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Double Bass EUB for late night practicing with a real DB feel

Les Fret

Les Fret

Sep 9, 2009
7,208
6,911
nextlevel-slapbass.com
#1
I am considering buying an EUB but only for the purpose of late night practicing. Only to use it at home cause elsewhere or during daytime I will use my 'normal' DB . Since I will only use it for this purpose I don't need a real pricy one.
What is important is that it has real DB feel. I want to have the feeling of reaching the thumb position, the same as on a DB. It has to be in the same 3/4 scale. Also I don't want sidedots or any other dots and it has to be especially good for arco practice.

Does such a thing exist? and for a reasonable price
 
#3
Yes I have the rubber mute. It dampens the overall volume but you still have lots of pretty loud low frequencies from the body (at least loud enough not to disturb anyone). These are the frequencies that will annoy the neighbors the most.

You mean to put the cushion under the endpin? I have tried that but than my bass slips away. I always sit in the cello like position.

I you have more dampen tips let me know please.

For the price: everything below 750$ I think is reasonable.
 
#5
Les Fret said:
You mean to put the cushion under the endpin? I have tried that but than my bass slips away. I always sit in the cello like position.

I you have more dampen tips let me know please.

For the price: everything below 750$ I think is reasonable.
Click to expand...

With a thick cushion, and a piece of mat on the floor, you should be set I think.
I have several mutes here, collecting dust in a box, mostly ebony and rosewood. PM me if interested, maybe they'd work better than rubber?
 
#8
Francois Blais said:
With a thick cushion, and a piece of mat on the floor, you should be set I think.
I have several mutes here, collecting dust in a box, mostly ebony and rosewood. PM me if interested, maybe they'd work better than rubber?
Click to expand...

You mean you don't use a mute only the cushion under the endpin?
and do remove the endpin?
are the wooden ones better than the rubber ones? has anyone compared these?
I didn't even know there were wooden ones.

An EUB might also be handy so that I don't have to carry my DB from upstairs to downstairs. Many times I am watching tv downstairs and thinking 'I can also be playing DB right now'.
But then I am not in the mood to drag the bass down. It would be easy if I just could grab an EUB and practice instead of wasting my time on the tv.

So what is a good EUB with a DB feel?
 
#10
Had some more thoughts on this topic, I think I will just get a an ergo and a headphones amplifier to practice with. And I will use francois' advice for real bass!

Another thing to think about is ways to practice the bass without making sound. My teacher studied with Fernando Grillo, and Fernando gave him some bow exercises that involve bouncing the bow off of the string in different divisions, i.e. bouncing the the bow at two points (frog and tip) and then doing three divisions, then four, all the way to eight. He also has some exercises to develop bow holds for different parts of the bow, again the tip middle and frog.

Obviously you need to practice the bass as well! But figuring out some mechanical aspects of the bow hold (and even just practicing left handed gliss up and down the bass to get a smooth transition) can be helpful also. YMMV et

Peter
 
#11
Peter_00 said:
Francois,

Has it been your experience that the ebony and rosewood mutes work better than the big ultra rubber mute? I also know that there is brass bass mute, have you tried that? I am also trying to keep my practice quiet and would benefit from some tips!
Click to expand...

Does anyone know where I can find a brass bass mute? I've searched on the google, but to no avail. Thanks in advance. Yes, the rubber one just doesn't cut it.
 
#12
Maybe this one?:
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Bob G. also sells it:
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I bought one a few weeks ago from him.
It was just not holding on my EUB so I can't comment.
But I don't think this kind of mute will provide much muting at all.

Quote from Bob's webpage:
In by humble opinion, calling it a mute may be a bit of a misnomer. I guess what I'm saying is that the effects are very subtle, so don't expect a huge difference in your sound. Trying it out on my Juzek bass with Corelli strings, I can detect some changes in the overtones, as well as some slight suppression of sustain, but it depends on location.
Click to expand...
 

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