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Double Bass anyone using their upright for....

#21
With all of this talk about Chris Wood, I felt a picture was in order.

bass.jpg


Joe
 
#22
Since you guys mentioned Brian Bromberg did you notice that Lemur is making a copy of his bass? (this is the bass section of TB) I played his bass a couple times when he was living in San Diego and it was pretty amazing.


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Brian Bromberg's Matteo Guersam, circa 1700
Lemur Music and Brian Bromberg teamed-up in October of 2005 to design a bass that would replicate the great tonal qualities and playability of Brian's 300-year-old Matteo Guersam. Soon bassists everywhere can have access to the same pallet as the Jazz virtuoso. Brian also wanted some for himself, so he could travel with a copy of his fine Italian bass and avoid any chance of damaging the irreplaceable original instrument.
 
#24
jmpiwonka said:
available late spring and starting at $7500, pretty interesting, i'd like to see one.

that is alot of equipment he has on that bass :eek:
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No kidding. Looks like a Full Circle, a Realist, some sort of f hole mic, and another unidentified pickup either stuck to or embedded in the bridge.

I wonder if they're going to try to recreate that finish, and if so, whether the duct tape is included? :D To be fair, I've used a tape job almost exactly like that more than once in the studio.
 
#26
it is a 1920's pfretzchner (probably spelled it wrong).
he's had it since high school, and got it from a symphony player that he was getting lessons from is what i was told.

EDIT: it sounds great on that live wood brothers cd, it was recorded live at tonic and i assume it is an all acoustic recording.
 
#27
KSB - Ken Smith said:
One thing I can say for sure is this. If you believe this statement ("Soon bassists everywhere can have access to the same pallet as the Jazz virtuoso"), then you will surely be dissapointed if you have played the real thing or any 200+ year old Pedigree. This is Business for Brain and his name and not some new secret way of re-creating a 300 year old Italian instrument which no one to date has done.
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We'll see. I betcha that Brian will sound just like Brian on the new copies, and that __________(insert generic mediocre player here) would sound just like __________(insert generic mediocre player here) on Brian's antique treasure. I doubt very much that the essence of Brian's sound comes from the instrument itself. I know I'd sure listen to Brian play a new axe than a far lesser player playing a precious relic. :)
 
#28
"Soon bassists everywhere can have access to the same pallet as the Jazz virtuoso. Brian also wanted some for himself, so he could travel with a copy of his fine Italian bass and avoid any chance of damaging the irreplaceable original instrument."

" pallet . . . a flat transport structure made of wood which can support a variety of goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by any mobile forklift or other jacking device. "

$7500 is a lot of money for a "pallet"

Why don't they "antique" a Cremona or other such CCB and make a vintage bass copy, come to think of it, this could be a new industry ! ! ;)
 
#32
univac jr. said:
Lemur Music and Brian Bromberg teamed-up in October of 2005 to design a bass that would replicate the great tonal qualities and playability of Brian's 300-year-old Matteo Guersam. Soon bassists everywhere can have access to the same pallet as the Jazz virtuoso. Brian also wanted some for himself, so he could travel with a copy of his fine Italian bass and avoid any chance of damaging the irreplaceable original instrument.
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Ooh, are they going to age it 300 years too? For $7500, that's a pretty good price if it includes the back-to-the-future aging treatment too. Do you think Lemur will let me custom age my current instrument for me? Anybody know?!?! I want to be one of the first guys to have a 300 year-old Christopher Hybrid. ;)
 
#34
Ray Parker said:
It can get very physical if you're doing a lot of eigth-note funk, so having your chops together is a must...
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You got that right! One of the singer / songwriters I perform with ends a set with a really funky version of "Ode to Billy Joe" (Bobby Gentry) where people take turns taking one-verse breaks. I don't know if you know that tune, but the verses are loooong. The first show I played with her, we got to the section where the solos were to start, and she stepped to the mic and said "Take it, Liam!" I forgot that I told her I would solo! I was exhausted by this point, since I had been doing a really funky percussive, semi-slap line, a style I wasn't used to doing.

Well, I pulled it off, but man, my hands were toast. So yea, what Ray says ... if you're gonna funk up the DB, get yer chops in shape. ;)

Liam
 
#35
I may be jumping in a little late, but there are two bands not mentioned that I feel should be:

Grace Potter - http://www.gracepotter.com/. Bryan Dondero plays an old Kay bass on about half the tunes.

Mike Doughty Band - http://www.mikedoughty.com/. Mike is the former frontman of Soul Coughing now doing a solo thing. His records don't have a double bass on them, but he tours with Andrew Livingston. It is rock with a David Gage Czech-Ease bass. There is a link on their website to download live shows.
 
#36
Chris Fitzgerald said:
We'll see. I betcha that Brian will sound just like Brian on the new copies, and that __________(insert generic mediocre player here) would sound just like __________(insert generic mediocre player here) on Brian's antique treasure. I doubt very much that the essence of Brian's sound comes from the instrument itself. I know I'd sure listen to Brian play a new axe than a far lesser player playing a precious relic. :)
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Don't want to hijack the thread, but this reminds me of the story I heard about Chet Atkins. He's just finished a set and a guy comes up to him and says "That's a great-sounding guitar, Mr Atkins." Chet looks at the guy hard then puts the guitar down on a stand. "How's it sound now?" he asks him.
 
#37
Most of my playing in on the non-traditional side. I play with a lot of singer songwriters and I try to cover the ground between a bass and cello. I have also played double bass in really heavy situations. I used to play for a guy named David Garza and really loved when I would play the whole gig on upright instead of deciding if I should play electric or double bass on a song. I blended a String Charger magnetic pickup and an underwood on that gig. The blend would go to the house and the String Charger would go to my Ampeg SVT and 8-10 cabinet. He liked how hard I played on the heavy stuff and you just can't dig in that way on a bass guitar. That probably explains the forearm issues I have now.

Currently I tour with a guy from California named Matt Nathanson that has a huge following around the country, so we play really nice venues that have great monitors. I just use my Fishman Full Circle and I can totally hear myself in a full rock band situation, but I only use my double bass (Czech-ease) on a few songs with him. Locally I've been doing shows with a guy that sounds a lot like Jeff Buckley. Really too much like Jeff Buckley, but he is a great singer and I get to play hard and use the bow a great deal. I get to use lot of tricks that I usually don't use on a jazz gig.

String bass is such a beautiful and limitless instrument. You can use it in any situation, but just be sure your chops are up to it or it will be painful.
 
#38
masmasbasso said:
Most of my playing in on the non-traditional side. I play with a lot of singer songwriters and I try to cover the ground between a bass and cello. I have also played double bass in really heavy situations. I used to play for a guy named David Garza and really loved when I would play the whole gig on upright instead of deciding if I should play electric or double bass on a song. I blended a String Charger magnetic pickup and an underwood on that gig. The blend would go to the house and the String Charger would go to my Ampeg SVT and 8-10 cabinet. He liked how hard I played on the heavy stuff and you just can't dig in that way on a bass guitar. That probably explains the forearm issues I have now.

Currently I tour with a guy from California named Matt Nathanson that has a huge following around the country, so we play really nice venues that have great monitors. I just use my Fishman Full Circle and I can totally hear myself in a full rock band situation, but I only use my double bass (Czech-ease) on a few songs with him. Locally I've been doing shows with a guy that sounds a lot like Jeff Buckley. Really too much like Jeff Buckley, but he is a great singer and I get to play hard and use the bow a great deal. I get to use lot of tricks that I usually don't use on a jazz gig.

String bass is such a beautiful and limitless instrument. You can use it in any situation, but just be sure your chops are up to it or it will be painful.
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awesome! I just bought a String Charger to run with my Rev Solo pickup. How did you like the SC when you use to use it?
 
#39
BassGreaser said:
awesome! I just bought a String Charger to run with my Rev Solo pickup. How did you like the SC when you use to use it?
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I loved it at the time. It's the only way to run an upright through a SVT and use a big muff on it. Mine has lost volume in the output of the pickup over the years. I plan on sending it back to have it refurbished if he will do it. I did try to bring it back out last year and blend it with my full circle in a D-tar Solstice. Our front of house guy thought it was total overkill and thought everything sounded better without it. I did use it as part of my onstage sound and only send the full circle to the house for a while, but I eventually just did without it. I am thinking about adding it to my Czech-ease after the refurb since it doesn't handle feedback as well as my Pfretzchner.
 

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