Much Ado About Putty

VegasGutPlucker · #1 10-28-2012, 01:53 PM

I was a long time user of the Dyn-B until recently when I switched to the Full Circle, then ran as fast as I could to the Ehrlund. I get better results with the Ehrlund by far, but the putty has me wondering...

I know people say that putty is putty, but the stuff that came with the Dyn-B felt more substantial and was far less prone to 'tearing out' when put under pressure than the Faber-Castell putty that comes with the EAP.

If the temperature gets high enough any putty will tear out or melt even, but at those temperatures one shouldn't be operating an upright bass IMO...

So is there anyone out there who has both and might be willing to experiment with different putty and the EAP? I would but I no longer have the Schertler stuff.

Ric Vice · #2 10-28-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VegasGutPlucker

I know people say that putty is putty, but the stuff that came with the Dyn-B felt more substantial and was far less prone to 'tearing out' when put under pressure than the Faber-Castell putty that comes with the EAP.

If the temperature gets high enough any putty will tear out or melt even, but at those temperatures one shouldn't be operating an upright bass IMO...

So is there anyone out there who has both and might be willing to experiment with different putty and the EAP? I would but I no longer have the Schertler stuff.

VGP,
When I purchased the Ehrlund EAP, the putty that came with it, just happened to be green. I accidentally lost my little chicklet of green putty and contacted Goran Ehrlund to see if he could send me some, but at that time he was packaging white Tack-It with his

pickups. Evidently, Front End Audio had bought some of his first run of EAP's from Pearl Microphones in Sweden, and placed the turquoise colored stuff in with their Ehrlund's. So I searched around and discovered that the putty Schertler developed for the DYN-B, was turquoise and decided to try it.

Later the same year, Goran Ehrlund's wife sent me a "lifetime" supply Swedish Tack-It. As far as I could tell it was just their version of the stuff readily available here in the U.S, but it was really sweet of her to send it to me. My curiosity got the best of me, when I found that Schertler DYN-B putty was available for purchase, from Django Books.

I decided to drop the $10.00+ shipping on a tin of Schertler (DYN-B) putty, which also happens to be turquoise green. It is a much thinner mastic, and so it goes on thinner. Understand here, I'm certainly not recommending that everyone with the EAP, run out and order a tin of Schertler DYN-B putty, but it does work very well.

Ric

drurb · #3 10-28-2012, 06:42 PM

Now, I sure didn't think that we'd get into preferences for putty!

My Ehrlund works just fine with what Goran is now supplying. In any case, most (including myself) have reported that the idea is to use as little as possible. It goes on easily, comes off easily, and stays put. It ain't broke (far from it), so I'm sure not fixin' it.

Nathan Levine · #4 10-28-2012, 11:20 PM

I have greatly enjoyed and learned much from reading your posts over the past few years. I have all three of you to thank for my eventual purchase of an Ehrlund quite recently.

Really though.... putty preferences?!?!?

With that said, my next order from Django Books (or more likely the next order by someone in my band) will include some Schertler putty.

Much ado about putty indeed!

VegasGutPlucker · #5 10-29-2012, 04:31 AM

Indeed putty is a terribly small aspect of playing bass and I do understand that to play trumps all gear issues; no piece of gear will make my ideas sound good.
However it has been my experience that with the magnified resonating box of the upright bass, acoustically everything matters because everything on the bass moves when it's being played. How far and down how many rabbit holes are for every bassist to decide. I try not to get too carried away... So.
With the putty I suppose it's a matter of ease and cleanliness of use. The Schertler putty seemed to stay together a bit differently.

Nathan Levine · #6 10-29-2012, 01:29 PM

It truly is the minutiae of others players experience and observation that keeps me coming back to TB for tips, ideas, and yes, even a bit of entertainment sometimes. Thanks everyone!

VegasGutPlucker · #7 10-29-2012, 04:07 PM

If anyone would pinch me off a pea's worth, I could cover what the postage fee's worth.

Nathan, just wait until I post about my experiments regarding endpins

drurb · #8 10-30-2012, 08:56 AM

Yes, this has been fun. I suppose that if you remove and replace the Ehrlund often, then the type of putty used might matter purely because of relative ease of removal, etc. Mine stays put on my bass.

As for changing the sound, forget it. I'm highly confident that the variance produced across multiple installs, even in the same location, would obscure any sonic effects produced by different types of putty, per se.

swingingoodtime · #9 10-31-2012, 08:15 PM

The only thing I'll say is that the White Faber-Castell putty is very sensitive to moisture in terms of tackiness, even very small amounts of finger oil. I adjusted my pickup on gig once and then spent the next few tunes having problems with the putty not adhering to the pickup properly. I had to use a tissue to repeatedly dry my fingers and wipe the contact areas as I tried to reseat it.