Playing without the stand

GW in Ohio · #1 06-12-2008, 11:14 AM

A few times while playing my B2 prototype in a jam session, the bass has slipped off the metal peg that connects it to the stand.

It was always disconcerting when it happened, and it made me afraid that the bass might some day slip off the peg and crash to the ground.

After the last such incident, on a whim I tried playing my Barker without the stand and.....lo and behold....I found this to be a huge improvement in comfort and versatility. I discovered you can rest your Barker against your left knee, or your left leg, or against your body, and it plays just fine.

It actually feels more like an acoustic double bass without the stand and you have a tremendous increase in freedom of movement. You can turn left, or right, to face somebody else in the group. You can even turn around while holding your Barker without the stand.

I've always heard that one of the advantages of the stand is that the instrument resonates better when it's not being muted by pressing against your body, but I don't hear any discernible difference. The freedom of movement you get from holding your Barker like an upright acoustic is liberating. Going back to using the stand now would seem stodgy and constricted.

I still bring the stand with me on gigs, because it's nice to hang the Barker on it when I'm not playing...so much better than laying it on the ground.

Anybody else been liberated from the Barker stand?

(Feel free to chime in here, Lee. I know you are tolerant with heretics.)

pointbass · #2 06-12-2008, 12:36 PM

Geez, I thought I was the only one

I was a little hesitant to post about it ...... you know, the voodoo powers blowing from the Redmond woods might be too much for me to withstand the wrath of Barker

But since you're willing to man up and take the hit, I'll fess up too .....

I actually find the stand to be very limiting when seated, so I began to leave it home if I thought it was a "sit down" gig. Of course, the 2nd time I didn't bring the stand it was a stand up job .... and I liked the freedom of being able to move about a bit more and play more of a DB lean back style. I personally don't notice any reduction in either tone or sustain by holding it against my body, either.

So now it's pretty much a no-stand deal for me, but I also agree that it's a great way to support the bass on breaks.

Sorry, Lee

I'll try not to wander off the reservation in the future .......

BTW, any progress towards the Barker fretless 7 string that I had a dream about a few days ago (seriously, you've got me dreaming about Barkers .... ohhh, the powers of Oregon are strong)

GW in Ohio · #3 06-12-2008, 01:40 PM

PointBass: Thanks so much for chiming in. It's always nice to know you're not the only dissenter.

Lee Barker · #4 06-14-2008, 06:59 AM

[quote=GW in Ohio;5849203]A few times while playing my B2 prototype in a jam session, the bass has slipped off the metal peg that connects it to the stand.

I'm wondering, GW, if you trap the endpin in one of the feet of the stand. With it set up that way, I can't imagine how it might slip out.

Unless, of course, you psychologically, deep down, in your heartiest of hearts, actually [i]wanted[i] it to slip a little....

GW in Ohio · #5 06-14-2008, 03:41 PM

Lee: I never tried anchoring the bass in that way, but it's academic for me now. I like the freedom of having a free-standing Barker. When you are synchronizing with a guitar player, or singing harmonic vocals with somebody on either side of you, it's so much better to be able to turn and face them.

Am I sorry you provided a high-quality metal stand for the Barker bass? No.

I think it's nice to have the option of playing with the stand or without it.

JKT · #6 06-18-2008, 08:25 AM

I have fooled around (for a couple of minutes) playing without the stand. I couldn't see or sense any advantage. But I have zero DB or EUB experience and so I wasn't surprised it felt strange to me.

I do on occassion, miss the ability to turn and face another direction, but it is far outweighed by all the other myriad advantages of the "freestanding-ness"

I pick the best possible situation that the terrain allows and make the best of it. It hasn't really affected my drummer communication. Much of that is becoming non-visual anyway as it should be.

I have also experimented with setting the stand on castors, primarily because of the old axiom that nobody has more fun than idiots. I may use that trick on the next big, smooth, concrete stage. If for no other reason than comic relief.

Joel

Lee Barker · #7 06-18-2008, 01:10 PM

I have also experimented with setting the stand on castors, primarily because of the old axiom that nobody has more fun than idiots. I may use that trick on the next big, smooth, concrete stage. If for no other reason than comic relief.

Hm. I can't not respond to a paragraph that has the word "idiot" in it. I feel at home. How about casters on two of the three....you're pretty stable till you tip the foot up, and then you can zoom.....

Kindly,

Lee

JKT · #8 06-18-2008, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

Hm. I can't not respond to a paragraph that has the word "idiot" in it. I feel at home. How about casters on two of the three....you're pretty stable till you tip the foot up, and then you can zoom.....

Kindly,

Lee

Genius, pure genius

Lee Barker · #9 06-19-2008, 08:38 AM

On the larger subject of playing without the stand, I am really enjoying this discussion. I waited a while to respond just to unnerve the fainthearted, and evidently we have none of those!

So I had the idea for the bass, and I'll take credit for that. The refinements, however, belong to the owners more than to me. Chiefly among those are the cutaway and the now-optional thumbrests on the B1. (They are included, unattached, but with a template for installation if they are desired.)

(Also a comment was once made about the potential of the two zippers (maroon gig bag only) both loosening and generating a bad scene. I have solved that, and will be making the retro fix available shortly.)

So I'm very excited about folks figuring out new and freer ways to play this instrument!

I do still struggle with the ultimate design and details of a body rest, and I know I'll get it one day. I'm just stubborn enough to want to wait rather than steal something wholesale from another EUB guy.

But not so stubborn that I can't accept the great news in this thread! Onward and upward, fellow innovators!

Kindly,

Lee

Tom7 · #10 06-20-2008, 09:28 PM

I was surprised to read the bass came off the stand. Mine stays on that stand 24/7, and if I thought I'd come home to find it face first on the floor, I'd do something different.

Mine is stable and I'm confident playing with the stand and leaving the bass on the stand, but I thought I better ask while were on the topic. Sort of.

Is it okay to just leave the Barker on the stand all the time?

BTW, I can see why some guys would like playing without the stand, but I worry that any extra work my hands do, particularly my left, will just tire me out sooner, so I always play with the stand.

In fact, I think the stand is brilliant.

**yodedude2** · #11 06-22-2008, 07:20 AM

i've never had my barker come off the stand. i set the stand up with two front 'feet' splayed outwards and use the bass peg as a fourth 'foot'. i tend to bounce about quite a bit when i perform and the barker stands up like a champ!

i have played a couple of gigs 'freestyle'. these were gigs where i forgot to bring the stand with me (duhh...)--one gig was short and the other a normal four hours. i didn't like going 'standless'. it was more difficult to play while having to physically hold the instrument up at the same time.

for me, much of the appeal of the barker is that it is a free-standing instrument. i have even rigged up a snare drum stand to hold my 'horizontal' basses vetically for performing!

also, i am always able to make eye contact with other performers during critical song passages--as long as they are looking for me! bass players drive the bus, ya know. later, ron

JKT · #12 06-23-2008, 08:52 AM

9 times out of 10 if you walk in to my house you will see my Barker set up and ready to play like the piece of art work it is.

It is one of the things I love most about it- the fact that it is free-standing. My P-bass is often on a stand too, but doesn't get played near as much these days.

I truly believe those of us that are playing this instrument will be part of history. It's just gona take history some time to catch up with us

JKT

GW in Ohio · #13 07-07-2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Barker

On the larger subject of playing without the stand, I am really enjoying this discussion. I waited a while to respond just to unnerve the fainthearted, and evidently we have none of those!

So I had the idea for the bass, and I'll take credit for that. The refinements, however, belong to the owners more than to me. Chiefly among those are the cutaway and the now-optional thumbrests on the B1. (They are included, unattached, but with a template for installation if they are desired.)

(Also a comment was once made about the potential of the two zippers (maroon gig bag only) both loosening and generating a bad scene. I have solved that, and will be making the retro fix available shortly.)

So I'm very excited about folks figuring out new and freer ways to play this instrument!

I do still struggle with the ultimate design and details of a body rest, and I know I'll get it one day. I'm just stubborn enough to want to wait rather than steal something wholesale from another EUB guy.

But not so stubborn that I can't accept the great news in this thread! Onward and upward, fellow innovators!

Kindly,

Lee

Lee: I played my B2 prototype without the stand last week at a bluegrass gig, and after an hour it was distinctly uncomfortable. While the left leg and knee were supporting the bass, the right foot started to develop pins and needles.

So I went back to the stand yesterday for a bluegrass session, and it was like in the Bible, where the prodigal son returns and his dad kills the fatted calf and everything is just hunky dory.

This sinner has returned to the fold, repentant.......

Lee Barker · #14 07-07-2008, 11:16 AM

So I went back to the stand yesterday for a bluegrass session, and it was like in the Bible, where the prodigal son returns and his dad kills the fatted calf and everything is just hunky dory.

This sinner has returned to the fold, repentant.......[/quote]

Well, any excuse for a little fatted calf, that's what I say.

I suppose now we'll have to come up with a bumper sticker that says "pins and needles" with the red negatory circle/slash, then the Barker Bass logo?

pointbass · #15 07-07-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GW in Ohio

This sinner has returned to the fold, repentant.......

So the old guy in New Jersey is once again the dissonant note in an otherwise harmonious blend of stand lovers

Hmmm, I'm feeling very lonely all of a sudden ....

**yodedude2** · #16 07-07-2008, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pointbass

So the old guy in New Jersey is once again the dissonant note in an otherwise harmonious blend of stand lovers

Hmmm, I'm feeling very lonely all of a sudden ....

all is forgiven, my son. go forth and sin some more...

p.s. we need a vertical bassist smiley...