electric stand up bass are they good for creativity or are they a disgrace

[metalandjazzman]

Well i dont play double bass. But i am interested in playing a electric stand up. I went to a double bass club meeting one day and i ask most of the players on what they think of the electric stand up. most of them think insterment is a disgrace but i whant to know do other pepole think there cool cause i do.

[uethanian]

simple solution: if you want the sound of an acoustic, get an acoustic. if you want the sound of an electric, get an electric.

the hate of electric uprights is pretty irrational, considering that they will never take the place of acoustics. they're not for everyone, but some cool stuff can be done with them. if you're talking about using it for jazz, i'd just invest in an acoustic; electric uprights are typically expensive as it is (relative to bass guitars), so consider putting your money towards an acoustic with a good pickup system.

[DeluxeRed]

My WAV4 give me access to a tonal palette and playing experience I wouldn't otherwise get to explore if I had to deal with a real doghouse, so it's certainly a plus for me. OTOH, I'm a bass guitar snob, so I can certainly see how people steeped in the craftsmanship and sound of real acoustic uprights might look down on it. But that's ok with me; in the UB world, I'm looking up at them. And I don't kid myself into thinking that my cheepo (relative) EUB is anything like like a real, handcrafted, wooden AUB.

[Bass Barrister]

If you mean electric upright bass (EUB), there's a whole section dedicated to them just below the "Basses" section. Check it out.

It's not my cup of tea, but many DB players use them for a variety of practical and personal reasons. For one thing, they are much easier to travel with than a DB. That right there makes them "cool" for some folks.

[Andrew McGregor]

They're yet another stringed bass instrument, different from BG, fretless BG and double bass (not to mention the weird ones, like Chapman Stick and friends). They're not a substitute for any of the others, although they overlap most with fretless BG. As a solid-body electric instrument you can bow, they're rather different too.

If it's the right thing for what you want to do, that's cool. But do remember you can't do everything with one.

[JtheJazzMan]

I think electric stand up may be referring to one of those bass-guitar-on-a-stick things, which im not too keen on. If the scale length isnt long enough, why bother standing it up. Plus they dont have a curved fingerboard to bow the strings. So to me the design is a little strange.

Electric double basses are great though, same scale length as DB, same curve for bowing, and they are much more plug and play compared to acoustic DB as you dont have the problems of feedback. Theres a growing range of fine quality electric DBs out there with amazing tone, dynamic range and expressiveness.

[David1234]

I'm a big fan of the EUB. Its sound lacks some of the thump of a DB but in every other way (controllable sustain, available tone palette, available volume-before-feedback, clarity/articulation, weight of notes) I can get a better sound from EUB than a plugged-in double bass. It's also far more portable and takes less room on stage.

But sometimes on the jazz scene there are people who think they're traditionalists (an oxymoron, given jazz's history) and they'll resort to name-calling when they see an EUB. I take a double bass if I have to play with, or for, that scene. They won't know what they're missing out on!

If I were you I'd be very interested in Ned Steinberger's next offering. My NS Bass is awesome, and his next model looks like great value. I'd avoid the WAV unless you can spend some time on it before buying: I've played only one and it was awful - I understand that the first batch was better than some subsequent batches.

[Thedeepend01]

I started playing the EUB 2 years ago and decided to acquire an ERGO EUB (www.ErgoInstruments.com). I found my fiver EUB to be a great learning tool and also acceptable for the stage. The cost was way below the average EUB. The build quality was very acceptable. The scale was that of a 3/4 size DB and the fingerboard is radiused to provide full access to perform ARCO.
There should be a strong understanding of the application of the instrument. What I mean by this is that aesthetics sometimes takes precedence over practicality. Some gigs will not accept a EUB over a DB do to the vibe that is desired.
So in conclusion...........get it all.........G.A.S. rules!

[JtheJazzMan]

Originally Posted by David1234

But sometimes on the jazz scene there are people who think they're traditionalists (an oxymoron, given jazz's history) and they'll resort to name-calling when they see an EUB. I take a double bass if I have to play with, or for, that scene. They won't know what they're missing out on!

Perhaps we should start calling out the jazz double bassists who dont use a bow.

Afterall, if you dont use a bow your not really a double bassist and youre not really playing double bass.

[metalandjazzman]

Man amagin how many weird sounds you can make with the bow and effects pedals! The one thing i dont under stand if a electric double bass has magnetic pickups the how does electric double bass strings work?

[JtheJazzMan]

Im not sure what youre asking, but yes bowing an electric DB opens a whole world of tone.

If you want to use magnetic pickups, you need strings with enough ferrous content. Bowing with mag pickups wont yield much sound as the vibrations are on the wrong axis

[Gary Lynch]

DB, EUB, ABG, EB, all are legitimate and 'cool' in the right circumstances. Like others have stated, they are each a different instrument. I used to read many post bad mouthing the ABG, that is until YouTube had a clip of Esperanza Spalding shredding on a ABG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8gynGy8pSg

Then I read threads questioning the EUB. But all one has to do is go to YouTube and check David Friesen out playing his custom EUB and your mouth drops open like a caveman. 9 minutes of wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XMcYCgQXMQ

Thank goodness for all of the instruments!

[Nagrom]

I think 'disgrace' would refer more to the operator than the instrument

[Marc Piane]

I'm not sure why we are even comparing. Every instrument is viable.

People do kid themselves when they think about one instrument being a substitute for another. If you capo and 6 string EB tuned like a guitar at the 12 fret it's still not a guitar. Same with EUB and DB. They are just different.

I do have pretty strong feelings about what I'd like to hear in a certain style. It stops there though. There is no 'cosmic' right or wrong.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

Perhaps we should start calling out the jazz double bassists who dont use a bow.

Afterall, if you dont use a bow your not really a double bassist and youre not really playing double bass.

Agreed. People who attempt to play the double bass without using the bow are hopeless posers, doomed to always play completely out of tune at all times, and are ultimately, as the web lingo goes, "t3h 5uxx0rz!!1!1111111! OMG LOL W.T.F.?" There's simply no hope for these ignorant mouthbreathers. <---(click)

In spite of this I'd like to encourage everyone to ignore the tacit assumption of the thread title that double bassists generally consider EUB's a "disgrace". A few do, but the majority are much more openminded than this. Let's not paint the entire forum with a brush aimed at only a few members.

[Marc Piane]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

In spite of this I'd like to encourage everyone to ignore the tacit assumption of the thread title that double bassists generally consider EUB's a "disgrace". A few do, but the majority are much more openminded than this. Let's not paint the entire forum with a brush aimed at only a few members.

The thread title rubs be weird too.

What I don't get is who are we disgracing? Who decides? Is there some grand counsel of DB gods that decides who will go to Valhalla and who will be banished for eternity because they have disgraced the brethren?

I'll freely admit I am one of the guys that should be painted with with broad brush. I've heard some really good EUBs like Mike Arnopol's. I'd still rather hear him play jazz on a DB. But that is my opinion. If you care what I think you have bigger issues. Like the saying goes "Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one."

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

Perhaps we should start calling out the jazz double bassists who dont use a bow.

Afterall, if you dont use a bow your not really a double bassist and youre not really playing double bass.

Chris Fitzgerald and Charlie Haden are my idols. Maybe you should buy them each a bow and give them a few lessons.

[JtheJazzMan]

Just to throw a put more fuel on the fire..... Another thing that bugs me on this issue is that very few of the acoustic DB players are actually playing acoustically.

Orchestral DB players can generate enough volume with arco, but there are few pizz players who can generate enough volume to cut it with a band.

So in essence, anyone using a pickup is playing an electric upright.

But lets skip the terms, most of us are using a ratio of acoustically generated and electronically generated sound. Most of us with a full DB and pickup would produce tone with about a 70%/30% blend of acoustic/electronic give or take.

Those hollow body EUBs maybe be 20%/80% and the solid EUBs will be 0%/100%

So can we all drop the ridiculous dichotomy?

Its a continuum of tone, and few people seem to be judging instruments based on their tone.

So lets stop listening with our eyes and listen with our ears a little more, eh?

[Marc Piane]

Originally Posted by JtheJazzMan

So lets stop listening with our eyes and listen with our ears a little more, eh?

I'm sure these guys did plenty of listening with their ears.

Originally Posted by ehochberg

In approximate order of inclusion:

Jazz Side

Mingus
R Brown
P Chambers
S Clarke
M Hinton
R Garcia Fons
B Bromberg
D Holland
E Gomez
E Weber
D Friesen
C McBride
C Weigel
C Haden
NHOP
E Meyer
R Mitchell
P Heath
Don Thompson
Danny Thompson
R Carter
S LaFaro
J Blanton
O Pettiford
G Peacock
J Garrison
D Gress
S Colley
R Hurst
S LaSpina
M Vitous
R Workman
E Revis
L Grenadier
J Genus
R Reid
C McBee
B Williams
R Drummond
T Dunn
D Pliskow
P Kowald
J Vivian
A Roth
D Young
D Irwin
B Allison
A Cox
C Israels
S Rodby
D Finck
M Johnson
J Mondragon
L Vinegar
M Budwig
C Counce
B Whitlock
C Smith
R Pena
G Morrow
J Merrit
D Watkins
G Mraz
M Moore
T Plumeri
G Duvivier
R Whitaker
T Falanga
A Sharpe
B Cranshaw
A Davis
G Moore
J Pattitucci
T Dryer
S Stewart
wellman braud
Pops Foster
Bob Haggart
Reginald Veal
Israel Crosby
Will Austin
Tommy Williams
Sam Jones
Albert Stinson
Wilbur Ware
Joe Carver
Charles Fambrough
Larry Gray
Larry Kohut
Bob Magnusson
El Dee Young.
Andy Simpkins
Rolly Bundock.
Bob Badgely.
Eddie Safranski
Mark Dresser
John Clayton
Wyatt "Bull" Ruther
Chris Wood
Ryan Monroe
Luther Hughes
Red Callender
Aaron Bell
Tommy Potter
Sonny Dallas
Wendell Marshall
Knobby Totah
Vinnie Burke
Howard Rumsey
Matt Penman
John Lockwood
Kate Davis
Jodi Proznick
Esperanza Spaulding
Montudie Garland
George Tucker
Henry Grimes
Richard Davis
Butch Warren
Brandi Disterheft
Brian Torff
Scott Colley
Bill Moring
Billy Hadnot
Phil Flanigan
Kristen Korb
Ari Roland
Eugene Wright
Peter Washington
Peck Morrison
Chubby Jackson
Phil Palombi
Ronnie Boykins
John Wiitala
Barre Phillips
John Kirby
Eddie Jones
Jimmy Blanton
Wellman Braud
Dorsey Burnette
Lloyd Brevett

Classical Side
Joel Quarrington
Francois Rabbath
Robert Brennand
Lew Norton
Orin O'Brien
Jeff Bradetich
Daxun Zhang
David Walter
Homer Mensch
John Deak
Barry Greene
Eugene Levinson
Edwin Barker
Harold Robinson
Gary Karr
Edgar Meyer

Latin Side

Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez
Israel "Cachao" Lopez
andy rodriguez

Bluegrass/Country Side

Ernie Potts (Bill Monroe)
Gene Libbea
Missy Raines
Clayton Perkins (Carl Perkins)
Cousin Jake (Flatt & Scruggs)
Bill Black

Blues Side

Willie Dixon
Ransom Knowling
Larry Taylor.
Big Crawford

[JtheJazzMan]

Ok, not sure what youre trying to say there?