Stethoscope amp, just what the doctor ordered...

[Russell L]

LOL, I did it, but it needs improvement. Heh, heh, stuck a stethoscope onto my bass and put the ends in my ears. Dang thing worked. Ok, so not perfect, though. I actually had to kinda pin it between my belly and the bass body, or lay it on top. Depending on how it was positioned it could sound distorted like a half-blown speaker (Ha! effects!). I suppose I could tape it on, but just wanted to see if it would work at all first.

Got this idea from a story I heard of a member of Big Brother and the Holding Company sitting in a closet with a stethoscope taped to an acoustic guitar, back in the day. (Dunno why I never thought of it before).

Now, there could be improvements as to how to attach it to my bass. And then, there could be better ear pieces. Apparently this thing ain't meant to be worn for very long, ouch. Oh, and it wasn't nearly as loud as I was afraid it would be. Very nice volume, actually.

At last, all natural, personal amplification. No cords, no electricity. No more having to lean over and put your ear to the body. Once I get it modded, maybe I can market it, ya think? Hee, hee, what a hoot.

[jbassbob]

Sorry, it's been done:

Newsroom - True North Music Productions

[Mr. Foxen]

Not a patch on a pre CBS stethoscope though.

[rodl2005]

I like the pointy '80's version best.

[slaerts]

Originally Posted by jbassbob

Sorry, it's been done:

Newsroom - True North Music Productions

Yeah, you use to get a free one from this site when you signed up as an upgraded member, dunno if you still do. I got mine. Sitting in a box somewhere virtually unused.

[hrgiger]

I tried something like this back in the day because I love the sound you get putting your ear to the body. I got one of those old-tyme radio shack telephone amplifiers and took the mic (which has a suction cup on it so you could stick it on the handset) and tried that as a pickup. I actually don't remember if it worked or not... If I can find one I'll try it again.

[rodl2005]

I had an old stethoscope in the med cab at home, so I tried this last nite. I used a couple of small bits of 'blu-tack' to stick it in place. Remarkable the differing tone in different positions on the bass.
I like the sound of sticking my ear ON the bass body, & this stethoscope did a pretty good job of getting this same sound without having to crane your head down-which is ok for a few mins, but gets mighty uncomfortable after s short while.
Handy for a quick play in a hidey-hole at work. :-)
But headphones outta the amp works a lot more nicely imo. -as long as your amp will do this.

[blastjv]

Originally Posted by jbassbob

Sorry, it's been done:

Newsroom - True North Music Productions

Yeah, I tried those on a Strat at a guitar show a couple of years back here. They worked. Pretty neat. I don't think I'd find them comfortable for an extended period of time, but still pretty neat...

-JV

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by jbassbob

Sorry, it's been done:

Newsroom - True North Music Productions

Well, I'll be dawged. I'm behind the times, when I thought I was born twenty minutes ahead of my time, LOL.

Still a cool idea, though.