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Bass guitar with upright like tone?

#41
Rob Allen MB-2 or Rick Turner (where Rob worked before starting his own shop).

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Rob Allen MB-2 by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr
 
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#42



^ This. "Marcustico" by (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain -based) luthier Joaquín Marco, of Marco Guitars and Bass:*
What In the Heck Bass is this and where can I find a link?
What In the Heck Bass is this and where can I find a link?

I don't know how he does it, but it is uncannily resemblant. On YT videos at least: don't own one, can't afford one by any means. (And no connection with the maker by the way.)


* [OT but: yeah, no, unrelated to Brazilian-born Marco Cortes of Invalid Link Removed (clear, huh?)]
 
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#45
Guild Starfire with flatwounds, neck pickup solo'd, and the tone rolled off a bit

*Headphones or proper studio monitor speakers will give you the best idea of Starfire bass demos since they have the most wonderful, pillowy bass tone.

This video's a good example even though the audio of the recording isn't very good. I'm pretty positive he's got roundwounds on there... so the flats just take it a step closer


Also, here's my 1970 Starfire, neck pickup, flatwounds, with a variable mid-notch filter switch installed. The first few notches of the switch are pretty bright, but as the clicks go down the line it gets more and more into upright territory.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#46
i have an older MIK Fender BG-32 ... some tapewounds and a foam mute by the bridge , roll of the highs ... that's about as close as i've gotten ... cheaply ( used AEB was around $300 ) ... it now sounds fairly 'thumpy' ... works well with acoustic gtr / vocals doo-wap kinda gig .

i tried the more normal brass wrapped strings , but even the newer GHS Pressurewounds brass were to Clacky ..
 
#48
I have pretty much given up trying to reproduce my upright sound on an electric bass. Many of the proposed solutions here come awfully close, but it's really difficult to reproduce the woody resonance of an approximately 6-cubic-foot, spruce/maple sound chamber with a slab of wood or a sound box of a mere fraction of that size.

We also tend to forget that an important and nearly un-reproduceable part of the upright sound is the percussive effect you get when playing pizzicato on an upright, from the finger slapping the fingerboard and sometimes the string itself.

I've decided to go for the best sound possible on whatever instrument I play. As much as I'd love to stop lugging an upright, I've made peace with the fact that if that's what the bandleader who's paying me wants, that's what the bandleader gets. If I can get away with a lighter load, I will, and will try to make the instrument sound as good as it can for what it is.
 
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#49
mellowgerman said:
Guild Starfire with flatwounds, neck pickup solo'd, and the tone rolled off a bit

*Headphones or proper studio monitor speakers will give you the best idea of Starfire bass demos since they have the most wonderful, pillowy bass tone.

This video's a good example even though the audio of the recording isn't very good. I'm pretty positive he's got roundwounds on there... so the flats just take it a step closer


Also, here's my 1970 Starfire, neck pickup, flatwounds, with a variable mid-notch filter switch installed. The first few notches of the switch are pretty bright, but as the clicks go down the line it gets more and more into upright territory.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...


Nice tone, but sounds nothing like an upright bass.
 
#50
I don't know if it is possible with fretted bass. When i experimented on that tone i used my Ibanez GWB1005, put a piece of cloth between my bridge soupbar pickup and the sound gave my some good feelings.

Forgot to say, that playing with your right hand fingers more closer or even on the fretboard also changes the sound closer to upright, too.
 
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#58
40Hz said:
^This. I can get surprisingly close to an upright soloing tone out of my Epiphone El Capitan ABG. Rather than tapewounds, I have an old played to death set of phosphor-bronze strings on mine which I dread eventually replacing since they give me the exact tone I want.

Unfortunately the El Capitan has a very deep body (and I'm average in size) so it's not the most comfortable bass to play. But it's a small price to pay to get that upright-ish vibe going. It's more an impression of the upright sound rather than a close copy. But it's close enough for my purposes.
Click to expand...

Do you know what gage flats or tapes fit the El Cap? I bought mine over the phone after walking away from it in GC. GC did me a solid and threw on phosphorus bronze but it was the tapes that were on it in the store that I really liked. The bridge is so small that I cannot seem to find flats or tapes to fit.
 

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