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David Gage Bass REALISTTM
Double Bass Pickup
The RealistTM has rapidly become a popular choice of bass pickup, and it is now used by a number of top bassists. It consists of a thin, flexible piezo film that fits between a bridge foot and the top of your instrument, and is carefully and specifically designed so it won't alter the acoustic sound of your bass.
Its sound is very natural and woody, with less focus and more body, due to its location on the body of the instrument. There are many different "natural bass sounds", all of which depend on the vantage point; what's your preference?  Do you want the sound from one foot away, with more detail and string artifacts? If so, that's not the sound of The Realist. It has less detail - not necessarily a bad thing - due to the location of the transducer in relation to the strings. It provides more of the sound of the instrument "from a distance," where the body sound takes over from that upfront detail, but it is still sensitive to string sounds. Because of the nature of its sound, the Realist is an excellent choice for bowed response - as well as for the classic pizzicato sound. By comparison, pickups with "more detail" can sound scratchy or overly trebly, particularly when bowed.
The pickup seems to perform best on carved basses and quality laminated instruments with a nicely responsive top. As with all transducers, the bass and its characteristics dictate the results.  Note that if your volume needs are high, The Realist may not be the best choice... as it seems to feed back more readily than some other pickups. I would suggest the K&K Bass Max as an alternative choice for players with higher volume needs, or the Fishman Full Circle (requires an adjustable bridge), which has a similar character but a bit more feedback resistance and string detail.
The photograph to the right is a close-up of the Realist installed on my Eminence electric upright bass. The Realist is the stock pickup on the Eminence, and the Eminence is (IMHO) the most authentic-sounding electric upright out there.
 The Bass Realist is now available in two types: the original copper foil design, and the new wood veneer version. We measured two of the pickups and they are both almost the same thickness. The copper foil unit is .060 inches, the wood one is .075 inches — for comparison purposes the difference is only .015 inches, the thickness of four sheets of paper.
See the photo to the left for a visual, and additional photos are in the photo array, below.
Cello? Violin? Viola? We also carry multiple versions of the Realist which are specially made for Violin and Viola; it is available in our selection of pickups for Other Instruments - check them out there!
Please make your choice from the drop-down box when ordering.
The Realist™ acoustic transducer was designed by Ned Steinberger (formerly with Steinberger basses, now NS Design) in collaboration with the well-known NYC-based luthier David Gage.
ARTISTS Sound Off on the Realist
John Patitucci:
"The most natural sounding
pick-up I've ever heard. You wouldn't believe the sound of it through my
rig. It feels great -- I'm totally into it. I'm really happy with it. It's
easy, I love it. I can go from pizzicato to arco without any hesitation."
Michael Moore:
"The best Arco sound of them
all. THE REALIST sounds the most like a microphone without the problem of feedback."
Jay Leonhart:
"The Realist is absolutely
the best sounding pickup I have ever used. It creates a sound and texture
that is very much like the instrument it is on, and you really feel like
you are playing acoustically. Yet it can still crank out a lot of sound.
Try it."
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David Gage on the development of The Realist™:
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 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. Finally, you can play both pizz and arco without having to play with your controls.
Ned Steinberger on the development of The Realist™:
This pickup is the result of an intensive collaboration between myself and luthier David Gage. He is one of the first people from the acoustic bass scene to reach out and support my work on the electric upright. It was the piezo bridge pickup in particular that caught his interest because of the full, rich tonality, specially when bowed, that seemed to be missing in other electric instruments. We got to talking about the dissatisfaction so many acoustic string players have with the sound of the pickups that are available. The next thing I know, I've got one of David's prize instruments in my studio, and we are testing all kinds of old and new variations of pickup designs. The result is The Realist™, which is an evolution of the original pickup in the NS Double Bass. Three elements combine to give The Realist™ the exciting tone that has so many players raving. The first is finding the right structure within and around the piezo crystal to respond optimally to the acoustic resonance of the instrument itself. This involves endless comparisons that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, and we have David's sensitivity and patience to thank for the excellent result. We owe a debt also the many fine players who were corralled into helping evaluate the various options. Second, placing the transducer under the foot of the bridge puts it exactly were 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 active, battery powered gear is necessary. Just plug it in! The copper foil sandwich construction 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. But all this technical stuff is beside the point when you are on stage or in the studio, the pressure is mounting, and you need your sound to be there. As both luthier and musician, David has plenty of field experience in the ongoing battle for tone.
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