I've been out of the game on DB pickups for a long time. Does there exist in the market today a blendable magnetic/piezo system that can be installed on a DB or EUB?
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Double Bass Blendable magnetic/piezo pickup
- Thread starter BarfanyShart
- Start date
It's been possible to do blends for years, but a pre-packaged mag + piezo + mixer rig isn't something that I've ever seen.
My String Charger mag pickup came with a piezo and a jack to plug it into, but there was no volume blend capability. The RCA is the piezo input, the 1/4" is the mixed output.
I did experiment with the provided piezo but was never happy with the blend.
I had a K&K dual channel preamp that I used with a Bass Max and the String Charger, but K&K never offered a DB mag pickup themselves. The old Fishman Blenders were built for using a piezo and a mike together and Fishman never offered a DB mag pickup either.
So I'd say that there is a market opportunity for a pickup mfr to come up with a system that is designed from the ground up to work together.
My String Charger mag pickup came with a piezo and a jack to plug it into, but there was no volume blend capability. The RCA is the piezo input, the 1/4" is the mixed output.
I did experiment with the provided piezo but was never happy with the blend.
I had a K&K dual channel preamp that I used with a Bass Max and the String Charger, but K&K never offered a DB mag pickup themselves. The old Fishman Blenders were built for using a piezo and a mike together and Fishman never offered a DB mag pickup either.
So I'd say that there is a market opportunity for a pickup mfr to come up with a system that is designed from the ground up to work together.
The Biesele doesn't include a piezo but it does have an input for one that works really well. And the way it blends with the magnetic is just great. (At least with the Realist & Full circle pickups I've had on my Kay.) Switches for pad & phase should help with compatibility.
I usually have just a dash of magnetic signal for presence, then go up to 50/50 if the volume is getting goofy - that gives me punch and acoustic nuance! 100% magnetic sounds too much like a P-bass to me (not in a bad way, necessarily - just not like I usually want to hear from the upright). Good to have as a backup in case the piezo dies (as they do from time to time).
I see the site is still up - I really hope he's still at it! He was super to deal with (this was like 20 years ago) - referred to these pickups as his "babies".
I usually have just a dash of magnetic signal for presence, then go up to 50/50 if the volume is getting goofy - that gives me punch and acoustic nuance! 100% magnetic sounds too much like a P-bass to me (not in a bad way, necessarily - just not like I usually want to hear from the upright). Good to have as a backup in case the piezo dies (as they do from time to time).
I see the site is still up - I really hope he's still at it! He was super to deal with (this was like 20 years ago) - referred to these pickups as his "babies".
The Biesele sure does look like exactly what I was thinking of. I sure do hope it's still being distributed.
Soon there will be a great, lightweight magnet pickup from Austria on the market. I’m trying a prototype right now and it’s really good. Sounds better than all my piezos! I’m planning to blend it with a mic instead of a piezo. It will also be very reasonably priced!
Sounds interesting, but the Ehrlund EAP is ideal for my bass and the tone quality I desire. Easy to mount, easy to EQ and plenty of volume for my needs. I’ve used several different magnetic pickups of different iterations a Toby, a Tonnenges, and the Bartolini (Clevenger model) which is the best I’ve heard. Just my take.
i love the Ehrlund but it doesn’t work for everything for me/my basses but if it did, I wouldn’t try anything else.