• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Yamahiko Double Bass Pickup

#621
Okay, so here’s my opinion. The Yamahiko sounds less woody than the Lifeline and isn’t as great arco, but the tone is super tweakable with EQ. There is a good bit of upper mids that can sound great when you dial it down. I got the stereo cable and output Jack, so I can run each side into my Clarus. In phase, the tone is too midrangey. Out of phase sounds better, but it’s prone to feedback. The best sound is out of phase with more E side and less G side with some of the mids dialed out. That said, if you’re not using a two channel amp or a Felix, save your money and get the single sensor model, but for unlimited flexibility and tone shaping the dual sensor is great.
 
#623
Earl said:
My bass likes the G side and I can get it to sound pretty mic-like, but lately I have been bridging them, with the output connection on the G side (there is quite a difference between both sides) and kind of digging the more balanced hifi sound. With a good amp I find that an HPF is not really needed, I just cut the mids a bit.
Click to expand...
You know I actually didn’t try bridging them. I have the stereo Y jack on mine, so what I tried was both sides in phase and out of phase into my Clarus. When I use a mono cable it’s the E side only. I want to try bridges next. However, I am pretty sure that if I leave the bridge cable in place that whenever I use the TRS to dual mono cable that I will get bridged on the E string output and mono on the G string side. Maybe @Maple or @flatback can confirm.
 
#624
flatback said:
Yeah totally. I have them plugged in so that the E side takes a TS... but if you want the other side just switch the leads at the pickup. Also you can use the bridge wire so you have the choice of one the other or both with just a TS but if you plug in a TRS it splits the signal. Way cool
Click to expand...
If you leave the bridge wire connected to the Y jack but use a TRS to dual mono cable, will you get the summed output on one of the sides?
 
#625
If you use a mono cable and bridge the pickups (remember there is a subtle difference if you bridge to E or G) then only Tip will be used. If you bridge them and use the TRS and have both tip and ring connected I dont know what happens. It used to be when I tried that that it cancelled both channels but now somehow the same thing seems to bridge them. Dunno. Lots of ways to get a good sound though
 
#626
If you use the Y-TRS cable and the bridge cable fully connected, you effectively bridge tip to ring. Typically a TS jack will not connect shield to the ring, but if it happens, you short the tip signal to ground then.

But if it works, you have a rather large cable length that is open (no resistance to cancel electrical noise on that part) to the unconnected ring. It would be better to have that not connected at both sides instead to have it connected to the signal wire.

So if you bridge better unconnect the unused ring side from the Yamahiko. At least from an electrical perspective. At least worth a try and to keep in mind if something noisy happens at a gig (since it might not happen at home as much).
 
#627
DoubleMIDI said:
If you use the Y-TRS cable and the bridge cable fully connected, you effectively bridge tip to ring. Typically a TS jack will not connect shield to the ring, but if it happens, you short the tip signal to ground then.

But if it works, you have a rather large cable length that is open (no resistance to cancel electrical noise on that part) to the unconnected ring. It would be better to have that not connected at both sides instead to have it connected to the signal wire.

So if you bridge better unconnect the unused ring side from the Yamahiko. At least from an electrical perspective. At least worth a try and to keep in mind if something noisy happens at a gig (since it might not happen at home as much).
Click to expand...
You’re right...I tried it. No signal with both plugged in. Bridged mono sounded good, IMO, but not as open as the single sensor. Running the Y jack into two channels and a significantly louder / hotter and you can tweak the sound more.
 
#629
Wait so if you bridge the pickups you are double loading the impedance so a Y that wants to see 4.7Mh will want 9 and change bridged?
I really like the sound of each pickup going into the Felix and then I run the tube preamp into the FX insert which runs to both channels. It is SS buffering rather then tube ( which makes an audible difference ( the SS buffering is cleaner more hifi but also with some piezo mids that have to be dialed out) but man it sounds great.
Really liking the Y/EAP thing too. They really compliment each other to the point that it sounds almost like you are blending a mic in but without the bleed or feedback.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaveAceofBass
#630
I’m not sure if it could be measured that way. You know piezo Buzzer greeting cards and maybe also piezo tweeters.
They are driven by voltage (low current compared to an 8 ohms dynamic speaker). The problem is, that both act as a sensor and actor, so one piezo drives the other and the preamp buffer input in parallel. Since the movement is not the same (if it would be the same the current would double) they act against each other, the current flows between them so less left for the preamp.

I know this is not an exact description, maybe one of our EEs here can jump in for that, but it shows part of the problem.

Another one is that the pressure sensitive pickups cannot be mechanically phase reversed. If you flip them it is still pressure in the same direction (more pressure vs. less pressure).
So you either need an electrical swap (but then the shield gets hot if you cannot swap the piezo element inside) or you buffer first and flip phase afterwards.
The last is what I recommend and what you have done with your Felix.
Or use one phase inverted pickup element, but as we all know the treble and bass side don’t sound identical, so there is still some current flow between the piezos, just not as much as with identical phase elements.
 
#631
My setup is not as elaborate. I have the dual sensor with Y (TRS) jack on my Kolstein Guarneri and the single sensor on my La Scala Hybrid. I run into a two channel Clarus head into a Barefaced cab. I’m using a TRS to dual mono Mogami cable for the Kolstein, which allows me to send each side to a different channel. When my Remic Green comes back from repair I might try blending it in with a single side.
 
#634
flatback said:
This is the sound of the bridged Yamahiko into a tube preamp and then my speaker and the house. Kinda rough haven't played a little while. And of course the Contrabassetto



Video published
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
0:49
Quartet at Smiley's
Uploaded May 8, 2021
Share a link

Video link
https://youtu.be/Tta1omYTuY8
Click to expand...

Sounds great, none of us “have played in a while” love the sound of your Contrabassetto!
 
  • Like
Reactions: flatback
#635
I love the way this bass cuts a line when the going gets thick. The design is so clever, the size fully realizes the low E on up but the notes lean upward rather then crashing together in the bass range...kind of like a natural HPF. I have recorded it with a phat tube condenser mic and really when the tracks were A/B'd I could tell if I listened in close and remembered which bass I was playing (the other being a large 3/4) but they were damn close. I've been enjoying playing the giant (to me) American Standard I have which has a whole different sound envelope, but when the tempo gets going and the aural space is limited, it is always the Contrabassetto for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ric Vice, Earl and Chris Fitzgerald
#637
I just re-read all 32 pages of this thread for the 5th or 6th time. I took notes so that I wouldn’t have to do it again. I love you guys, but man … there is ~2 pages of actual information about this pickup spread out over these 32 pages.

So, it sounds like we THINK that the piezo element is in the threads end of the post and it is intended to be installed threads down which would put it closer to the table, like a Realist vs closer to the strings like most everything else. But, people have installed it either way and I can’t quite determine if we have decided what if anything the audible differences are in one vs the other orientation.

And the manufacturer prefers M8 threads, but he now makes 1/4” for the US market and as near as we can tell, there is not an appreciable sonic difference between the two.

Did I get that about right? Can anyone add anything further on those points without getting into issues of phase, multi-channel pre-amps, various tools and tricks for mixing and blending, or the superiority of mics or ebony adjusters?

Sorry to be cranky, but you keep making me read.
 
  • Like
Reactions: contrabajisimo, 16fuss and bassically_eli
#638
TroyK said:
I just re-read all 32 pages of this thread for the 5th or 6th time. I took notes so that I wouldn’t have to do it again. I love you guys, but man … there is ~2 pages of actual information about this pickup spread out over these 32 pages.

So, it sounds like we THINK that the piezo element is in the threads end of the post and it is intended to be installed threads down which would put it closer to the table, like a Realist vs closer to the strings like most everything else. But, people have installed it either way and I can’t quite determine if we have decided what if anything the audible differences are in one vs the other orientation.

And the manufacturer prefers M8 threads, but he now makes 1/4” for the US market and as near as we can tell, there is not an appreciable sonic difference between the two.

Did I get that about right? Can anyone add anything further on those points without getting into issues of phase, multi-channel pre-amps, various tools and tricks for mixing and blending, or the superiority of mics or ebony adjusters?

Sorry to be cranky, but you keep making me read.
Click to expand...
I never read any official information, only this forum.

I've had single sensor m8 threads down installed on two basses. I've never thought about or tried another pickup since.

Two sensors and some sort of mixing whatever is probably great but is it worth the hassle and cost? That's what I tell myself to stop myself from getting a second sensor.

The biggest thing IMHO about this pickup is how realistic the dynamic presentation is. All the notes of the fingerboard are just the same volume as they are acoustically. No ridiculously loud or ridiculously soft notes as with many other pickups.

It also realistically produces the 'hump' of a walking bass note. Its like all other pickups have a built in compressor and the yamahiko doesn't.

The yamahiko isn't microphonic in sound (it's still a piezo!) But it's microphonic in how it reacts if that makes sense? It's like someone eq'd a mic to not sound like a mic but still react the same way although without bleed and feedback of course.

All this is to say that I get that from one sensor on the E string side plugged right into an acoustic image amp. So my guess is 90% of what's possible with the yamahiko is obtained from one sensor.

The guy seemed to specifically design this with m8 threads and installed threads down.

Honestly, I'd say use it as intended. Sure you'll have to pay someone to plug the holes and retap for the larger holes. So what? I had that done with my first bass, no problem and not very expensive if I remember correctly.

And if you get both sides of the bridge by the adjusters plugged and retapped so that what was once a threads up is now threads down, so what? Should only cost a little more.

I know it tempting to get the 1/4" threads and just swap out your current adjusters but there's no guarantee it'll be a perfect fit. I had that happen with a full circle where they went in fine but there must have been some small gap somewhere that created a horrible buzz in the amplified signal (that wasn't audible acoustically).

So I know this is a long reply but my bottom line 2 cents: buy a single sensor m8 threads and have it professionally installed thread side down on the E string side. Plug it into a great acoustic bass amp and never look back!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Timm, misterbadger and Chris Fitzgerald

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back