Yeah, I'm just trying to find the best solution for clubs. I've got the concert and recording sound thing down, but small clubs with a slammin' band---really difficult. Musically, the small club low bread stuff is really the most satisfying for me, but the volume level can make amplifying a challenge. I was playing with a great group last night with an awesome young drummer and the volume crept up, but it was appropriate for the context. As you guys know, with amplifying the DB, the louder you get, the less impact you get. Feedback is not an issue with the FC. I'm pretty sure that what is happening is that the bass really becomes a large microphone that creates a loop. As volume increases, the amp sound excites the bass and is picked up by the piezo and then creates a phase conflict. Which is why you'll be playing at a lower volume and the walking feel is really thumpin' and then as you start playing more intense stuff at an appropriate higher volume and you just can't seem to get the rhythmic pulse happening. So without thinking you just keep playing harder and your hands are killing you at the end of the night. Put your ear near a speaker during a loud anaccompanied drum solo and trust me, even with a FC you'll hear it at a surprising volume through your amp. At least with piezos you have more isolation than a mic which is why they were invented. You're not getting it through the air, but through your bass. Which is my concern with the Ehrlund. As someone stated, as you press the pickup down and lessen the air gap it will likely sound more like a piezo. Because the ratio of sound through the air and vibrations transmitted through the pickup has changed. Which is my worry about picking up drums too much. I guess it's a conundrum without a viable solution. Even if you use a magnetic pickup you're still sending vibrations back through the instrument. I know a lot of guys will say "then play with a drummer who plays softer". But the reality whether we like it or not is that since Elvin Jones and Tony Williams the dynamic level for jazz has changed. But the music that has been produced as a result is still something that we aspire toward. If it was 1963 and I had the chance to play with Trane as opposed to say, a Barry Harris trio (which still would be wonderful music) I'd want to play with Elvin. Even though it might be frustrating. I'm too young to have heard Trane live, but I know that you couldn't hear Jimmy Garrison at all in a club. Even if Jimmy had used a FC and the sound of a piezo is a compromise, at least I would have been able to hear him. Alright, I'm done.
IMO, the sound is quite different than an FC on my bass. The is more even and natural.
