Pickups & Mics for Upright Bass:  Pickups

Schatten Design RB-1 and RB-1A Player Upright Bass Pickups

Manufactured by: Schatten Design

RB-1 and RB-1A "Player"
Double Bass Pickup

The RB series of pickups from Schatten Design are simple, affordable, good-sounding pickups. One can easily see the similarity in design to the Bass Max from K&K sound, but our "A-B" tests have shown that the character of sound is somewhat different.

The tone from the RB-1 seems, to our ears, to have more of a midrange emphasis to the sound, providing a little more grit than the Bass Max (on the same bass), whereas the Bass Max seems to have a more prominent low end response and warmer, more natural sound.

Which is "better" depends entirely on your needs. A player wanting more forward nature in a dense mix of instruments might favor the edgier mids of the Schatten, while a bassist looking for a more natural sounding, blooming low end, might prefer the Bass Max.

The Schatten pickups are available with or without a built-in preamp module; the passive RB pickup model may work ok plugged straight into a good bass amp, but that will depend on the amp's input impedance. See our Upright Bass FAQ on PREAMPS: Do You NEED a Preamp with Your URB Pickup? for technical details. The active RB models include a tiny onboard preamp. You can also combine the passive version with another (one-channel) preamp option, if you prefer a preamp with more functionality than the simpler Schatten unit, which mounts with velcro (included) to the back of your tailpiece.

Two models of the "Player" model are available, a passive (no preamp) and active (hardwired preamp included) version.

• The RB-1 (passive) provides the RB bass bridge sensor wired to a small black jack assembly that easily clips between the strings just above the tailpiece.
• The RB-1A utilizes the RB sensor and adds a velcro mounted combination preamp and jack assembly that attaches to the back side of the tailpiece.

Details:
The RB sensor element is designed to fit in the wing slot of a bass bridge. Normal placement of the sensor is in the bass side slot. The sensor has a thickness of ¼" (6.35mm) and requires a slot opening of approximately 0.225" (5.7mm). The fit of the sensor in the slot is meant to be snug. The sensor will compress slightly as it is pushed into the wing slot. The output jack has a fairly common string mount clip and is a standard 1/4".

On the Active model (RB-1A), the combination Preamp and Jack Assembly installs quickly and easily to the back side of the tailpiece, and is held in place with some strong industrial strength velcro. It is powered by a single 9v battery.

We also sell the Schatten Rockabilly Slap system, which combines this pickup with a second transducer unit which attaches to the back of the fingerboard. Similar in design concept to the Bass Master Rockabilly Plus (again, from K&K Sound), it can be found in the related items, below.

Besides the Bass Max, this pickup can be compared to the Revolution Solo (RS1 and RS2) as well as the Underwood.

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