K&K Pickups
K&K is a small company out of Coos Bay, Oregon. They started out in Germany making a pickup system for vibraphone, a daunting task. They manufacture a full line of pickups for all acoustic instruments. For bass, I like the Bass Max. It is a very simple pickup that slides into the bridge wing. This does require fitting to be sure of receiving a full signal and some bridges will not work with the Bass Max. However, the simplicity of design and the ease with which it can be installed and removed, as well as it’s good sound, has made it a very popular pickup indeed. It can be used without a pre-amp, although, once again, it is always better with one. K&K offers a line of pre-amps for use with all their pickups. Another notable K&K bass product is the Bass Master RB, a system designed for Rockabilly and Bluegrass players. This system incorporates an additional pickup element that is attached to the back of the fingerboard allowing amplification of the “slap” part of the rockabilly playing style. By using the K&K pre-amp with this system, one can dial in the right amount of slap tone and volume. This pickup is used by many prominent players, most notably Zack Schafer of “Sawyer Family” and is featured on King Double Bass models. All K&K products are able to be combined in many configurations, allowing for easy customizing.