Duarte Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) Hello all you double bass guys! I am after a pickup for my cheap chinese double bass. For recording and live work ...I play folk / bluegrass / "acoustic punk" stuff. We are going to be playing pub gigs and small outdoor festivals soon, as well as recording a couple of albums. Theband consists of 3/4 double bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica and vocals. Thing is I've never looked at pickups before, and there are so many options. I've looked at the K&K Bass Max and a cople of others but it's all a bit confusing... What do you guys reckon? Cheers Edited April 30, 2011 by Duarte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I've used the David Gage Realist on mine for the years and am really happy with it. If you are going to be cranking the volume up you might be better off looking at a magnetic pickup which will eliminate the feedback issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 [quote name='Doddy' post='1216165' date='Apr 30 2011, 10:14 PM']If you are going to be cranking the volume up you might be better off looking at a magnetic pickup which will eliminate the feedback issue.[/quote] +1, what you lose in DB tone you gain in trouble-free volume. The reality is that 99% of the audience won't notice that the DB sounds more like an EB (especially of you play it like a DB), but they will notice feedback or low volume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 I see, that makes sense. I hadn't considered magnetic pickups but I'll do a bit of research. The one magnetic I've seen about is the Schaller. It's relatively inexpensive I think ...I want to get one thing that'll just work and not have to worry about changing for live and studio stuff. Perhaps in the studio a combination of the magnetic and mic would work? In the past I've only ever used mics for recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Duarte' post='1216186' date='Apr 30 2011, 10:46 PM']I see, that makes sense. I hadn't considered magnetic pickups but I'll do a bit of research. The one magnetic I've seen about is the Schaller. It's relatively inexpensive I think ...I want to get one thing that'll just work and not have to worry about changing for live and studio stuff. Perhaps in the studio a combination of the magnetic and mic would work? In the past I've only ever used mics for recording.[/quote] Schaller's aren't great, the Kent Armstrongs are. Mag PUPs live and mics (PR-40 and/or SM7-B.) in the studio is what works for me. For small gigs I can use the PR-40, but if I'm really honest, I don't think the hassle and risk is worth it over the KA. Despite what the marketing says, DB tone is probably more about the fingers than the PUPs. Edited April 30, 2011 by Beedster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for the info. Can't find much info on the KA, but I'll keep looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobVbass Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 look up one of my posts earlier on the thread about playing loudly - all the KA contact details are there as well as the newer sound composite pickup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Righto, thanks for the help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 [quote name='bob_pickard' post='1216355' date='May 1 2011, 09:35 AM']look up one of my posts earlier on the thread about playing loudly - all the KA contact details are there as well as the newer sound composite pickup[/quote] This is the thread Bob is referring to [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=131128&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=131128&hl=[/url] FWIW I am using a TM piezo pickup (not tried it live though as only got it from slobluesine this week) and am probably going to end up using a mag pickup live as my band is loud (14 of us, and I'm competing against drums, sousaphone, guitar and brass section) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) Thanks, yep I found the thread and have sent Aaron an email. Thing is with my band we have never played amplified so I don't know how loud it could be? We don't have a drummer but there is quite a lot going on. Edit: Here's a video of a band practice the other day. First time we have played all together, but we'll be doing this kind of thing in smaller venues and outdoor stages. In this video you can really hear the bass (if you're using good speakers) because it just resonated the entire shed, but obviously that won't always be the case! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXzgU00hsa0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXzgU00hsa0[/url] Edited May 1, 2011 by Duarte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 If you're not especially loud and have no drummer, a piezo pickup should do the trick and will sound more DB-like than a mag pickup. There are dead cheap ones on eBay (owen has one of those FS on the forum) or better quality ones include Shadow, Underwood etc. My TM (short for Taco Man, I believe!) is a US home produced pickup which sounds great (oldslapper has one) and slobluesine knows how to source these. Cost me £60 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobluesine Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) you can order a TM through Daves facebook site, TM Pickups, it'll take around a month to arrive tho , [url="https://www.facebook.com/TacoManPickups"]https://www.facebook.com/TacoManPickups[/url] he'd appreciate any feedback from happy users btw. the Schatten RB1 is very similar and around the same price, supplier here... [url="http://www.oakdenemusicservices.co.uk/Oakdene_Music_Services/Welcome.html"]http://www.oakdenemusicservices.co.uk/Oakd...es/Welcome.html[/url] Steve is just up the road from me and one heck of a luthier too Edited May 1, 2011 by slobluesine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Okay, I've decided to go with the Kent Armstrong - I can use that live with no problems and use mics in the studio. I've had a reply from Aaron, he said I need to give him a drawing or tracing of the end of the fingerboard. Don't want to sound stupid but what does that actually mean? The end of the board or the 'edge' Thanks for the help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slobluesine Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 he wants the end of the board duarte, along with your string spacing, you'll need to trace it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 Great, thanks. Ideal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 As mentioned in various posts, make sure Aaron knows you want the pickup wired AND you want a cable ready soldered with wire, pickup and jack socket. Otherwise you'll get a box of parts and a lot of frustration. For some reason, he doesn't ask, you have to know. As others have said, very good pickup. Looks more discrete than the schaller, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I tried typing in [b]armstrongpickups.co.uk[/b] (derived from Aaron's email address) as an http and ended up at [url="http://www.kentarmstrong-handmade.com/"]http://www.kentarmstrong-handmade.com/[/url] So I clicked the "Link" to Aaron's own website ... and ended up at [url="http://www.kentarmstrong-handmade.com/"]http://www.kentarmstrong-handmade.com/[/url] Ah well, web-sites are over-rated anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted June 12, 2011 Author Share Posted June 12, 2011 I've got one of the Kent Armstrong pickups on the way. It's made and paid for ... ...also got a K&K Bass Max for the hell of it. I'll let y'all know how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) The more I use a pre amp the more I feel it has to do with what you get out of a bass (when amplifying of course), I have 2 basses that I regularly gig, one is a ply cheapo that I have an underwood pickup on, the other is a lovely 1880 blockless wonder with a realist, which captures more woodiness than the underwood but in terms of getting a serviceable tone, onstage and out front, more and more I find that careful use of the fishman platinum pro means that in almost all circumstances I can find a sound with which I'm comfortable, I'm deadly serious when I say, that it has a lot to do with the sound I am producing in the first place, but amplifying that has definitely become easier since using the plat pro. I'm sure it's true of many of the other pre amps too, it's just that I have a fishman. Edited June 13, 2011 by jakesbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duarte Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Preamp - next thing on the list then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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