Setting up an Electric bass for Salsa

[gimmeagig]

I'm not sure where to put this post.I'll try this because it is kind of a setup question.
I recently started thinking about getting an electric upright bass mainly for Salsa.When I tried one I realized how difficult the switch would be.
So I'm thinking about a plan B.I have a bunch of basses that all give me a sound that is close to the Marcus Miller tone.
I want to set one of those basses up to give me more thecently started thinking about getting an electric upright bass mainly for Salsa.When I tried one I realized how difficult the switch would be.
So I'm thinking about a plan B.I have a bunch of basses that all give me a sound that is close to the Marcus Miller tone.
I want to set one of those basses up to give me more the sound of an electric upright bass.I heard a band called Cubanismo and the bassplayer in that band was really fat and punchy sounding.Each note just hit you in the chest.
I was thinking I might be able to simulate that sound by getting a set of heavy gauge flatwounds raising the action and putting some foam under the strings.
Has anyone here tried this? Or can I get some pointers on how I might be able to achieve the Salsa Baby Bass sound?

[walterw]

wrangle yourself a short-scale bass, like an eb-0 or a mustang. that tubby, rubbery sound seems to be the ticket for this kind of music.

[Matthijs]

Doesn't the Cubanismo guy mainly use an EUB? I use one for salsa and it does the baby bass thing really well. Before that I used a fretless bass, but not set up as a typically fretless with thin strings and a low action. I use medium gauge roundwound strings and a setup that requires some digging in. Don't go the dead flatwounds way. In a good salsa sound there's still some high end zing and you need to have control over the sustain. A tumbao groove needs sustain in the bass.
My guess would be your marcus miller sounding basses might do better than flatwounds and foam as long if you amplify them really bass heavy.

[bongomania]

I posted this same question a week or two ago, and didn't get much of a response. A couple days after posting it, I bought a second-hand 80's Steinberger. Graphite, fretted, EMG's, and rounds. *mindblow* With the tone knob rolled back, it actually cops the Baby Bass tone quite well! Better than my fretless J with coated strings or my passive P with dead rounds and high action. I'm not sure I'll keep it, for ergonomic reasons, but I gotta say any theories I had about what kind of bass would get me that salsa Baby Bass tone have been thrown right out the window!

[Jefenator]

^^ Glad to hear the 'berger's moving you, sonically! I suspect you'll get used to the ergos. (Couldn't possibly be the weight or the balance. )

The group I play with likes to a lot of more modern "Timba" style stuff, so that's actually one of the relatively few occasions for me to dust off the active 5-string. For the more traditional stuff, I just use the neck pickup and roll off treble. Used to play upright with a magnetic pickup but now they specifically want that modern-sounding 5-string electric.

IIRC the Tumbao rhythm originated from using a bass with a fruit box for a body. So there's no need to get too too fancy!

[bongomania]

Yeah, the "rumba box" is like an oversized kalimba (thumb piano) made out of a crate, that you sit on! Pretty cool sound actually. The hard part is using modern electronic instruments to get such a heavy-bodied percussive thump tone!

The ergo deal is my left hand--I'm used to a flatter neck profile. But as you say, I'll probably get used to this profile. The weight and balance are just right! And the sustain is nuts.

[gimmeagig]

I tried a couple of EUBs last week but I can already tell it would take me forever to learn the thumb position.. I could not figure out a way to stabilize the basses once I took my thumb off the back of the neck.
I'll mess around with the EQ and I'll try the foam but I know that having sustain is important too.
yes, I like the timba style too( Isaak Delgado, Paolito FG Osvaldo Chacon, Tiempo Libre great stuff...)and I can get that sound with my basses as they are. But that punch that the guy in Cubanismo gets is something else....