Pickup advice

[franzbassist]

Hi guys

Bit of advice please. I have a new acoustic coming in, my first after many years of EUB, and I find myself somewhat overwhelmed by the pickup choices out there!

I play mainly pizz with a little bit of slap. No arco.

I like a warm, detailed tone: not too much finger noise, but not boomy mush either.

I'll probably string with Silver Slaps.

I have a very nice preamp I can use with the pickup.

My initial thoughts are K&K Bass Max or Double Big Twin, but open to any other suggestions.

Cheers

Gareth

[fatback]

Worms, can of.

I get the impression on here that the Full Circle produces good results with a wide variety of basses.

Worked well for me, and I'd tried a few pups with poor results..

[bassace]

This topic comes from time to time. Thing is, there is no one definitive answer: every one has his own favorite. but my take on it is that it depends very much on the double bass. I favour an Underwood with an outboard preamp to subdue the infrasonics - in simple speak to 'tame' it. But when I acquired my Bryant I couldn't get a clean amplified sound. A David Gage Lifeline did the trick. What this goes to say is if you have a bright bass fit a dull pickup and vice versa. Of course this discovery comes from trying all sorts which is not always feasible.

I'd say a Bass Max.is a good pickup to start with. It's one of the easiest to fit although be minded that it needs a slightly wider wing slot than an Underwood or Shadow for instance. You should be able to mod your bridge quite easily. It's not too expensive and if you later decide to upgrade you could keep it in your wire bag as an emergency spare - as I do. You can fit it on the gig in a couple of minutes.

Hope this helps.

[Rabbie]

^ This ^ (all of it).
Also, never expect too much from a pickup, I tried oodles of them, foolishly. A lot of them will sound decent. A lot of them will allow you to gig well. None of them will sound just like your bass (especially at higher volumes), it's just one of those things.

[TheRev]

You can't go wrong with a Bassmax IMHO. OK, it's not the most transparent pickup, but it's got a huge output and is very feedback resistant, so if you're playing with a full band it's the dog's danglies.

If you're playing in a quiet band, then a Realist is a good choice - good mix of string and body tone and probably the most 'my bass only louder' pickup that I've owned. Only downside is that it's not as feedback resistant as the Bassmax.

[TPJ]

I've had the best overall results on my basses with the Fishman Full Circle. I've tried and liked the Bassmax. The one I liked the most is the Rev Solo 2 but they can be fiddly to mount and keep in the right position. I'm venturing into the mag pickup realm soon.

[bassace]

Stingray Pete introduced me to a mag pickup at last year's DB bash. It provides a loud feedback-free sound and you can individually balance the vol on each string. The sound is a bit away from orig DB but if you're in a shouty band it's just great.

[henrywillard]

Although a bit pricey and not everyone's cup of tea, I am still in love with my Wilson K4 after several years. Very loud, not once have I encountered a feedback problem on any stage, big or small, and my bass sounds as 'real' as I've ever had it amplified. It's just a fantastic sound. So many other pickups get close to that 'real' sound but can't kick out decent volume without feeding back, or it goes the other way and you get pickups that provide the volume but you have to settle for that horrible 'electric' sound.
With the Wilson K4 on my Westbury bass, it just works. I'm very lucky. I get the best of both worlds, and have happily had my current setup for a number of years now (bar my brand new AI Ten2 combo amp, which I'm already in love with).

It really is experimentation though, and finding what works best for your bass, your existing gear, your requirements, the music you play, the types of venues/stage you generally play etc.
It is expensive to keep buying these things just to try them out, and you will generally never recoup anywhere near what you paid if you decide to try and then shift gear on after trying a new pickup for example, then soon realising it's not for you, but keep networking, checking out new gear, pickups that other bassists are using, and most importantly, just remember to have fun

[tanuki]

I like the David Gage Realist, its always given the best tone for me, paired with a natural sounding amp it can be really good. The best result i have had is with an Acoustic Image focus.

[zero9]

I've used both a Realist and a Bassmax. My preference is for the Bassmax, which I currently use, as for me it's more resistant to feedback and easier for live use. Sound-wise it'll be a case of suck it and see, as different pickups respond differently on different DB's. Mine's a Gedo with ply back/sides and solid top.

[Mr Bassman]

Welcome to the darkside Gareth.

Might help to know a bit about the incoming bass, if it's pre loved maybe the previous owner could advise what they settled on, if any.

And pics of the bridge / wing slots with width of the slots would be useful.

Either a Bassmax or Shadow SH950 would be good for starters, both thicker than the Underwood and Planet Wing.

Enjoy your new bass.

[Bilbo]

I use one fo these with a Fishman Plat Pro into an AI Clarus/Ten 2EX. It mostly sounds like a bass (depends on the gig, the room, the drummers cymbals and how much I have been practising lately). Easy to fit. Feedback a possibility but the Fishman deals with that.

http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/1426-KANDK_SOUND_DOUBLE_BIG_TWIN_UPRIGHT_BASS_PICKUP.html

[franzbassist]

Guys, thanks so much for all the comments. I'm going to try a Bass Max first and see where I go from there

[randythoades]

Without wanting to start another big argument, I tried several pickups and dissatisfied with all of them, just never sounded quite right. So I thought, if I can't get the sound I actually want, why put up with the problems of feedback and preamps? Got a Kent Armstrong magnetic pickup and never looked back. Does it sound like a DB? Not particularly but no less than some of piezo / contact pickups I used. But no feedback, enormous volume should I want it and in the mix of our rockabilly band, can't actually tell the difference...

[bassace]

Ho ho. He speaks a lot of sense.

[Rabbie]

With the exception that it will only work with steel strings or at least steel-containing strings.

[fatback]

Why not both? Belt n braces.

[randythoades]

The comments are correct about needing steel strings with magnetic pickup. I don't considerate it a problem but maybe not for the purists.
I use Presto Ultralights which (I think) have a steel core and nylon coating. I swapped to these after using Silver Slaps. The Prestos come with a slightly sticky coating which seems to wear off over a couple of weeks and then they have the nylon coated feel of the Silver Slaps and a similar tension. I have tried Spiros too which I quite like, but they tend to be a bit bright and springy for my tastes. The Innovation Honeys do work too, though not a very strong signal as the metal content must be much lower.
One I got past the 'my bass must sound acoustic and rich just like my bass' issue, the convenience more than makes up for it. Just plug into my regular pedal board with tuner and DI box, take a feed from DI to PA and rest into my lightweight amp and 112 cab for stage volume. I have had several comments about how nice my bass sounds so I think half the sound is (my bad) technique and half is visual in that it sounds the way you expect it to sound because you can see what it is...

[Rabbie]

Again each to their own and I understand the need for volume in a rockabilly setting. The Stray Cats had Lee Rocker driving the band hard with light steels and a mag pickup. Great player: YES! Great sound: YES! Natural sound of the bass: of course NOT! As you already said, it's a matter of getting over the issue off sounding "natural".
Personally, I have tried every type of pickup, luckily not every brand... I have spent a lot of time and effort developing my sound, with a certain type of technique and gut strings. So that's the way I want to sound. It's not snobbery, it's just that it's the way I enjoy it. Pickups make me sound different form when I practice acoustically. As a result, I change my dynamics, I sound tentative, wimpy or just simply not right. There are loads of excellent bass guitar players everywhere: need AC/DC volume? Call one of them.
i can't even bear the sound of steel strings on a bass, let alone the 80s sound of a mag pickup. That's why I made the choice to use Ehrlund or Schertler, definitely not because I'm loaded: in fact quite the opposite.
Not an option for psychobilly of course, but independently on the genre, if you are lucky enough to have sympathetic musicians who have a human approach to stage volume, there is no limit to the size of audience you can play with these contact mics. As long as you pair them with their own preamp (with phase switch), you can just give the signal straight to FOH and it is A LOT less fiddly than any pickup which requires your own amp. Of course having your own amp gives you better control, but when you play festivals with little more than line check before gig, Ehrlund or Schertler + preamp + FOH work for me. You do have to trust the sound guys, but if you ask nicely they will do what you want: they want to hear good sounds just as much as you. That's my experience anyway. No doubt I may change my mind sometime.

[keeponehandloose]

Rev Solo or Planet Wing are the best balance of getting volume while retaining some Double Bass characteristics...use a pre amp with notch filter and phase invert switch and thats about as good as it gets.
basic rule seems to be.
mic or underfoot pickup = natural sound, low feedback threshold
bridge wing pickup= slightly less natural sound, higher feedback threshold.
mag pickup= more vol than you will ever need, no feedback.
take your pick!

[franzbassist]

I went for a K&K Bass Max in the end. It sounds great run through my Providence Dual Bass Station preamp, so all is good