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Double Bass The New Acoustic Image Clarus+ Series 4
- Thread starter Don Sibley
- Start date
Here is the Clarus into the MAS45 with both the EAP and the Lifeline. I set the Clarus EQ flat and left the gain alone and I put the MAS45 on the ground. Sorry for the double post if you are watching the Lifeline thread also but I thought people might find these interesting here. This amp is amazing!
https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/eap
https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/lifeline
https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/eap
https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/lifeline
Don,
You need look no further, that's a sound anyone would be proud of. That combination of pickup, amp, and cabinet sounds like a Double Bass should sound. It's portable, flexible, and most importantly takes your sound and just enhances it, so the audience can enjoy the player and his art.
Of course I prefer the sound of the Ehrlund, but the Life Line comes in a close second.
Ric
You need look no further, that's a sound anyone would be proud of. That combination of pickup, amp, and cabinet sounds like a Double Bass should sound. It's portable, flexible, and most importantly takes your sound and just enhances it, so the audience can enjoy the player and his art.
Of course I prefer the sound of the Ehrlund, but the Life Line comes in a close second.
Ric
Thanks Ric. I'm pretty darn stoked! If you listen to the recording of just my bass (https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/no-amp) and then listen to the latest recording of the EAP/Clarus/Big E (https://soundcloud.com/don-sibley/eap), it's a pretty good impersonation
BD,
Actually, it did that, going back through your posted clips
to refresh my memory of the "before" and "after". This is about as close to, "my bass only louder," as anyone has gotten on these threads. Now, it's totally up to your ears, hands, and heart. Your concept and execution sound great.
When the system reproduces the instrument this well, it's time forget about going for the "holy grail" and enjoy your burrito. Just my take. I quit looking at pickups, once I found the Ehrlund. I wish it worked as well for everyone as it does
for us.
Ric
Actually, it did that, going back through your posted clips
to refresh my memory of the "before" and "after". This is about as close to, "my bass only louder," as anyone has gotten on these threads. Now, it's totally up to your ears, hands, and heart. Your concept and execution sound great.
When the system reproduces the instrument this well, it's time forget about going for the "holy grail" and enjoy your burrito. Just my take. I quit looking at pickups, once I found the Ehrlund. I wish it worked as well for everyone as it does
for us.
Ric
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Used this beast in rehearsal tonight. I'm getting better at dialing it in with the EAP and the MAS45. Absolutely incredible high-fidelity sound! Dead simple EQ. It's a keeper. 
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
You're killing me, Don! 
I can't decide whether to upgrade my Focus to the Clarus first, or buy more cabs from Mike Arnopol.
I can't decide whether to upgrade my Focus to the Clarus first, or buy more cabs from Mike Arnopol.
You're killing me, Don!
What cab do you have now?
The main advantage I see with the Clarus+ is the EQ. If you're able to dial in the tone you want then I'm not sure how much advantage you would gain.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Too many to enumerate, Don. But, the ones I gig the most are a composite Crazy8 and Crazy88 made by Mike Arnopol.
I like the sound I'm getting from my focus, as long as I use an outboard parametric EQ; two mid-range bands would help enormously.
But, the ones I gig the most are a composite Crazy8 and Crazy88 made by Mike Arnopol. I like the sound I'm getting from my focus, as long as I use an outboard parametric EQ; two mid-range bands would help enormously.
Don, Let me start by saying that your clips sound great. Being a Ehrlund user myself, this thread inspired me to try the Acoustic Image in my aim to find a natural amplified tone for my DB.
My questions is: Do you use a jack-XLR cable to connect the EAP pickup to the mike input on the Clarus head instead of an standard jack-jack to the instrument input? why if you don't mind me asking? (I'm assuming that you're not using the EAP preamp, am I right?)
Many thanks in advance.
+1 I'm all ears on this one. The EAP has three connectors inside it's cable, but you would have to wire it with a XLR connector, if I remember correctly the EAP lead has two grounds.
I have used my EAP straight to my Aguilar TH500+SL112 with good enough results (good volumen but not a pure acoustic sound). A friend lent me his Acoustic Image Contra and I loved the sound; you couldn't say if the sound was coming from the amplifier or from my bass, great acoustic tone. Now I have one of the new Coda S4PLUS and I could barely get any volumen using an standard bass cable (that's what I used on my previous tests with the borrowed Contra combo) so I have tried an adapter to plug into the mic input so I can use the +10db switch; I get much more volumen but no lows/low mids at all, just the highs. I have moved the EAP a hundred times around the bass and nothing works. I might be doing something wrong but I don't know what.
A mic input typically has 600 Ohms or a bit more input impedance. It's a wonder that something got through at all.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking that an impedance missmatch is the problem why I don't get any lows at all through the mic input. What I can't understand is why I don't get enough gain with the instrument input; this amp has a higher wattage rate than the Contra that I liked so much.
I heard that the Ehrlund EAP needs a 5 MegOhms load for optimal performance.
It might work with 1 MegOhm, but the signal might be a it less.
But the piezo foil which I guess is used in the EAP could easily need more than 20 MegOhms, depending on the surface and thickness.
It could be that the two amps have different input impedances on the instrument in. Try a preamp with at least 5MegOhms input impedance (like the HPFpre or a Headway) with the amps. If they are quite similar then, it was an input impedance problem.
It might work with 1 MegOhm, but the signal might be a it less.
But the piezo foil which I guess is used in the EAP could easily need more than 20 MegOhms, depending on the surface and thickness.
It could be that the two amps have different input impedances on the instrument in. Try a preamp with at least 5MegOhms input impedance (like the HPFpre or a Headway) with the amps. If they are quite similar then, it was an input impedance problem.
According to AI's manuals both the series III that I origially tried and the S4PLUS that I'm testing now have a 1MegOhm input and since the S4 is more powerful I was expecting at least the same volumen. Needing an external preamp is a bummer.
DoubleMIDI, Thanks a lot for your answers.
Did you gave the same gain set for both amps? That's the only thing I can think about why the volume was so much different.
Rule of thumb:
Any thin piezo (disk, foil) needs a preamp with at least 10 MegOhms input impedance.
Anything with a thick piezo crystal (Underwood, Full Circle) needs at least 1MegOhms input impedance.
The EAP seems to work best with its own preamp, a Headway may be useable too.
Rule of thumb:
Any thin piezo (disk, foil) needs a preamp with at least 10 MegOhms input impedance.
Anything with a thick piezo crystal (Underwood, Full Circle) needs at least 1MegOhms input impedance.
The EAP seems to work best with its own preamp, a Headway may be useable too.
Fran,
The Ehrlund needs an external pre amp due to it's design, I've used the pickup sucessfully with either the Headway EDB-2 or the Ehrlund Pre Amp. You won't get enough gain, running the pickup directly into an amplifier, and the tone quality will also be weird.
I've run it that way and it's less than satisfying. It isn't like a Realist or Full Circle.
Ric
