My stock model is in route to me as I speak. I'll try as is before trying the modification. Seems simple enough to do if nessasary. I really do need a lot of gain. As much as I love my Wilson K4 I have always wished it was a bit hotter as I need to run the front end of the three different amps I have (Mini Brute, AI Clarus /Contra or Phil Jones Bass Cub 120) quite higher that with the other pickups I have used. Matt, is your experience of "too hot" because you hear your amp clipping?
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Double Bass Yamahiko Double Bass Pickup
- Thread starter Mike Arnopol
- Start date
What’s neat about the dual element is that somehow it makes the pickup more feedback resistant and evens out the timbre of the whole range of the axe, but at a sacrifice of some of the ‘air’ and effortless magic of the single element. I just put a dual element back in my carved Shen 5 string after cutting a new bridge, and enjoy the option of going back and forth. I’m coming to the conclusion that the single element (cap’d) sounds more natural at low volumes than the dual element, but at high volume the dual is by far supreme. The Tonedexter prefers the dual element, too, presumably because it’s more information to work with, and with that evenness of the big ole range of my five string in fifths I usually prefer the dual. Threads down, btw. I tried threads up on my aluminum recently and it didn’t vibe as well as threads up full circle - too much finger noise.
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Hi Mike,
Yes, very hot and it sounds like a vocalist too close to a mic, if that makes sense. Front end of Clarus SL (600 watt last edition little guy) has to be turned down, especially the eq. I have tried every variation of pre down/amp up. Once I swapped the cable, it was a whole new pickup. Less compressed and sound is like a mic, unless you are trying to drive a 77 piece big band. Seriously the best doublebass sound I ever got live in 40 years of gigging was the other night!
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Feedback resistance is very important to me. A couple of the places I often play here have the house amps stationed in a manner that invites feedback, particularly at the volume that the groups I play with there prefer to play at. It's been a problem with either the Lifeline or the Wilson. So I'm hoping double element Yamahiko might be the ticket. I can always just use the single side at venues that don't require the kind of volume I'm dealing with. Anyway, I'll know before long as it's in transit!
I installed the cap mod in my single element cable, indeed. I am able to switch back and forth because I recently rebridge’d all my basses and am yet to put the adjusters back in all of the so I’m sitting on a couple extra single element cables. The dual element doesn’t sound as good through the cap mod, though.
No sorry, I’ll be throwing them back on eventually once I live through a season of the new fixed bridges, I’m sure.
Hey guys,
I have the dual pickup on both of my basses, but one bass (Kolstein) has the stereo jack, while the other (La Scala) is combined in series the standard way.
The stereo jack on my Kolstein allows me to use a stereo TRS cable to split the signal into two channels on my Acoustic Image amp, and if I flip the phase and keep the volume a little lower on the treble side it sounds more 3-D. With both sides in phase, even not summed on the bass, it’s more midrange-y. I can also use a mono instrument cable and get just the bass side, which works well.
On my La Scala, the standard setup with both pickups connected in series is very midrange-y and lacks some articulation dynamics. I decided the single side sounds better, so I disconnected the two, but I would like to have the 3-D sound we get from both sides when the phase is flipped on one side.
I’m considering asking for another stereo jack like on my Kolstein, but wondering why they don’t just make the dual sensor model with the phase flipped on one side? I see some of you are using a capacitor in the jack to regulate output, but I don’t feel that is necessary (but I’d be willing to try it). What other suggestions does this community have?
I have the dual pickup on both of my basses, but one bass (Kolstein) has the stereo jack, while the other (La Scala) is combined in series the standard way.
The stereo jack on my Kolstein allows me to use a stereo TRS cable to split the signal into two channels on my Acoustic Image amp, and if I flip the phase and keep the volume a little lower on the treble side it sounds more 3-D. With both sides in phase, even not summed on the bass, it’s more midrange-y. I can also use a mono instrument cable and get just the bass side, which works well.
On my La Scala, the standard setup with both pickups connected in series is very midrange-y and lacks some articulation dynamics. I decided the single side sounds better, so I disconnected the two, but I would like to have the 3-D sound we get from both sides when the phase is flipped on one side.
I’m considering asking for another stereo jack like on my Kolstein, but wondering why they don’t just make the dual sensor model with the phase flipped on one side? I see some of you are using a capacitor in the jack to regulate output, but I don’t feel that is necessary (but I’d be willing to try it). What other suggestions does this community have?
I found the phase on the dual set-up to be dependent on where I had my bridge adjusters set to. The TRS set up worked great with the Grace Designs Felix which has a variable phase knob. These days I use a Realist lifeline which works just as well. I do miss the quality of the Yamahiko bridge adjusters. It's a PITA to change the bridge adjusts with the Realist lifeline.
I did get deep down into that hole. I reached the point where I was trying to figure out variable phase shifting and was never able to get it to work the way I wanted to. I've still got a few PCB's sitting around from that project, then it sort of fell by the wayside because of shipping cost and the whole tariff thing. Prices more than doubled in a very short time so it wasn't economically feasible for me to keep making prototypes as a hobbyist.
For the past couple of months I've been using the new ToneDexter and I've been really impressed with what it can do. It takes the dual pickup from the Yamahiko quite nicely. I can keep them separate, blend them, squish them together, and even use one of the channels with a mic at the same time. The creations of James May are far beyond what I could accomplish on my own.
Received and installed today! The 1/4 threads fit my bridge, threads down perfectly and the adjustment is so smooth, really fine adjusters!
I haven't had much time to assess the sound yet. But my first impression is very positive. Tomorrow night have a gig in a room featuring an unremarkable but functional bass amp, it's one of 200 watt Fender Rumbles, a combo amp with a 15 inch speaker. It's a house amp at the club so it's as good as an acid test as I could wish for.
I haven't had much time to assess the sound yet. But my first impression is very positive. Tomorrow night have a gig in a room featuring an unremarkable but functional bass amp, it's one of 200 watt Fender Rumbles, a combo amp with a 15 inch speaker. It's a house amp at the club so it's as good as an acid test as I could wish for.
I just wanted to say that Hasty sent me a couple of his prototypes to test out with the various Japanese players who have Yamahikos here. I basically got 3 responses. A surprising number of guys just said, "I don't use that pickup anymore, just using it for the adjusters. It's good for certain things, but basically too katai (stiff?) sounding." One guy came and tried it out anyway, but I guess he had had enough of the Yamahiko. Another response was that yes, the preamp makes this pickup sound much better, but I have enough stuff to carry. However, a few guys really loved it. One guy so much so that he made me give it to him. He wanted it then and there, but I got him to let me show it to a few more people. He's used it at the Blue Note, and a few festivals, where he says other bassists want to know how he's getting such a great sound out of his Yamahiko. Hasty warned me that the design wasn't finished, and it makes crackling sounds when you turn the knobs, but my friend doesn't care. Once it's set, he doesn't adjust it during the gig.
Even for the guys who loved it, though, the problem is it's not a product. Most bassists can't get a list of parts and a schematic and make one themselves. So I hope that one day the cost factor will change and it'll get finalized, and maybe that'll coincide with when I have time to build a few. But even if not, it was a super fun experiment, and led to me getting a chance to hang out with other bassists in a way I haven't in years.
Thanks Hasty!
Thanks for the kind words Brent! It was such a cool feeling to know those guys tried it out and enjoyed it. I didn't realize it had made it to the Blue Note! Feather in the cap on that one.
Sort of inspires me to head back to the bench and see if I can create a simplified version that can be easily built by other hobbyists.
At the core, it's a preamp that can accept two channels through a TRS cable. Each channel has a separate level control and an inverting phase switch on each side. A few actually had three channels so you could also plug in an electric bass.
Version 2 had two channels with phase and they went into a Fender Bassman type preamp circuit to give a little more EQ control.
Version 3 was the same as Version 2, with the addition of a DI out option and a Lightning Boy audio transformer.
Version 4 was a smaller device (I used the same size enclosure as the plastic FDeck HPF) and it had the two different audio channels but only channel 1 had the phase option. I called it the Lucky Penny.
Yeah Interesting. The Felix has the same functionality. Kiyohiko made me (as far as I know the only) reversed phase Yama and it is on my bass coupled with a regular phase. Right now I don't use either although I just bought the inline capacitors that Matt had to try out that reduced output...Also I am not sure why but my dual stereo jack as well as one of my single jacks has failed over the years and despite the solders looking perfect they glitch out and don't work or partially work. I have meant to have a TRS Switchcraft replacement but I have not done it.
As I think I said about a hundred pages ago on this thread the reversed phase pickup has MASSIVE bass response and flipping the phase (at the amp) does not turn it into a standard Yama. Bridging the two with the standard cable DOES make for a good totally usable sound but not perfect on its own. I dont think ANY pickup with proper impedance matching has too little bass and most rooms I play in require serious attenuation of those frequencies.
As I think I said about a hundred pages ago on this thread the reversed phase pickup has MASSIVE bass response and flipping the phase (at the amp) does not turn it into a standard Yama. Bridging the two with the standard cable DOES make for a good totally usable sound but not perfect on its own. I dont think ANY pickup with proper impedance matching has too little bass and most rooms I play in require serious attenuation of those frequencies.
