The Realist: What are the differences between the wooden one or the copperhead?

[BassGoblin32]

I have a bit of experience playing with the copperhead, as the bass at my university has one of those, but now that it's time yo get one for my bass, i found myself looking at both kinds, and having never tried the wooden one, i'm left wondering.

 

I noticed some feedback issues on the double bass at my uni, though im not sure exactly why, they could just be from something else entirely.

Not sure if this is the right way to do so, but I just plug it in straight to the amp, no DI box, no nothing, as that's what I saw someone do when i played it for the first time.

 

In short, what would i need to project my sound? pick up, DI boxes?

I feel a bit overwhelmed in this issue and could use all the help available :)

I play jazz, and the only gig I had with a double bass I was un-amplified, so I have no experience in a gig setting.

 

 

[Paddy Morris]

Feedback is very common, it's not just your college bass.  I have also only tried the copperhead, but I found it very lacking in detail, just literally the fundamental bass note I was playing.  So I would imagine that it might be more susceptible to feedback than some others, because a lot of feedback issues start with an over-emphasised low end - just a guess.

 

You might find this useful if you haven't seen it already.

 

 

But if you aren't needing to play too loud then a combination of both a mic and a piezo into a preamp like the Stanley Clarke or the Headway HB2 can give you a good, flexible jazz pizz sound.

 

I play with a loud guitarist and a loud drummer and I freely admit that I have to sacrifice tone I would like, just to get the volume I need without feedback.

[alexpea]

I've owned and gigged both the copper Realist and wooden version on the same bass. One thing to note is that the wooden version is a couple of mm thick and doesn't compress like the copper version, meaning that it slightly increases the bridge height on the E side. Doesn't sound like a lot but it was noticeable (as I didn't have an adjustable bridge at the time) when playing and I didn't like it, may have got used to it if i'd stuck it out though... Sound wise they were both quite similar but to me the wood version sounded more hollow somehow. I ended up switching to the copper version which sounded more like 'my bass but louder' at low volumes at least.

 

I don't use a Realist anymore as I found it quite prone to feedback at higher volumes and I couldnt get a decent usable tone when needing to play loud. Ended up switching to a Fishman Full Circle that is a lot more feedback resistant, got it fitted by a luthier who also converted my bridge to an adjustable one at the same time. A KK BassMax is a cheaper option that is also quite feedback resistant.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Alex