Pickups (and other toys) for gigging with your Upright Bass

Since I wrote my first blog on this topic I now have played with a few more gigging toys. I also have now have a different pickup (and a different bass). Previously I had a 3/4 no-name brand bass that I sold to a student going to BYU-Idaho jazz program. I eventually bought a 1/2 size Easton VB-90 from Summerhays Music. (See my blog on bass sizes.)

Now you are wondering why I am mentioned the size of the bass, but it is important for pickups. Most pickups are made for 3/4 basses (I am not going to go into microphone options in this blog) and therefore don't have the right balance if you are using a smaller bass. After talking with a representative with Gollihur Music and doing some research I decided that the David Gage Realist LifeLine Upright Bass Pickup would be the best choice so I ordered it and installed it on my bass. Like the K&K pickup I used before it has a really great sound. I found that I can either bow or pizz. with it no problems.

As you can see below the element of the pickup fits into the bridge under the adjuster so you need an adjustable bridge. I like this better than the Realist which fits between the bridge and the top and has the potential to scratch your bass. (Incidentally Gollihur recomended the Realisit Lifeline over the original Realist for the smaller sized bass but it should be fine with the 3/4 as well.) You can mount the jack in a number of ways but after some experimentation I mounted on the top of the tailpiece because the quiver (and smaller tailpiece for 1/2 size bass) really made this the best for my setup.

So I am all set and it works great for small rooms. But in a larger room (gymnasium size with a noisy band) or an outside venue I found that I needed yet more sound. I could rush out and buy a bigger amp for lots of money, or I could add a preamp for $100. I choose the later in the form of the very simple to use LR Baggs Gigpro Single-Channel Belt-pack Preamp also from Gollihur Music. I now get more sound--the preamp turns your passive pickup into an active one--and more control over the sound: I generally find an upright bass becomes boomy so I can remove that unwanted problem with the preamp. Plus it is an easy setup to carry: I keep the Gigpro attached to my belt during the gig and it gives me volume control within easy reach. That's it.

Next if you have house speakers or the band has a PA (public address system) you can get a DI box and not even worry about bringing an amp. Radial Engineering makes excellent gear and you can get the Stagebug SB-4 for piezzo pickups (like the two descibed in this blog). You plug the bass into the DI box, and then run from the DI box to the PA and/or amp via XLR and 1/4" outputs. The SB-4 does require phantom power so there is the SB-2 passive that does not require phantom (phantom power is power provided through the cord via the PA system as opposed to having a power supply for the box). These two are the basic ones, you can visit Radial Engineering to find different upgraded DI boxes (I choose the ProDI over the SB-2 for my needs) and lots of other toys such as switches, combo boxes, etc.

Finally I have a small amp, the Ampeg BA-108 version 2, which has a tilt-back feature that I can use as a stage monitor in case the house or PA system does not have one. I also use it for small venues without a PA and even for giving lessons. I picked up mine for less than $100 so it won't set you back that much.

For the medium to large venues I use the Ampeg BA-115HP. It is 220 watts driving a 15" speaker. It also adds a tuner, dual inputs (so I can switch between upright bass and electric bass or two electric basses) and an XLR out so I can run it to a PA system eliminating the need for the DI box.

So to review for gigging you will want:

1) pickup

2) preamp

3) DI box (check to make sure you have phantom power or have both active and passive DI boxes)

4) stage monitor

That's all for now. Below is my original review of the K&K pickup.

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Dec. 25, 2015:

To be honest, one of the best websites I use for research on bass pickups is at Gollihur Music.

So far I have only used one pickup on my upright bass, the K&K Sound Bass Max Upright Bass Pickup. Why did I choose that one? It was the only one available for $100. The rest are double that price and on up. Still don't frown at the Bass Max. It is a great pickup. I used it with my Ampeg amp and it gave me great sound from my bass. People often complemented me on the great sound my bass had so I did something right.

I will throw in here that I used to own a Palatino electric upright bass with a piezo transducer pickup. It was a weird mix of upright bass and fretless bass guitar sound. But it was easy to play and even easier to haul around than an upright bass. But I eventually bought an six-string fretless bass guitar, which was even easier to carry and gave me more notes to play.