Bass guitar with upright like tone?

[Pimpernel Smith]

Two affordable basses come to mind : Hofner CT with Pyramid Gold flat strings, and the Epiphone Jack Casady with Thomastik-Infeld Jazz flats. Use just the neck pickup on the Hofner.

 

[amper]

The main key is to play the thing like an upright. The parts you choose to play are different, and the manner in which you hit the strings is different.

You want to kill your sustain too. Use heavy muting on your electric.

And, to state the obvious: flatwounds.

Most of the rest is e.q.

Fretless helps a bit, but is not necessary.

It'll never sound just like an upright, but playing it like an upright and making the bass sustain like a plucked upright will give you a lot of the elements.

You want to kill the sustain *some*, but you don't want to kill it completely, because you need a little bit to compensate for the lack of that big resonant box. A touch of reverb from a pedal doesn't hurt, if it's no super obvious in the mix.

One thing I haven't played with is string tension. I wonder if I went to the heavier or lighter set of Rotosonds, how they would compare to the medium set I use.

 

[bassdude51]

Tapes and foam mute = upright sound. Fretless, even better.

 

[GretschWretch]

Have you played anything under $1K that was as good or better than the Kala U Bass?
I have yet to hear an ABG that got as close as the Kala at this price point.

I have not, and I suspect that for me the ultra-short U-bass scale would be an ergonomic nightmare. Besides, for me the question is moot. I have a double bass. And a Volvo stationwagon.

 

[CaseyVancouver]

is there anything that even gets in the ballpark?

IMHO absolutely no.
Sorry.

You can get a nice electric bass sound though. I have a fretless Alembic, old Fender fretless and some good amps that sound nice. They do not compare to a fine upright played by someone who can play 'em. Not even close.

Charlie Haden played a fine old carved French bass with gut strings, minimal amplification and stellar skill. Nothing here will get in that ballpark.

His bass is for sale if you want to buy it. I believe it is in the $250-300k range. Worth every penny to a well heeled pro.
Robertson & Sons Violin Shop - Bass Inventory

 

[boombloom]

Ashbory if you can find one. They're very inexpensive. But this cabbage has been chewed many times. There is nothing that really satisfies.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I 'm sure this has been asked before, but I did not have much luck with my search.
I'm sitting here listening to some Charlie Haden and being blown away with his tone. I know a bass guitar is never going to sound exactly like an upright, but is there anything that even gets in the ballpark? And just to make it harder I would prefer something with frets. Thanks, and sorry if something like this has already been posted

This

Fretless telebass w/ widerange humbucker and flatwound strings.

 

[CameronCrowley]

I have a Spectorcore 4 Fretless with a semi-hollow body and piezo pickup that I used to have flatwounds on that worked really well for quasi-upright sounds in small jazz groups. I don't play a lot of acoustic jazz particularly, but it got the job done very well. Also works wonderfully for folky styles that might usually use an upright.

 

[John Le Guyader]

No electric bass or acoustic bass guitar sounds like an upright. Learn upright if you need that sound.

I have a variety of fretless basses: Rob Allen, Warwick Alien, etc. None come close to my laminate Engelhardt M1 with guts or my carved '26 Juzek Master Art with Spiros

 

[RHA III]

Thank you to everyone for your interest and reply's. I had a Takamine, the cheeper one, for a while and it sounded more like a guitar tuned down an octave then an upright. It was large and I found it hard to play, so I don't think I will go for another ABG. I'm not sure I would like something as small as a U bass, but if I get the chance to try one locally, I would. The Allen and the Christopher are just more then I want to spend. That Christopher may be the most beautiful bass I have ever seen. The Wendler looks very interesting and is less then half the price. I think I may try to pickup a used cheep fretless, just to see if I can play it in tune. If that works out I may take a chance and order the Wendler. I will also try some of the playing techniques that have been posted.

Kala U-Bass

I bought mine from this guy. He's got a bunch of videos playing it.



Hit me up if your ever in Southern Oregon, I'd be happy to let you try it out.

 

[40Hz]

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.

Can't say I do for sure. Thinnest flats I know about are GHS 3029 Precision Flats (45-95) and LaBella Low Tensions (42-100).

I don't know of any really thin nylon tapes however. Most seem to be 50-105 at best.

Maybe @SLaPiNFuNK can chime in in this?

TI Acoustic (or Acousticore) are the thinnest bass strings I've ever seen. But they're phosphor-bronze rounds, and to me they sound more like deep classical guitar rather than bass strings. And like all TI string sets, they have a unique tone which you like or don't.

 

[Danny O Danny]

Another vote for Rob Allen. I've had an MB-2 for a few years and absolutely love it.

 

[DavidG]

Even a lot of upright players don't have Charlie Haden's tone.
In any event, Rob Allen's are great. They have fretted versions too.
If you want to spend less and can deal with short scale then a Birdsong is worth a try.

 

[RDB3]

Laugh if ya want but I am getting a nice thumpy upright sound w/ my Korean Epi EB-1 bass w/ Korean mudbucker and the fattest RotoSound tapewounds there are.

 

[Needsalilmore]

Possibly buy the fretless and have it lined.

There are some beautiful instruments in this thread. I would add that I can hardly play the "precision" bass, so when I wanted a fretless, I had to briefly question my sanity. I got an ESP B-204 lined, but fretless. It's now one of the few instruments that I'd never get rid of. (My Fender AO 60's 'Jamerson' is the other)

 

[DaveKirkpatrick]

+1 on the Kala Ubass. Nothing really sounds like an upright, but I found the Ubass to be better at simulating the presence of DB than some of the upright stick basses I've played. I also had somewhat of success with a danelectro longhorn bass with flats. There was something about the bloom of the note on that bass and the note decay that worked for simulating the presence of DB.

 

[Needsalilmore]

+1 on the Kala Ubass. Nothing really sounds like an upright, but I found the Ubass to be better at simulating the presence of DB than some of the upright stick basses I've played. I also had somewhat of success with a danelectro longhorn bass with flats. There was something about the bloom of the note on that bass and the note decay that worked for simulating the presence of DB.

Oh man, I drank the Kool Aid, I ordered a U Bass yesterday.

 

[DaveKirkpatrick]

Oh man, I drank the Kool Aid, I ordered a U Bass yesterday.

Hope you like it. I look ridiculous playing mine- big guy, small bass- but it's a lot of fun and sounds great!

 

[bucephylus]

Even upright basses sound different from one to the next; and there is a whole world of how you set them up.

If you want to sound like an upright, then play an upright. Simple. Right?

 

[sedan_dad]

Joey Spampinato of NRBQ has always gotten very close to an upright sound using a fretted Jerry Jones or a Danelectro. The secret is in the technique and the ideas, not so much the instrument. Think like a bass player, y'all!

I couldn't agree more. The bass is a tool. The sound is your skill and technique.