My wife has a bass uke partly because we don't have the space to keep and transport an upright. However, I'd really love her to be able to play arco on some of our material, but that's a non-starter with rubber strings that are all in the same plane! That said, at a recent open mic, one guy turned up with a bass uke to which he'd attached a pool cue to lift the instrument up and play it 'like an upright', which got me thinking. So I wonder whether anyone builds bass ukes with an arched bridge and fretboard that can be strung with (say) flat wounds instead of the usual rubber strings and then played either arco or pizzicato?
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Double Bass Bowable Bass Uke?
- Thread starter GeoffL
- Start date
I've been playing bass uke since mid 2014, replaced the poly strings with Kala/Galli flatwound nylon core (which also comes in round wound). I use RondoMusic.com Hadean UKBV-20 violin/Hofner archtop style 21" scale bass ukes ($275) with 23" version strings, but the bass has been discontinued. I did find one used a few months ago, but that was it. I even had one setup to look like a double bass, but added a high mass bridge and mini humbucker pickup, it comes with a floating bridge and piezo saddle. (The ƒ holes are stick-on.)
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As has been mentioned, there are strings available from Kala, Aquila and other companies that would probably work better for arco than the original RoadToad strings.
The problem is not only going to be having bridge clearance for the bow to work on a single string at a time, the bow also needs space to clear the body in order to work on one of the outside strings. This at least requires an arched bridge, but then the fingerboard needs to also be similarly arched. And at the same time, the fingerboard action needs to be reasonable for fingering.
If you're really serious about bowing but don't want a true double bass because of space and schlepping complications, you might consider an Electric Upright Bass (EUB). There again though, you'll want one that is deigned from the ground up to work with both pizzicato and arco.
For example, here's Gollihur Music's descriptive selection of EUBs (NFI), and there are lots of others out there too.
The problem is not only going to be having bridge clearance for the bow to work on a single string at a time, the bow also needs space to clear the body in order to work on one of the outside strings. This at least requires an arched bridge, but then the fingerboard needs to also be similarly arched. And at the same time, the fingerboard action needs to be reasonable for fingering.
If you're really serious about bowing but don't want a true double bass because of space and schlepping complications, you might consider an Electric Upright Bass (EUB). There again though, you'll want one that is deigned from the ground up to work with both pizzicato and arco.
For example, here's Gollihur Music's descriptive selection of EUBs (NFI), and there are lots of others out there too.
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Thanks. One of the issues is that, while the guys we play with cut my wife some slack so she can use an amplifier to boost an acoustic instrument, they're not so accommodating when someone turns up with a purely electric bass and I've seen both bass guitarists and EUB players turned away. I have to admit that, even though I play fiddle, I hadn't considered that the instrument needs to have a waist to be playable with a bow -- so thanks for that insight. I'm now wondering whether a quarter size cello could be pressed into service: the scale length is roughly the same as her bass uke, and that instrument is designed from the ground up to be bowed...
I'm very familiar with acoustic vs amp situations. Besides accetpability among pure acoustic players, the advantage of using an actual DB is that all of the neck geometry is setup properly for either arco or pizzicato.
There are also 5/8, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 size double basses. The problem is with tone and volume as the bodies get smaller, although both arco and pizz on a 5/8 or 1/2 double bass can still be pretty decent in a pure acoustic situation. But for schelpping, even a 5/8 or 1/2 size double bass is still bigger than a uBass by a long shot.
The other situation is that even with a double bass that is setup with a piezo and amp'ed, volume is significantly stronger with arco than it is with pizz. Arco gets those strings moving pretty wildly -- so going between arco and pizz usually means adjusting volume. The standard solution is using a mic instead of a piezo, but then feedback can become an issue in high volume situations. That said, with a 5/8 or 1/2 dobule bass your wife might not need to be amp'ed.
People do use cellos too, but they are usually tuned to 5ths instead of 4ths like a bass, unless they use a non-standard tuning. But they are still also pretty big.
One possibility is to check with Kala and see if they have an interest it making a bow-able endpin-enabled uBass. This would require a different neck, bridge and body geometry than they currently use, but they might pretty easily do this kind of design change with one of their uBass designs. If they worked it right, it could be an answer for a lot of people who would otherwise consider going with an EUB. It might even be something they've already been considering...
Fwiw, I've got one of their fretless uBasses and they are even closer to the sound of an amp'ed DB than the fretted version, although they really are not seriously bowable as-is.
There are also 5/8, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 size double basses. The problem is with tone and volume as the bodies get smaller, although both arco and pizz on a 5/8 or 1/2 double bass can still be pretty decent in a pure acoustic situation. But for schelpping, even a 5/8 or 1/2 size double bass is still bigger than a uBass by a long shot.
The other situation is that even with a double bass that is setup with a piezo and amp'ed, volume is significantly stronger with arco than it is with pizz. Arco gets those strings moving pretty wildly -- so going between arco and pizz usually means adjusting volume. The standard solution is using a mic instead of a piezo, but then feedback can become an issue in high volume situations. That said, with a 5/8 or 1/2 dobule bass your wife might not need to be amp'ed.
People do use cellos too, but they are usually tuned to 5ths instead of 4ths like a bass, unless they use a non-standard tuning. But they are still also pretty big.
One possibility is to check with Kala and see if they have an interest it making a bow-able endpin-enabled uBass. This would require a different neck, bridge and body geometry than they currently use, but they might pretty easily do this kind of design change with one of their uBass designs. If they worked it right, it could be an answer for a lot of people who would otherwise consider going with an EUB. It might even be something they've already been considering...
Fwiw, I've got one of their fretless uBasses and they are even closer to the sound of an amp'ed DB than the fretted version, although they really are not seriously bowable as-is.
What sort of open mic is it?
I actually Just tuned my $200 3/4 cello to E1 using guitar flatwound singles. Sounds good, but, it's quiet.
The problem will be generating enough energy to generate volume. I haven't tried bowing yet, but I will be.
