Bass guitar vs. upright bass

[Greenman72]

Are they the same thing?
If you can play bass guitar, can you play upright bass?
Or are they as different as night and day?

I have a friend with an upright bass for sale for $2k. It even has an EM pickup in it, even though it's an acoustic bass.
What do I do? Grab it in the hopes of playing it someday?
Or is it so different that I'll never learn it?

 

[Sharko]

Why are you concerned that you could never learn it? It’s like everything else, no one is born with it, but you can learn if you practice

 

[el murdoque]

It is a completely different beast.

You play bass on both, so the concept is roughly the same - assuming you want to pluck the double bass and not bow it.
The scale length is different. The fretboard is different. The orientation is different. Everything is somewhere else.
You'll be facing a learning curve that is quite steep.

Buying an upright for $2k just because? Nope.
You gotta want to play upright and then commit to learning it.
It's not something you do on the side, you will have to woodshed.

 

[Wood and Wire]

An electric bass is like a Black Labrador.

An upright bass is like a Shire Horse.

 

[Dabndug]

The upright is a tough physical challenge. Unless you are some kind of savant, the transition to becoming minimally proficient will take many.months of daily learning and practice. If you enjoy the learning process and have the time to commit to the instrument, it can be very rewarding.

 

[J_Bass]

I play both.

Bass for 25 years and double bass for 7.

Completely different.

Much more difficult to play the double bass.

If you are not serious about learning it properly, don’t even bother.

And without a teacher it’s very difficult and injury prone.

 

[ElectricBass72]

I bought an electric upright about 20 years ago... and it was nothing like a bass guitar. It was fun to learn how to play with a bow. Wish I still had the upright... but had some financial difficulties and had to sell it. If I ever had the space... I'd get a 3/4 size Double Bass just to mess around on.

 

[ravelax]

Very different. Standard tuning is the same but that's about it. As an electric player, I can orient myself somewhat on an upright bass but the differences in scale length and fingerboard radius makes it a very different thing to play. I guess being used to playing an unlined fretless electric bass might make the transition to upright somewhat easier.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Different scale, different technique, fretted versus unlined fretless.

They play the same notes, but it's an entirely different animal.

 

[Wasnex]

I voted 20%. The actual rate will vary from one player to the next. It may also vary depending on where you are in the arc of your musical development.

I started viola in 5th grade and switched to double bass in 8th grade. Different tuning interval, different strings, different cleff, different fingerings. Expectations for double bass tend to be lower in many ways than for cello, viola, and violin.

I believe I started playing bass guitar regularly around 11th grade. I initially adapted what I had learned on upright and it worked fairly well. You might say it was approaching 80% at that point.

However as I improved on both instruments the technique I used on each become more specialized. A few years after turning pro I converted to one-finger-per-fret on bass guitar, but have stayed with Simandl 1,2,4 fingering on upright. I also transitioned from 4- to 5-string bass guitar....and then from 5- to 6-string bass guitar.

I initially used relatively straight plucking fingers and anchored thumb on bass guitar. This is an adaption of the primary plucking technique I used on upright. On bass guitar, I eventually transitioned to floating thumb and arched plucking fingers. I also adapted some aspects of my bass guitar plucking technique back to upright. This alternate plucking technique is useful only for relatively short fast passages on a normal upright bass. It doesn't work for an extended time because it employs the small muscles that control your fingers, rather than large muscles used with normal upright plucking technique.

I also play a 6-string electric upright. It has 42" scale like an real upright but the action is low and of course there are extra strings. I use Simandl 1,2,4 fingering well up into the range one would normally switch to thumb position on a real upright. Also I find the extra strings seem to get in the way if I use normal upright plucking technique. So I use my alternate BG inspired technique. This works fine as it's not necessary or even useful to pluck hard on this instrument.

All of my formal training was on upright bass. I have never taken a lesson on bass guitar. For someone who play bass guitar who would like to learn to play upright, my advice is take lessons from a qualified instructor. My perception is it's a lot easier to get by with crappy technique on bass guitar. IMHO reasonably good technique tends to be far more essential for upright.

 

[Engle]

Different instrument. (And it's a fingerboard )
Unless you really want to go there don't buy it. They take up way more space and are much harder to sell than bass guitars.

 

[brocket]

I played in a Johnny Cash tribute in college and there was a school owned upright bass in the room we were practicing in. I played it for about two songs and put it back because it felt like I’d hurt myself if I kept going. Sure, I knew where the notes were and could make it through some songs but it was very apparent I had no idea how to play it.

 

[wilberthenry]

I have played bass guitar for 45 years and upright for about 12. Right hand technique is tough when you are used to EBG, but the toughest thing for me was/is intonation. No one has perfect intonation, but that tends to be what I am most self-critical about when I play gigs. Endurance, especially on 3 set gigs, is also a challenge. It is a lot of fun to play and I find I am way less busy on the upright.

 

[MtManiac]

Completely different sets of technique, but barriers should be lower than moving to/from guitar.

 

[ctmullins]

80% different, yes.

But the upright makes such glorious sounds, I think it’s a completely worthwhile endeavor!

 

[brianrost]

90% of playing the double bass is owning one.

 

[BassBrass]

I would have voted 60% similar if it was available. That's a big 40%. Digital vs film cameras are more similar.
As to buying a double bass... do it if you LOVE the sound and have a practical need for it like idiom or style (if you are in a rockabilly band or an orchestra)
the LOVE part will be necessary to play it every bloody day (unless you are injured). I know this as a trumpet player, there's no way I would have put up with the punishment unless the result was worth it. Double bass is similar in that your body must grow to conform to It, not the other way around.

 

[Passinwind]

90% of playing the double bass is owning one.

Yep, and then making/finding at least a couple of hours a day for a few years of serious shedding.

 

[bass player 53]

I dunno, maybe you think they’re the same?

 

[NocoLaw]

I’ve been playing both over 10 years; some years more seriously than others. I completely agree that it’s not a toy, like you can treat most instruments; and definitely get a teacher, if you are going down this road. The last few years, I got serious about getting my ears sorted and theory, and those are great (though ever-improving). The upright had been fun for bluegrass festivals, fireside jams, and the periodic 1/4 of our setlist kind of thing, and I had other players show me a few things over the years. I had accepted that on one end-pin notch, my left shoulder would get sore, or on the next one down, my right shoulder would get sore. My band is moving more acoustic (which I love), and I wanted to get tuned up and serious with the bow, so I got a teacher (a fantastic double bass lecturer at UNT). I was actually pretty close; but at the first lesson, she had me try a few tweaks, sent me home to work on them; and after the second lesson 3 weeks later, I’m setup great - no more pain, and I play in comfort. She’s also helping immensely with my technique. I thought I could figure it out - I was wrong, and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get a real teacher.