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Double Bass An Ehrlund blog, sort of

#481
Hey Rastus,

I usually just clip the preamp on the handgrip of my amplifier (PJB Flightcase) and leave it there, as I don't futz with it once I have found the ideal phase switch position for the situation (usually one sounds clearly better than the other). Volume for me is almost always either full on or slightly less. Hi/Lo set to lo. Between sets, I turn down the volume to 0.

On rehearsals, I used to clip it on the music stand, but figured I don't really need it there.

Best
Sidecar
 
#482
Robin Ruscio said:
That seems logical to me. I used the EAP alone on two more gigs and am fighting for some definition still. Though I really had having to set up the edb1 for a quick casual gig.
Click to expand...

Maybe this will help:
drurb said:
...When I want to cut through, adjust for the room, adjust for the other instruments, etc., I use my parametric tone-shaping section. There is no single position of the EAP that will work well under all conditions if one is not willing to employ tone-shaping. ...

My advice: At home, away from the bandstand, find a location for the EAP that produces a reasonably natural sound. Don't move it (much). Use the tone controls. This assumes that what one is after is "my bass but bigger." If that's not what you're after, then my advice here isn't as relevant.
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Rastus_01 said:
...My question is what are you guys doing with the pre amp, I have it clipped onto the quiver at the moment while I am messing with position of the pickup. I do like the idea of mounting it behind the tailpiece and leaving it there. Not sure if weight will affect anything though. Any thoughts?

To me putting this pickup and pre on my bass was like hearing my bass from the front for the first time. I am very impressed.

Cheers,
Geoff
Click to expand...

Glad it's working out for you. In terms of locating the pre, I do exactly as MrSidecar said except I never clip it anywhere but on the rig.
 
#486
Rastus_01 said:
My question is what are you guys doing with the pre amp, I have it clipped onto the quiver at the moment while I am messing with position of the pickup. I do like the idea of mounting it behind the tailpiece and leaving it there. Not sure if weight will affect anything though. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

When I first got this preamp, I removed the belt clip and put some Velcro tape in its place. Then, I just placed it on my pedalboard with the rest of my stuff. Given the setup I have, it makes a lot of sense to me... Having it clipped to my belt with two 1/4 cables just felt so cumbersome. Strapping it to the tailpiece would work IMO, I don't think it would alter the sound of the bass when playing amplified. I guess I'd like to remove it for transport and for acoustic playing.
 
#487
I'm in the camp that doesn't want anything attached to my bass. For some gigs I set the preamp and forget it, usually on the floor or somewhere on the drummer's kit. But there are a few gigs where having it on my belt is nice, to quickly mute my bass between songs or fine tune the volume when the sound guy thinks my use of dynamics is a sure sign of a weak output and needs to be adjusted.
I haven't cut the wire either, and probably won't. I'm about 90% satisfied with the EAP. the meat and potatoes range of the bass is solid and clear but moving up the neck towards D, E, and F tends to get buried just a bit when the band is at full roar.
I'll blame the sound post position, I set it myself a while back.
Just to echo what has been said before, I learned on a gig last week that more volume isn't necessarily more with this EAP. Crappy boxy boomy room, I had been trained to think I needed more volume to keep up with everyone which just added to the problem. But I turned down by accident during the second set and was happy to notice the placement of the bass in the band sound actually improved, and the more intuitive members of the group actually adjusted and we rode out the rest of the gig at a great comfortable and clear volume.
For my bass and my concept, less amp and more right hand are what it's all about. I'm so happy I bought the EAP.
 
#489
steve_n_his_urb said:
Hi Justin,

how much improvement do you think the Ehrlund is over the schertler dyn-b? I am really enjoying the old dyn-b on my gliga. Got the preamp all working too.

regards, Steve
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Hey Steve,

even though I am not Justin, I can compare the two since I have used the Schertler Dyn-b as well, and for a long time. If you like the Dyn-b, chances are you're going to love the Ehrlund, even though (or because) it's very different sounding.

If there's anything that advocates in favor of the Schertler, it's the putty- this green soft goo is much nicer than the white tack-it. On a more serious note, soundwise the ehrlund is miles ahead in terms of midrange-quality- the Schertler required heavy eq'ing just to get rid of the nosy midrange honk I experienced, and there's no trace of this with the Ehrlund. Just natural clean sound, with beautiful top end as well.

Plus, I think the attack is nicer on the Ehrlund, as I recall.

For me, it's clearly the Ehrlund over the Dyn-b.

Best
Sidecar
 
#490
Rastus_01 said:
My question is what are you guys doing with the pre amp, I have it clipped onto the quiver at the moment while I am messing with position of the pickup. I do like the idea of mounting it behind the tailpiece and leaving it there. Not sure if weight will affect anything though. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I tried that. Isolating it from the tailpiece with foam and attaching with a zip-tie through the holes for the A and D strings. It looked tidy enough but it sucked some of the life out of my bass so I took it off again. Currently I just put it on top of my amp or on the floor, never really came up with a good place for it.
 
#491
Ok, I a pretty nice time with the EAP last night finally. I had moved it back towards the bass bar on some previous gigs and it sounded really good right away with basically flat EQ on the PJB SFC. The pianist was more reasonable last night in a difficult room and the Steinway actually was in tune, which always helps. I really was able to just focus on playing and loved the results, arco or pizz.

I don't have any parametric EQ on that amp or my Puma Tecamp which I'm planning on changing to shortly once i get a new cab to go with it. Hopefully the EQ on the Puma will help me dial some things out as needed more.

I took my EDB1 thinking to try blending the FC but just didn't need it.

Other factor here is I think my new bass was still settling in after getting the seam repaired last week. New basses change almost daily I think sometimes depending on how much playing I've been doing!
 
#492
steve_n_his_urb said:
Hi Justin,

how much improvement do you think the Ehrlund is over the schertler dyn-b? I am really enjoying the old dyn-b on my gliga. Got the preamp all working too.

regards, Steve
Click to expand...

Steve,

Long story short, huge.

Short story long, I used my Dyn b all through college and sometimes it sounded good, sometimes not, but I tried so hard to make it work. Everyone else was using a KK or realist it some crappy piezo or another and I was going for a different sound from them. so I thought the Dyn b was it and didn't want to try anything else. But that midrange... It could kill. And the phase switch didn't always ameliorate feedback issues. Sound guys in big venues had no idea what to make of it.
Last year I took a gig that required much more volume, exposed the tonal problems with the Dyn B, and paid enough for me to play around a bit with a full circle and the EAP.
FC was not my thing. I like Jaco and all, but I don't want my upright to sound like him.
The first experiments with the EAP were a revelation. Sold everything else immediately, got me a new bridge with fancy cocobolo adjusters, and never looked back.
When I hit the big time and get called to play with Branford, Marcus Roberts, Avishai (trumpet) Cohen, etc, maybe I'll look into getting a real nice microphone and even then I might try to blend the EAP in. HAH! Right.
I don't think there is a magic bullet for everyone, especially since we each have our own sound concept, physiology, bass, set up, etc.
For my variables and concept, the EAP is miles above anything else because it just works.

Has anyone used the EAP with any kind of BigE speaker yet? That's what I'm gearing up for and expect maximum pants staining when the 4x5 version finally arrives. The crazy 8 and 88 are fantastic but these 4x5 cab reviews sound SO "too good to be true" they might actually be true. That's the way I felt about the EAP, and I'm so glad I made that first leap of faith.

"You'll find me on some lotus somewhere, floating through the tonal perfection realms, at peace with the changes."
 
#496
This is the 4x6 (next to a Baer ML112)

4x6-1.jpg
 
#498
MrSidecar said:
If there's anything that advocates in favor of the Schertler, it's the putty- this green soft goo is much nicer than the white tack-Sidecar
Click to expand...

Sidecar,
I agree. Oddly enough my first Ehrlund came with green tack it. So when I ran out, I remembered that Schertler putty was the same color and bought a tin. It's pretty expensive, but since it's softer, and more pliable I use it.

Ric
 
#499
Oh no! :eek: What's next? A sonic investigation of the differences between the transmission properties of green and white putty? :D
 

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