taking the plunge to the dark side

[ducati08]

Hey everybody,
I've been lurking for some time and finally have a reason to post. This weekend I acquired an old King bass and started a new musical journey.

So this mando player has turned to the dark side. I have the Todd Phillips two DVD set ("Essential Techniques for Acoustic Bass") and have played all weekend. My left hand is sore and tight and I almost have a blister on the right index. I'm guessing that's to be expected.

I don't know that much about basses, but the King sounds really good to me.

I need to have the setup checked and also probably have the endpin replaced. It still has the original wood endpin. Any recommendations on endpins or where to buy would be appreciated. also, I'm 5' 6" so any advice for a short player is welcome as well.

Thanks all, looking forward to joining the community.
Don

[Stumpy]

Welcome.

If you are near the Bay Area (California) the Bass House has an amazing tech there. Everyone I know that plays on Dbl Basses takes theirs to him. Everyone.

[ducati08]

Thanks Stumpy,
I'm in St. Louis, MO. I know of two shops, Geoff Seitz and St. Louis Strings. I don't know much about them other than they exist.

Don

[John Sprague]

Both are good, according to the word on the street.

[M Ramsey]

Originally Posted by ducati08

Hey everybody,
I've been lurking for some time and finally have a reason to post. This weekend I acquired an old King bass and started a new musical journey.

So this mando player has turned to the dark side. I have the Todd Phillips two DVD set ("Essential Techniques for Acoustic Bass") and have played all weekend. My left hand is sore and tight and I almost have a blister on the right index. I'm guessing that's to be expected.

I don't know that much about basses, but the King sounds really good to me.

I need to have the setup checked and also probably have the endpin replaced. It still has the original wood endpin. Any recommendations on endpins or where to buy would be appreciated. also, I'm 5' 6" so any advice for a short player is welcome as well.

Thanks all, looking forward to joining the community.
Don

Welcome to the community.

The bass you have acquired is one of the more desirable older plywood basses out there. As far as recommending folks in your area, I can't. I'm in North Carolina.

With your height, the wooden stick may be all you need. If it is similiar to the ones in my American Standards (Kings and American Standards were both made by the HN White Company in Cleveland, OH) it was designed to be removed for transport, then replaced and held in place by the taper and the downward pressure of the bass.

The Todd Phillips DVD set is a very good one. If you're a mando player, you may be familiar with Todd's playing with Laurie Lewis, The Bluegrass Album Band, Tony Rice and others. Stick with Todd's instruction on the DVDs and you should be headed down the road in the right direction. He is one of my personal bass heroes.

Good luck and I hope this helps,

[ducati08]

Originally Posted by John Sprague

Both are good, according to the word on the street.

Good to know. Thanks for the info. I will probably ask one of them to fit a new endpin.
Don

[ducati08]

Originally Posted by M Ramsey

Welcome to the community.

The bass you have acquired is one of the more desirable older plywood basses out there. As far as recommending folks in your area, I can't. I'm in North Carolina.

With your height, the wooden stick may be all you need. If it is similiar to the ones in my American Standards (Kings and American Standards were both made by the HN White Company in Cleveland, OH) it was designed to be removed for transport, then replaced and held in place by the taper and the downward pressure of the bass.

The Todd Phillips DVD set is a very good one. If you're a mando player, you may be familiar with Todd's playing with Laurie Lewis, The Bluegrass Album Band, Tony Rice and others. Stick with Todd's instruction on the DVDs and you should be headed down the road in the right direction. He is one of my personal bass heroes.

Good luck and I hope this helps,

Thanks so much. I actually was hoping to install a new endpin so the bass will sit a little lower. An adjustable pin will allow others to play the bass comfortably too. We have a amateur band and one of the members plays bass too. Now we can practice at both houses without transporting the bass.

I'm familiar with Todd and his DVDs seem good. I've gone through the first and 1/2 through the second. I'm having a blast.
Thanks again,
Don

[Bass]

Originally Posted by ducati08

...I'm familiar with Todd and his DVDs seem good. I've gone through the first and 1/2 through the second. I'm having a blast...

+1. I've made my way through the first video and found it to be very valuable.

[lloccmttocs]

There seems to be more and more people coming over to this side. It's like every week theres two new ones of this forum.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by lloccmttocs

There seems to be more and more people coming over to this side. It's like every week theres two new ones of this forum.

...and here I thought the gates were closed and that there would be no new players.

[ducati08]

ALLRIGHT!

DRURB has responded to my thread. I feel like a made man. If we can now get MRPC to reply this will turn into a truly interesting thread and I will feel like a genuine part of the community!

Sincerely, thanks for the welcoming and I look forward to learning much here.

My back ground is old time fiddle tunes and bluegrass, but from a mandolin perspective. I look forward to exploring the URB and seeing where it leads.
Don

[Silversorcerer]

Well, I'm no PC, but I do have the the 3 CD boxed set of his releases as a band leader. It's a limited edition from Mosaic and since he was band leader for those, the Bass is "on top". Good stuff there if you like to transcribe.

Congrats on the King bass. I'm guessing it might be a Mortone? I played only one of those several years ago, but it had a distictly better sound to me than all of the Kays that the same shop had several of. Those are not too common. It's kind of odd that you are short, because if I remember those things are tall, slender basses relatively. My current bass is a big and tall size and I have it down to about 2.5 inches of endpin.

Not many people come over from mandolins. Your fingers should feel like a pack of chihuahuas in a cathedral! Wow, there's just so much room. Spread out guys!

Welcome to the
DARK SIDE

[ducati08]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

Well, I'm no PC, but I do have the the 3 CD boxed set of his releases as a band leader. It's a limited edition from Mosaic and since he was band leader for those, the Bass is "on top". Good stuff there if you like to transcribe.

I will have to check it out. I enjoy many styles of music, but have mostly approached playing from an old time and bluegrass perspective.

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

Congrats on the King bass. I'm guessing it might be a Mortone? I played only one of those several years ago, but it had a distictly better sound to me than all of the Kays that the same shop had several of. Those are not too common.

I'm not sure about the Mortone. The label doesn't mention Mortone, but I've seen it mentioned here several times. Mine is an early King, from 1934 I think based on the serial # of 145. Is there a difference between King and King Mortone?

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

It's kind of odd that you are short, because if I remember those things are tall, slender basses relatively. My current bass is a big and tall size and I have it down to about 2.5 inches of endpin.

I suspect I'll have mine down really low when I get the new endpin installed. I only tried 2-3 basses before getting this one. The thing that sealed the deal was that he would do a trade. I traded a sweet 1964 Gibson EM-200 8 string electric mando for the King + $400. That values the King at only about $1700 or so. I don't know what it's really worth. Hopefully I'll get an idea of its true value and condition when I have the endpin installed and the setup checked at a local shop.

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

Not many people come over from mandolins. Your fingers should feel like a pack of chihuahuas in a cathedral! Wow, there's just so much room. Spread out guys!

That's hilarious! I've been walking around with my fingers splayed out like I'm trying to pick up a basketball. The other big difference on bass from mando is that you don't seem to use the ring finger much. On mandolin, it's used as much or more than any finger.
Thanks Don