Double Bass Clevinger Concerto EUB for $1500. Should I buy?

[rickwolff]

I've had 3 different EUB's in the past but always sold them because I prefer playing the DB.

BUT, I'm finding it more difficult to cart around the big bass - I had a really sore back last night after playing 2 gigs - a total of four hours.

Maybe I need a more comfortable stool.

I know the EUBs are often about the same weight as a DB, but their obviously smaller and less cumbersome. I'm thinking if the case has a backpack strap or shoulder strap I could carry in on my shoulder. And, yes, I do have a wheel for my bass but for some reason I rarely use it unless I have a longer load in.

For anyone who has or has experience with the Clevinger (especially the Concerto) how would it compare to the Eminence, The BSX Allegro, or the Palatino? All three of those were 'acceptible' to me.

I'm just looking to make a concession to my age (and sore back) without going all the way to my ABG.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Jason Hollar]

I saw that listing on FB I think. The clevingers had beautiful workmanship but suffered from the same gnarly pickup sounds as other EUBs.

The price is right though!

 

[DoubleMIDI]

I have a keyhole shaped Clevinger (converted to a 5-string at a later time). The weight on the shoulder is high. For me even five minutes on the shoulder is a torture. My big 4/4 5-string acoustic DB with a Bass Buggie is a lot easier to wheel around, unless you have to to take stairs.

The build quality is good. The passive electronics in mine were bad for piezos, so I made my own impedance buffer.
But it is still a solid body instrument, so don‘t expect too much. You will miss the warm body resonance and arco doesn‘t start as easily as on an acoustic DB. But not too bad either.

I made the angled endpin straight because the bow catches the whole instrument sideways with the angled one. But seems there are also instruments made with a straight endpin. Even though I have made a nice angle cut rubber stop (so that the instrument almost falls itself into playing position), on some floors I would need a mat to avoid slipping.

 

[Jason Hollar]

In addition- I also owned and gigged a very nice bsx allegro.

I thought it would be a convenient, more portable option. Problem is, there’s no good way to put it down without the tripod display stand - which becomes one additional thing to bring to the gig.

 

[Happy Steve]

Hi Rick,
regulars on TB will know how much time and money you have invested in the sound of your bass(es). Please don't let go of that too soon. Perhaps you can look at this as a back problem rather than a bass problem, and invest in some pilates or physical therapy or Alexander technique or (insert favourite therapeutic approach). Get your (?see previous) practitioner to look at you sitting on the stool with your bass, or at least have some photos to show them.
@DoubleMIDI mentioned the bass buggy. I have had one for years and it is great.. no need to swap out the endpin each time, which makes the choice to go ahead and use it much simpler and therefore more likely.
I bought a Yamaha SLB to play silently on Zoom during covid lockdowns, and I use it occasionally at a jam session but only because there is little to no room to stow my DB while another player is playing bass. I keep coming back to the DB for the feel and sound (and let's face it, also the look) every time unless I know it absolutely isn't going to work out.
I see the player and the instrument as a working unit, and I put time into keeping my body fitness and flexibility up as the years keep clicking over, and it makes playing more comfortable and enjoyable. Of course not everyone is lucky to be injury/disease free at my age, but we can each make the most of what we have, and sometimes it needs a little help.
Stopping here... this is starting to sound like a lecture or sermon, and maybe you are a regular at your local gym or yoga class so please take my thoughts as encouragement not criticism.
Steve

 

[Francois Blais]

The instrument seems heavy to me.
Is it a big piece of solid maple?

 

[rickwolff]

Hi Rick,
regulars on TB will know how much time and money you have invested in the sound of your bass(es). Please don't let go of that too soon. Perhaps you can look at this as a back problem rather than a bass problem, and invest in some pilates or physical therapy or Alexander technique or (insert favourite therapeutic approach). Get your (?see previous) practitioner to look at you sitting on the stool with your bass, or at least have some photos to show them.
@DoubleMIDI mentioned the bass buggy. I have had one for years and it is great.. no need to swap out the endpin each time, which makes the choice to go ahead and use it much simpler and therefore more likely.
I bought a Yamaha SLB to play silently on Zoom during covid lockdowns, and I use it occasionally at a jam session but only because there is little to no room to stow my DB while another player is playing bass. I keep coming back to the DB for the feel and sound (and let's face it, also the look) every time unless I know it absolutely isn't going to work out.
I see the player and the instrument as a working unit, and I put time into keeping my body fitness and flexibility up as the years keep clicking over, and it makes playing more comfortable and enjoyable. Of course not everyone is lucky to be injury/disease free at my age, but we can each make the most of what we have, and sometimes it needs a little help.
Stopping here... this is starting to sound like a lecture or sermon, and maybe you are a regular at your local gym or yoga class so please take my thoughts as encouragement not criticism.
Steve

Steve,
Thank you for the wonderful and encouraging post !!

No, I am not a regular at my gym. I don't even have one.

I think you're absolutely right. I don't have a bass problem I have a back problem.

It's definitely time for me to get into some back strengthening exercises.

Thank you. Seriously!

 

[Mike Carr]

I own a Concerto. It's very well built. Nice neck and fingerboard. It's pickup system is very good but does suffer from it's weird passive volume and tone circuit. It's got a volume knob plus two knobs that roll off lows and highs. This works but the bass sounds a bit more HiFi with an added pre amp or buffer to optimise the impedance. It's heavy, I've not weighed mine but it feels about the same as a normal double bass. But it's easy enough to carry with the backpack straps in it's gig bag. To me it's biggest design flaw is the way it presents to my body while playing. It features a simulated shoulder bout but that's just a bent metal piece. It's not easy to have the bass remain stable while playing, particularly when standing up. But mine is useful. I live in a city in which owning a car is not really nessasary. So it's very convenient for rides in taxies and on the train and subways. It rains a lot in Bangkok so the Clevinger is my first choice on wet nights if the gig allows. It sounds pretty close to an amped up double bass. Enough at least to satisfy most people who hear it. Many people, even musicians aren't as concerned with the tonal nuances and subtleties as we are. At least people that are used to hearing is play through our amps. They just want to hear the notes clearly and my Clevinger certainly does that. $1500 is a good price for one in good condition. Back in the day they sold new for more than double that price!

 

[rickwolff]

I own a Concerto. It's very well built. Nice neck and fingerboard. It's pickup system is very good but does suffer from it's weird passive volume and tone circuit. It's got a volume knob plus two knobs that roll off lows and highs. This works but the bass sounds a bit more HiFi with an added pre amp or buffer to optimise the impedance. It's heavy, I've not weighed mine but it feels about the same as a normal double bass. But it's easy enough to carry with the backpack straps in it's gig bag. To me it's biggest design flaw is the way it presents to my body while playing. It features a simulated shoulder bout but that's just a bent metal piece. It's not easy to have the bass remain stable while playing, particularly when standing up. But mine is useful. I live in a city in which owning a car is not really nessasary. So it's very convenient for rides in taxies and on the train and subways. It rains a lot in Bangkok so the Clevinger is my first choice on wet nights if the gig allows. It sounds pretty close to an amped up double bass. Enough at least to satisfy most people who hear it. Many people, even musicians aren't as concerned with the tonal nuances and subtleties as we are. At least people that are used to hearing is play through our amps. They just want to hear the notes clearly and my Clevinger certainly does that. $1500 is a good price for one in good condition. Back in the day they sold new for more than double that price!

Mike, thank you for the thorough review! It's very helpful.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

For the bent metal piece:
Get two long tubes of rubber foam as used for bicycle handlebars.
Cut one so you get a long helix, fix one end with tape and wind it close to the bent bar. Fix the other end with tape too. Maybe shorten the helix part to the length of the other tube.
Then slip the tube over the helix wound part. You might need to press the foam together and it might need some time to get it over, but it is worth the work.
Now the foam covered bent bar does no longer slip on your clothes and the larger diameter is nicer at the body contact point.

 

[Mike Carr]

Mike, thank you for the thorough review! It's very helpful.

My pleasure! Clevinger made great EUB's and for years they were the industry standard. It's a pity that they don't get the love on today's on line forums that other makes of EUB's do.

 

[bherman]

Rick, i am pretty happy with the Eminence. I put alot of effort into getting it as close in feel and sound to my DB as I could. I pretty much use the same strings as my DB, occasionally with a concession for string tension - I find that the Eminence tension is a bit higher due to the short tailpiece. So I use either light gauge strings, or downtuned solos (now using Spiro solos, also used Perpetual Solos for a while) . And I use a Realist Lifeline pickup with a RedEye, with a little tweaking of eq it sounds pretty damn good. Of course I;m playing with a drummer and two guitars/3 vocals, the difference might be more noticable if I played quiet jazz like you do. I highly second the exercise recommendations, I work out 3x/wk and it helps alot with stamina and overall health (I'm 68). If I regularly hauled my DB to gigs I'd probably be looking at the buggy solution.

 

[Mike Carr]

Here is me with mine. Christmas Eve gig at a rooftop venue in Bangkok.

 

[Mike Carr]

My Concerto's bridge pickups have given up the ghost. It's OK, the bass was pretty old even when I got it 9 years ago and I have played it a lot since. In recent months I'd noticed some serious unevenness between the output between strings and tonal differences too. The bridge is a composite material with a RMC pickup wired to the weird Clevinger passive tonal circuit. It sounded good for a long time but now doesn't. I contacted the pickup's manufacturer. The available repair process is going to be more than I care to deal with at this time. It's expensive, the cost of the fix or replacement and shipping the bridge internationally and all. So I came up with a Plan B..
I have a local luthier that I trust. He will carve me a new bridge made of wood and we will install my Wilson K4. We won't bother with wiring it to the tonal circuit. I don't want to hack up the lovely jack that the Wilson features. Wish me luck!

 

[Francois Blais]

Good luck!

 

[Mike Carr]

Update. My Wilson K4 worked pretty well with my locally carved bridge. But not quite the sound that my Clevinger had originally. Having the pickup's quarter inch jack hanging off the Concerto was awkward and I missed having the bass's original volume and tone controls available. I was able to send my original RMC composite material bridge back to Richard McClish for a complete overhaul. It's come back with a set of brand new pizeo saddles, one for each string and sounds super clean and even now. It works very well with the weird but functional passive volume, bass cut, treble cut circuit that the bass was originally equipped with. Plugged straight into my Polytone or any other amp I've encountered thus far it sounds good, plugged into my Acoustic Image Clarus or Raven Labs PMB it's even better at the 10 ohm load these devices see. A bit more detailed highs and fatter lows. But honestly, my idea of a convincing upright bass sound for jazz doesn't really feature lots of glassy highs or subwoofer shaking lows. Even with less than ideal impedance matching my Concerto once again gives me and other musicians I've played with since it's repair a sound and feeling that's close enough, more than close enough actually! With a 10 ohm setup and by boosting highs and lows this bass can provide all the earspliting highs and bone crushing lows I could ever possibly imagining wanting, certainly enough to get me fired for bringing it to a gig that wants a bass to sound like a bass! So I think my EUB requirements are well served now that my Clevinger has been returned to to its original specs. I'm glad I spent the money to get fixed the right way. My Wilson is now back in use on my double bass, where it belongs!

 

[Doublebasstim]

Does anyone know where I can buy the body arm that goes against your belly. Also I do not know the diminsions to make my own?

 

[Mike Carr]

Does anyone know where I can buy the body arm that goes against your belly. Also I do not know the diminsions to make my own?

Martin Clevinger made one for me about 10 years ago but I think might have retired since then. You could try to contact him I suppose.
As to the dimensions, that's up to you. The body arm he made me was of a size I provided that felt similar to my double bass. If you can find metal tubing, copper maybe? You could have it bent to a size that suits you.

 

[rickwolff]

I made a 'belly rest' for my BSX Allegro out of soft copper tubing that I bought at Home Depot. It was easy to bend into the shape I wanted but still enough to hold its shape on the bass.