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Double Bass Yamahiko Double Bass Pickup

#61
Thanks
that's just the mic with no eq. I would hope that NO ONE would listen to this through computer speakers. I listened through JVC in ears and was ok with it.
Have to be honest---I've been super busy and all of my gigs have been on electric for the past month. I shouldn't admit to it, but I haven't picked up the upright for a month!

The sound does open up more with distance. The only place I think that the Full Circle edges it out is a bit on the G string. The Yamahiko is less piezo-like to me and is definitely better for walking. The E string is fantastic where the FC E sounds too legato and synthesized. With the Y you can play fifth double stops on the E and A strings and they ring very clearly with the right amount of percussiveness. Very separated. The FC in this situation is a bunch of legato moosh.

I'm hoping that I can have more control over the timbre/balance with two Y elements. I can very easily get the best piezo sound with one Y. If I could get just a tad more openness/bloom on the G I'd be happy. If not--I'm happy with the one!
 
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#64
Mike Arnopol said:
just popped for Yamahiko #2. I got the cable to hook the two together and the cable to run directly into an amp. I have a couple of amps with 2 buffered input channels. I'm really digging the one that I have mounted. Especially since I switched string brands for the first time in over 40 years. Really digging the Zyex!
Click to expand...

Are you playing the lights or the mediums?
 
#65
Hello bassists! Although I am a newbie to this forum here is my experience with these pickups.

I have been playing with them for about 6 mo. using one pickup on my old German DB, an AI Claris and an EA Wizzy 12 M. Even though I used a very capable luthier to install this pick-up I could get a good but not great sound. One problem that I had was that the control of my AI Claris preamp worked ok but I had trouble controlling the sound easily from one gig to the next.

I am now trying out a duel channel preamp the FELiX from Grace design and this thing dramatically improved the sound control. I am getting a clearity and body out of my rig that I am happy with.

One thing that is bothering me is that I do get string noise. The way that Yamahiko recommends its pick-ups to be installed and the way my luthier have installed it is to have the active side towards the strings and not towards the body. Does anybody know if it helps to switch the active side towards the body?
 
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#66
I don't if you feel that it helps to get your sound, but putting the active side towards the top instead of the strings gives a less direct sound.
Have a look at the Full Circle discussions and installation instructions from the manufacturer. They discuss both possibilities.

But it might not be so easy to reverse the position once it is installed...
 
#70
OK
Good news and bad news.
the good news
The Yamahilko with the two elements is the best amplified sound I've ever gotten. The G and D string are now thicker with more rhythmic pop and punch. The A and E seemed to have improved, too. Very acoustic sounding.

the bad news
As I thought it might, when you use the interconnecting cord between the pickups---it sounds like crap. (one pickup connected to the other). No wonder this hasn't caught on. That's their recommended setup. Thin, middy, bright.
But----- I also purchased another pickup-to-jack cord. Ran into the 2 channels of the Doubler. You can get very different characters of sound by varying the respective volumes. Sounded great. What made it sound REALLY great was using the variable phase control. It sounded good in phase. It sounded good but fatter 180 degrees out of phase. It sounded---the best I've ever heard somewhere in between. Now I'm going to have to talk to Zoran to see if I can get a custom box to combine and vary phase. I think it's still fantastic if you can combine the two----maybe a Felix.

Oh man did it sound good. I'm willing to deal with inconveniences. To me it's worth it. I liked the single element Yamahiko better than other piezos. I like this dual setup a lot more.

I'd bet that the venerable Underwood would dramatically benefit from isolating the two pickup elements into separate channels.
 
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#71
My experience with the two element stat B is similar in that if you have one element facing one direction and the other nearly but not quite 180 (out of phase) it sounds much better then if they are lined up. I am inclined to seperate the elements into two jacks as you suggest but then I dont have a channel for the mic....
 
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#75
I build a double bridge feet pickup with separate impedance buffers and switchable phase (I selected the better sounding one, but cannot remember which one it was) with a mixing pot and final amp stage for my Clevinger EUB. There have been two piezo pickups connected in parallel when I got the instrument which didn't sound well.

All my experiments with two parallel connected passive piezos in parallel degraded the sound compared to a single one (probably because piezos act as a capacitor too), but the Clevinger 5-string solid body EUB needed two pickups. This pickup I build sounds really nice, only the output signal is a bit low. (My knowledge of electronics is limited...)
Thanks to Francis a Deck for the simple Quick'n'dirty impedance buffer schematic, that I used three times.

Separate amps for each pickup might reduce the phasing, since air is a 3-dimensional medium whereas a cable is a one dimensional one. So phasing might only occur in some rare places in the room (and probably only for one ear...).
 
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#77
I have tried to use 2 of these pickups on my upright directly into my AI with some limited success. Since then I have switched to using 1 pickup on the upright while the other one along with a realist pickup is on my altered ego. I have been looking for a good preamp and then found about the Felix through TB. The combination of these pickups with the Felix is the best that I have heard from both of these instruments even in difficult rooms and heavy volumes.

After reading Mike's post I may revisit the use of using the two pickups again since now I have the Felix.

BWT If you are going to purchase the 1 Yamahiko pickup, my advice is to also get the blank wheel as well since the thickness of these things are approx. 6 or 7mm. It may be easier to install if you use a blank that's the same thickness.
 
#78
I think that I am going to buy one of these pretty soon to install in my Contrabassetto. I will get the two element version and buy the extra jack, like Mike suggests. I have been messing with the Underwood (using putty to attach one element to the side of the bridge while the other is wedged normally in the wing..) and other permutations... Truth is what I really liked about the FC is that installed it acts like part of the bass rather then an attachment and like that about this pickup. I really like the two element approach and from experience with the Stat B, I know that shifting the phase (manually with that pickup by changing the direction of the capsule) makes a big difference...I won't have the ability to alter phase other then reversing it with this pick up and the Felix...I wonder if there is any way to make it sound good with both pickups going thru the same jack?
 
#79
flatback said:
I wonder if there is any way to make it sound good with both pickups going thru the same jack?
Click to expand...
In my experience it sounds much better if you mix the signals after the impedance buffers (one for each pickup). Then being able to turn the signal polarity one one of them and how much treble and bass pickup you want to get all strings represented equally and with a nice sound (the might be a compromise).

For an impedance buffer the simple Quick'n'dirty from Francis Deck, maybe added with a phase selector one one would do the job. For mixing you can use a (linear) stereo pot with inverse input on one channel and common output.
 
#80
Thanks Man,
What I want to do honestly is have both pickups, and my Remic Mic go into the Grace Felix and then into a power amp and my cab without any more outboard gear. It would be great to get the phase reversed organically (put one Yamahiko in threads up and one threads down?...no that wont work) but I'd love to be able to have the mic channel of the Felix dedicated to that. BUT maybe the Yamahiko 2 element is going to be for those times when the Mic is not feasible and I need to go with just pickup in which case I could have a channel each for each pickup. I wonder if it would work with one pickup into one channel of the Felix with the Phase reverse switch on and then the other pickup in the insert for that channel....but then you get no eq on that pickup....
 

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