Description
Are you a upright bass player in search of a great double bass pickup for your standup bass? Something clear, uncolored and able to produce your sound? Look no further.
The Revolution SOLO Double Bass Pickup is organically constructed to accurately reproduce the natural sound of your bass. Each of our Revolution Solo (or “Rev Solo” as they’re called around the workshop) Double Bass Pickups are handmade with European Spruce in our Upton Bass workshop. We’ve designed the Revolution Solo to be a transparent pickup – sounding like the bass it’s installed on. The Rev Solo Double Bass Pickup does not presuppose that a player’s primary need in a pickup is a “big bass” tone. Instead, the Revolution Solo Bass Pickup allows for consistent mid and high ranges as well as a clear, booming low-end sound.
The Revolution Solo Double Bass Pickup is not constructed of heavy, sound-deadening materials such as metal, rubber, or epoxy found in nearly all other bass pickups. Its simple patented design provides clarity and accuracy from the tonal center of your bass.  The natural composition and location of the pickup will not change the acoustic sound of your instrument, nor will it interfere with your bass setup or deaden the bridge’s response with the strings and top.
If you are searching for natural tone and realistic presence, experience The Revolution SOLO Double Bass Pickup. The only double bass pickup that is aesthetically and tonally true to your double bass. (Patent#: US7,319,188 B1)
Gary’s Thoughts: A key component to the pickup that is often overlooked is its adjustability. You can simply reach down and move the pickup in the bridge to adjust your tone.
The Revolution Solo double bass pickup can easily be installed at home with a few careful steps. Please check out Gary’s detailed videos on installation and amplification below.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHMjoxi_wAM[/embedyt]
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omr898MmKk0[/embedyt]
“I put the pickup on my second bass and it really sounds very good. I was impressed also by the overall output volume. I think you have a good product, sir!” – Rufus Reid
“The sound of the pickup, on both pizzicato and arco, is really true. And it’s not just the sound, but also the feel. By this I mean that when I’m playing the bass with the pickup attached, it feels like I’m playing acoustically, getting the full vibration response from the bass, rather than just a pickup sound from the strings. This is fantastic, especially when I’m using the bow. When I use the bow with other pickups, I feel like I can’t really play into the string, so I don’t get the full response of the vibrating string, resulting in a loss of tone coloration, natural dynamics, etc. With your pickup this problem is greatly diminished; I’m playing through an amp, but the attention is still on the sound of the music and the bass, not on the pickup. Rhythmically, too, there is an immediacy of response to the attack, and sound that really reproduces the feel of playing acoustically. To sum it up, for the quality and simplicity, not to mention the price, this is simply amazing – affordability for such quality!” – Ken Filiano, NYC jazz bassist
“I was in the studio recording a film score and I used the pick-up along with a mic and the sound was really great; the engineer even commented on how good my bass sounded. That was a good sign. I used the pick-up again at a gig in town, and it sounded very clean and the gain was not an issue. I actually compared it with the Full-Circle and it is much louder. This is something that I was looking for. I am very happy with your product and now I only wish I hadn’t bought another Full-Circle for my other double bass. I will keep you posted – there are more gigs in town that I will use it on and I am very excited.” – John Hebert, NYC jazz bassist
“This is the best upright bass pickup I have heard in 30 years as a recording engineer and live sound mixer. It sounds natural — like a high-quality studio microphone — but without the leakage and feedback. The tone is very deep yet defined… not boomy, not tinny, not hollow. The included afterlength dampener tightens up the sound in a wonderful way. Congratulations on your clever and elegant pickup system!” – Bruce Bartlett, Recording Engineer
***If you are not fully satisfied with the performance of the Revolution Solo Double Bass Pickup installation, we will exchange it towards any other upright bass pickup we carry***
Upton Bass String Instrument Co. specializes in building award-winning custom double basses and offers accessories for the double bass. Upton Bass also services all instruments and bows of the violin family with world class restoration and repair, to view our online restoration portfolio visit stringrepair.com
Upton Bass is ready to offer advice and answer any questions regarding double basses or related bass topics. Please contact UB at sales@uptonbass.com or call the shop at +1 (860) 535-9399.
Hours of operation Tuesday through Saturday 10am – 6pm. The Workshop (The Barn) and showroom are located in Mystic, Connecticut conveniently between Boston and NYC.
Roscoe Morgan, Jr. (verified owner) –
I just finished installing the Revolution Solo II tonight. I’m not typically gifted in this area, and I must report that it was a BREEZE! I am currently playing with ’07/’08 IBMA Female Vocalist Of The Year Dale Ann Bradley. My bass is a roadworn ’64 Kay C1, currently played through an Ampeg BA115. I’ll try the pickup on it’s first gig on 12/6, but so far at the house, the tones of my bass are all there and accounted for, only louder! I highly encourage anyone considering this pickup to get on board. Simplicity of installation, great price and natural, even tone make this one a winner so far.
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Ryan Griffith (verified owner) –
I’ve had and RSII on my Shen for a few years now, and it’s an excellent pickup. It provides a natural tone, and I always hear compliments on my tone, no matter what amp I’m playing through. An excellent transducer!
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kip martin (verified owner) –
Transducers…I have tried them all, and every one of them is a compromise. I generally try to pick the compromise that?s most pleasing to my ear. I had been using Underwood transducers on my basses, believing they were the best compromise. On the advice of Gary Upton, I tried the Revolution SOLO transducer. I was sure this pickup, with its very low price and simple design, would represent a huge compromise, but I was wrong! This pickup is as smooth and natural as a Realist, at close to half the cost. It has the rock solid bottom end and clear midrange of the Underwood. And It has NONE of the nasally, zingy sound of the Fishman BP-100. When I took it out of the packaging and read the instructions, I was pleased to see that I wouldn’t need to do any cutting or sanding or shimming to my bridge (which all Underwood owners deal with eventually). Installation was quick. Once installed, I was shocked to find the SOLO sounded like the top of my bass, not like the bridge. It was close to the Realist–smooth, clear, and woody, but with the tight, low-end punch of the Underwood I need for live performance through big PAs. I didn’t hear the midrange shrillness I’d grown used to with the Underwood, and the top-end and upper-mids were more natural than what I hear with the Realist. I am currently using the SOLO on my primary road bass, a 1940 American Standard (Realists have a reputation for not always sounding good with plywood basses) and it is smooth, tight, and natural sounding. I have also used it on my main recording bass, a carved 1920s Prague Juzek. I found it matched up well on this bass also, capturing its full voice better than any transducer I’ve heard yet. Again, let me emphasize that this pickup costs LESS than $100. At this point, unless I come into some money and can afford the $600-900 outlay for one of the nicer mic systems, I see no reason to own anything but Revolution SOLO transducers.
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Alejandro Cimadoro –
I have gotten a great Bohemian bass (c. 1925) from Upton Bass. Gary included kindly a Revolution Solo pickup with the bass. I have tried many piezo pickups (BP 100, Underwood, Shadow, Realist, etc?) and I strive to stay away from them due to the lack of bottom end and excessive mid and treble. But the Revolution Solo pickup really surprised me from the beginning. The sound is clear and well balanced in all registers with a deep and warm bottom end. It does not sound like a piezo pick up at all. I am using it with my Walter Woods (with the EQ flat!) plus a Flite 3 way cabinet and I can really hear the wooden sound of my bass louder. This is a must have, great pickup at an unbeatable price. The installation is extremely easy, this is also a plus.
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ERIC GALLAND –
A small word to say how much I am satisfied with the Revolution Solo pickup. I attentively followed the process of assembly, which was very quite detailed. Then, I tested the pickup and I finally heard the sound which I had been looking for for a long time. Really, this pickup is fantastic! It corresponds completely to my desire. I understand now, why this pickup is classified first in it’s category. It is really great. I thank you much and I will not fail to make the promotion of the Revolution Solo. Thanks! Eric Galland, France , The Rockin Daddies
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Kevin Ray –
For the past month, I’ve been using the Revolution Solo bass pickup.
This thing rocks! I find this pickup actually sounds even better arco
than pizz. It’s got a clear and even tone through all the registers,
and a very tight but meaty tone. I have a very large, resonant bass,
and have always had problem with the Realist and feedback. For one
thing, to get the bottom I wanted, I’d have to turn the Realist up much
louder than i do this one. But even at low volumes, I’d get too many
overtones rolling through the circuit, and the Realist would just
overload. So far, the Solo has taken every thing I could throw at it,
and I’ve not even noticed it’s on. Thanks guys! Kevin Ray
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William Holt (verified owner) –
I’ve been using the Revolution Solo for over a couple of months on my ’63 Kay w/ Clef guts. I have used other pickups, but none have done a very good job of duplicating the actual sound of my bass. The Solo, however, accurately reproduces the sound of my bass. Installation was easy. On my bass, the Solo sounded best on the E side of the bridge, R down. When I finally plugged in, I was amazed. I tweaked my amp a little, and I was completely satisfied. I finally got the Bob Moore/Nashville/old school sound and thump I had always wanted, but had never quite found. I got on the job, and the Solo worked like a charm. No feedback, even at thunderous volumes. The band members even commented on how much better my bass sounded. On the classic country/western swing tunes, the guys referred to my sound as “old school” and “just like the record” – exactly what I wanted. The sound coming from my rig finally sounded like my bass. Thanks, Gary, for making bassists everywhere, including me, much happier.
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Gary Glinski (verified owner) –
Once again, UptonBass has provided a great product. Not being the most dextrous person on the planet, I was surprised at how easy this pickup was to install. Once plugged in, it provided a deep bottom end, no feedback whatsoever, and clear mids and highs. Sounds like it is a part of the instrument. Try it. You’ll like it.
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Daniel Baskin (verified owner) –
The only thing you’ll get from this pick-up is an amplified double bass. You won’t get feedback. You won’t get ping or nasal tones. You won’t get incoherent rumble. You won’t have to crank your gain to get a signal. You will get an authentic, clean acoustic tone.
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eric spoldi –
All I can say is when I played with it in my jazz combo for a masterclass everyone thought I was not using an amp, thats how natural the sound is on this thing.
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Frank Johnson (verified owner) –
I love this pickup!! It brings replicates my bass precisely and doesn’t give it that nasally dead sound i was getting from other pickups. It keeps a nice tone all the way through the spectrum and doesn’t feedback at higher volumes. I would recommend this pickup to everyone. Its a great pickup at a phenomenal price.
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Ben Buettner (verified owner) –
I just got this pickup and it does a pretty nice job of reproducing the upright bass tone. Easy to install. I recommend it!
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Richard Auvil (verified owner) –
Since I installed the Revolution Solo, I’ve been playing my Christopher hybrid through an SWR LA-15 amp on flat response. The tone is fabulous! Both arco and pizz sounds are magnificently amplified without feedback or distortion. The power is there when needed, but I appreciate the subtle push it has. I haven’t heard many other rigs, but I can’t imagine how they could possibly compare!
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James Clark (verified owner) –
Received my Revolution Solo last week – installation was fairly simple, no problems with the fitting. The Solo has a nice transparent sound and accurately reflects the sound of my bass while eliminating the boom or scratch of other bridge-mounted pickups. I look forward to using it in jazz settings. I would also like to add that the customer service lived up to its excellent reputation that I had read so much about.
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JOSH DUKES (verified owner) –
hey just wanted to thank you the revolution solo pickup it sounds fantastik its the only pickup ive been able to get good low end and clean highs at the same time also installing was easy as pie ill definetly be using this pickup for many years to com
cheers
josh
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Susan Conte (verified owner) –
I was very pleased with everything about this pickup and Upton Bass. It arrived in a timely manner and was not damaged.
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Jimmy Miller –
Wow! What a great pickup! The original RS was great, too, but some seemed to have a problem with its output. I don’t think that’ll be a problem anymore. The RS 2 puts out as much or more volume as my Fender Jazz Bass, and as far as I can hear, sounds identical and rejects feedback every bit as much as the original. It does everything I need except make me play better, but I’m hoping that will be taken care of when the RS 3 comes out in a few years.
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Jack Bossom (verified owner) –
The tone the pickup provides is amazing. I had the first generation Revolution befor this, and it was good. The SOLO II is better. The rest of the band could hear me more clearly. I use a Behrnger here was no feedback up to about 1/3 volume.
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mark brooks –
This thing sounds GREAT! Very natural sounding. It sounds like my bass does, only louder. A huge improvement from my fishman bp100. Thanks!
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Jesse Cabbage –
I like the sound of this pickup quite a bit, nice and bassy close to the tone of the bass it self, low ends boom highs are clear. my only problem is there is little to no click sounds from the pickup. but overall a good pickup!
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takahiro morooka –
I switched from Realist to solo II.
This solo II pick-up is just amazing.
I was having trouble with the distorted sound with Realist which probably was coming from some wolf tones on my bass.
I had to use preamp (gig pro) to take out the bad sound using notch.
The sound with solo II is very clear & natural. It is also very loud, so I can just relax & play without playing too hard even in big band.
The sound with bow is very natural. I can use it without using pre-amp or anything. (I’m using Acoustic Image Contra)
The sound is very different compared with RS side up or down. I honestly didn’t like the sound of RS side up on my bass. I guess it depends on what kind of bass you have, so better try both sides.
Thanks for the good product. I’m very satisfied with this Pick-up.
Takahiro Morooka
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Travis Book –
Last week my band played at the Opry as part of the Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards ceremony. Fifteen of the biggest bands in bluegrass music played that night. I plugged my Revolution SOLO II pickup directly into the system and the guy running the front of house sound said that the raw signal coming off my Upton Revolution SOLO II pickup was by far the strongest, cleanest and most honest tone he got all night. I’d say that’s legit
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Alex Hernandez (verified owner) –
Guess which Grammy Nominated Bassist wishes he was playing an Upton Bass !
……..
That would be me !!!
Just wanted to say That I’m getting great results with the RS2. I bought
this pickup a few months back but, I ended using my Realist for a few
more months. After it’s demise, I returned to the RS2. This thing sounds
so natural, I’ve had a few instances where I actually checked to see if I
had turned my amp on. It just sound like my bass, only louder!!! The
final test will be with the Bobby Sanabria Latin Jazz Big Band. If this
thing can cut that gig, I’ll never use anything else !!!!
Thanks for making a great product…… I’m dying tot try the “Blacks”.
peace….
Alex Hernandez
myspace.com/adhbass
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kip martin –
update…
since my last update, ive been bassist on 2 Grammy Award-nominated projects, recorded several albums, moved to nashville (and still somehow managed to keep the mortgage paid). and even played on lower Broadway. nothing like playing ‘Just Walk On By’ with a great steel player while looking out the window watching the Elvis impersonators walking past Ernest Tubbs Record Store!
anyways, i use the Rev Solo II on a couple of my basses. for loud rockabilly gigs, i need a pickup that wont feedback through an SVT–this is the pickup that gets me good and loud with the right slapping ‘click’. try that with a Realist! this pick up is as much a rockabilly essential as my tattoos are.
for my jazz bass, a very old Juzek, i find the Rev II sounds the most like the top of my bass. ive A-Bed it with a good mic in the studio and it sounds airy, fat, defined, and punchy like a good large condensor mic.
i use a different pickup on my bluegrass basses simply because i ran out of Rev IIs. Help me out here Gary!! i have 5 basses and only 3 RevIIs!!
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Diana Brake (verified owner) –
Hi Gary,
I talked to you on the phone on Saturday about judging the installation pressure for the Revolution SOLO II Double Bass Pickup. I managed the installation and it sounds great! I also put your custom set of Thomastik – Pirastro strings on at the same time and WOW! We played a restaurant gig that Saturday night and didn’t even have to retune too much…;) and played again this morning at church, both times through Bose L1 PA systems. The sound is great, plenty loud and tons of thump. Thanks for a great pickup and string set.
Diana B.
FaithWillin.com
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Russell hall (verified owner) –
I just recieved my pickup, i think that this pickup doesn’t corrupt the tone of the bass, but it allows the bass to reach its full potential by giving it natural flavour. Truly a great product.
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Rod Sroufe –
I was the very fortunate and lucky winner of the Revolution Solo II pickup on the Upton Bass sponsored bassguitar.com contest held late last year. Installation is very easy. I cut the wing slot of my bridge, as opposed to sanding the pickup, to fit the pickup in place. You simply need to take the time to get the fit even and snug.
I just finished a pit orchestra gig at the local 1,200 seat Performing Arts Center and this pickup worked great. I use it with a Fishman Pro Platinum Bass pre-amp and plugged the XLR out directly into the house sound system. In less than 2 minutes the sound engineer had my sound dialed in tight and bone rattling loud with absolutely no feedback playing pizz or arco. For me, this pickup is a winner!
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adam booker (verified owner) –
I don’t often write to companies concerning their products, and in the rare
instance I do it is to complain. This, however, is not the case today. Your
Revolution Solo II is by far the best sounding pick-up I have ever used (and
I’ve used almost all of them)! After a week on my bass not only am I
thrilled with the tone, the band (www.kriskimura.com) has never been more
impressed! I will be teaching at a Jazz Camp in Texas this summer, and it
would be my pleasure to recommend this product to any student (or pro for
that matter). Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
Adam Booker
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Tex Waggoner –
I got the pickup 3 years ago. The pickup I used before was good but I had to deal with a pre-amp and batteries. Now I just plug my bass in and get a very natural tone.
When I first installed the Solo II pickup I was a bit disappointed. The next thing I did, was to start with slight adjustments of the pickup in the bridge. All the sudden my bass had great tone and volume. I’m very pleased with the Solo II 3 years later. The price $150 at the time was a bargain.
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Josh Ricks (verified owner) –
AWESOME!
I got this pick-up to balance out with my combo, and it does the job well! With the right pre-amp, I’m the one taking up a couple of leads now and then. A must for all!
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Bruce Bartlett (verified owner) –
This is the best upright bass pickup I have heard in 30 years as a recording engineer and live sound mixer. It sounds natural — like a high-quality studio microphone — but without the leakage and feedback. The tone is very deep yet defined… not boomy, not tinny, not hollow. The included afterlength dampener tightens up the sound in a wonderful way. It’s a clever and elegant pickup system.
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Stefanos Koroblitsas (verified owner) –
This pickup is definitely worth the cash! Easy to install as well.
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William Kirby (verified owner) –
just received the revolution solo easy installation on an old road beaten Palitino plywood bass and it made it sound great through a ampeg B115 hp with no preamp flat eg. PLenty tone and volume, thanks, Bill
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Michael Noonan –
I’m pretty new to double bass, but have been an electric player for 20 yrs. I have a Roth bass from about ’53 and had tried amplifying it with a Realist Soundclip, being basically sold on ease of installation and good reviews. I have tried every conceivable position and EQ tweak to get a decent sound out of it with limited success. It has a very mid rangey, nasal sound with disappointingly poor bass response. I decided to cut my losses and try the Upton pick up (which is half as expensive)… Night and day. The Upton pickup is 5 times as hot, produces a nice even tone and needs no EQ to sound good. It’s also much less prone to feedback. I can’t recommend this pickup highly enough. The installation wasn’t really difficult either. If you are seriously considering the Soundclip, (especially if you live out in East Cupcake and can’t try before you buy) I would recommend this as being a far superior pickup. Play on, bass brothers and sisters. MN
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Frank Irvin –
I won this great pickup from the “for bass players only” site. It took a while to get around to installing them. These are the most natural upright pickups that I have used. I have previously used both Fishman, Underwood and and a few others. These pickup are great out of the box. I am particularly happy with the sound of both arco and pizz; awesome. Thanks for the great pickup.
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david@brickhousecreative.com (verified owner) –
Like many of you, I have been searching for a pickup that sounded, well, real. I had a Realist (pun intended) and then a Lifeline, both of which I could sort-of get a sound I was happy with if I used a pre-amp with a lot of EQ help. I was not super-stoked about not being able to test out the RevSolo, but understood that it takes custom fitting, so took a chance.
Right away I could tell it had potential. It took messing with the positioning (like the video instructions says it will) for optimal tone, and just very small changes in position vastly changed the sound. Then, I ran it through an Avalon preamp, with various tone profiles, and found one I thought was good. Is it the pickup that provides a completely transparent sound, needing nothing else to make you say “yaaaaassss!”? No, but it’s by far the first pickup that gave me the sustain and sort of natural/elastic (?) quality I was missing from my mic, and/or seems like if I had to go pickup only, I could probably dial up a tone that would work. In the studio, I am using 3 tracks, the Rev, a large condenser, and a small diaphragm mic — and together, I can get a tone I am really really happy with (and/or, at least in the keys where my bass’ tone is best).
Long story short: I think I finally found a pickup I am happy with, nice work folks!
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Terry Solomon (verified owner) –
I’ve owned the Revolution Solo and the Revolution Solo 2 – I find that the thinner they are sanded, the better they sound. – I took one down to the minimum and it sounded great.
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davidson.tim@hotmail.com (verified owner) –
Within just a couple of hours with the RS II I had the best amplified sound out of my bass that I’ve ever achieved. I used three other pickups previously but now I can stop looking. Great balance and gain. It sounds like an upright. Thank you Upton!
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Ned Wilkinson (verified owner) –
Short version: I love this pickup!
Long version… I put this pickup on my Engelhardt Swingmaster, hoping to get a tiny bit of Upton vibe. Watching Gary’s installation video gave me confidence that I could install this thing by myself. But I’m just not a wood worker; I had the wrong rasp and no calipers, and learned too little and too late as I went. It took me four hours over four days and I’m declaring it as done as I know how to get it. The biscuit is on, but not at all centered; it’s nearly “all the way to the left”. It’s not giving me a terribly hot signal; my amp is up further than usual.
EVEN AT THAT – the FOH engineer at the small theater where I work was immediately very happy with it. It gave him all the upper and mid frequencies he wasn’t getting out of the Fishman. I find I’m better able to hear (and correct!) the pitch at a lower volume than before. The balance between pizz and arco is more reasonable, and for the first time ever my tremolos are airy and effective.
I’ll absolutely use this pickup on my eventual (and hopefully near future) Upton Bass. But I’ll have them install it at the shop.
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