JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Bass and Drum Forum Upright bass - electrified?

Hey Mike (or any other upright individual),

When you play upright bass, how is it amplified? What's the "industry standard" or recommended method for getting the best sound out of the instrument (both recorded and live)
Reason I'm asking, is that I'd like to make one in the near future, so I'm gathering information right now.

Hey Tom,

Ambitious project But you build all those exotic instruments anyway, so it should be easy.

On my acoustic upright, I have a Fishman bridge pickup system with a Fishman bass preamp that works really well, especially for live work. I usually record the acoustic with a microphone, though I used the Fishman system on an album produced by a guy who produced Ry Cooder and the Texas Tornadoes, and he liked it. There's a semi-solidbody bass that the Bridge bass company has let me borrow, I use it mostly in the studio, it has their own pickup, it gives me the upright "feel" but it can be processed like a solidbody bass.

You might want to check out Bob Golihur at: http://www.gollihur.com/

He's an upright "guru" who sells a limited selection of items that he believes in. I've bought bags and accessories from him, good guy. He's got some interesting pickups there.

I really like an adjustable bridge, I've got one on the old upright, and it really helps in the season changes.

Have Fun!

Mike

Great link, and thanks for the info. I'll do my best to provide details in this forum when I start building..

Cool, pictures, please, link em up, head em out.

I've done a lot of live recording for some jazz combos, the best pickup I've heard is an AKG, not sure of the model name. That, in combination with a large dia. condenser is my choice for recording. I love iBeam pickups, maybe LR Baggs has an acoustic bass model, I would trust that beyond any piezo element.