DG Copperhead

[MJJS]

I’ve just started using a DG copperhead and find the low bass frequencies produced are dramatically higher volume than the upper mids & treble. So my pre amp has the lowest two bands set down at about 25%, where as the rest are flat. Without this I get horrible distortion in the amp. Does this seem familiar?

[TheRev]

I find the Gage Realist to be far too bass heavy to use without some sort of high pass filter in the signal chain.  If you don't have a high pass filter on your preamp (I use an FDeck HPF3) then you could try swapping the pickup element to the treble side of the bridge to reduce the bass bias.

In my experience, the Realist is sonically more suited to arco than pizzicato.

[MJJS]

I use a Broughton HPF set to about 50Hz. I guess I’m seeing high vols well above that setting given the preamp settings I’m adopting.

[mart3442]

I always found my first series Realist to be very sub heavy, and always had to dial out low end, no matter if I was using an amp or pre amp/di into the desk....

[hubrad]

I spoke to a French DB player who lived in Leeds quite some years back, and he didn't like the Realist (I love mine, and have for a long time.) as he said it was so natural that on his 'dark sounding' bass it was just too dark! Of all the transducer pickups I've tried so far, I really like that natural-as-possible vibe. It probably does, as he said, depend on your bass. I sometimes drop the bottom end a wee bit, but mostly just set everything flat.

Even though DG recommend putting the pickup under the bass foot, on my first bass - Andreas Zeller Romanian 3/4 - a friend who's a violin specialist luthier said DBs need all the help they can get so, while sorting me a new bridge and soundpost, put the Realist under the treble foot. Sounded every bit as good, with possible a little more articulation.. it was 15 or so years ago!

[MJJS]

Last night I tried passing the DG into my Radial Bassbone (which is on my electric bass peddle board).

Instant success. Louder, no distortion and much better presented frequency profile.

It’s not often an upright player finally gets to push a sax player through the wall using sound pressure!!!

[HumblePie]

You need a high pass filter anyway, so it is not that much of a problem. The Realist soundclip does not have the boomy low end as the classic Realist pickup by the way.