Double Bass An Ehrlund blog, sort of

[Ric Vice]

Thanks for the link, but i find these controlled enviroment recordngs almost useless because no one is ever playing a bass recorded direct into a board by themselves. I was looking for actual gig footage, but i guess it doesnt exist.

Maybe i have to roll the dice.

Kris,
Yeah, they're the only examples that I know of. You should definitely try it out at the gig before you buy it. Since you tour it would seem to be a great solution, as in those situations it's usually bass de jour. I'm not sure how well it will work with a laminate bass, because it senses vibration through the top.

I took a look at your profile and noticed you owned an AMT microphone. That mic, on my bass, would be the closest match in tone quality and volume to the Ehrlund. The advantage would be the Ehrlund's feedback resistance.

Ric

 

[Robin Ruscio]

Back on EAP last night after stint of some bad jacks that kept me from it all summer. It sounded great, but get a good jack.

Was probably best sound I've ever had in that room. Nick Lloyd Bass-EAP- Techamp Puma 900- Big E 45.
First time I've had EAP into that new amp and it killed.

Of course, this all means nothing since I got laid off the weekly gig of 2 years by the entertainment agency due to administrative changes. They certainly didnt care about my pickup selection if they let me go because the person who was writing the checks got changed. You'd think sounding good and being pro would've helped, but this biz is rarely about that.

 

[Ric Vice]

Back on EAP last night after stint of some bad jacks that kept me from it all summer. It sounded great, but get a good jack.

Ehrlund's are tricky that way, it took me three styles of jacks and mounts before I got one that worked well. I tried both the Fishman Full Circle and BP-100 jacks with little success. Finally I just used one of the common switchcraft
metal ones, that used to be installed on the Realists. It works very well

Was probably best sound I've ever had in that room. Nick Lloyd Bass-EAP- Techamp Puma 900- Big E 45.
First time I've had EAP into that new amp and it killed.

That's a serious rig, where all the components are cutting edge. I saw Adam Ben Ezra play one of Nick's 5 string instruments at this years ISB convention. It killed

Of course, this all means nothing since I got laid off the weekly gig of 2 years by the entertainment agency due to administrative changes. They certainly didnt care about my pickup selection if they let me go because the person who was writing the checks got changed. You'd think sounding good and being pro would've helped, but this biz is rarely about that.

Sorry to hear about that, it's never easy to have the rug just pulled out from under you like that. It's happened to me a couple of times. The suits haven't got a clue about what professionalism is, but unfortunately, it's not something that most corporations care about. With those folks it's all about the bottom line.

Ric

 

[arseniotall]

This guy seems to be using an ehrlund pickup. Am I right? Very nice natural sound, but I can hear its limitations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sFBk3ZU_o

 

[drurb]

This guy seems to be using an ehrlund pickup. Am I right? Very nice natural sound, but I can hear its limitations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sFBk3ZU_o

To be fair, I'm not sure a youtube clip is really adequate to evaluate any pickup. That's because of all the devices likely to be in the signal chain before the recording is made along with the limitations of youtube audio. Furthermore, even if those weren't factors, the character of the sound you hear from the Ehrlund is very much a function of the position on the instrument that the player chose. This is not to say that that the Ehrlund doesn't have limitations. It sure does, as does any pickup. IMO, limitations heard in any given youtube clip are not likely to be representative of the device, in general.

 

[Happy Steve]

Maybe the bass is'nt fully carved?

 

[Ric Vice]

I don't see why you guys feel its necessary to switch out the jack and/or shorten the cable. I actually like the long cable, it allows me to have much less hardware directly attached to the bass which dampens tone. When not in use, the cable goes under the tailpiece then up over the bridge and the jack attaches to the back of the tailpiece with velcro.



I agree that this is not a good example of the sound you can get with an eap. Sounds like it is either not placed optimally or hes using too much putty.

Arron,
On the earliest EAP's if the cable came in contact with any vibrating surfaces like the tailpiece or top it was extremly microphonic. The later pickups don't have that problem.

 

[Don Sibley]

The later pickups don't have that problem.

I did not know there have been improvements. Are there other alterations?

 

[Ric Vice]

I did not know there have been improvements. Are there other alterations?

Don,
The first ones only say EAP on the side surface of the pickup. There were only a handful of them shipped to the U.S. The "newer" pickup has the Ehrlund logo, in script on the top surface of the pickup. Nothing to really be concerned about, since I doubt you have the earlier version. The first ones came in a cardboard container, my guess is that yours is a silver metal tin with the Ehrlund logo embossed on it's top surface. I just happen to have been a early adopter.

Ric

 

[drurb]

Don,
The first ones only say EAP on the side surface of the pickup. There were only a handful of them shipped to the U.S. The "newer" pickup has the Ehrlund logo, in script on the top surface of the pickup. Nothing to really be concerned about, since I doubt you have the earlier version. The first ones came in a cardboard container, my guess is that yours is a silver metal tin with the Ehrlund logo embossed on it's top surface. I just happen to have been a early adopter.

Ric

By Rics definition, I have one of the newer ones. It has the script on it. My experience has been that the cable is very microphonic. It can't be allowed to vibrate against anything. That's why I have it mounted as I do. See here (before I changed to the Switchcraft jack).

Oh my! This means that Ric and I seem not to agree on something. Watch out-- hell just might freeze over.

 

[Ric Vice]

By Rics definition, I have one of the newer ones. It has the script on it. My experience has been that the cable is very microphonic. It can't be allowed to vibrate against anything. That's why I have it mounted as I do.

Actually, the cable on both versions of the pickup is microphonic, but since the cable on the "older" version is thicker, it seems to come in contact with vibrating surfaces more easily.

Oh my! This means that Ric and I seem not to agree on something. Watch out-- hell just might freeze over.

Nope, that's definitely not going to happen. We're on the same page but my copy of the manual is a first draft.

Ric

 

[kevteop]

I guess I've got the newer one but I still had to isolate the cable. I left the whole thing intact and coiled it up (that was advice from the manufacturer, as the cable is a lot less microphonic if you coil it), velcro'd the coil to keep its shape, then I got a female<->female jack and attached that to the tailpiece with one of Invalid Link Removed, and plugged the Ehrlund jack in one end.

The coil of cable is small enough in diameter that it can't touch the bass body.

 

[drurb]

Nope, that's definitely not going to happen. We're on the same page but my copy of the manual is a first draft.
Ric

Whew! I feel better now. The planets are definitely still aligned in their orbits.

I guess I've got the newer one but I still had to isolate the cable. I left the whole thing intact and coiled it up (that was advice from the manufacturer, as the cable is a lot less microphonic if you coil it), velcro'd the coil to keep its shape, then I got a female<->female jack and attached that to the tailpiece with one of the same setup, and plugged the Ehrlund jack in one end.

The coil of cable is small enough in diameter that it can't touch the bass body.

I started with essentially the same setup. Hey, if it works for you, then great. In general, I don't recommend it. Here's why. I found it much more difficult to ensure that the cable wouldn't vibrate against anything when there was a big coil of it. Also, using a female-to-female connector means that there are two sets of contacts (rather than one set) that can loosen/oxidize, etc. For long-term use of the EAP, I recommend shortening the cable and replacing the plug with a high-quality jack.

 

[Don Sibley]

On the recommendation of drurb I also used the Switchcraft 121 to shorten the cable. Works great and they make it easy to solder since the lower casing unscrews. I also, received a clip mount from Roger Davis. Easy to mount and holds the jack very securely with no buzzing.

I quit using the preamp with the Clarus+ and I really like the way it sounds. Fewer connections and no more batteries in my signal chain.

 

[Roger Davis]

I sold an EAP together with its preamp and I now have just one pickup left. So I'll persevere with just this and no preamp into a Clarus, going on Don's experience. I like the new David Gage Lifeline very much tho'.

 

[Don Sibley]

So I'll persevere with just this and no preamp into a Clarus, going on Don's experience. I like the new David Gage Lifeline very much tho'.

I don't think you'll be suffering too much. The Lifeline is a nice little pickup with a compact and yet warm tone. It sounds amazing arco too.

IMO the EAP is the ideal compromise between a mic and a piezo. It gets me closest to the sound in my head and still lets me be heard with minimal fuss or feedback.

 

[Ric Vice]

I don't think you'll be suffering too much. The Lifeline is a nice little pickup with a compact and yet warm tone. It sounds amazing arco too.

IMO the EAP is the ideal compromise between a mic and a piezo. It gets me closest to the sound in my head and still lets me be heard with minimal fuss or feedback.

+1 I to believe that the EAP sits right in the middle, between a microphone like the DPA 4099B, and the Realist Life Line. I've recently played several gigs using the Headway EDB-2, to blend the DPA 4099B, and the Ehrlund. With that combination you can get a very accurate reproduction of the instrument.
I always use the Ehrlund Pre Amp, just as one would use a FDeck HPF/Buffer Pre Amp. I'm guessing that Acoustic Image amps, compensate better than others, when the Ehrlund Pre isn't used.

Ric

 

[Barcza]

This guy seems to be using an ehrlund pickup. Am I right? Very nice natural sound, but I can hear its limitations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sFBk3ZU_o

I just hear very nice, pretty natural bass sound on that video! I never got that nice sound with full circle DI-ed, that why I don't sending FC to house, I just use the FC to the amp as a monitor. The amps and speaker colorisation, EQ tweaking, floor resonation can help to get decent sound on the stage with piezzo, but when I hear my live videos when FC recorded from the mixing desk, I'm very dissapointed. That's why most of the time, I only send the 4099 to front, but that could be also problematic in some rooms, so I planning to buy an EAP, for useing to the amp and send both EAP and DPA to the front and let the engineer choice what he use, or blend.

 

[hensonbass]

On a gig last night I accidentally plugged my Full-circle PU into my Ehrlund pre-amp. I'm glad I did because it sounded wonderful run straight into a PA system. I'm going to try and compare my F-deck to the Ehrlund with the FC today at my house and hear the differences.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[Ric Vice]

On a gig last night I accidentally plugged my Full-circle PU into my Ehrlund pre-amp. I'm glad I did because it sounded wonderful run straight into a PA system. I'm going to try and compare my F-deck to the Ehrlund with the FC today at my house and hear the differences.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Henson Bass,
Absolutely, I've used it with a Realist, Revolution Solo, and the pickups on my Clevenger EUB. It improved the sound on each of those pickups.

Ric