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Double Bass BSX Megathread

#22
I had one for about 2 years. I couldn't wait to unload it. With anything it is personal preference. The reasons I didn't care for it was that it never felt comfortable (ergonomically), and it weighed a ton (body made of HDF). Had way too much sustain (kind of like a solid body electric bass) to sound acoustic.
 
#23
I really like mine. I have it a bit less than a year. It took a bit of time to tweak it. YOU HAVE TO PUT ON THE SPIROCORE HALF SCALES or you will regret it. They're an option but worth every penny. It took me a while to understand the preamp and how the piezo's respond. (I think you need to crank the bass and back off on the mids and highs to avoid that Piezo neck noise). You have to learn how hard or soft to hit the strings to get the sound you want. Piezo's respond much differently than electric pickups. And it took me a while to get it set up the way I like, but now the guys I play with rave, and it sure is easy to get around with. It looks good and is pretty sturdy. Nice consistent sound. Dino is a sweetheart and will take time to talk to you. Tell him what scale you want, what woods, etc, so that it'll be closer to your upright feel when you get the instrument
 
#24
Yes, I must throw in my opinion...the sound of the bass is quite good, but does take some serious tweaking. Because my primary instrument is an acoustic upright, I find the BSX has taken some time to get used to. However, I'm still not sure how much I ultimately love the thing... It comes in very handy when playing in small, loud venues, or larger concert situations -- where the volume is an issue. However, feel-wise, I can't honestly say I practice on the instrument as much as I should -- I spend all my time on the "real" bass. I posted a review of mine on the bgra site. However, I will most likely be offering it up for sale some time this summer -- as I really want to put some more $$$ into my acoustic bass and amplifier situation.
 
#26
Just got home from NAMM. Played the NS DB, KYDD "Big Kidd", Zeta DB (didn't catch the model, they were not there but a booth had on on display) and the BSX Allegro.
Getting the Allegro in a five string. IMO it had the most natural "DB-ish" sound and feel.
It should be here in a about 6 weeks.
Ordered it with the Weich (sp?) strings on it. Played one with the stock strings and the Weichs just had a far nicer tone and feel.
:hyper:
 
#29
basss said:
Mike
I see at the BSX site that they have a new model - the "Halfnote". Did you get to try that one?
Click to expand...

Yeah I did. I didn't spend a lot of time on the Half Note to really give a deep evaluation as I was there checking out the Allegro.
Very nice, but the Allegro seemed,to my ears anyway, more full and rich. Much more open if you will.
Which I guess means you have to "open" your wallet more as well!! :D
 
#30
I have been a proud owner of a Half-Note acoustic electric for a few months now and I have nothing but good to say about it. I have never played upright but I have to say that this bass captures the sound and feel excellently.
I probably have one of the first of these basses as Dino at BSX told me that they were just starting on them and I ordered one right away (in March I believe)
Dino builds great basses and is a great guy to deal with, I would highly recommend buying a BSX bass.
 
#34
i just received a bsx allegro 4 string that i purchased off of ebay. it is in mint condition (for once, an ebay seller that represented the item accurately and did everything he said he would!) and a wonderful sounding bass :hyper: . acoustically, it is plenty loud enough to practice (and play along to a cd) and has a really nice acoustic tone - very much like a URB just not as loud. i'm still experimenting with the amplified sound with a couple of different amps, preamps, and the onboard bart preamp, but i'm liking what i hear.

now, the "i'm a dumbass part": i got the bass friday, and while i was assembling it, i was watching the movie fargo. i got the strings on and was ready to tune up, so i just grabbed a bass guitar and hit the G string. i start tuning the allegro's G string up to that note (keeping in mind that i'm doing this acoustically - nothing's plugged in, i can't hear all that well and i'm not paying as much attention as i should be), and once the allegro's G is tuned, i tune the rest of the bass to the G.

so, i'm playing the bass all weekend, and the tuning doesn't sound quite right, but the bass is tuned to itself so i can do scales and exercises. a couple of times, i connect it to my tuner, but the tuner doesn't seem to "work" with the allegro. also, i'm wishing the bass were a little louder acoustically, i can barely hear my E string, and compared to what i was expecting , the bass is so easy to play. i guess my hands are THAT strong and my technique is THAT awesome.

well, i decide to play to a cd last night, and i'm all out of tune??? so i find the chord roots on my bass, and low and behold, i discover that when i initially tuned the the allegro's G string, i only brought it up to the C below the G. I HAD TUNED THE BASS ADGC ON THE LOW SIDE!!! DOH!!! i guess in my low volume, distracted state, the fifth sounded good enough!

i immediately corrected the tuning, and guess what, the bass now sounds great, i can hear all of the strings, it's louder acoustically, the tone is sweet, and it's a lot harder to play!

owwwww - my fingers hurt... :confused:

a question for EUB players with basses similar to the Eminence or Allegro - has anyone tried adding an external mic and then blending in the mic'd sound with the onboard pickup and/or preamp? if so, how was the sound?
 
#35
I've had my 4 string about a year now. Very hip. Spirocores are a must. Very easy to adjust and it's nice to have control over your sound. The eq in the back is easy to use as is the neck adjustment. I can't tell you the compliments I get on the look and the sound playing with either a loud rockabilly band or
playing society gigs in NYC. It was the coolest move I could make. Saves me banging around my Juzek, saves my back, and since I always had to use a pickup, why not use a bass with the electronics already on board? Portability and durability are also important to me. Easy to handle and sturdy. It sounds great and plays great. As they say here in NY: "What's not to like?" Dino is a cool guy too.; friendly and always willing to help tweak.
Peter
 
#37
a question for EUB players with basses similar to the Eminence or Allegro - has anyone tried adding an external mic and then blending in the mic'd sound with the onboard pickup and/or preamp? if so, how was the sound?

I've got the emimence and micing it doesn't do very much. There isn't enough acoustic fundamental tone coming off of it to make an appreciable differnece. Maybe for slapping it would be useful but I find it sounds really good just plugged in. Closest in tone to an amplified plywood I've heard from any EUBs. The best thing I ever did to the eminence was to put labella guts on D and G and crank the action up a bunch. Cranking up the action made more difference than anything else in approaching an upright sound.
 
#38
I know this is an old thread, but I'm brand new to TalkBass, after lurking for a while. I am a semi-pro electric bassist, and used to play upright years ago ... and I just ordered a BSX ST-4, that will arrive on Wednesday 11/02/05. I'm very excited! I ordered some Corelli 370 Forte strings and a nice french bow from (all hail) Bob Gollihur, and can't wait to get started. Eventually, I plan to get a true acoustic, but for now the portability and the easier playing of the EUB are attractive to me as i get back into "the dark side."

I'll give a report once I have the ST-4 ... I'm supposed to use it on a gig on the 11th, so we'll see how quickly my upright chops come back!

And since this is my first post, let me thank everyone for all of the great posts and helpful information here!
 
#39
Well, the ST-4 arrived yesterday, and so far so good! It's very nice, and I was really surprised at how 'acoustic' it sounds when plugged into my old Polytone! Especially arco, the sound is pretty realistic. There's a bit more sustain, but it has much more of an 'upright' sound and feel than, for example, the NS Design CR4M I played before deciding to buy this one. I bought it sight-unseen based on the price and being able to have someone else try it out and give me a report, but I'm very pleased. I really like how easily the action adjusts via tilting the neck ... very useful for a guy who hasn't played upright in 15 years! I lowered the action for now, at least until my hand strength begins to return, at which point I'll really evaluate the sound and adjust the action again if needed. Tonight I'm going to change the strings from the stock Red Labels to the Corelli 370 Fortes that Bob G. sent me and see how they work.

I'm supposed to be gigging with it within a couple of weeks, so I'll report back once I have more to say!

Cheers,
 

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