Yamaha Silent bass pickup

[kedo]

I have Yamaha SLB 200 and am happy with the sound I get with the on-board pickup although I admit that it could be a little more like a double bass. I notice that serious users of this instrument have usually added a proprietary pickup such as a Full Circle or Shadow. Can anyone advise as to the benefits of this approach?

[toastieman]

Not a direct answer to your question, but I also have the SLB 200 coming from playing double bass for a long time. I was initially disappointed with the sound, but have found excellent improvement by changing the strings (to Thomastik Spirocore light gauge), and by EQ fiddling (at present am essentially turning the treble to 0 on the instrument, and similarly on my Phil Jones Bighead) resulted in a more acoustic-like sound, and sticking with the on-board pickup.

[kedo]

Thanks for that. I need new strings anyway. I'll give the settings a try as well.

[phil625sxc]

have a look here:

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/yamaha-eub-megathread.352752/page-16

and elsewhere on the megathread, there's load of good info there as well as videos etc...