String Thing

slapnuts · #1 09-11-2005, 07:03 PM

Does anyone know if you can restring an electric bass with upright bass strings and be able to use a bow?

**Blackbird** · #2 09-11-2005, 07:14 PM

You can bow electric bass strings just fine. I've done it with roundwound strings. I suppose flatwounds would be easier on the bow.

Let me save you some trouble and say it doesn't work very well because the radius on a bass guitar is too flat for clean single string bowing.

The good news is you can get a similar effect with an eBow, which would cost about as much as a regular bow anyway.

By the way, upright bass strings are very expensive, even for electric bass standards - one set can cost $100 or more.

slapnuts · #3 09-11-2005, 07:19 PM

What the heck is an "eBow?" And I don't care about the price of strings, I have and old friend in the string buisness and can basicly get them for free.

gottawalk · #4 09-11-2005, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Let me save you some trouble and say it doesn't work very well because the radius on a bass guitar is too flat for clean single string bowing.

+1. Besides that, (and wondering "why" in the first place, other than some "effect" that you would only use rarely and wouldn't be worth the price of a set of upright strings),
I definately wouldn't want all that rosen dust inside my pickups!

Just get a Dean Pace electric upright and call it good.

**Blackbird** · #5 09-11-2005, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapnuts

What the heck is an "eBow?" And I don't care about the price of strings, I have and old friend in the string buisness and can basicly get them for free.

I'll tell you, but can you hook me up?

It's a battery operated device you hold in your hand near the strings and makes them vibrate like a bow. Michael Manring uses them a lot.

Do a search and you'll find a lot more info.

Christopher · #6 09-11-2005, 08:42 PM

Easiest way to accomplish a bowed sound with a bass guitar is to use a volume pedal. It's a lot easier to use than an ebow.

jenderfazz · #7 09-11-2005, 09:00 PM

Regular strings can be bowed just the same. Flatwounds are what uprights use, there's nothing different about them, except they're made for use on the huge upright compared to the little electric. Just get flats. However, the neck doesnt have enough radius - it's hard to bow 1 single string since eahc string is at almost the same height as the others.

Bruce Lindfield · #8 09-12-2005, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapnuts

What the heck is an "eBow?" And I don't care about the price of strings, I have and old friend in the string buisness and can basicly get them for free.

Double Bass strings are huge compared with BG strings and would never fit a BG nut or bridge - plus they would be about 8" too long and would undoubtedly be too floppy to play at all!!

Also - you are going about this the wrong way - it is not the type of string that allows Double Bass to bowed - but rather the curved fingerboard and overall shape of the thing itself!

**Blackbird** · #9 09-12-2005, 09:41 AM

Hey, Bruce, you could at least have read the first reply...

Bruce Lindfield · #10 09-12-2005, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Hey, Bruce, you could at least have read the first reply...

Well I did , but your approach obviously wasn't getting anywhere with the original poster , so I spelled it out for him!

slapnuts · #11 09-12-2005, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Double Bass strings are huge compared with BG strings and would never fit a BG nut or bridge - plus they would be about 8" too long and would undoubtedly be too floppy to play at all!!

Also - you are going about this the wrong way - it is not the type of string that allows Double Bass to bowed - but rather the curved fingerboard and overall shape of the thing itself!

Isn't there some way to raise the two middle strings and get paul bunyan action?

Munjibunga · #12 09-12-2005, 09:39 PM

You could play this bass with a bow if you order the right neck. It's an Azola Deco Bass. Yum.

gottawalk · #13 09-12-2005, 09:43 PM

I don't understand why you don't just look for an electric upright. Do you intend on holding the bass under your neck to bow it, or what?

Bruce Lindfield · #14 09-13-2005, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapnuts

Isn't there some way to raise the two middle strings and get paul bunyan action?

No!

So there is no point in starting more threads about the same thing!!

Nick man · #15 09-13-2005, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gottawalk

+1. Besides that, (and wondering "why" in the first place, other than some "effect" that you would only use rarely and wouldn't be worth the price of a set of upright strings),
I definately wouldn't want all that rosen dust inside my pickups!

Just get a Dean Pace electric upright and call it good.

The Dean Pace doesnt have the highly curved fretboard of an upright from what Ive heard.

Nick man · #16 09-13-2005, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

No!

So there is no point in starting more threads about the same thing!!

Yes there is.

You can change the fretboard, adjust the neck angle with a massive shim, and install a new bridge and nut. The pickups wouldnt match the curve of the strings so youd have to get those replaced too.

Bruce Lindfield · #17 09-13-2005, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick man

Yes there is.

You can change the fretboard, adjust the neck angle with a massive shim, and install a new bridge and nut. The pickups wouldnt match the curve of the strings so youd have to get those replaced too.

"Change the fretboard" !! Oh yeah that sounds really simple...NOT!!

You forgot that you will also need to change the body so it doesn't interfere with the bow...and all this work would almost certainly cost you more than buying an EUB in the first place...

You would end up with the most expensive "white elephant" bass ever!!

And that's without mentioning that magnetic pickups generally sound bad for arco - as in scratchy and distorted.

So you would end up with a hugely expensive project to produce a crap sound ...yeah that's worth doing!!

Nick man · #18 09-13-2005, 03:09 AM

I left out the body part just incase he was playing an instrument like one of the Steinberger designs.

I also left this out:

Bruce Lindfield · #19 09-13-2005, 03:31 AM

Yes - I'm not annoyed or anything - honestly it's just a ridiculous idea.

I have a DB, EUB and BGs in front of me and the size/shape difference is so huge that it's laughable!!

gottawalk · #20 09-13-2005, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick man

The Dean Pace doesnt have the highly curved fretboard of an upright from what Ive heard.

Thanks. I'm not as familiar with the EUB's. Sort of just threw a name out for effect...

I looked around on line to do research for an EUB for a while and compiled quite a list of brands, but there was next to none in the area to try out. Eventually I went with a Warwick fretless instead. (Happy with that, by the way.

) I was looking for that fretless sound without going totally upright so I didn't think about the bowing aspect at that time. Maybe if you know, you could give Slapnuts some brand ideas that would work for him. I still can't see using an electric for bowing...

Hey, "Slap"! I'm still interested as to why you're so hot to do it on a conventional bass. Trying a new style out?