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Double Bass Baby Bass megathread

#1,101
Well.....I dont know much about upright strings, but a baby bass Facebook-group talked alot and good about them

DESCRIPTION
7720S-BB Solo Extra Light Tension - Baby Bass Set

New to the La Bella Strings Lineup! The PERFECT set for your BABY BASS. The 7720S-BB Solo Extra Light Tension Baby Bass Set is highly responsive and long-lasting, providing a very comfortable feel for any Baby Bass lover. Each string is hand wound and polished with American wire right here in the US, making it a great alternative to expensive European imports.

  • Extra light tension
  • Nickel Chrome Steel
  • Flat Wound on Rope Core
  • Made in the USA with American Wire
US and Canada shipping only Ampeg is a registered trademark of St. Louis Music
 
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#1,102
I only play salsa music with my 1967 ampeg baby bass and have uses Tomastik Spirocore solo, D Addario Helicore solo and Corelly 370 medium and Corelli 380 solo. All sound very similar, because all the sound is produced by the diafragma pickup. The feel of course is a bit diffrent from brand to brand and the price. Any of there strings work very well for salsa and the BB. Get 3/4 length, they fit well without cuting.
 
#1,104
Some BBs had some kind of tailpiece, like this:
AMPEG_5_strings.jpg


And some just a string holder at the bottom, like this:
img_1065-jpg.761327


The latter variety may need longer strings.
 
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#1,105
ptybass said:
I only play salsa music with my 1967 ampeg baby bass and have uses Tomastik Spirocore solo, D Addario Helicore solo and Corelly 370 medium and Corelli 380 solo. All sound very similar, because all the sound is produced by the diafragma pickup. The feel of course is a bit diffrent from brand to brand and the price. Any of there strings work very well for salsa and the BB. Get 3/4 length, they fit well without cuting.
Click to expand...

How do you like the Tomastik Spirocore Solos? I just got off the phone with the dude who's gonna be setting up my Fender and he mentioned them to me when we were talking strings and I said I had a Baby Bass too. I don't like the sound of new strings, weird as that seems. I kinda like the dead/thumpy quality of the strings that are on my Baby Bass right now, but who knows, they could be 40 years old!
 
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#1,106
hernameisrio said:
How do you like the Tomastik Spirocore Solos? I just got off the phone with the dude who's gonna be setting up my Fender and he mentioned them to me when we were talking strings and I said I had a Baby Bass too. I don't like the sound of new strings, weird as that seems. I kinda like the dead/thumpy quality of the strings that are on my Baby Bass right now, but who knows, they could be 40 years old!
Click to expand...
In Acustic Double Bass the new strings will sound different, but in a Baby Bass there is renot such a big difference. I mixed 2 year old strings with new one and therebis really no diference. Is because of the pick up system. Tomastic are very good but expensive. I would go with Helicore, a little les expensive soundwise and tention nearly the same as Tomastic. Hope that helped.
 
#1,107
I too own and have been performing with my Late 1960's Ampeg Baby Bass SN# 013848 for more than 20 years. My school since the 70's always swear by Dr. Thomastik Spirocore. It's the thump that we like and Anglos dislike. I've often seen Baby Basses displayed with hardcore rockers. Not sure if it's because Ampeg just gave Baby basses away due to their star power but groups like "The Band", (Rick Danko), "Yes", (Chris Squire), and many others always had one hanging around gathering dust.
liked Baby bass Chris Squire-Yes.jpg
 
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#1,114
jesperhansen said:
I have some double bass strings i would like to try on mu baby Bass. But they are very long and are tuned in f#, B, E, A. Is that a problem ? And shoul I cut some of the length ?
Click to expand...
Try not to cut them, at least the first time you put them on. You can let the ends stand out of the peg box. If you don't like them for one or two weeks, someone else who might need the extra length can use them.
F#, b, e, a are solo strings. You can tune them to normal orchestral e,a,d,g and get a lot less tension that way, which often works well for a baby bass or an EUB.
 
#1,115
Anyone have issues with the post on an old Ampeg Baby Bass? I just bought a 60s era baby bass and it keeps slipping down an inch or two while I'm playing. Not sure if I maybe need a new gasket on it or if there's a workaround. My guess is the guy I bought it from was an inch or so shorter than me and the instrument settled on his height the last 20 years he had it.
 
#1,119
First of all sorry for my english.:sorry:

I'm considering to buy a KK baby bass, vintage or traditional model.
Kris from KK bass told me that there is no difference in sound between the models, only the shape.
that's a good new.

Invalid Link Removed

I' m a upright bass player ( beginner), I understand that the body standing will be some different with a KK baby bass,
but I would like to know " how is the feel with the neck ? " Is it the same like an acoustic double bass ?
what about the right hand technic ? Is it possible to play it like a double bass ( quite hard with one finger) ?

I' ve searched on youtube, the sound of these babies seems good, but there are only used on latin music.
do you use it on other styles ? Jazz, Blues.

and the last but not least ? what about the bow playing ?

Sorry if these questions were already requested, but more than 55 pages is quite long to read :whistle:

Please don't hesitate to give me tips for my english too :p
 
#1,120
ptybass said:
In Acustic Double Bass the new strings will sound different, but in a Baby Bass there is renot such a big difference. I mixed 2 year old strings with new one and therebis really no diference. Is because of the pick up system. Tomastic are very good but expensive. I would go with Helicore, a little les expensive soundwise and tention nearly the same as Tomastic. Hope that helped.
Click to expand...

Wanted to add an observation in response to this. I own a KK KB1 which Kris delivered with Spirocore Which(lights). I've been playing on them for about a year and a half and generally like them. I decided, however, to check out some different strings and put on a set of D'Addario Zyex lights. The bass actually sounds quite different. The boom isn't as intense and there is a fair amount of mids coming through now that weren't as apparent with the Spiros. When I put it through the Fdeck HPF the differences are more pronounced.

As I am not a pro with these things I can only guess that the lower tension of the Zyex allow for the pickup diaphragms to move more freely leading to a difference in tone. Did the original Baby Basses ship with gut or steel strings?
 

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