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Double Bass An Ehrlund blog, sort of

#101
Well I'm at that moment when I must decide whether or not to keep this mysterious black triangle. The gig I had tonight was the biggest test. While there is some room for improvement (i'm in the right area, possibly millimeters either way to be tested), I found the EAP gave me a far better balance between the high and low strings than what the Full Circle was giving me: all bass and sustain, no treble side clarity or pop.
Like has been said before the attack, envelope, and decay or whatever are exactly what I've been missing from bass pickups in the past. It sounds like my bass, hairs and all.
So how long do I wait to uninstall the Full Circle?
 
#102
VegasGutPlucker said:
Well I'm at that moment when I must decide whether or not to keep this mysterious black triangle. The gig I had tonight was the biggest test. While there is some room for improvement (i'm in the right area, possibly millimeters either way to be tested), I found the EAP gave me a far better balance between the high and low strings than what the Full Circle was giving me: all bass and sustain, no treble side clarity or pop.
Like has been said before the attack, envelope, and decay or whatever are exactly what I've been missing from bass pickups in the past. It sounds like my bass, hairs and all.
So how long do I wait to uninstall the Full Circle?
Click to expand...

I'd leave it on until I had done a bunch of gigs, just to make sure it will cover the loudest gigs you play. After all, it's already installed, and unlike the Realist that I used, it isn't as likely to block any tone production. You may find that you just leave it on as a backup or, use it through a blender in conjunction with the Ehrlund.

Ric
 
#103
+1, leave it on!

Blending a FC and an Ehrlund is what I do and I find it to be very versatile, together they cover all bases. If you record, you'll find useful to have multiple sources that you can blend afterward. While the FC is not the most natural sounding PU, it is particularly good at adding some kick and definition to your sound.
 
#104
basdanne said:
Hi! I founded a spot that was pretty similar to Ric Vice´s. In my case, I get a ok overall sound, but with very little bass. On my AI coda r, I have to have the basscontrol set to 3 o´clock, and turn down mid and treble to a very low level. The preamp is set to low as recommended.
Click to expand...

How close is the EAP to the table? That can make a huge difference. As I've mentioned before, I use very little putty and the EAP sits <0.5 mm off the table.
 
#105
Ric Vice said:
I'd leave it on until I had done a bunch of gigs, just to make sure it will cover the loudest gigs you play. After all, it's already installed, and unlike the Realist that I used, it isn't as likely to block any tone production. You may find that you just leave it on as a backup or, use it through a blender in conjunction with the Ehrlund.

Ric
Click to expand...

Adagio said:
+1, leave it on!
Click to expand...


my problem with leaving it on (and sorry for hijacking a thread, all in good sport, cheerio cheerio) is the wire hanging out. I either leave it untethered or in the string-mount-clip-jack-thingie, right? Or is there another way... Just aesthetically, having the FC wiring PLUS the EAP cable draped off my bass seems a bit much, in the long run. I can live with it in a trial and error time period.
BTW, I don't think I'll be shortening the EAP wire. I like the length as is, and I like having the preamp on my belt so I can control my volume as needed. Plus, less weight on the tailpiece.
 
#106
I have bound the extra ehrlund wire and velcro it under the tail piece. When packing up, I plug the ehrlund plug it into the FC jack. I have the ehrlund preamp (when using it) just above the tailpiece. I leave volume up, and control it from the amp.
works for me.
 
#107
I never would have guessed three little boxes could reproduce such an excellent sound.
 

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#110
Nathan Levine said:
Actually, I just got the Ehrlund in the mail today. This setup sounds pretty darn good at home. I think it is safe to assume that I will need to add the EQing abilities of the Headway to make it work on gigs.
Click to expand...

Nathan,
My guess is that you'll need that Headway EDB-1 to EQ unruly spaces with bad acoustics. The Ehrlund sounds, exquisite on my 5/8 Mirecourt Bass.


Ric
 
#111
Nathan Levine said:
Actually, I just got the Ehrlund in the mail today. This setup sounds pretty darn good at home. I think it is safe to assume that I will need to add the EQing abilities of the Headway to make it work on gigs.
Click to expand...

That's a winner. I run the Erhlund directly through the EDB1 and I couldn't possibly wish for better. I used to include the Erhlund pre-amp first in the chain but I noticed there was no difference at all. I was just duplicating the HPF and the phase inversion features. By removing it, I also got rid of the last 9volt battery in my setup, now I'm free!

EQing with the EDB1 is indeed useful to get a usable volume for gigs. I guess it depends on your bass, the room, and the amp position but as a general rule the more useful settings for me are to use the notch filter with minimal settings and to tame the low mids (my bass is very reactive to these frequencies).

Also mess around with the location of the pickup. If you play at low volume you'll find very powerful spots, but those are really prone to feedback at higher volume IME. I prefer spots with slightly less output but more stable behavior at different volumes. Even with those weaker spots, I rarely turn the headway's channel gain past 5 anyway, so there is still plenty of headroom.

Gratz on you new purchase, hope you'll like it! That's a great PU, it's pretty much the only thing that keeps me away from messing around with mics (for now at least).
 
#112
I've always felt that the true test of a bass pickup is the arco test. I don't use the bow much on gigs mostly because I don't have a bow case to protect it, but I braved the wild and tried it out last night. It sounded absolutely fantastic. Like a giant pipe organ, or a dozen Mahlerian bassists.
This pickup has changed my attitude towards amplified upright bass entirely. I would never claim it is for every bassist, or every bass, but with a 7-day trial period through our favorite vendors, personal nirvana is likely within reach.
My name is VegasGutPlucker and I approve this message.
 
#114
I wanted to ask fellow EAPers a question: do you engage any HPF?

I've never used it in conjunction with the fDeck HPF, but I have toggled the HPF built into my acoustic image head. I don't find it to be necessary in all but the loudest and strangest gigs or rooms. In fact the extended low end IMO adds to the transparency and depth of the bass into the room without overloading the speakers, if that makes sense.
 
#117
VegasGutPlucker said:
I wanted to ask fellow EAPers a question: do you engage any HPF?

I've never used it in conjunction with the fDeck HPF, but I have toggled the HPF built into my acoustic image head. I don't find it to be necessary in all but the loudest and strangest gigs or rooms. In fact the extended low end IMO adds to the transparency and depth of the bass into the room without overloading the speakers, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

VGP,
I hadn't thought to do that, because the Ehrlund Pre Amp is all I've really needed with a Walter Woods Amp and the Audiokinesis TC 112. If I were to use it, I'd most likely insert it into the effects loop, as the Ehrlund Pre provides the right input impedance for the EAP.

Ric
 
#118
Nathan Levine said:
Do you put the HPF between your Headway and the amp?
Click to expand...

The headway actually is my HPF. Others settings could be through my Doubler which has a HPF on channel 2 or with the Ehrlund preamp, which also has this feature. In addition to the HPF, I also need to use the notch filter in most cases.
 
#119
VegasGutPlucker said:
I wanted to ask fellow EAPers a question: do you engage any HPF?
Click to expand...

No, and a bit of explanation is in order. The only reason I ever used a HPF was to attenuate the infrasonics generated by a piezo bridge-wing pickup. Although I've posted this before, you can identify the transduction of infrasonics by wiggling your E-string and watching your speaker cone. The Ehrlund, understandable, does not pass/generate infrasonics. I always left my fdeck HPF on its lowest setting.

Many other players use a HPF to tweak their amplified response and, at times. to tame feedback. I'm a firm believer in parametric tone controls (which I have) and keeping the signal chain as simple as possible. So, for me, it's the Ehrlund followed by its pre-amp, followed by my EA iamp200.
 

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