Go for EUB or DB

madsky · #1 09-04-2001, 08:39 AM

Well ... i play Rock and Jazz ... and i play the electric bass... i am choosing between an electric upright or an acoustic double bass ... i might put some pickups on the acoustic double bass ... which one of these choices are better ? i am new ... i play in a school band [a good one] ... they also play classic music ... but in my free time i go play rock with my friends ... will an EUB or ADB do the job for both of these situations ?

yet another tasteless question from me

nickchalk · #2 09-04-2001, 02:18 PM

Well I have to say if you might play classical your going to need an acoustic one. Nobody in their right mind play classical music on a EUB.

dhosek · #3 09-04-2001, 02:41 PM

Actually, in a school band situation, an EUB might be a reasonable approach, BUT...

You'd want to stay away from the bass guitars in disguise (Zeta crossover), and once you start looking at a dedicated EUB that can do classical well, then the price advantage actually tilts towards a proper DB.

My recommendation would be to rent a proper DB for a few months and study with a good teacher, see if this really is for you. If it does work out, then you can go the rest of the way towards finding a bass that fits YOUR needs. There is, after all, a chicken-and-egg problem with starting with any new instrument: You can't determine if it's any good, if you can't play it, but you can't learn to play it with having one to learn on.

-dh

madsky · #4 09-05-2001, 03:13 AM

oh ok ... thanks for the helps ... i don't expect the double bass or EUB to sound like the the "F-16 sound" equivelant electric basses...

i will probably get a DB i think ... my band conductor is right now contacting the teacher for me...

do you know any bands that use double basses / EUB in their songs ? so i can check them out sometime...

FalsehoodBass · #5 09-05-2001, 04:13 AM

Reverend Horton Heat, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.. a lot of those rockabilly bands use uprights... i can't remember the name, but there's a band from austrailia that had a song called "prisioner of society" on the radio for a while, and they had an upright too.. i liked it, but it didn't come through so well..

madsky · #6 09-05-2001, 08:18 AM

oh ok ... thanks ... i mean modern rock ...

but thanks ... i kinda got the idea

the double basses shipped here are mostly old wrecked basses ... then shipped by boats and then renovated and refinished and it gets a setup ... that's about what you get ...

EUBs would be easier to get and avoid the customs here from adding more tax

welll ... double basses are impossible to avoid though

dhosek · #7 09-05-2001, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by madsky
oh ok ... thanks ... i mean modern rock ... but thanks ... i kinda got the idea

Barenaked Ladies is one contemporary rock band which uses more DB than BG.

Dig through your cds and read the liner notes... if you look for a while you'll eventually turn something up.

-dh (who read in the paper yesterday that Gary Sinise plays bass... who knew?)

whypeb · #8 02-22-2008, 06:55 AM

Iwent from Walls ,Alembics & Fenders thru the mid 80s playing rock,rnb..etc.I believe its worth starting on a DB.A Stenton perhaps as they are made next door ...ie China & dont cost much. A good teacher will follow this up for you.Once you get your hands on 1 & make it your own you can branch into NS or the likes. I have recently ,& found it interesting .DONT GIVE UP>THERE IS A SOUND OUT THERE FOR YOU.