Shadow SH965 NFX-B Double Bass PU

PRO TIP: Before I start, "Wrapping a little masking tape round the pickup elements to give them a rougher surface really helps to stop the bridge slipping around when setting it up and dosen't affect the sound."

Bought to replace an old worn out piezo pickup, it may not have quite the same detail of sound as the real pro set ups but its a nice stepping stone, and can be installed at home without tools.

It gives a big warm tone all over the instrument and the little pre amp thing gives it enough oomph to be heard with a band when its plugged straight into the PA. Having a volume wheel to hand is also nice if you're switching instruments.

Just little niggles, a cover for the battery would have looked neater and the colour is a little tacky, but thats nothing mounting the box facing backwards wont solve.

Using on 4/4 J.Rubner 5 string bass. Pizzicato's sound great, the highs sound pure and clean and there isn't too much gain. I always try to keep the tone knob more than half clockwise for the best middle frequency sound.

Also it's not bad when you play with the bow, but in my opinion the sound that is gained by the pickups could be better.

Because the pickups are installed under the bridge, it might affect the sound strenght of your bass. It may be important for acoustic classical players. But if you play jazz or anything else with pizzicato and you always play through pickups - It's okay.

So for me - It's a strange situation, because sometimes i need to play acoustic with a bow and for the best sound quality i need to uninstall these pickups. When i need to play jazz - I must put them back on.

All I can say for those who are interested in this product, You should make smart decisions. These are wonderfull pickups, compared what sound you can make out of these pickups to the price of this product - It's a great deal!

This is a really good pickup. It gives you a volume control, a tone control, the piezo sensors do not raise the bridge noticeably when you put them under the bridge feet, it does not feed back as easily as the Fishman BP100 it replaced. The battery (CR 3032, which can be found in any supermarket or gas station) lasts for ages. It delivers a really powerful bottom-end kick.

But it is not my forever pickup. It is bottom-heavy - it does not capture much of the top end frequencies. I always play with the tone control fully up to the treble end. It captures nothing of the fingerboard sound, lots of string sound and not much wood sound. Blended with a microphone, however, it produces a great sound. Oh yes, it really does.

It is very, very good. It is very good value for money. It is robust, unobtrusive, functional, all these things. But I am still looking for my forever pickup. I am still looking for 'the one'.