"K&K Sound's Double Big Twin sounds like my bass, not just any bass, and delivers a distinct
yet warmer response than any piezo-based pickup I tried! Makes my teeth whiter, my breath fresher, and fixes my
intonation, too!"
—Bob
Yeah, right. I'm just your basic bassist, so this is no
artist endorsement—started on string bass
back in 1961 (!!) and majored in it at college, though I never pursued music on a full-time basis. But I've
always been very concerned with sound, have consulted with and assisted other players over the years, built
my own bass and PA cabinets, pickup systems, etc. In my never-ending (it never does end, does it??) quest for
"the sound," I found the K&K Sound pickups and I ended up selling these pickups to other musicians pretty
much by accident—it wasn't my main gig at the time but has grown into a more than full-time occupation.
For more background info and a look at my current and past musical experience, see my
Personal Bass Page.
Do you want to chat about basses and amplification challenges? Let's talk, and I'll be glad to try and help—call
us at the office at 609.624.1470; feel free to call me from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there's a
machine to leave a message if I'm out. I'm in New Jersey (Eastern Time), so please consider any time
differences.
Once upon a time (ok, it was in 1997), Bob was looking for a new piezo pickup
for his double bass, to replace his broken (and mediocre) one, but choked on the very high price tags ($500!!)
of multi-string units. He didn't like the indefinite thump of an individual bridge pickup he tried, nor the
muting effect on his sound caused by the pair of metal clamps that one of the most popular pickups out there
uses.
He valiantly (and frugally—ok, he's cheap) experimented with constructing hobbyist piezo elements, then
bought and returned a pair of piezos designed to be drilled and buried in a bridge ($75 for a pair of raw
piezos!!), read up on pickup tests and the market at large... and then found out about K&K Sound and was
intrigued—they had a four transducer piezo pickup listing for $137(!!!). He asked around the area and on
the web—nobody responded. Then he tried to find one to buy—forget it! Well, it took him a while to find a
K&K Double Big Twin, and without ever hearing it, he took the plunge. He was totally amazed at the
full-range, warm sound, and went forth, proclaiming their praises:
"It sounds like my bass, not just a bass!"
Unfortunately, as he himself discovered, they were more rare than hen's teeth, since K&K seems to focus
more on OEM than retail sales. K&K Sound kindly (and they are kind folks) granted Bob dealer
status, so he could pass pickups and preamps on to fellow bassists at musician-to-musician discounts through
the Internet. And holy smokes, as of March 1999, I started to advertise in bass-oriented magazines, like
Bass Player, Bass World, and Dynamite.
This multi-page site has grown from the original, single page that described the initial experiences with the
Double Big Twin and other K&K pickups. Since then, we've seen new pickups from K&K and I ended up
developing the
Bass Master RB pickup for rockabilly and country slap bassists. We've
also worked together to develop a
reasonably priced microphone system for double bass.
As of 2003 I'm using the
Golden Trinity/Bass Max system along with my
Acoustic Image Contra since most of my gigs aren't that loud.
Since then all sorts of wonderful things have happened. A
right place at the right time opportunity came my way
to be be exclusive distributor for
wonderful fully carved basses from Bulgaria. This led
to selling US-made laminated
Engelhardt basses at great discounts, a much better bass
than the substandard basses flooding the market. Since my own experiences with Acoustic Image and Euphonic Audio have
been so pleasing, I am a dealer for
Acoustic Image and their
amazing Contra, Corus, and Coda R combos as well as the tiny Clarus and Focus amps.
In addition to
Euphonic Audio combos, cabs, and amps, and more items are being
added all the time. Remember, I am a longtime bass player, and these are bass products I have used and/or thoroughly checked out myself -
if it doesn't pass the "Bob Test" I won't carry it. And it means you can call us and get an honest and detailed
appraisal of anything I carry, since I have the personal experience to back it up.
I've often joked that Bob (my Dad) should have encouraged me to play drums instead of bass - we could have made
a killer rhythm section! But ultimately, bass chose me, and I've been playing bass instruments of all kinds for
over 25 years. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
I've done a lot of electric bass playing over the years, with many original bands to my credit - but the upright has
always been within reach as well. As an example, see the photo below, which is from the Spring concert from my senior year in high school (1988); it's my first performance in public with a double bass (Dad's blonde Kay, which he has since sold). While I can't say that I look back fondly to the waistcoat and lavender bowtie I'm wearing, I'm pretty sure that my playing was just fine! I've also done other performances over the
years with the upright, including Cancer Society benefits
(see photo, left) and the like.
I currently play my own fully carved URB in a group that plays volunteer concerts (on acoustic and traditional instruments) at nursing homes, churches and other similar venues. I also play with an ad-hoc acoustic "jam circle" group of friends; we may be playing
someplace public soon, but mostly that group is for the fun and fellowship of good friends.
My other projects over the
years have been mostly original, from Lilith-friendly pop to progressive metal. I also own my own home studio (Digital
Din), where
my most recent album was recorded. As a result, I've
got a decent knack for the technical stuff, microphones, preamps, and using them to get good sound - and I
love musical "toys."
I've worked in several jobs since my teenage years - before hooking up with Dad at Gollihur Music, I managed a
department at a musical software design company, did sales with a major musical instrument merchant, even worked
at an advertising agency (that's what I went to school for). A fortuitously timed cosmic event brought me to Gollihur Music
- Dad needed help, and I wanted out of where I was. My
background in musical instrument sales, tech support management of music software, web development, and my advertising
degree made me a perfect fit. He often says that with my educational background and experience set, he'd have hired me even
if I weren't his son, especially since I play bass, too!
Mark Gollihur | Create Your Badge
Who is Gollihur Music, and why should you buy from us?
That's a question that is answered by thousands of positive comments on the web -- look around and ask around, and you'll get your answer.
Who we are
NOT is a "big box" music store; we're bassists who specialize in what we sell! And we sell only what we like ourselves -- and what we think you will find useful for your needs. In our product descriptions, you'll find in-depth product details, expanded explanations of specific uses, side information for perspective, and other comments to help you choose the right gear for your specific situation. Most often, these comments are based on our personal experience with the products, not just the typical cut-n-paste info from the manufacturer's website.
We also often include tips, help, and extra instructions with our products. For instance, if you buy a cake of rosin, we'll include a small sheet of tips for getting the most out of it, how to store it, how much to use, etc. If you buy a Bass Max pickup, you'll get Bob's instructions, with tips and tricks for getting the best sound - based on Bob's personal experience using the pickup on his own bass!
Finally, we work very hard to get your order out and to you as quickly as possible (most items are in stock at all times!). We've measured our order turnaround efficiency - last time we checked (April 2008), we confirmed that
over 93.5 percent of qualified* orders were shipped out THE SAME DAY they were placed. We hustle to get orders processed and out the door as quickly as possible!
Place your order with confidence - we're waiting to get your bass stuff out the door quickly! And we get in touch with you promptly whenever necessary.
For yet another (objective) reference,
check out our eBay feedback! That should give you a good idea about our level of service. We're always running dozens of eBay auctions (though note that our prices here on the site are the same as the opening bid prices on eBay!) Lots of our customers here have offered their (unsolicited) feedback as well.
Check out this page to read some of it!
We also have two of the top services examining our web site
every single day to ensure that we remain
safe from hackers and other online security threats. See the
certified McAfee and GeoTrust logos up in the right hand corner of our page and at the bottom of our navigation bar to the left (you can click those logos to visit their respective pages, if you'd like to find out how they help us to protect your information and privacy).
* Qualified orders were placed on business days by 3pm Eastern Time and do not contain special order items or have customer-fault billing, payment, or contact issues. This figure includes the orders placed after 3pm and overnight that were shipped promptly on the following business day - out the door within 24 hours of being placed.
