Stick Recomendations Please

[wallyburger]

Hi all! New here, but you knew that.
I'm an old person having fun again. Have been playing for about ten years this time around on an electric. Spent about a year now getting back into double. My primary band is a 17 piece swing band and although they are ok fine with my electric they long for a double. I heard a stick awile back in a blues band called Safire. Loved the instrument. Nice option for me. Can anyone offer me any advice on makes, models, etc.?

[anonymous0726]

Sift through the 'newbies' links at the top of this forum, keeping an eye out for 'EUB', which is 'Electric Upright Bass'.

Welcome to the fold.

[wallyburger]

Very helpfull and insightfull!

You hit it on the nose. I did not know what to call the thing. They didn't have them 30 years ago when I first played the double!

Thanks!

[Bruce Lindfield]

You mean like this :

[wallyburger]

Oh yes!

That there is one for sure!

Thanks to the above hint of EUB, I have been able to get started looking. Found some usefull hints in the newbie section along with the pole on 8 manufacturers. Now it's a matter of finding places to play a few to be sure that they are going to deliver the sound I need. If you have time could you include who makes the above unit? This is not something that I need to do in a hurry. I want to shop a little.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Try the website :

http://www.nedsteinberger.com/

[wallyburger]

Got it! Thanks!

Decisions, decisions.

[Barefoot Larry]

Originally posted by wallyburger
Now it's a matter of finding places to play a few to be sure that they are going to deliver the sound I need.

"The sound you need" may a be a whole different line of thought.

A lot of EUB's sound & feel more like a bass guitar than an upright bass. In fact, a lot of them are not much more than
fretless bass guitars played vertically instead of horizontally. They have 34" scales, instead of 41.5" scales, and use pure magnetic pickups, etc.
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The Eminence is often said to sound more like an amplified double bass than some amplified double basses.

It also has the same feel & scale-length as a double bass.

You can see them at www.gollihur.com, and I think they can be had for around $2000.

You'd need to email Bob Gollihur for the actual price. http://www.urbbob.com/eminence.html



You can email bob@gollihur.com, or phone him at 609-624-1470 9am-9pm Eastern.
Maybe you could get one "on approval".
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Also, you might want to visit www.azola.com.

The Azola basses, both the bugbass, and the Eurocoustic series are among others that are known to have a good
double bass sound and feel.

[wallyburger]

Wow! You folks have been extremely helpfull! From chatter on web sites, thread blurbs etc. it sounds like the emenince is the ticket. Although the euro looks good too. Something about a solid body that scares me a little. And the 41.5" scale is a must. I, for whatever reason, can not find a note for the life of me on a fretless guitar. A double; that is the oppisite story. I don't get it, just live with it. And I am seeing a lot of the "sounds more like an amplified db than an amplified db" around. There is a hit as well. All of our venues are large fund raisers, corporate parties, alumni, yada yada. Amplifier required.

Thanks again, Gotta fly!

[Barefoot Larry]

Originally posted by wallyburger
Wow! You folks have been extremely helpfull! From chatter on web sites, thread blurbs etc. it sounds like the emenince is the ticket. Although the euro looks good too. Something about a solid body that scares me a little. And the 41.5" scale is a must.

FWIW, I BELIEVE that the Bugbass is the slab EUB that uses some sort of "floating" bridge arrangement that also makes it sound more like a double bass. However, their addition of the Eurocoustic series, very similar to the Eminence, would seem to indicate that the floating bridge could still be improved upon.

The Eminence and Eurocoustic also have the slight advantages of being audible with no amplifier, at least for practice purposes, and IMHO looking nicer than a slab-body.

Were it ME, the Eminence would be my choice. Call or email Bob Gollihur and chat about it. He's a straight-shooter, and he only started selling them after owning one himself.

I know that he offers a 7-day approval period on his Bulgarian double basses, though I don't know whether or not he could do something like that on the Eminence.

And you can get the cutest little hardshell cases for them, too! <grin>

[wallyburger]

Thanks again! No testomony like "I would buy". I will shoot Bob an e-mail streight away and see what he has to say. I just didn't want to frustrate him as I will not make a purchase for a couple of months at least. My last bass took me two years to purchase. I have a tendency to keep things for long periods and it is important for me to find things that fit me well. Sometimes difficult in our disposable era!