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The Realist Wood Acoustic Transducer - Double Bass Pickup |
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What is at the heart of The Realist Wood? The Realist Wood consists of a wood veneer casing. Inside the casing is a piezo crystal sandwiched within a copper foil. A lightweight coaxial cable connects the element to a standard 6.0mm jack socket. How do I fit The Realist Wood? Fitting The Realist Wood is done exactly the same way as fitting the standard Realist. It is relatively easy and should take only a few minutes to get up and running. In brief the wood veneer containing the element is slid under the bass (E-string side) foot of the bridge. The jack socket is fitted under the G string ball end and is held in place by means of a small clip. That's all there is to it. I see that the wood casing has a flat surface and a surface with a black square on it. Which way up does it go? The side with the smooth surface is placed onto the top of the instrument table. I presume that placing it this way round doesn't damage the varnish or mark the instrument in any way. Yes - that is correct. Is this the principal reason why The Realist Wood was developed? Yes. No risk of damage will certainly bring a smile to the faces of a great many bass players. Yes - nobody wants to cause damage to their instrument if it can be avoided at all. The smooth wood casing of The Realist Wood - really is the perfect medium for constructing a table top transducer. Are there any other advantages to using The Realist Wood? Yes indeed. The wood casing is a much more aesthetically pleasing than the standard copper foil casing. When fitted it blends in most discreetly. I like o'naturale - it's good. Do you think that the wood casing
is strong enough though? Ok - so good strength but what about flexibility? The laminate has just the right amount of flex and give to allow it to conform perfectly to the shape of the instrument table. Can you tell me what the black square is visible on the upper surface of the wood casing? The black square that is visible on the top surface of the wood casing is the top of the copper element casing. What is the element casing coated in? The element casing is coated in a black silicon type material that helps cushion and protect the element. The black square looks a tiny bit higher than the wood casing. Will this be a problem? No - not at all. When the element is positioned under the leg of the bridge and the strings brought back up to pitch - the silicon coating becomes compressed and the surface level. Will it fit my instrument? Yes - The Realist Wood is designed to fit under any acoustic bass bridge. To maximize performance it is essential that the feet of the bridge have been cut properly by a competent luthier so as to conform to the exact contour of the instrument table. Will The Realist Wood affect the action of my bass? After The Realist Wood has been installed most players are unable to detect any difference. If you do feel that the height of your strings is a little higher - the recommendation is to wait a few days before adjusting your bridge. This is because The Realist Wood compresses during the first few hours following the installation. After it has finished settling down - it really is too thin to detect. What about the sound? With The Realist fitted you can really "dig-in" to your playing. Dynamics are relatively easy to produce and when "attack" is required - say for funk and slap playing - the pickup copes incredibly well. For those of you wanting a pickup for ballads and other softer styles of playing - the pickup also sounds great. No - what I meant to ask was - does The Realist Wood produce the same great sound, the same great response and the same great range of tone and volume as the standard Realist? Ahh - I thought you might get round to that question. Well you'll be pleased to hear that from the reviews received - the general consensus of opinion is that they really are as good as each other.
I'd like to know a little bit more on how you fit The Realist Wood The Realist Wood does come with clear
and easy to understand installation instructions.
Is a pre-amplifier required with The Realist Wood? The Realist Wood is what is known as a "high-impedance transducer" so it is not necessary to use a preamp although some players may well opt to use one. The Realist Wood simply amplifies the acoustic sound of your instrument without colouring it. What is the impedance level of The Realist Wood? The Realist is rated at 10mg ohms. What would be the benefits of using a preamp? Using a preamp can make up for shortcoming in your in your instrument's acoustic sound. It can be used to boost the highs or lows or fill in the mid range if it is not present enough. I do a lot of recording work. Are there any special instructions that I should follow? No none at all. Most recording engineers absolutely love The Realist transducer for its superior acoustic fidelity and its elegant simplicity. Any comments from the makers? The Realist acoustic transducer was designed by Ned Steinberger in collaboration with New York bass specialist David Gage. On the product info pages of his web site Gage comments "Recognizing the limitations of microphones and traditional piezo transducers, Ned and I decided that for the working musician things could and should be better. We felt a transducer should be equal in its ability to recreate an acoustic pizzicato and arco sound through commonly used amplifiers. Furthermore, this pick-up had to be simple, dependable and affordable. After years of consideration and tests, we have come up with a system that achieves all of these goals. We understand the hours of practice it takes to draw your sound out of your instrument, and with this pick up we feel that your voice can be heard more accurately through an amplifier. Both recording engineers and professional musicians have been startled by the great tone and even response when playing pizzicato and arco without having to play with your controls." What about a few comments from Ned Steinberger. On the Gage web site Ned talks about the extensive testing and evaluation done during the development of The Realist and his appreciation towards both Gage and the many fine players that assisted in the evaluations. The most interesting part is when he gets down to the nitty-gritty of what makes The Realist and The Realist Wood work so well. Steinberger comments "Three elements combine to give The Realist the exciting tone that has so many players raving. The first is finding the right structure within the piezo crystal to respond optimally to the acoustic resonance of the instrument itself".... "Second, placing the transducer under the foot of the bridge puts it exactly where the sound is transferred from the strings to the sound board. This is definitely where the action is, and the rich, powerful response, both pizzicato and bowed, testifies to this simple fact. The output level directly from the pickup is unusually high, and as a result the signal to noise ratio is also very high - so no pre-amp or other battery powered gear is necessary. Just plug it in! The copper foil sandwich construction (For The Realist Wood - that is housed within the wood veneer casing) - is the third key element in the system. It provides total shielding to eliminate hum from light fixtures and other electrical or radio interference. It is flexible enough to conform to the curve of the top of the instrument, so that the full pressure of the bridge is concentrated evenly onto the piezo surface". Are there any endorsees? Yes - David Gage regularly advertised in The Double Bassist magazine: In issues No 31 (Winter 2004) and No 34 (Autumn 2005) there is a half page add with pictures of bassists McBride, Mraz and Washington standing together that runs 'Three Masters. Three Styles. One Pick-up. Bassists Christian McBride, George Mraz and Peter Wahington all agree: "The Realist is acoustically true, easy to install and always delivers - whatever the venue, whatever the style. Put simply, it is the best sounding pick-up on the market, period." In The Double Bassist issues No 42 (Autumn 2007) and No 43 (Winter 2007) there is a quarter page advertisement showing The Realist fitted to an instrument with an endorsement from John Patitucci that reads; "The most natural sounding pick-up I've ever heard". Is there any sort of guarantee? Yes - there is a one year warranty from the date of purchase on parts and labour. A requirement of the warranty is that the purchase is registered with the David Gage String Instrument Repair shop. All that involves is filling out a short form that has been partially completed by the Contrabass Shoppe and posting it off. I guess the normal terms and conditions apply to the warranty. Yes. In brief - the warranty covers failure due to defects in material or workmanship which occur during normal consumer use and does not cover damage which occurs in shipment or failures which result from alteration, accident, misuse, abuses, neglect or improper maintenance. Can you give me an overall summary? The Realist is considered by many of the world's
top Jazz players to be "the double bass pick-up". Can you give me a final summary more specifically about The Realist Wood? The Realist Wood offers all the great sound characteristics and advantages of the standard copper-foil Realist. For those players alternating regularly between unamplified and amplified music on the same instrument or for those players simply worried about instrument aesthetics - the über-discreet qualities of The Realist Wood are a strong draw to purchase. For the vast majority of players however - the sheer relief of having a table transducer with the accolade that it won't cause damage to varnish or cause marks or bruising to ones pride and joy will be incentive enough to purchase this fine product.
The Realist Wood - Acoustic Transducer
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