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Double Bass Yamahiko Double Bass Pickup
- Thread starter Mike Arnopol
- Start date
Huh, any particular reason? I've had luthiers mention that they like threads down too. My first bass had threads down and I could actually put the top of the adjuster into the top of the bass if it was screwed down all the way
Huh, any particular reason? I've had luthiers mention that they like threads down too. My first bass had threads down and I could actually put the top of the adjuster into the top of the bass if it was screwed down all the way
When I installed my Yamahikos, I had to glue in a maple shim to keep the pickup from hitting the table. I would expect a luthier to do the same
yeah I had a new bridge cut for them and he installed the Y just as I asked with the long threaded pickup higher in the leg (to avoid touching the table) and with the pickup closer to the table then to the bridge.(threads down).
The Yamahiko responds really well to eq (better then a lot of pickups I have tried where for example pulling back on the mids really reduces the overall gain too much).
I just did a few gigs where I had the Y with the mids pulled really far back and the ToneDexter with a much brighter WM. Sounded killer.
The Yamahiko responds really well to eq (better then a lot of pickups I have tried where for example pulling back on the mids really reduces the overall gain too much).
I just did a few gigs where I had the Y with the mids pulled really far back and the ToneDexter with a much brighter WM. Sounded killer.
Did you ever put up a sample of just the ToneDexter yet? I'd love to hear that alone by itself with your bass.
On the note of pickups in General, I will be making another post, (probably in a month or two), showing with Video/Audio proof, why I believe I've found the body-stick-on microphone to be the solution to the lifelong pickup Journey.
I have now bought a LPF which can completely take out or not even allow the Frequencies above 3500hz and higher, to go through the amp to the speaker. Which makes feedback using microphones even more difficult to get.
As we all know the Microphone is the undisputed, ultimate, purest way to capture the replication of the sound your bass emits. The problem it has is volume and feedback. But those can actually be addressed quite well now-a-days.
I know the Yamahiko is good, there is no doubt. I'm not saying anything bad about the Yamahiko etc. But I still see the issue arises that you need to modify your bridge. With Microphones, you don't touch a thing on your bass, you don't need to modify your bridge. That is where I am coming from.
Anyway stay tuned for my Proof in the upcoming months!
I'm glad you are happy with the Yamahiko, My lady lives in Japan, and she bought the Yamahiko piano pickup! I am thinking of taking it and trying it on my bass haha, It's the same pickup I assume anyway.
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Ill have to try the ischell with a high pass.., but... i have a Felix with a treble knob and i gotta say that (and you and me are talking about little basses now although i really really think having experience with both that the difference between the eminence and the Contrabassetto is vast) a piezo with the ToneDexter gets way closer to a usable mic sound AND you dont need to cut all the frequencies plus you have blending and choices right in the box ( plus a tuner HPF notch and 22 wavemaps to choose from some with serious DSP feedback control) for playing like you do( fast furious with a lot of notes and articulations) you might be way happier
But maybe not, what do I know?
I can say this: since I put my big bass up for sale and play only the little one, i dont use my ischell, or other mics. I use the TD or just a pickup.
The Yamahiko by itself is damn good. (With the right impedence input) combined with the TD i dont find myself going back and trying to figure out orher different solutions... nearly as much anyway...
But maybe not, what do I know?
I can say this: since I put my big bass up for sale and play only the little one, i dont use my ischell, or other mics. I use the TD or just a pickup.
The Yamahiko by itself is damn good. (With the right impedence input) combined with the TD i dont find myself going back and trying to figure out orher different solutions... nearly as much anyway...
I should try the ToneDexter.
But even though you mention little basses compared to normal 3/4 size basses, remember that if anything, the regular size basses are even easier to capture the sound from, as they have a body that pushes air/vibrates even more than the little basses we have. I can also put up my videos proving that if needed.
Anyway, one day I'll end up trying the Yamahiko, but I don't care to get my bridge custom fitted with wheels etc. which brings me to the point again that I only have a microphone to the body, and a Low pass filter now. I have no extra gadgets to get a sound.
I go to my gigs now with just a microphone (Ischell), and a Low Pass filter, which is a tiny box that fits in your pocket. That's all I bring now to gigs.
This is how much I believe in the mic from now on haha. and Yes, I bought three..
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I just bought a Yamahiko ( 1/4" NC20) and installed it. Overall it sounds much better than my old Full-circle...however, I get a lot of distortion when I play my open E.
I have tried it with multiple preamps and it doesn't matter what I run it through that open E just crunches really bad.
I'm bummed!
I have tried it with multiple preamps and it doesn't matter what I run it through that open E just crunches really bad.
I'm bummed!
Just spitballing:
- Could it be mechanical? If the amp is turned off, do you hear any buzzing anywhere when you hit the E?
- Is it possible that the signal is too hot and distorting whatever you run it into?
- Wiring all look good and secure?
I did listen to my bass acoustically and there was nothing unusual sounding. I even tried another E string.
I ran it through a F-deck preamp, a Tech 21 Q-strip, and a Fishman Pro Platinum preamp... all did the same thing no matter what volume they were set at!
All the notes from low F to the top of the G string sound great!
I ran it through a F-deck preamp, a Tech 21 Q-strip, and a Fishman Pro Platinum preamp... all did the same thing no matter what volume they were set at!
All the notes from low F to the top of the G string sound great!
Hmm. Re the "too hot/overloading" possibility, if the signal from the pickup is hot enough, it might not matter where you have the volume on the preamps set -- it could overload the input, regardless, causing distortion. Do you get the same thing on the E if you play more quietly? I'm just wondering if the open E is sending a big spike through relative to the other notes.
The other open strings are good, I presume? Any possible weirdness in the installation? Maybe you could try recording the pickup directly into an interface (impedance might or might not match well, but you could see if you get that crunch and if the open E is, for some reason, spiking the levels relative to the other notes).
I was wondering if it might be an HPF thing, but your list of pres, above, seems to negate that.
Beyond that -- and if you get the crunch when playing more softly as well -- I'm not sure what else to check. You might well have a damaged/defective pickup, but it's weird that it's good on every other note.
I just plugged this pick up into a mixer and padded down the gain and it’s fine.
This pickup is hotter than two rats making love in a wool sock!
It overloads every preamp I have.
This pickup is hotter than two rats making love in a wool sock!
It overloads every preamp I have.
Hunh. Anyone else dealt with this successfully with this pickup? Perhaps the manufacturer will have some insights for you, as well.
Is yours threads up or down? I had some work done on my bass recently, and had mine switched from threads up to down-- solved my "too hot" problem (it was clipping Felix with the gain all the way down). It's still quite hot, but manageable.
The high impedance piezos with a hot output can get a lower output signal by putting a capacitor in series with the piezo (one end to the hot side of the pickup and the other to the hot side of the (pre-)amp. I have no idea of the value, but some colleague might be able to measure the capacity of the adapter of the full circle tip to tip from both sides with multimeter.
I'm much too far away from my bass now or I would have done that myself.
I'm much too far away from my bass now or I would have done that myself.
Did you just swapped out your pickups or have a luthier install it?
I had a similar distortion on the e string thing when I popped in a full circle caused by a slight gap between pickup and bridge.
I had a similar distortion on the e string thing when I popped in a full circle caused by a slight gap between pickup and bridge.
I keep coming back to this and would really like to know if there is a solution: Could the Yamahiko pickup be constructed so that if the two pickups (E side and G side) are bridged the way they are supposed to be, one of the pickups is reversed in polarity? When I run the two into a Grace Felix and run them flat and totally balanced between them, with only the polarity reversed on one, the sound is crazy good acoustic the right thump, convincing and cuts thru. Truth is I could do without the Felix if I could get one of the pickups reversed polarity in the manufacturing. Is that possible?
During the manufacturing process it should be possible by reversing the piezo stick inside.
Putting the piezo upside down is not the same, the ground needs to be connected to the other side of the piezo crystal to reverse amplitude.
From a manufacturers perspective you then get in-phase and phase-reversed pickups and they should not get mixed up, so the phase-reversed ones should be marked in some way as phase reversed, because if an adjuster pickup needs to be replaced, the correct one should be identified on both sides, manufacturer and player.
Putting the piezo upside down is not the same, the ground needs to be connected to the other side of the piezo crystal to reverse amplitude.
From a manufacturers perspective you then get in-phase and phase-reversed pickups and they should not get mixed up, so the phase-reversed ones should be marked in some way as phase reversed, because if an adjuster pickup needs to be replaced, the correct one should be identified on both sides, manufacturer and player.
