NMD: Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina and K&K Double Helix Solo demo - Facebook Live demo!!

[Methos1979]

Update: Added a Facebook Live video down on post #15.

As promised on several recent thread replies, I have finally gotten around to recording a demo of my K&K Double Helix Solo magnetic sound hole pickup system. I've already done a lengthy written review of the DHS along with a great embedded demo video by the owner of K&K which can be seen in the link below, so I won't go into detail on how that pickup came to be here. I do talk about it briefly in the demo video below.

NSHPD: K&K Double Helix Solo review - long and detailed

As for the Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina, I'd been looking into acquiring a quality large diaphragm condenser mic for my wife and I to use for our live streaming on the Facebook-ZOOM AGF Open Mics we do regularly. I was drawn to the cool, retro vibe of the ETL mics and after searching around for a while found a used one in great shape by doing a national craigslist search. Long story short, I got the mic yesterday so it was the perfect time to record my K&K DHS review using a great mic and thereby demoing both! Win-win.

The ETL mics come in several types and all have different, cool retro looks to them. They are handmade one at a time in Portland, Oregon and are designed to be used for live play. They have excellent feedback rejection. They're not inexpensive, running between $599 and $649 depending on the style. They are very hard to find used and when they do pop up here or on Reverb they command a high price and sell fast. All good signs as far as I'm concerned since it means people who buy them, love them, which now includes me. The mic does exactly what I'd hoped it would and it looks awesome doing it. Win-win.

Anyway, I'm very happy with my current setup. For those that like the tech details the gear used for this demo are my Martin D-1 Custom 12-fret all-hog dread, John Pearse #710 New Medium strings, Blue Chip CT-55 pick, K&K Double Helix Solo straight into the Bose S1 Pro (settings are ToneMatch switch in Guitar position, Bass flat, Treble dialed back slightly and volume set one notch over midway detent). The Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina connects to my EAE StompMix X6 digital mixer and out to an iRig Pro interface into my Macbook Air. The recording was originally done on Facebook Live Performer and then downloaded to the Mac and uploaded to YouTube.

I'll post a few photos of the new mic and the guitar with the DHS (and some new cool vintage bone pins from Bob Colosi). Enjoy!

[Methos1979]

Photos!

[SpruceTop]

Congratulations on your Ear Trumpet Lab Edwina!

A couple of years ago I bought the matched stereo pair of Edwina mics direct from Ear Trumpet Labs and have enjoyed using them the few times I've done so. The Edwina and other ETL mics have pretty much become the standard for live bluegrass and Americana performances. See and hear them on the WoodSongs TV and Radio Shows.

[Stringmaster]

Sounds great Scott. My ETL mic is supposed to arrive today (if it's not delayed).
Question:
I've been curious about running a condenser mic into an interface like the iRig. I thought that it needed to be first in the signal chain (pre mixer), but it looks like you are running the mic into the mixer first, and then out into the iRig? Do you turn off the phantom power in the mixer or iRig, or just run them both? The reason I ask is that if you can run into a mixer pre iRig, then that would eliminate the need to purchase a multi-input/output interface such as the iRig duo, and I could run multiple mics into my Soundcraft EFX8. Have you tried it both ways, and do you notice any difference?
Thx.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Stringmaster

Sounds great Scott. My ETL mic is supposed to arrive today (if it's not delayed).
Question:
I've been curious about running a condenser mic into an interface like the iRig. I thought that it needed to be first in the signal chain (pre mixer), but it looks like you are running the mic into the mixer first, and then out into the iRig? Do you turn off the phantom power in the mixer or iRig, or just run them both? The reason I ask is that if you can run into a mixer pre iRig, then that would eliminate the need to purchase a multi-input/output interface such as the iRig duo, and I could run multiple mics into my Soundcraft EFX8. Have you tried it both ways, and do you notice any difference?
Thx.

The iRig needs to be last in the chain before the Mac since it's output is the USB connection. I have run mics before directly into the iRig using the iRig for phantom power but you're very limited in your ability to achieve great sound. So I run the mic into my mixer, using the mixer's phantom power, dial in EQ and effects as desired and then output the mixer to the iRig with iRig phantom power turned off. You can run your mics into your mixer but unless your mixer has a USB output you'll still need some sort of interface between the mixer and the Mac, assuming you're running into a Mac for streaming.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

As promised on several recent thread replies, I have finally gotten around to recording a demo of my K&K Double Helix Solo magnetic sound hole pickup system. I've already done a lengthy written review of the DHS along with a great embedded demo video by the owner of K&K which can be seen in the link below, so I won't go into detail on how that pickup came to be here. I do talk about it briefly in the demo video below.

NSHPD: K&K Double Helix Solo review - long and detailed

As for the Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina, I'd been looking into acquiring a quality large diaphragm condenser mic for my wife and I to use for our live streaming on the Facebook-ZOOM AGF Open Mics we do regularly. I was drawn to the cool, retro vibe of the ETL mics and after searching around for a while found a used one in great shape by doing a national craigslist search. Long story short, I got the mic yesterday so it was the perfect time to record my K&K DHS review using a great mic and thereby demoing both! Win-win.

The ETL mics come in several types and all have different, cool retro looks to them. They are handmade one at a time in Portland, Oregon and are designed to be used for live play. They have excellent feedback rejection. They're not inexpensive, running between $599 and $649 depending on the style. They are very hard to find used and when they do pop up here or on Reverb they command a high price and sell fast. All good signs as far as I'm concerned since it means people who buy them, love them, which now includes me. The mic does exactly what I'd hoped it would and it looks awesome doing it. Win-win.

Anyway, I'm very happy with my current setup. For those that like the tech details the gear used for this demo are my Martin D-1 Custom 12-fret all-hog dread, John Pearse #710 New Medium strings, Blue Chip CT-55 pick, K&K Double Helix Solo straight into the Bose S1 Pro (settings are ToneMatch switch in Guitar position, Bass flat, Treble dialed back slightly and volume set one notch over midway detent). The Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina connects to my EAE StompMix X6 digital mixer and out to an iRig Pro interface into my Macbook Air. The recording was originally done on Facebook Live Performer and then downloaded to the Mac and uploaded to YouTube.

I'll post a few photos of the new mic and the guitar with the DHS (and some new cool vintage bone pins from Bob Colosi). Enjoy!

By The Way, Nice Demo!

[Marty C]

I love that mic. Been dreaming about it for a while. Just wondered how it worked live with the Bose S1. I guess you will find out for us. Thank you for the review!

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Marty C

I love that mic. Been dreaming about it for a while. Just wondered how it worked live with the Bose S1. I guess you will find out for us. Thank you for the review!

At some point I'll do a demo outside to see how that works. I know that I can't do it indoors as my house is small and as soon as I get anywhere near the level of gain I need it just feeds back.

I did do a whole bunch of testing yesterday by recording a demo of me playing and singing not only acoustically but also amplified through the Bose directly behind the Edwina (about 12') and it was awesome! I could play standing back with the Edwina picking up just the Bose or play right up at the mic with the Edwina picking up both the Bose and the guitar simultaneously and it sounded great.

This is an important feature for me as my wife very much prefers singing with a mic held in her hand and able to hear herself amplified so this would be a compromise to both of us just standing at the mic and not hearing ourselves amplified. Another way would be to invest in in-ear monitors but I'd rather not go down that road just yet. So I was pleasantly surprised that I could play through the Bose facing directly into the Edwina and it would not overdrive the mic.

We'll do more testing together this weekend in preparation for Sunday's AGF Open Mic so we can see what works best for us. I'll keep you posted.

[paulin]

Hey Methos,

When you get a chance would you post a photo showing the Edwina and the Bose so as.to better show their relationship to eachother.

Thanks,
Paul

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by paulin

Hey Methos,

When you get a chance would you post a photo showing the Edwina and the Bose so as.to better show their relationship to eachother.

Thanks,
Paul

Sure. If you look at the demo video (go out to about the 8:07 minute mark) when I'm off to the side, the Bose is directly behind the mic around 12', under the NO1U Know sign. It's a little hard to see because it's black on black. But I'll get a sideways photo from an angle that tries to show it better.

[Methos1979]

Here you go.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

We'll do more testing together this weekend in preparation for Sunday's AGF Open Mic so we can see what works best for us. I'll keep you posted.

We just finished doing more testing this time with both of us present. We did strictly acoustic singing and guitar up close, with a strumming song and a fingerstyle song. Then we did the same two songs amplified standing back, standing close, and every variation we could think of. The absolute best was standing close totally acoustic. But the rest sounded pretty good as well.

I can say that the Edwina records EXACTLY what we hear coming from the Bose in our ears so that's good IF the tone you're getting from the Bose (or your amp) is REALLY good. Since in this setup we're going mic and guitar straight into the Bose with its minimal EQ and tone shaping abilities, it's output is not quite as good as if we were going through our EAE StompMix X6 digital mixer with full effects, EQ and tone shaping for a perfect sound and then recording.

This is because as it's currently set up, the Edwina is going into the X6 for phantom power and EQ effects itself. So if I really wanted to use the Bose I could change the set up with the guitar and hand mic going into the X6 and then out through the Bose and the Edwina going directly into the iRig Pro with phantom power provided by that but no EQ or effects on the Edwina. Not sure how that would sound but probably not bad. But it also changes the really simple setup of just the Edwina, mixer, iRig, Mac.

But in the end after today's tests, we're very happy with the setup as is - the Edwina goes into the X6, X6 out to iRig Pro out to Macbook Air and then the guitar and vocals au naturel! Great sound with minimal equipment. At some point I'll get a nice video clip of us playing in that mode and post it here for any interested. You can also always check out the AGF Open Mic over on FB after this Sunday's event. We leave them posted on the FB page anyway so you don't have to be there live.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

...You can also always check out the AGF Open Mic over on FB after this Sunday's event. We leave them posted on the FB page anyway so you don't have to be there live.

OK, Saturday this week: I
l try not to miss it. What time?

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by lkingston

OK, Saturday this week: I
l try not to miss it. What time?

Lol - really?!? The post says SUNDAY! No wonder you keep missing them!!! 7 pm.

[Methos1979]

After yesterday's extensive testing with my wife and lead singer it became apparent that while the Edwina works well pretty much no matter what you throw at it, the best sound in the end comes from the simplest setup - vocals and guitar just sang and played acoustically into the mic from a distance of about 2'. We really like the level of intimacy it brings especially when harmonizing.

We decided to do one of our impromptu Facebook Live sessions that we do from time to time and it came out fairly well so I took the time to download it from Facebook and upload it to YouTube so it could be posted here. The last one of these we did was using the AKG C414 and the Edwina performed just as good and in some ways better.

The C414 was almost too sensitive and would even pick up our soft foot tapping on the carpet and sound like this really faint low "boom, boom, boom" in the background. Not so with the Edwina. It's definitely made for live recording. Oh, and it looks the bomb doing it! We got a few comments on the mic and my professional soundman son texted me how great the mic sounded and how cool it looked!