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Double Bass ehrlund contact pu-mike

#321
Sounds like three passive transducers stacked in a triangle. The triangle shape is a good idea I suppose, as it would be helpful in visual orientation when searching for the elusive sweet spot on the top of the instrument.

The patent says it's a condensor mic. Is there such a thing as a condenser mic that doesn't need external power? I've never heard of that. The ehrlund contact mic seems to be capable of working without any external power. Is there some kind of ultra long life battery/power source inside? There must be.
 
#322
MR PC said:
Is there such a thing as a condenser mic that doesn't need external power? I've never heard of that. The ehrlund contact mic seems to be capable of working without any external power. Is there some kind of ultra long life battery/power source inside? There must be.
Click to expand...

A condenser microphone that requires no external power is called an electret.
 
#323
MR PC said:
The patent says it's a condensor mic. Is there such a thing as a condenser mic that doesn't need external power? I've never heard of that. The ehrlund contact mic seems to be capable of working without any external power. Is there some kind of ultra long life battery/power source inside? There must be.
Click to expand...

I think the patented microphone is one thing, and the pickup another. They just use the same principle design concept, the triangle.
 
#327
engedi1 said:
has anyone used the erhlund with a Radial Pz-pre or Lr Baggs para di? MUST it be used with the Erhlund preamp to get a good arco tone or is that marketing...
Click to expand...
I've tried it with the Headway EDB and at some other (high impedance) inputs. The Ehrlund preamp sounds best, but you don't necessarily need it.
 
#328
Cool. Thanks Jonas. I guess I'll just order the official preamp. I just don't want to have TWO preamps, and like a lot of people I will blend this with another pickup when needed. My evil plan is to use the Pz-pre which allows two inputs to be blended and equed so that way I can switch to a non-feeding back option like a magnetic pickup if the Erhlund starts to feedback too much.
 
#329
Well against my better judgement (too many years of pulling the trigger on pickups that dont work out) I bought one of these triangular do hickies (and the preamp) spent an hour yesterday trying out different placements (everything said here about placement and quality of bass being amplified cannot be over emphasized) then took it to a duo gig in a noisy but snug restaurant gig.
I am pretty prepared to kick myself about ten different ways for knowing better, for spending yet more money on goofy **** that aint gunna make me play any better or sound any better in the world of non concert, in the trenches jazz playing (venues large and small but seemingly always with a fair residual noise level)
and I already know from the Dyn B and Vektor that contact mics are not MICs they are problematic and uneven and weird. At first the lack of piezo quack seems brilliant and workable but then there are just too many uneven parameters to make it usable.
after a set with a really nice acoustic sound, strangely nice, woody, a little contact micy but with much more breadth and nuance I was feeling pretty good about it...I need to change the placement to a less edge of the F hole (darker) spot to a brighter spot a bit in from that but I think this pickup might be workable. I play with drummers so that is the real test but, this puppy has a lot going for it.
The main fault right now is that to pay 4 large for a pick up with a male 1/4 inch plug and 8 feet of cable when what ALL BASSISTS will need is a FEMALE plug and 2 feet or less of wire seems poorly thought out. Does anyone here want a preamp taped to their bass? I didnt think so...
I tried it into the Focus straight into the EDB1 and into the Avalon U5 and I think it sounds best into its own preamp and then into the Focus front end with a bit of mids rolled off. It makes the Focus front end really useful again and although I tried it with a mic blended, that seems like too much of a thing...we'll see.
guarded but optimistic....now what did I do with that soldering iron...
BTW URBobs review on his sight is spot on...
 
#330
I for one am grateful to have found this thread. I am leaping back into the DB world after I had to sell my bass a year and half ago. I am getting a new one in June and have been wondering how to get descent tone in the invariable small, loud, crowded Nashville stages. This pickups seem like a gift from heaven as opposed to fooling around with mics. I will be ordering mine soon! Someone earlier was talking about great success blending this with a magnetic pickup, which sounded enterprising. I may try that as well!
 
#331
engedi1 said:
I for one am grateful to have found this thread. I am leaping back into the DB world after I had to sell my bass a year and half ago. I am getting a new one in June and have been wondering how to get descent tone in the invariable small, loud, crowded Nashville stages. This pickups seem like a gift from heaven as opposed to fooling around with mics. I will be ordering mine soon! Someone earlier was talking about great success blending this with a magnetic pickup, which sounded enterprising. I may try that as well!
Click to expand...

Engedi1
The Ehrlund can actually get fairly loud before it finally succumbs to feedback. I did the magnetic pickup thing years ago with a four element pickup that screwed into the underside of the fingerboard built by Paul Tonnengies . It's just not the kind of sound that I'm interested in anymore.

Ric
 
#332
flatback said:
. This pick up is for amplifing superior sounding, even, rich instruments. It will not correct your sound.
Click to expand...

Superior is a big word, I'm sensing some elitism in your use of the word here.........please pardon me, but I think there are too many variables involved to boil it down to needing an expensive bass to get a great amplified sound. Pretty basic concept that has been discussed at length around here.

Doesn't it all start with the players touch? How can you be sure after such a brief time with the pu that it absolutely will not work with working class basses? Does any pu "correct your sound"?
 
#336
MR PC said:
Superior is a big word, I'm sensing some elitism in your use of the word here.........please pardon me, but I think there are too many variables involved to boil it down to needing an expensive bass to get a great amplified sound. Pretty basic concept that has been discussed at length around here.

Doesn't it all start with the players touch? How can you be sure after such a brief time with the pu that it absolutely will not work with working class basses? Does any pu "correct your sound"?
Click to expand...

Whoa Dude,
That really aint where I was coming from. I was simply saying that it is VERY sensitive to the actual sounds coming off the instrument and if that is inconsistent or uneven or problematic, those problems will be amplified.
...but back to what is great about this pickup....
I played last night with a trio and while it was a little difficult to get used to the more open, dynamic, broader, sound, it is really cool to hear so much more nuance and harmonics and growl.
With the Wizzy 10 up on a pole and next to my ear, I am loving this sound.
I'll bet when more people spring for this pickup it becomes the go to sound.
I suspect that it would sound really good blended with a FC to get more definition in loud dense situations...I'm going to try that at some point...
There is some magical mojo in this little triangle that is really different then anything else I have heard, very natural, very warm and very seductive.
I soldered a female jack on to it yesterday, and there is just one little wire and a ground in there ...so what the mojo is is simple and mysterious and really nice. I'd sure like to know though....
 
#337
flatback said:
Whoa Dude,
That really aint where I was coming from. I was simply saying that it is VERY sensitive to the actual sounds coming off the instrument and if that is inconsistent or uneven or problematic, those problems will be amplified.
...but back to what is great about this pickup....
I played last night with a trio and while it was a little difficult to get used to the more open, dynamic, broader, sound, it is really cool to hear so much more nuance and harmonics and growl.
With the Wizzy 10 up on a pole and next to my ear, I am loving this sound.
I'll bet when more people spring for this pickup it becomes the go to sound.
I suspect that it would sound really good blended with a FC to get more definition in loud dense situations...I'm going to try that at some point...
There is some magical mojo in this little triangle that is really different then anything else I have heard, very natural, very warm and very seductive.
I soldered a female jack on to it yesterday, and there is just one little wire and a ground in there ...so what the mojo is is simple and mysterious and really nice. I'd sure like to know though....
Click to expand...

Great feedback. How do you get your wizzy 10 up on the pole? Have you screwed a flange into that mounts onto a speaker stand?
I have been trying to figure out how to do the same thing with my TC Rs112 but don't want to screw into it...
 
#338
flatback said:
If you have crappy bass, forget it. If you have a brite stuffy laminate, I'd avoid it. This pick up is for amplifing superior sounding, even, rich instruments. It will not correct your sound.

flatback said:
Whoa Dude,
That really aint where I was coming from. I was simply saying that it is VERY sensitive to the actual sounds coming off the instrument and if that is inconsistent or uneven or problematic, those problems will be amplified.
Click to expand...

I think until you try the pu on a variety of instruments over time, that first statement could be over the line.....It think it's safe to say that you are still in the honeymoon period with this pu.....I'm listening to your tests with the pu with interest.....since I'm in the market for a mic like this......
Click to expand...
 
#339
MR PC said:
flatback said:
If you have crappy bass, forget it. If you have a brite stuffy laminate, I'd avoid it. This pick up is for amplifing superior sounding, even, rich instruments. It will not correct your sound.



I think until you try the pu on a variety of instruments over time, that first statement could be over the line.....It think it's safe to say that you are still in the honeymoon period with this pu.....I'm listening to your tests with the pu with interest.....since I'm in the market for a mic like this......
Click to expand...

@ Flatback: I have two great sounding carved basses. Both have been recorded many times and yet this particular pick up did not work for me. I don't want to say anything negative. It may possibly have something to do with the Super Flightcase 300 that I use since it is designed to be an ambient sounding amp. I'm not really sure. However, your statement is a bit over the line. Over the years, there have been many next best great thing PU's that have eventually faded away because they were either not that great or they had problems. For now, I'll stick with my Full Circle for the stage/bandstand and my AMT mic for FOH.
Click to expand...
 
#340
yeah, I dont know what the hell im spoutin off about...Sorry. ....I take it back ...

What I meant to say was:
Some pickups like the Underwood or FC can even out a funky tone and make any number of different tambre basses sound similarly compressed and direct and easily EQ'd. I dont think the Ehrlund shares that characteristic. It exaggerates the sound at the surface of the instrument.

BUT, I have tried the Erhulnd on exactly one bass for about 48 hours so what the hell do I know?
It feels to me, playing thru it, like a concert sound, a big warm rich woody sound.The kind of sound that sounds great solo or in duet .
I am really hoping that it is gunna work with drums, and it seems to.
 

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