Gig bag and pickup recommendations please.

[solofunkyjazz]

I'm getting this tomorrow [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98434"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=98434[/url]

I'm going to need to get a gig bag for it (I'm bringing it home wrapped in a duvet ). Can anyone recommend a nice one that's not too expensive.

I also need to get a pickup fitted to it, so again any recommendations would be most welcome.

One last thing , does anyone know where I can get it set up and have the pickup fitted, I live in Birmingham.

Thanks !

[velvetkevorkian]

Case: I have one of [url="http://www.thesoundpost.co.uk/bags%20cases.htm"]these[/url] which my local shop ordered in for me ( I needed a big 'un!) and its pretty robust; plenty of pockets, wheels suitable for short distance and loads of straps.

Pickup-wise, I've tried the Realist which was nice but I'm really liking the Upton Revolution Solo II. I don't think I would get an under bridge Realist again as they're difficult to fit/unfit yourself and they apparently have a tendency to die after a few years (which mine did).

[hoiho]

[quote name='solofunkyjazz' post='927945' date='Aug 17 2010, 08:01 PM']One last thing , does anyone know where I can get it set up and have the pickup fitted, I live in Birmingham.[/quote]

I've got a Shadow [url="http://www.shadow-electronics.com/viewpro.html?lang_id=&id=194"]SH 965 NFX[/url], which has a pretty good sound, and is easy to fit yourself (as long as you're happy to loosen your strings and lift your bridge feet ).

Oh, and get an [url="http://www.alangregory.co.uk/music/Double_Bass_Spike_or_Endpin_Wheel.html"]endpin wheel[/url]. And [i]lots[/i] of handles on a gig bag are a Very Good Thing, too.

Edited August 18, 2010 by hoiho

[thisnameistaken]

Bear in mind that if you're using a regular bass guitar amp you might also need an acoustic preamp to get your piezo pickup down to a sensible input impedance, so factor that cost in too. You might get away with not using one, but I didn't.

I'm using a K&K Bass Max on my ply bass (into a Fishman Plat Pro pre, into the FX return on my Hartke LH500 to bypass its mid-scooped EQ, into a Schroeder 1212L), it actually sounds pretty good to me, but it does sound like an amplified bass rather than an acoustic bass. I don't know if my bass is resonant enough to really benefit from a fancier pickup, apparently a previous owner put a Realist on it and it sounded crap, but I heard another guy's Realist-equipped bass sound amazing through his GK rig the other week, but his bass is a lot fancier than mine.

So, yeah, seems like it's difficult to recommend a pickup in isolation, really. Depends what sort of sound you're shooting for and what other gear you're using.

Edited August 18, 2010 by thisnameistaken