electric vs upright in todays music biz

osmarokuma · #1 10-31-2011, 03:49 PM

I wasn't sure if this was the right place to put this in.

THIS IS NOT A DEBATE OF WHICH IS BETTER

I play both and I think that I'm at the same or similar level with both instruments. Thats said, some things I play on upright I can't play on electric and somethings I play on electric I can't play on upright.
I have been trying to manage practice time but I feel that I should concentrate on one of them as my primary instrument.
In todays music biz (studio bassist, touring, teaching, gigs...etc) which is more in demand? I have no preference but in order to be great at one instrument I feel that I have to leave out some practice time from one.

Herbie 80's · #2 10-31-2011, 03:52 PM

Use the search button, this has been beaten to death.

General consensus:

Used for different things.
Electric will never sound like an upright.
Electric will never be accepted for Classical music playing.
The list goes on and on..

Basically, what are you being hired to do? Use the instrument that they ask for, and the one that makes the proper sound.

Stick_Player · #3 10-31-2011, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osmarokuma

I have no preference but in order to be great at one instrument I feel that I have to leave out some practice time from one.

You need a preference. What if TB picks the wrong one for you - then what? Lawsuit?

If all you want to do is make money... bass-playing has a very low success rate. Maybe something else?

chuck3 · #4 10-31-2011, 04:04 PM

if the object is to be "in demand" (your words), then you should keep playing both.

I play in a rock/alt country/blues band where I use both (and people dig that); a jazz piano trio where I only play upright; and a jazz guitar trio where I only play fretless BG. I had a long gig and cut an album with a singer/songwriter who would only accept upright. I'd have a lot less fewer opportunities to play if I didn't play both.

osmarokuma · #5 10-31-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck3

if the object is to be "in demand" (your words), then you should keep playing both.

I play in a rock/alt country/blues band where I use both (and people dig that); a jazz piano trio where I only play upright; and a jazz guitar trio where I only play fretless BG. I had a long gig and cut an album with a singer/songwriter who would only accept upright. I'd have a lot less fewer opportunities to play if I didn't play both.

Yeah, I practice both, but its hard to give equal amounts of practice to both. I feel that I have to give one of them a bit more practice and make it my principal instrument. I still plan to practice both though.

FretlessMainly · #6 10-31-2011, 04:47 PM

Having played fretted electric for 31 years, double bass for 19 years, and fretless electric for 12 years, I would say that the double bass is more challenging - thumb position, bowing, scale, higher action, etc. So, if you devoted 35% of your time to electric and 65% to DB, you might end up equally proficient on both.

Have you divided your time more or less evenly so far?

When I pick up a fretless electric after playing DB for a while, it often feels like a toy. Playing a fretted bass is often a breeze.

osmarokuma · #7 10-31-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

Having played fretted electric for 31 years, double bass for 19 years, and fretless electric for 12 years, I would say that the double bass is more challenging - thumb position, bowing, scale, higher action, etc. So, if you devoted 35% of your time to electric and 65% to DB, you might end up equally proficient on both.

Have you divided your time more or less evenly so far?

When I pick up a fretless electric after playing DB for a while, it often feels like a toy. Playing a fretted bass is often a breeze.

I have tried too, sometimes the stuff that I practice on upright will naturally transfer to the electric but there are some things that I play on electric which I wouldn't play on upright (just the feel and sound of the instrument).

chuck3 · #8 10-31-2011, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

Having played fretted electric for 31 years, double bass for 19 years, and fretless electric for 12 years, I would say that the double bass is more challenging - thumb position, bowing, scale, higher action, etc. So, if you devoted 35% of your time to electric and 65% to DB, you might end up equally proficient on both.

Have you divided your time more or less evenly so far?

When I pick up a fretless electric after playing DB for a while, it often feels like a toy. Playing a fretted bass is often a breeze.

^^^^^^
This is a pretty good guideline if you're going to continue with both (all three, really, if you count fretless BG). I practice about 2/3 on upright, the rest on various bass guitars. I should add that I don't try to bow the upright, except for fun sometimes - it's all jazz pizz. If I were going to bow, the percentage of time on upright would increase.

Marty Forrer · #9 10-31-2011, 05:09 PM

IMO as a doubler myself, spend your practice time on the upright and the bass guitar will look after itself. It's got nothing to do with what's more in demand, it has everything to do with the physicality of the double bass. If you concentrate on the bass guitar and neglect the double bass, your playing will suffer. The same does not apply in vice versa.

Ed Fuqua · #10 10-31-2011, 06:06 PM

Not that I double, but the folks I know who do, shed what needs shedding when it needs shedding. If you have a buncha BG gigs coming up, shed BG. If you have a bunch of upright gigs coming up, shed upright.

Tehrin Cole · #11 10-31-2011, 06:34 PM

Who says that you"have to choose"? you're a doubler!

Gig-wise,you have the best seat in the house because,you have choices!
What that means is,you are properly equipped to handle whatever the gig requires!

Someone once told me as a child: "Freedom means having lots of choices"!

As far as which-one-to-practice-when is concerned,don't worry so much about it!
How you feel artistically,will take care of that!

Peace!

**ShoeManiac** · #12 10-31-2011, 06:53 PM

Being known for doubling is a big deal. It takes a great deal of work to stay proficient with both instruments, but it definitely increases the number of opportunities for gigs. That's not a bad thing. I personally focus on playing bass guitar, and while I'm proficient as an EUB player, I'm not known as a doubler. I might actually get some work from some friends of mine who are singer-songwriters who routinely hire upright players if I was known more for doubling.

You're probably going to be naturally stronger on one instrument. And that kind of awareness is valuable, because you can then try to work that much harder on the instrument that you may feel weaker playing. In the same right, expecting to be at equal skill levels on both bass guitar and the upright is probably a little unrealistic.

Bassmunnky · #13 10-31-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShoeManiac

Being known for doubling is a big deal. It takes a great deal of work to stay proficient with both instruments, but it definitely increases the number of opportunities for gigs. That's not a bad thing.

+1

I'll add...it's not so much how FAST you play that will get you gigs...but how fast you can hear changes and play what's required on the gig...

Thumb position, harmonics, slapping, tapping...woooo hooooo...

Before you hit the shed on that stuff...study up on Jamerson...he played both. Pretty cool

nysbob · #14 10-31-2011, 07:46 PM

I play both too, and agree that if you must practice X amount of of time, I'd shade a bit more toward the upright just for strength.

I get session work on both, so the more you have to offer the better off you're going to be.

fmoore200 · #15 10-31-2011, 07:46 PM

Idk.. john pattittucci seems to do ok playing both... Christian McBride too lol

Spaldo · #16 10-31-2011, 08:03 PM

They're both different animals, but I recommend keeping your chops up on both. The upright is great for strength, stamina and keeping your ears 'in', and it's a great instrument for acoustic gigs (as opposed to an acoustic bass guitar). I like to use an EUB on smaller or cover gigs, it's a lot of fun to play. And because I get a lot of gigs for my upright abilities, I do need to practice a bit so I don't suck on those!

This should really be a no-brainer, you either double or you don't. If you do, practice! You need to commit to the art, not focus on the logistics!

chuck3 · #17 10-31-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spaldo

This should really be a no-brainer, you either double or you don't. If you do, practice! You need to commit to the art, not focus on the logistics!

^^^^^^^
This.

Hey, why doesn't TB have a emoticon that's a DB player? Discrimination!

HaVIC5 · #18 10-31-2011, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Not that I double, but the folks I know who do, shed what needs shedding when it needs shedding. If you have a buncha BG gigs coming up, shed BG. If you have a bunch of upright gigs coming up, shed upright.

Yeah, this. No brainer, right? It echoes the sentiment of Benny Golson at a masterclass I saw him give when asked about balancing composing and playing. "You know, sometimes I gotta write more when I get those kinda gigs, and sometimes I gotta play more when I get those other kinda gigs."

Ed Fuqua · #19 10-31-2011, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fmoore200

Idk.. john pattittucci seems to do ok playing both... Christian McBride too lol

Well, JP is one of those guys that I was talking about. He talks about this a lot, he calls it "serial shedding"...

FretlessMainly · #20 10-31-2011, 09:49 PM

Although I've played DB, EB, and FL for various numbers of years, I've never been a true doubler for very long at any point. Of course, I'm not a full-time musician. But it takes extreme dedication to be on top of your game on both DB and any form of EB.

At my peak of practicing, rehearsing, and gigging, I was probably working as a scientist 40-45 hours a week, practicing 1-2 hours per day, rehearsing 4 hours a month, and gigging 20 hours a month. 95% of that was on DB, and my electric playing suffered. After several years of gigging in Jazz, Blues, Rock and a local symphony orchestra, an ulnar nerve injury forced me to quit playing for six months, re-learn all of my left hand fingerings and eventually, having lost most of my contacts, get back in to electric, so by 2004 I was fully committed to FL electric.

I can't imagine the dedication it takes to stay on top of all of those for an extended period of time.