haven't had a chance to gig it yet.

• Output considerably lower than the Lifeline and Underwood, had to bump up the gain on my preamp
• Very clean accurate sound
• Doesn't sound too stringy/scratchy
• Haven't needed to scoop out mids, balanced frequency for a piezo
• With a 10mohm preamp I don't sound like NHOP

Great! Did you try turning the piezos and pushing them deeper into the holes or out? You can change quite much in the sound and output by doing this.

 

[mav]

I have twisted them a small amount and didn't notice a huge difference, I did think about pushing them in deeper, i thought the backs was meant to be flush with the bridge like in all the pics. I'll try it.

 

[mav]

Finally got to do a gig with the Wilson K4. It was a big room, at a fairly loud, party volume. Genz Benz Shuttle Max 9.0 into a DNA 115 cab. My observations are from me standing 4 feet away from my amp.
Firstly I got a compliment from the sound guy.

Pros,

• play at a high volume without feedback
• massive bottom end
• punchy string driven tone
• clear and accurate notes, poor note choices were very noticeable
• Didn't have to dig in, changed the way I played pizz with a lighter touch so wasn't as tired at the end of the gig

Cons,

• bass did sound more like an electric bass
• when sound checking I felt like there was two notes, finger touching string which had a kind of sub thump then the pizz note, couldn't notice it with the band
• un natural note envelope compared to the Lifeline
• E & A boomy compared to D & G, i tried twisting but made little or no difference
• I feel like the close placement of the pickup to the strings and the volume from the amp created a vibration loop where the string was confused

So to conclude, if I was in a high volume situation where having a usable sound to punch through the mix I go through the K4, if I wanted a more traditionally "natural" big and fat tome I'll go for the lifeline (on my bass)

 

[Kristian]

Finally got to do a gig with the Wilson K4. It was a big room, at a fairly loud, party volume. Genz Benz Shuttle Max 9.0 into a DNA 115 cab. My observations are from me standing 4 feet away from my amp.
Firstly I got a compliment from the sound guy.

Pros,

• play at a high volume without feedback
• massive bottom end
• punchy string driven tone
• clear and accurate notes, poor note choices were very noticeable
• Didn't have to dig in, changed the way I played pizz with a lighter touch so wasn't as tired at the end of the gig

Cons,

• bass did sound more like an electric bass
• when sound checking I felt like there was two notes, finger touching string which had a kind of sub thump then the pizz note, couldn't notice it with the band
• un natural note envelope compared to the Lifeline
• E & A boomy compared to D & G, i tried twisting but made little or no difference
• I feel like the close placement of the pickup to the strings and the volume from the amp created a vibration loop where the string was confused

So to conclude, if I was in a high volume situation where having a usable sound to punch through the mix I go through the K4, if I wanted a more traditionally "natural" big and fat tome I'll go for the lifeline (on my bass)

With the Wilson, you need something like a tube preamp and/or a red eye to make it sound good (unless you mix it with a mic). The sound is to “direct” to be used raw. This is its pro and con!
But first, find a way to balance the strings. Did you mute the afterlength? I put a towel there around the strings and it helps against boomines. And do experiment some more twisting and pulling the pickups in/out (maybe skipping one or two of them entirely?). Good luck!