Best Electric Upright Bass for Around USD 1000

klezmersamurai · #1 11-13-2007, 08:10 AM

I would like to get the members' opinions on the best electric upright bass for around $1000. I'd appreciate your input!

damonsmith · #2 11-13-2007, 11:58 AM

In that price range, an Ergo is it, even with a few mods like a tom holder and new strings.

*fenderbass* · #3 11-13-2007, 02:19 PM

"Best" is pretty subjective. There's a lot of things that come down to personal preference (tripod stand vs endpin, 42" scale vs short scale, if you want a "stick bass" or a bass with a body, etc...)

I have yet to hear of a $1000 EUB that doesn't need some immediate upgrades (strings, preamp, etc...) before it starts to sound good.

I bought a 5 string Ergo and used it as a rehearsal and travel bass for about two years. I liked the look of the bass. The neck and action felt similar to my acoustic DB however, I could never get happy with the sound. I tried strings, preamps, etc... but the pickup never worked right and I didn't want to invest in an upgrade. The stand was also an issue. It's basically a cheap cymbal stand. I bought all new drum hardware (pretty expensive) and built a new stand. Bottom line, the Ergo is a cool design, but there were some functional issues that were frustrating to me.

When NS Design came out with the WAV last year, I sold the Ergo and bought one. I was immediately much happier with the WAV. The stock stand is lower quality than what comes with the more expensive NS Design basses so I upgraded the stand for about $150. The stock strings were ok, but I got a much more "acoustic DB like" sound when I changed the strings.

I am really happy with my WAV and I don't think anything comes close for less than $2,000.

bassbob · #4 11-13-2007, 05:30 PM

Keep in mind,

Anything under 1K will have some issues you will need to address. 2K or even 3K helps the quality a lot. I have around 5 or 600 USD into my Palatino. ( I did all the labor myself so that could be a big saving or expense depending on what you are willing or able to do with an EUB.

Strings, pickups and preamps all cost money not to mention cases. The Ergo may be the best deal with the Archery cases available on the net or at big box sports stores.

damonsmith · #5 11-13-2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *fenderbass*

"Best" is pretty subjective. There's a lot of things that come down to personal preference (tripod stand vs endpin, 42" scale vs short scale, if you want a "stick bass" or a bass with a body, etc...)

I have yet to hear of a $1000 EUB that doesn't need some immediate upgrades (strings, preamp, etc...) before it starts to sound good.

I bought a 5 string Ergo and used it as a rehearsal and travel bass for about two years. I liked the look of the bass. The neck and action felt similar to my acoustic DB however, I could never get happy with the sound. I tried strings, preamps, etc... but the pickup never worked right and I didn't want to invest in an upgrade. The stand was also an issue. It's basically a cheap cymbal stand. I bought all new drum hardware (pretty expensive) and built a new stand. Bottom line, the Ergo is a cool design, but there were some functional issues that were frustrating to me.

When NS Design came out with the WAV last year, I sold the Ergo and bought one. I was immediately much happier with the WAV. The stock stand is lower quality than what comes with the more expensive NS Design basses so I upgraded the stand for about $150. The stock strings were ok, but I got a much more "acoustic DB like" sound when I changed the strings.

I am really happy with my WAV and I don't think anything comes close for less than $2,000.

I know what you mean about the pick up, you really have to shift the bridge around, but when you get the right spot it can get a great woody sound, obviously depending on your ability to get a great sound.
The NS has a hotter, cleaner but much less woody sound. They are still very nice instruments.
I like my Ergo better than the Wav 4, but the question was still about under $1000, and I don't think any of the others are even close in that range.
Also, Jesse is constantly improving - my 7 string is much higher quality than the 6 string I originally bought.

Spikyone · #6 11-13-2007, 08:37 PM

A cheap way that I found is to buy a cheap chinese bass and throw a Schaller magnetic pickup onto it.

Drawbacks-- an acoustic DB is a pain to lug around, you need strings with enough steel in them, the magnetic pickup doesn't reproduce acoustic tones all that faithfully and I have had to pad the pickup to muffle a vibration (around the octave "g" frequency) that is audible when it is played unplugged.

Advantages -- you get to own an acoustic, it is very cheap, my pup is also very quiet; even at high volume, it doesn't feedback like a piezo, it kicks ass!

MyUsernameHere · #7 11-13-2007, 09:43 PM

I just got a WAV last week and am pretty happy with it, but I'm pretty much a EB and EG player. If this is your first purchase with an instrument like this you should think about what you'll be using it for before you decide. I needed something that would cut through in a mix and be able to approximate a more BG sound if needed, so the WAV's somewhat non-conventional DB sound was a plus for me. This isn't true for everyone. If you really want something that sounds like a DB, just get a real one. Otherwise, last time I checked there was an ARIA and Ergo on E-bay for around $600. There are good and bad points with both of these (and the NS for that matter). Check the threads for info. There's a lot of it already out there on this site.

damonsmith · #8 11-14-2007, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spikyone

A cheap way that I found is to buy a cheap chinese bass and throw a Schaller magnetic pickup onto it.

Drawbacks-- an acoustic DB is a pain to lug around, you need strings with enough steel in them, the magnetic pickup doesn't reproduce acoustic tones all that faithfully and I have had to pad the pickup to muffle a vibration (around the octave "g" frequency) that is audible when it is played unplugged.

Advantages -- you get to own an acoustic, it is very cheap, my pup is also very quiet; even at high volume, it doesn't feedback like a piezo, it kicks ass!

-That just sounds gross. I prefer my Ergo to a cheap plywood any day, plus a magnetic pick up won't get a good arco sound. For my Ergo, Replacing the stand was under $50, strings are a normal upgrade, I just give it my old double bass strings, once you find the right spot for the bridge it gets a great sound.
I brought it to a workshop with about 30 other bassists the other day and it blended fine with all of them. It just goes straight into my little GK, no preamps or compression.

foderaman77 · #9 11-17-2007, 08:06 PM

Yeah Ergo needs some tweaking but I like the sound and feel. I have an early 60's Ampeg baby bass and a 50's Kay set up by the David Gage folks with full circles. I did not like the feel of NS wavs. To each his own. I have a 8 string Ergo on order. Can't wait.