Realist pickup RESURRECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gareth Hughes]

Double bass folks - this one is for you. A week or so back 3below (Francis) of this parish enquired if anyone had a broken David Gage Realist pickup. A few emails later and my very dead Realist pickup was on its way. Literally within hours of Francis saying it had landed, he emailed back to say it was fixed and sent along a recording made with it.

To say I am grateful is an understatement. This pickup has sat, dead in a box, for the better part of a decade. By all accounts, the design of the Realist means that it does have a shelf life - akin to wear and tear on car tyres, but given the price of them, about £175, I just couldn't bring myself to bin it. Surely someone will be able to repair it, I thought. Well, that someone is 3below and if your pickup is showing signs of giving up the ghost, I highly recommend getting in touch with Francis. He informed me of what the process would be, what was likely wrong with it and I had the pickup back on my Eminence bass less than a week after I sent it. 

Given that the pickup has been off the bass for so long I have zero recollections of how it sounded. This reborn pickup however, sounds truly awesome - a solid sound, strong signal and captures every detail that I hear unplugged.

So thank you 3below and thank you Basschat for making all this possible.

(should you be interested, attached is a quick Garageband recording)

 

Realist - with track.mp3

[hubrad]

I've had my bass Realist for almost 20 years, hitch-free, but had to repair the one on my mandolin after a few months of incautious handling.. soldered some bare braid to bridge the torn copper foil. It lives to this day.

Glad you got yours sorted, Gareth.

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Hubrad - thanks. Yep, think mine was the same as your mandolin - a few too many tours and taking the pickup on and off.