WhooHoo! I've officially rejoined the Doubler's Club!

[bassmonkeee]

Well, last night I took my upright to its first gig in about 2 years--and, I loved it!

I had never been able to find time when I got the upright a couple of years ago after playing electric for 14 years. The bridge needed to be shaved, and I never got around to taking it for work. As a result, I didn't play it much, and it only saw a couple of tunes at a couple of gigs before I put it away. I finally got tired of looking at it in the corner, neglected, and went and spent some money to get it set up properly. I got a new bridge (the old one had warped), and I've spent the last month giving myself blisters practicing.

I wanted to take it out to a gig, but I didn't know when I'd feel ready. I told myself I'd take it to the gig if I could find a Fishman Pro Platinum EQ to tame the K&K Bass Max going into my Portabass 250 driving an EA CXL1-10, and an Aguilar 1x12. I was able to find one at GC for a good price, spent about an hour at home futzing with the sound, and drove off to my gig, hoping I'd be able to play it for more than a couple of tunes without killing my hands.

And, the 'click' that didn't happen the first time I picked up the big bass happened. I'm hooked. My fingertips are red and tender,my forearms and shoulders are killing me and I feel the makings of a blister on my pinky, and I love all of it.

Instead of getting tired, I ended up playing more upright than electric over the course of the 3 hour gig. The rest of the band told me they were wonderig when I'd finally bring it back out in public. Everyone seemed really pleased with the sound it added, including the staff at the restaurant. After the gig, the drummer said, "This is what you need to be doing." I'm lucky enough to play with musicians whom I respect greatly and drive me to improve, and his compliment meant a lot. The upright is definitely going into full rotation with the blues gig. I don't know if I could have as much fun without the upright now.

I need to work on maintaining good form, but I think I did pretty well, considering. If I found myself ham fisting the neck, I'd move to electric for a few tunes to rest for a bit. Now I know why you guys call them toy basses--after an hour of upright, the 5 string felt like a fisher price bass! The tone through the Fishman was amazing (will post a review of that soon), but I think I'm going to order the Golden Trinity Mic Upgrade this week from Bob(he who must be hailed).

I'm taking the upright to practice for my other band on Wednesday, but that material is a bit more complex, and demanding, so the upright might not appear at those gigs for a little while, but I could say, "What the Hell," and jump in with both feet.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I just wanted to share my tale.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Congratulations, and welcome to the dark side! You'll find it cozy here in the castle, but prepare to be hit with a barrage of "get a teacher" posts. Other than that, it's not so bad. Your story is not an uncommon one...when I got my first DB, I was playing fretless in a working trio, and we had rehearsals in my music room. The drummer saw my ugly *ssed American Standard sitting in the corner, and said "why dontcha play that for a couple of tunes?" About two weeks later I started taking it out to gigs, and I've never played my fretless since, not even once. Don't be surprised if you start buying every possible DB string ever made and start mixing them in improbable combinations, or start tweaking your setup every two days, or start dreaming about microwave melting insane rosin combinations together to create the perfect blend. This is how it starts.

Oh, and get a teacher, willya?

[bassmonkeee]

Thanks, Chris. I'm glad I finally took the leap.

Not having a teacher was one of the things that kept me from touching it. I didn't want to develop any bad habits that would be tough to break. Unfortunately, that meant I never played it, and it went into disrepair--hence, the warped bridge.

My girlfriend basically said, "Play it, or sell it, because it's BIG." So, I got it fixed, and I've been happily going through Rufus Reid's Millennium Edition of The Evolving Bassist. I stretch, warm up on electric, and move to upright to practice. A teacher is in the plan, but I haven't had a chance to find one, and money is tight with my girlfriend starting law school in the Fall.

My guitar player played upright when he was at Berklee, and he's giving me some pointers.

As for experimenting, I can't say enough about the Fishman Platinum. It sounds great with the Bass Max. I can't wait to get the Golden Trinity and the two channel preamp.

I've got both a cheap German, and French bow to try and figure out which I'll stick with. Right now, I'm not even touching the bow yet...

[Pacman]

Yeah, Man! Welcome to the club. My electrics are only used when someone makes me anymore....


And the stick of pain is the only way to get your intonation together, trust me. Welcome to the dark side.

[olivier]

Last saturday it was "La Fête de la Musique". My friends wanted to play outdoor. I told them that I would agree with the provision of no direct sunlight and no direct concrete floor. They said I was too uptight with my axe. I brought my Honner fretless jazzbass copy and a cheap 25W guitar amp... I never play that stuf, my wrists were hurting and my sound was crappy. But I am now a proud doubler. and a crancky one too.