Here I GO!

RobinG · #1 04-11-2007, 09:53 PM

As an EB player for around 35 years, I always told any beginner who asked, "Play as many Basses as you can, and find the one that you feel comfortable on, regardless of who or where it's made." I learned through the years that if a beginner was playing a poorly set up EB, they would loose interest quickly.

Now, I have a mail order Chinese Bass arriving tomorrow.. going against everything I've told people who ask.. I didn't play it.. heck, I haven't played a DB in 32 years

I am good at woodworking, understand how to set up a DB, and am willing to hack up a $300 Chinese Bass as a learning experience to see if I can play, and set one up

The experiment has begun!

RobinG

Jeff Guevin · #2 04-11-2007, 10:13 PM

Every time someone plays a $300 DB, a baby penguin dies. But if you're okay with that, have fun!

RobinG · #3 04-11-2007, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Guevin

Every time someone plays a $300 DB, a baby penguin dies. But if you're okay with that, have fun!

I'm a bit lost in your logic..

RobinG

Jeff Guevin · #4 04-11-2007, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinG

I'm a bit lost in your logic..

RobinG

That's okay, I make myself laugh, and that's what counts.

RobinG · #5 04-11-2007, 10:30 PM

LOL..

Ya hear about the Bass player that locked their keys in the car?

Fat.Mike · #6 04-12-2007, 12:33 AM

The poor Penguins, all formal and dressed up in their little suits...

Nohandles · #7 04-12-2007, 05:56 AM

I have set up a cheap Chineese bass that I Affectionately called the 2 X 4. It played very, very nice but had the acoustics of a 2 X 4. No matter what a I did I could never get a pleasing sound out of it even in the hands of a master.

forcedrings · #8 04-12-2007, 06:18 AM

Please keep us posted--I'm anxious to hear how things come out! I was in a similar situation several months ago--wanting my first upright at 50 after playing the electric for over 30 years. I went with a Chinese hybrid from KC Strings that I am very happy with, but I always wondered if I could have got by with spending less!

John Sprague · #9 04-12-2007, 08:46 AM

...

Quote:

Every time someone plays a $300 DB, a baby penguin dies. But if you're okay with that, have fun!

LOL, good one. I thought you were gonna say "Every time........God kills a kitten".

Good luck with your experiment Robin! If you're handy, you may get alot of use out of it.

mje · #10 04-12-2007, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinG

LOL..

Ya hear about the Bass player that locked their keys in the car?

Is this the one where it's raining, and the top is down?

John Sprague · #11 04-13-2007, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mje

Is this the one where it's raining, and the top is down?

I heard it took him 2 hours to get the drummer out.

5stringFanatic · #12 04-13-2007, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Sprague

I heard it took him 2 hours to get the drummer out.

LMAO!!

RobinG · #13 04-17-2007, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Sprague

I heard it took him 2 hours to get the drummer out.

We have a winner

First report on the Bass.. The kids loved the box it came in.. I have a LOT of packing material to get rid of..

Oh.. The Bass..

It arrived intact, well packed, and NOT set up. The strings suck.. The sound post isn't straight, tuners are marginal at best, but stay in tune.. and the padded case ROCKS!

It is workable from my POV. I've set the bridge at 41.75 and 42.25 and it still sounds the same. The D string is much louder than the rest. I have weedwhackers on the way. We'll see how it does with them. I guess I should try 42".. or get a sound post that doesn't have staple holes in it..

I've taken to it well.. in week one.. I can grab it and be "mostly" in tune playing a part.

Other side of the coin is that I'm totally re-thinking my EB positions to a UB perspective.

That alone, has me exploring new teritory

Robin

RobinG · #14 04-21-2007, 12:23 AM

One week update:

Weedwhakers will be here tomorrow. I've left the bass set up at 42.25 for the week, and it seems to have settled down a bit. I filed down the nut about 1/16th of an inch and made the slots more guaged for the string size, and the bridge about 1/8th of an inch. The D string is not too loud anymore, and it's playing well, from my limited POV with light strings that came with it. We'll see how the nylon strings work.

I also found an OLD Barcus Berry drum transducer pickup in a long lost drawer that I attached to the bridge holding it down with a rubber band.. It works pretty well! I ran it through a Hartke A-70, and had to tweak the EQ pretty hard to get an OK tone out of it. I'll try it through my Mesa Big Block 750 tomorrow and see how it does

So far, I'm very happy with it

I can feel the floor resonating when I play it, and it's loosing it's initial dead spots. I've also learned that I can actually play one!

Robin

RobinG · #15 05-06-2007, 11:29 PM

Update:

I've hosed the bridge.. and I expected to

The sound post is still where it was from the factory, and the WeedWhackers didn't work for me.

The Barcus-Berry PU is working great! I can roll off treble, some bass and some mids and I get a pretty good sound switching from my P-Bass to the UB through a Mesa Boogie BB 750 and a MB 4X10 cab. I've also noticed if I press the PU hard to the bridge, I get some pretty bad feedback. I'm working on the balance now.

I'll be playing 9 tunes on it at our next gig.. wish me luck!

Robin

waltzfordebby · #16 05-06-2007, 11:35 PM

this is a very very interesting thread... any recordings or pics would be very welcome.

RobinG · #17 05-09-2007, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waltzfordebby

this is a very very interesting thread... any recordings or pics would be very welcome.

I'm still working with the tools I have.. I reset the bridge today at 42" and I lost some of my string buzz.. I had to pack some shopping bag paper under the G string to keep it from buzzing.. I have a gig in a couple days and can't wait for a new bridge. I also repositioned the pickup. I'm getting a really good sound out of it now

I still have the factory flatwounds on the bass.. sound post is still off a bit.. but it UB a GO!

I'll post pics and maybe some sound clips on my My Space page before long.

Robin

Bruce Lindfield · #18 05-09-2007, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinG

I'm a bit lost in your logic..

RobinG

I think the point is that if you read any of the threads around here - people will be telling you that a cheap bass is not worth buying, you can't do your own set up, you need an experienced person to do this and unlike BG you cannot teach yourself DB and are just likely to injure yourself etc.

I could go on - but you are basically breaking every "golden rule" of the Double Bass board!!

In the past - you would have had at least half a dozen people jumping in within 5 minutes, saying how bad an idea all this was - but lately the board has been a bit slow and I think people have lost interest..shame!

RobinG · #19 05-09-2007, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

I could go on - but you are basically breaking every "golden rule" of the Double Bass board!!

I understood that when I got it, and was willing to take the project on. That's why I'm posting my journey. Other than taking off a little too much from the bridge, which I expected to do, I'm very happy with where it's taken me so far

The Barcus Berry drum pickup was the biggest surprise. It really works well, and yes, it picks up a very cheap sounding Bass. This time next year I'm sure I'll have something much nicer. Buying a DB has been one of the best things I've do to grow as a player

First gig is this weekend

I'll be playing 9 tunes with it from Nancy Sinatra to Sublime.

Robin

WillBuckingham · #20 05-09-2007, 10:40 PM

Robin, regarding your posts about moving the bridge around. I think in general you're just supposed to set the bridge so it's centered with the notches on the f-holes in the middle of the bridge, no?