If you play double bass, cello, acoustic guitar or any other instrument with a piezo pickup, you know
the struggle:
sometimes you plug in, and the sound is thin, "quacky," or
brittle. Other times, the low end is so boomy it causes feedback instantly.
Often, musicians that use such instruments, especially bass players come to me with this exact issue using various pickups (such as Realist, K&K, Underwood, JourneyTek, Vic's pickups, etc). While they loved the natural character of the pickup they also felt they were losing the deep, warm body of the instrument when plugging into standard amps.
[The Solution: The 10M Buffer]
The culprit is usually Impedance Mismatch. Most guitar/bass amps and mixers have an input impedance that is too low for a piezo sensor (usually around 1MΩ). This "chokes" the signal, killing various frequencies.
For such cases, I usually design a custom High-Impedance Buffer (10MΩ) that may include additional features, depending on the instrument, the pickup type and the musicians needs. Think of this as opening a wide gate for your signal. By raising the impedance to 10 Mega-Ohms, the pickup can "breathe," restoring the full, rich tone that the instrument actually produces acoustically.
[A 'secret' Weapon: The Variable HPF]
Restoring the bass is great, but on a big instrument like a double bass, it can sometimes be too much, especially on a hollow stage or in a boomy room. That’s why, when needed I pair the buffer with a Variable High-Pass Filter (HPF), adjustable from 20Hz to 200Hz. It lets you choose a cutoff frequency anywhere between 200Hz and 20Hz through a single control knob, making it ideal for removing unwanted low-end frequencies that can cause feedback, boominess, or excessive sub-bass.
Often, musicians that use such instruments, especially bass players come to me with this exact issue using various pickups (such as Realist, K&K, Underwood, JourneyTek, Vic's pickups, etc). While they loved the natural character of the pickup they also felt they were losing the deep, warm body of the instrument when plugging into standard amps.
[The Solution: The 10M Buffer]
The culprit is usually Impedance Mismatch. Most guitar/bass amps and mixers have an input impedance that is too low for a piezo sensor (usually around 1MΩ). This "chokes" the signal, killing various frequencies.
For such cases, I usually design a custom High-Impedance Buffer (10MΩ) that may include additional features, depending on the instrument, the pickup type and the musicians needs. Think of this as opening a wide gate for your signal. By raising the impedance to 10 Mega-Ohms, the pickup can "breathe," restoring the full, rich tone that the instrument actually produces acoustically.
[A 'secret' Weapon: The Variable HPF]
Restoring the bass is great, but on a big instrument like a double bass, it can sometimes be too much, especially on a hollow stage or in a boomy room. That’s why, when needed I pair the buffer with a Variable High-Pass Filter (HPF), adjustable from 20Hz to 200Hz. It lets you choose a cutoff frequency anywhere between 200Hz and 20Hz through a single control knob, making it ideal for removing unwanted low-end frequencies that can cause feedback, boominess, or excessive sub-bass.
[Conclusion]
The result? A signal chain that keeps the "wood" in the tone without the "mud" in the mix. If you are struggling with your acoustic tone, you might not need a new pickup—you might just need the right buffer.
The result? A signal chain that keeps the "wood" in the tone without the "mud" in the mix. If you are struggling with your acoustic tone, you might not need a new pickup—you might just need the right buffer.
Feel free to reach out
via the contact form if you need a custom solution for your acoustic rig!
