Wilson vs. K & K

Never tried the Wilson, but I've tried a lot of other stuff, and the K&K Bass Master I'm using now sounds more natural than anything else I've had on the bass before, including the Realist. YMMV.

 

I'm with you Marcus,
I use a 3/4 and a full size I have a K&K Big Twin and a Fishman on the 3/4 and K&K Big Twin and a K&K Bass Max on the fullsize,I also have an Underwood (not currently being used!) now, out of ALL my pickups The BIG TWIN is the BEST sounding.....the worst is the Fishman!

Having said that, if I had the MONEY! I would love to have a Wilson set-up.... as my Hero NHOP is suppost to uses this system. And I for one like his sound! although some say it's too electric!

In conclusion.... do your own calculations the cost of the Wilson to a K&K....here in Aussie I could get about 5 K&K's for the price of ONE Wilson!

 

I use the Wilson pickup on the bass I play the most, which is a little "Dolling" bass. The instrument has a lot of bass in its acoustic sound, so I use the Wilson to get a bit more definition. It gets a great "acoustic" amplified sound for quieter gigs ,and when I have to turn it up for loud gigs, it cuts through too.
I think it is safe to say that every bass will be different, as is every pickup. Usually the nearer the pickup is to the string the greater the definition. I haven't used the K&K, but it seems to be a similair system to the fishman, both clamping on the outside of the bridge. I have used the fishman to good effect on a bass which had a clean acoustic sound. The fishman gave it a bit of a thud and rumble which suited the bass.The Wilson is drilled into the bridge and is a bit closer at picking up what the bass actually sounds like,depending on how close you mount it to the string. I know one guy here in London who went through 5 bridges ,mounting and remounting at different distances to get the best sound from each string. That might sound exessive, but after 18 years he is still happy with it and has one of the best sounds around.
I didn't have to go to those lengths, as I went to the luthier who mounted his pickup and he mounted it first time in the correct place for the bass.
In use I find that I can vary the volume a little on each string by twisting the individual piezo for each string. In one place I play regulary, an old church, the stage is a bass trap, and the bottom string really booms out. By adjusting the piezo for that string I can even it out, without having to cut the bass on the amp so that the othere strings sound tinney. The next night in a different place I just twist it back, and maintain an even sound.The clarity stays the same as the placement of the pickup is unaltered.I think with the K&K(and with the fishman that I used ) you have to move the pickup further form the string, not altering the volume but changing the the "string to body" sound ratio, and at high volume levels I found it had a detremental effect on my sound.
But that effect might work well with your bass??

 

My K&K bears no resemblence to a Fishman. It has one element which fits into the bridge wing cutout (sort of like half an Underwood), and four individual string elements that I've fitted on the bottom of the bridge. I did try differrent placements for the latter; made no difference at all on my bass. They both run into a stereo mixer, which I've chosen to velcro to the back of my tailpiece. Sounds great at any volume, pizz or arco. Great price, too.