Jay Carter Music Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Hi guys I have a comparison video of the Ehrlund EAP TRS system and a Lewitt LCT 040 condenser mic. I was not getting what I wanted sonically out of the realist and I had heard about the Ehrlund. I found this guy on basschat: daflewis who is a west end pit player that I'd also recommend for lessons by the way as he's a great player and teacher! The Ehrlund stuff is a bit awkward to get hold of in this country but Daf imports them over here. I got one sent to me to try before buying which was great to have some time to see if it actually worked for me. Daf also sent loads of info about how to get the most out of it and was happy to chat over anything if needed. After getting it set up and doing some tests I soon found the Ehrlund sonically very convincing. I took the files from a mic and the Ehrlund and the realist into logic. When comparing them all If the realist was a 3/10 for sounding like the reference mic then the Ehrlund was easily an 8/10. With a bit of surgical EQ you can get to a point where it's silly close. After I made this video I got a bit closer by refining my EQ settings. On my GK MB150s and extension rig (which is looking for a new home) the Ehrlund was more prone to feedback at high volumes so I'd use a blend of the realist and Ehrlund. Then I took the plunge to get a barefaced Super Midget. I can now get the bass silly loud with just the Ehrlund (no blend) it sounds lush as you like with no sign of feedback. My bass is a laminate which may help with that but I think it's the super midget plays a big part in the feedback rejection. I have the realist on my bass now only as a backup and for me I've ended up from completely hating my plugged in sound to being totally sonically satisfied with it. I feel like I can scoop out some mud and harshness out and you'd never know I was playing a laminate by my plugged in sound. That doesn't mean everyone will love it on their bass but for me the swedes have this one completely nailed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Dunno, 1. Not enough chatter at the beginning of the video. 2. Very poor on the clickbait graphics for the thumbnail which will appear on YT. 3. The whole thing is put together in a way that we can just focus on the sound. You need to be putting more distractions in. You are going to have go back to the editing board if your desire to be a global influencer will ever be realised. However, as a video showing how cool the Ehrlund is though, it is excellent :) Thanks. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Is it just me, or are those EQ settings pretty extreme? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 I often think that if the sound is not "the bomb" without EQ then I am cheating. Strangely no recording engineers I have ever worked with have the same issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 This was just a bit of experimenting I did for my own amusement when I first got the Ehrlund. I filmed it because I got bored of soloing the tracks on and off to compare them. It’s not perfect but as a rough and ready comparison it will probably shed some light somewhere! I’m getting better results the more I play with it but if there’s some examples I haven’t come across it would be great to see and hear other peoples approaches/results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 14 hours ago, Happy Jack said: Is it just me, or are those EQ settings pretty extreme? One of the dials is a mid sweep (so choosing 2kish rather than being on full) and one of them is a notch filter rather than being set really high. The treble didn't do as much as you might think it would as most of the sonic info on upright is below where that touches. The treble just gives a tiny bit more finger detail. Thought it could be misleading if you didn't know the preamp. I wouldn't say the results were night and day between the flat sound and eq'd sound and I also would say they matched that mic a bit more than if I left it flat. Doesn't mean the best sound is to get it to match a mic but I was curious and was a good starting point for me! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Thanks for doing this - I'm about to pull the trigger on some upgrades and this has just given me a serious pause for thought. And your playing - I love it, I could listen to that just for the tone and the playing - beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 11 hours ago, Gareth Hughes said: Thanks for doing this - I'm about to pull the trigger on some upgrades and this has just given me a serious pause for thought. And your playing - I love it, I could listen to that just for the tone and the playing - beautiful. Glad you got something from it Gareth and I really appreciate your comments. With the Ehrlund it’s not cheap and I had to make adjustments to the rest of my rig to get the most from it. For me I’d say it was easily worth it but everyone has different needs and tastes. If you drop @daflewis a quick message he maybe able to let you try before you buy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Thanks Jay - already been in touch with Daf after writing the last comment. Did you go for the Ehrlund preamp too or just use the EBS Stanley Clarke? And, if you don't mind my asking - what adjustments to the rest of your rig did you have to make? I'm loving the sound, but I'm also thinking ahead of how practical it might/mightn't be with some of the gigs I do - volume wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 4 hours ago, Gareth Hughes said: Thanks Jay - already been in touch with Daf after writing the last comment. Did you go for the Ehrlund preamp too or just use the EBS Stanley Clarke? And, if you don't mind my asking - what adjustments to the rest of your rig did you have to make? I'm loving the sound, but I'm also thinking ahead of how practical it might/mightn't be with some of the gigs I do - volume wise. Ehrlund Pre: I was expecting to just use the EBS and send back the Ehrlund preamp but I did actually think it was worth it in the end. It brings up the signal very cleanly of the Ehrlund and it only has one job and I think it is good at what it does! I didn't think the EBS did quite the same job as well just from that point of view. Obviously the EBS does many things the Ehrlund preamp can't. In terms of rig changes: As an amp I had a GK MB150s with extension that I'm now trying to sell. I just couldn't hear the detail that the Ehrlund was delivering so it seemed like it was wasted on that rig. Also I found on that rig I'd get feedback with the Ehrlund without too much volume. I now have a Barefaced audio Super Midget. It has a tweeter and is FRFR full range flat response 600w and silly loud for its size and weight. It's pretty much a studio monitor that is capable of behaving like a bass amp if you ask it to, but louder. The EQ on the EBS gets me most of the way to where I want to be and I also find I scoop out more mid with my bass amp head to end up where I want to be especially in terms of sweetening the cab. I don't have experience with many heads but I'm using a GR bass one 800w. I'd say the GR bass is transparent unless you ask for something from it then you can have it! That setup is insanely loud and I believe it to be very versatile. I'm not sure which way I have the phase set but I get feedback if I go the other way so I stay where ever it is! I don't know if its just my bass or my EQ settings or Super midget wizardry but I can get it silly loud without feedback if my phase switch is in the right setting. I really can't imagine ever needing more volume on an upright gig. I do however have the realist as a backup as I have heard some people find the Ehrlund is to feedback prone for them. I actually have not had that problem myself with the super midget and I've been letting it rip! I run both pickups through a stereo jack then split them on the floor. I'm not crazy about having a millions leads and stuff all over my bass so this cleaned things up for me. I also had a slightly maverick approach with the Ehrlund in terms of how I fitted it. I use an adapter from the male jack into a female jack then take it with jack cable down to the preamp. Technically you are not supposed to do this. I took several samples and I couldn't hear a perceivable difference if the Ehrlund went through a decent shortish jack before it hit the preamp or it went straight from their cable. I didn't want the preamp attached to my bass and I didn't feel I was losing anything sonically perceivable. For you there might be cheaper/ better/ simpler ways to get where you want so I guess I'd advise you to try things hopefully with the option of returning them if they don't work for you. All I know is where I am I like and I think it was expensive and not the simplest set up ever but definitely worth it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Hughes Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Thanks for that, that is more detailed and helpful than I could have hoped for. I had the same GK combo for a while and had the exact same response - to the point where, in mid tour in Germany, the sound guy we had knocked up a tweeter with a hard wired cable that just sat on top of the combo, plugged into the extension output. Did a great job of brightening everything, even if it did look rather uncouth. Thanks again, plenty of food for thought there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 I have considered doing that to the GK rig myself! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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