k & k Bassmax - trouble getting good sound

[fatback]

Fitted the K & k Bassmax on the E side, and I'm having trouble with a 'pop' attack.

The problem is mostly above D on the A string. Otherwise the sound is fairly good approximation to the acoustic. I'm using an EA Doubler on Ch 2, and a BF Midget, and I can only get rid of the 'poppy' attack by drastically cutting the mid eq. Using the notch filter doesn't help. I'm not using a preamp, as the Doubler is high impedance.

The pickup may not be seated in a perfectly parallel bridge slot, but shifting the pickup about a bit doesn't change anything.

Any ideas? The bass sounds great acoustically, and I'm not expecting to reproduce that, but I should be able to do better than this and without brutal eq.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Edited August 26, 2010 by fatback

[thisnameistaken]

TBH I get that too. What strings are you using? I thought it might be my evahs because they are pretty thumpy anyway.

[steviedee]

What exactly do you mean by 'pop attack' I have a bassmax on both my basses and use a doubler but haven't really noticed anything specific but I'll have a wee noodle about and see if I get the same thing.

[fatback]

[quote name='steviedee' post='937773' date='Aug 27 2010, 07:14 AM']What exactly do you mean by 'pop attack' I have a bassmax on both my basses and use a doubler but haven't really noticed anything specific but I'll have a wee noodle about and see if I get the same thing.[/quote]


It's as if the attack of the note has lots of high mids in, quite 'synthetic' sounding, not natural at all. Sorry I can't record anything just now for various reasons.


Don't actually know what strings are on it, but it belonged to a jazz player, so they'll be pretty conventional, rather than rockabilly-ish.

[fatback]

An update on this one.

Managed to tame the 'pop' with a DHA DI/EQ by cutting the high mids with the parametric. Great.

The sound is now perfectly acceptable, albeit a bit 'electric', but that's the K&K Bassmax, I imgine.

Happy days. I can now think about a public outing.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I have a bassmax on my stentor 1950. I couldn't get a sound I liked with spirocores, but the cheapo weedwackers sound brilliant with it

[fatback]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1091709' date='Jan 16 2011, 07:14 PM']I have a bassmax on my stentor 1950. I couldn't get a sound I liked with spirocores, but the cheapo weedwackers sound brilliant with it[/quote]

At least that shows it's not as simple as the bassmax not being up to it, which is encouraging.

Turns out i have Pirastro Jazzers on mine (steel). Looking to change soon, but i guess i need something that can be bowed with not too much trouble, so weedwackers are out .