Will EUB help you play Upright?

[miles mosley]

I hear a lot of talk about electric players wondering if EUB is a good pit stop on the road to playing Upright.

I endorse NS Designs, i'll put that out there now, but I've played Upright first and foremost for 13years or so.

I treat my EUB as a separate sound not a replacement. Playing EUB, in my mind is way easier than playing Upright, so to me I would skip the step. You might as well start with the real deal and develop your technique so that when you move to EUB you haven't developed bad muscle memory habits.

what do ya'll think.

M
p.s. this is not intended to be a discussion of which instrument is more superior in sound, but simply whether it behooves electric players to start on EUB or Double Bass. That's my disclaimer, since I play both happily.

[brianrost]

There's a lot of people who think about doing things in steps rather than just doing what they should in the first place. To my mind if you want to play upright, then get one and start playing it.

I hear people say you can use fretless BG and EUB as intermediate steps but I don't see it that way at all. They are just detours at best and wastes of time and money at worst.

[el_mariachi]

IMO, I will echo brian's comments. I had been playing slab for around 15 years. I decided to give the EUB a try as I really always enjoyed the sound of an upright. I tinkered with the EUB for about 4 or 5 months before I got frustrated with it and dumped it for a real DB. For me, the DB is MUCH easier to play than the EUB. Balance, technique, everything is so much more "fluid" for me on the DB than the EUB. And don't forget the sound. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the EUB to sound more than a glorified fretless bass. Again, these are just my experiences and opinions. Everyone else's will vary.

[Bruce Lindfield]

This is interesting to me as I played BG for 20 years or so and then got into Jazz and started to love the sound of Double Bass I heard on classic albums.

But I just wasn't ready to go back to being a total beginner and realised from talking to DB players and trying their instruments that I would be completely lost on DB - I just couldn't get through a gig on DB!

Also - I was really struggling to find an affordable DB in the UK that wasn't really "low end" ...?

So - I tried the NS basses in London and really loved how I could play it and get some way towards the sound of amplified DB!

I bought a CR5 and played it for 2-3 years, before deciding to get the real thing!

After playing the NS bass for a few years it didn't seem so hard to go to DB -especially after many hours of research on TB and other places on the net. I was ready - whereas 2-3 years before I wasn't!

Now I love playing DB to the exclusion of all else - although I keep the EUB as a "spare" or for places with tight space restrcitions! The EUB is indestructible - it survived a car crash - while the DB falls apart if you drop it - so the EUB is good to keep for emergencies !

But I do feel it helped me - although I can see how others may not and wouldn't have the patience for a process lasting maybe 4 years!

[Jumbotron]

I would say it depends on the EUB. If it has upright action, string spacing, scale length, etc. (not all of them do), I can't see why it wouldn't help in playing an upright.

[damonsmith]

I think it is certainly better to start with a good EUB than a crappy ply bass. Unless you are going for a classical career, the EUB should be useful to have around when you get an acoustic bass. Even if you do end up being a classical player it may be useful.

[spoonido]

All good opinions. Here's one more:
My EUB very definitely has made playing an acoustic upright less of a challenge. The EUB is a great gigging instrument that can handle a lot more of the road than an expensive acoustic bass. I say if you can afford both, keep your acoustic at home and the studio, and your EUB on the road!

[Bruce Lindfield]

The last two posts ring true with my experience as mentioned above!