Double Bass Ehrlund & Plywood Bass

[Jumamoro]

Hello guys, I have a Christopher plywood bass, I love the sound acoustically, and I have had a lot of compliments from my teacher and other bass player saying that my bass sounds better than many expensive carved wood basses they have played.

I amplify my bass with a very old underwood that I'm not even sure if it's in good working condition, and the sound is very far from what I get acoustically. So I am trying to make a wise investment to improve my sound.

My question is: is it going to make a big difference in my my sound if I invest in a top quality expensive pickup like Ehrlund, even if it is going to be used in a plywood bass?

Thank you in advance for your comments.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Borrow some different pickups to try if you can or at least play some basses with different pickups to get a firsthand idea of their characteristics. It's difficult to recommend anything for a bass you don't know because a pickup that works great on one instrument can sound like crap on another. An expensive pickup won't necessarily buy you better sound and a new Underwood isn't exactly cheap.....lots of people have gotten great sound out of an Underwood. Have you tried it on just the bass side? I had an intermittently malfunctioning Underwood and once I determined it was in fact one of the piezo elements I chopped the bad one out, wired it up as a single and that's what I'm using now.

 

[DB Slidefunk]

I think Golihur do a trial period on the Ehrlund, you will have to front the money int he first place though.

 

[Don Sibley]

I absolutely love the EAP on my Pollmann but could not get a good sound on my Kay bass. I think many will agree that the EAP does not work very well on plywood instruments. I was much happier with the Headway Bass Band on that bass, but that doesn't work for everyone and is also expensive. The Fishman Full Circle or Gage Lifeline may be better, safer compromises for a plywood bass.

 

[Mcnailit]

I put a Fishman Full Circle on my laminate American Standard after playing a friends Kay that is equipped with the same setup. It's a great pickup and I would recommend trying a bass that has one. I don't think you would be disappointed

 

[BobKay]

I tried the EAP on my '51 Kay and didn't like it. I use the Realist Lifeline.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

We got a "good" sound using the EAP on Bob's Kay bass, but it sounded better on his Juzek. But there are plenty of people getting it to work well on a plywood bass. We do offer a return policy (7 Days from receipt) in answer to the question above, in case you're not one of those people.

 

[Ric Vice]

We got a "good" sound using the EAP on Bob's Kay bass, but it sounded better on his Juzek. But there are plenty of people getting it to work well on a plywood bass. We do offer a return policy (7 Days from receipt) in answer to the question above, in case you're not one of those people.

Good to know, that's not what one would expect from a laminate top. I guess that as it with all upthings just as their are some slab tops that work with Ehrlund, while others do not. The same applies to laminate basses.