BassBalsereit
Type: piezoceramic
Mode: passive or active
Preamp: optional

This pickup consists of a conical brass pin which is 4 cm long and as thick as a pencil. This pin is simply put into a conical hole drilled into the top end of the foot of the bridge. If you turn this brass pin in the bridge, you can adapt the sound to your instrument.

Besides the passive version, available for 15 years now, two improved active versions has recently been launched by Michael Schäfer, who took over the manufacturing from Willy Balsereit: the aktiv and the studio model. For these models, a miniature preamp (sized 4 x 6 mm) has been built into the brass cone. Existing older versions can be updated by the manufacturer.
The Bassbalsereit aktiv and studio models work with 7–48 V phantom power. While the aktiv can be used on balanced or unbalanced inputs, a balanced input (e.g. mixing console) is mandatory for the studio model. For the aktiv model, a DI box with phantom power supply is available, so it can easily be used with all kind of bassamps and mixing consoles.

www.bassbalsereit.de, www.ans-pickups.de

available at www.kontrabass-atelier.de

LiveBass H-Clamp (microphone holder)With H-clamps, practically any microphone can be mounted on double basses (or cello/guitars/…). Inspired by the design of the clamps used at the luthier’s workshop, they H-clamp is mounted to the ribs. The choice of the edge of the body as the fixing point for the H-clamp is important for several reasons. It is convenient from the perspective of positioning microphones unobtrusively, but more important, the edge is the strongest part of the structure and the point at which clamping has least effect on the resonances of the sound box’s panels. The H-clamp can therefore be tightened very securely and yet have no discernable impact on the sound of the instrument. The H-Clamp’s components are machined from aerospace grade materials by an experienced manufacturer of high performance components for aircraft and aeroengines.www.exploraudio.com, available at www.kontrabass-atelier.de

4099B

type: condenser microphone, hypercardoid
preamp: –  (phantom power needed)

The dpa 4099 series offers four models, each model specified for different instruments. The 4099B is designed for double bass/cello, and comes with a rubber clip which is mounted to the afterlengths.

VH4000 (microphone holder)

Besides a variety of microphones for many different instruments, dpa offers a microphone holder designed for double bass.

www.dpamicrophones.com

available at www.kontrabass-atelier.de

Twin SoundSpot
Type: piezoceramic
Mode: passive
Preamp: –

Double element PU. Similar to Fishman’s BP 100.

Bass SoundSpot
Type: piezoceramic
Mode: passive
Preamp: –

Single element PU. Attaches to bridge wing.

(Both d-tar pickups seem to be identical to K+K pickups)

http://www.d-tar.com

CP Professional
Type: contact microphone/PVDF (?)
Mode: active
Preamp: incl.

C-ducer is a capacitive transducer, offered for use with many instruments. Less than 1mm thick, the microphone is flexible, extremely light and will conform to curved surfaces such as a double bass body.
C-ducer contact tape microphones have a very high-impedance output, in order to make them usable a preamp is supplied with each microphone (battery or phantom powered).

Natural Presence Pickup
Type: piezoceramic
Mode: passive
Preamp: –

This PU is made of genuine Sitka violin-top spruce in a proprietary laminar structure with a transducer element intimately coupled to the wood.

www.clevinger.com

Type: piezoceramic
Mode: passive
Preamp: –

A simple piezo disk pickup.

www.cejpek.wz.cz

Type: magnetic
Mode: active
Preamp: –

A magnetic pickup for double bass, mounted at the end of the fingerboard. The Bryk pickup has a quadrophonic output; the volume of each string can be adjusted individually. Works both pizzicato and arco.

www.bryk.de