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Double Bass Yet another PU comparison (FC, Realist, Ehrlund, Schatten & mics)

Adagio

Adagio

Guest
Jul 21, 2011
190
4
Quebec City
#1
Hi! It seems like a long time since the last "guess which pickup I recorded" kind of thread, and since I've been wanting to do a benchmark of my pickups for a long time, I figured now would a good time to contribute. I found these threads to be one of the most valuable resources when it comes to choosing my gear so let's add so more samples to the mix.

Methodology:
I've mounted all of my pickups on my bass and set up a minimal but decent recording environment on a small room. Each take was recorded separately, playing a two octaves G major scale pizzicato (I wanted to keep it as short and neutral as possible). I did some very minimal EQing and gain adjustments in order to normalize the tracks before recording, but just slightly and there is no postprod at all. Please forgive my sloppy timing, I recorded those clips quick and dirty, without a metronome. There is also a rattle from time to time, coming from a loose screw on a PU jack I think. Perhaps I should have double checked the setup more carefully before pressing the REC button. Anyways, I hope this will still be useful to some of you.

Recording Gear:
  1. Garage Band on iPad (with iRig inteface)
  2. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] preamp (Flat EQ, 5Mohms input for piezos)
  3. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] mixer for mics
Bass:
Shen SB-200 willow (3/4 flatback)

Strings:
Thomastik Spirocore Weich (E&A), Pirastro Oliv (D&G)

Pickups & Mics:
  1. Link Removed (threads up)
  2. David Gage Realist Wood
  3. DIY [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] soundboard transducer mounted on a cedar wood piece
  4. Geoff004 RS Mic with its Geoff004 RS Mic
  5. Ehrlund Contact Mic with the EDB1
  6. Invalid Link Removed, treble side (modded so it's mounted on the bridge with a tuner clip)
  7. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Cardiod Mic - Less than 2 feet away from the treble side
  8. My usual sound, which is a blend of #1,#5 and #7.
The audio clips can be found on my Soundcloud. They are unlabeled for now: I'll let you guess which is which first and then I'll reveal the results in about a week or so.

Are you able to list them all, and which one is your favorite?
 

Attachments

  • DBtest_PU.JPG
    DBtest_PU.JPG
    37.5 KB · Views: 364
  • DBtest_Rec.JPG
    DBtest_Rec.JPG
    33.4 KB · Views: 245
#3
Thanks so much for going through all the trouble and sharing!

I liked 1,4,6 and 8 for the most part...I would say 1 and 8 were my favorites, though 4 was pretty good, I think

Least favorites were 3 (something was wrong there) and 7
 
#8
I like 5, 6, 8, and 4 in that order. 5 has a nice balance and punchy tone, less puff but when amped in a setting it works well.

As to guessing what I'm hearing:
5 - Realist (I use copper version).
4 or 7 - Ehrlund/EDB1
3 - Full Circle

I'm probably way off.
 
#11
Really thought all of those would be useable on a gig. Number two was the one that was sort of tinny and thin sounding. Five and six were my favorites though with my bass I would've liked all except two as I noted before.
 
#12
Plug it in an amp and everything is usable really. At this point you're choosing what you'd like to hear. The choices made by posters here is probably based off of what they want in their sound. It's the only way to explain why there are opposites in tastes.
 
#18
Cool. Always fun to play this game. I like 5 best, but 1 is also very good. 4 has a good sound at its heart but it is quite noisy to the extent that it might not usable.

Well, since I subjected people to this before, I suppose I'd better jump in and embarass myself with my guesses.

  1. Ehrlund (w/ ehrlund pre?)
  2. Schatten
  3. Realist
  4. Geoff004 mic
  5. CAD
  6. mix
  7. Full Circle
  8. Ehrlund (w/ Headway?)
 
#20
hdiddy said:
Plug it in an amp and everything is usable really.
Click to expand...

Well, "usable" doesn't quite cut it for me.

hdiddy said:
At this point you're choosing what you'd like to hear. The choices made by posters here is probably based off of what they want in their sound.
Click to expand...

Well, of course! What I want in my sound is that it be as close to the acoustic sound of the instrument as possible

hdiddy said:
It's the only way to explain why there are opposites in tastes.
Click to expand...

There are other explanations. We're listening to these clips on a variety of systems. While some of the sonic characteristics are relatively stable across them, others are likely not to be. Played on different systems, I suspect that many people's preferences would change.

Keep in mind that the sound of the transducers, the positions of which can be changed (e.g., Ehrlund and mics), depends heavily on where Adagio chose to place them. The Ehrlund, for example, can sound spectacular in one position and like dog doo in another. We're getting only a sample of one position and our different preferences would likely have many of us placing them at different locations.
 

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