Fishman Full Circle on a Yamaha SLB200

[Sumbabba]

Hello all

I've got a big gig next week and I wanted to beef up the sound of my Yamaha SLB200 with a Fishman Full Circle pickup. Has anyone fitted one of these and is it easy to do? Or is it a job for a professional?

Cheers!

[fatgoogle]

Presumably you already have it on your upright so it would involve you removing all the strings, unscrewing the threads on the adjusters, taking them off and doing the same on your yamaha. Providing the threads on the adjusters are the same width.

You'll also have to make sure your sound post doesn't fall over when you take the strings off your upright. I'd say its a bit of a professional job and i doubt the adjusters are the same width.

[Sumbabba]

Hi Fatgoogle, thanks for your reply. Sorry I should've been clearer with my question, I was half asleep when I posted it!

I don't have the pickup on my upright, I'd be buying one new. I was just wondering if the threads on the Fishman are the same as the threads on the SLB bridge or if there'd have to be some adjustment...

[phil625sxc]

yes it's easy - just make sure you get the correct thread size when ordering the FC. i did the same on mine a couple of weeks ago and it was a 10 minute job, if that.

[Sumbabba]

Great thanks, just ordered one. Looking forward to hearing what my pimped up SLB sounds like

Btw what do you use to blend the two pickups?

[phil625sxc]

ha, good question ! nothing yet - I think the FC is much better than the stock p/u so I'm happy just using that, but i did try a couple of splitter type cables initially - these however didn't work and I ran out of enthusiasm to look for another solution - there's always A/B boxes that would do the job, but it's not that much of an issue for me - have fun with the new p/u ! :-)

[Sumbabba]

Thanks for all your help!

[iiipopes]

The Fishman needs a good buffer preamp. I use an fDeck, with its variable low end roll-off. Getting rid of subsonic frequencies that sap power will help your bass sound more "solid."

[Sumbabba]

Gigged with my new SLB/Fishman combo last night and it sounded great! It went through a Boss TU-3 pedal and straight into my Genz Benz Shuttle. I'm not sure if EUBs produce as much subsonic signal as an acoustic so maybe that's why it didn't need the high pass?

I bought a K&K dual preamp to blend the signal of the built-in Yamaha pickup with the Fishman but I think I agree with Phil, the FC sounds great by itself!

Just need to figure out how to securely mount the thing now, I did a bodge job using wire ties but it needs to be more secure. Anyone got any ideas?

[phil625sxc]

I just used a little felt (ring) from a cymbal stand round the jackplug end to pad it out where it goes between the strings !

[Mr Bassman]

Take off the string retainer (the securing nut is quite tight) and mount the jack across the tailpiece with cable ties or rubber bands as you would with an Underwood, or get a jack clamp from Roger (bassace).

I've done it both ways on a 200, the clamp is probably the best solution.

[Sumbabba]

For Monday's gig I mounted the jack across the back of the tailpiece at the bottom and tied it to the wire that holds the tailpiece in place (and goes around the endpin). I used wire ties and it worked well enough and would probably work even better with cable ties. The only drawback with this method was that when I packed the bass down, the end of the cable that goes into the pickup was getting sqaushed by the side of the case. I [i]could[/i] unplug the cable from the pickup every time but I'm worried that the connection will loosen after a while.

I'll get in touch with Roger about that jack clamp and I'll try Phil's ingenious method too. Thanks again guys!

[Sumbabba]

Anyway managed to sort out the problem with cable ties! Not the most attractive of solutions but does the job and solves the issue of the wire getting squashed in the case. Gonna figure out how to mount my K&K preamp now, I'm thinking heavy duty velcro strips...

[SteveFromBerlin]

On 23/09/2014 at 12:24, phil625sxc said:

yes it's easy - just make sure you get the correct thread size when ordering the FC. i did the same on mine a couple of weeks ago and it was a 10 minute job, if that.

 

On 07/10/2014 at 14:18, Sumbabba said:

Anyway managed to sort out the problem with cable ties! Not the most attractive of solutions but does the job and solves the issue of the wire getting squashed in the case. Gonna figure out how to mount my K&K preamp now, I'm thinking heavy duty velcro strips... http://basschat.co.uk/public/style_emoticons/%3C#EMO_DIR%23%3E/blink.png

Hey guys, sorry for resurrecting this old threat. I own a SLB200 LTD and would like to give the Full Circle a shot. Which one would be the right version to order? Can you help me avoid making a mistake? Also, do you still use your basses with this setup? What are your favorite strings on these? Kind regards from Berlin, Steve!