• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Contrabassetto from the ground up

#142
I've played everything from the Mozart Requiem to the Tschaikowsky 4th on mine without any issues on the bottom - I was originally set up with Obligatos, which was decent place to start, then moved to Jargar mediums. The Jargar E did sound weak, but I think that's the string and I replaced it with a Spiro Weich E (used) which was great. I know have Eudoxas and it's a cannon. The bass is particularly even throughout, across strings and in all registers
 
#143
LouisF said:
I've played everything from the Mozart Requiem to the Tschaikowsky 4th on mine without any issues on the bottom - I was originally set up with Obligatos, which was decent place to start, then moved to Jargar mediums. The Jargar E did sound weak, but I think that's the string and I replaced it with a Spiro Weich E (used) which was great. I know have Eudoxas and it's a cannon. The bass is particularly even throughout, across strings and in all registers
Click to expand...
Is yours also a Contrabasetto? It looked a bit bigger in the pictures. Great if it is!
 
#146
I don't have a contra bassetto per se, but I have a hybrid Czech ease . It's got a pretty nice carved top and a pretty nice sound. I've also got two very large 7/8 basses. And one small 3/4 flat back. I think there's definitely some Merit to the small body if you're playing pizz. Actually I think there are some advantages to the small body over the large body for pizz. I noticed this first on my small body three-quarter flat back, and confirmed it on the Czech ease.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flatback
#147
Yes I totally agree about the advantage of pizz with a small body instrument very punchy clear direct articulate great upper end....I have been having problems amplifying the contrabassetto....I really want to get a Yamahiko bridge pickup on there, but I have been using the Ischell and a Schertler Stat B and Underwood....all really too bright with Zyex.. been having this bright white shinny teeth kind of sound that I don't dig....But 2 days ago I put some Obligatos on there, Whoa man that really brought the sonic spectrum into balance. For this small bass the Obligatos sound great. Makes me curious about Evah's but these sound super.
I love this small bass and practice on it all the time. So ergonomic so easy to get around on. With the Obligatos it is amazing how different it sounds amplified.
Some months back I added a raised saddle (Andrea is making the Contrabassettos with a raised saddle now) it makes a big difference in the openness of the bass and the bredth of the sound.
But all the way around from the growly very strong bottom end to the more muted and gut-y mid bass, all the way up these sound great on here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: peterpalmieri
#148
flatback said:
Yes I totally agree about the advantage of pizz with a small body instrument very punchy clear direct articulate great upper end....I have been having problems amplifying the contrabassetto....I really want to get a Yamahiko bridge pickup on there, but I have been using the Ischell and a Schertler Stat B and Underwood....all really too bright with Zyex.. been having this bright white shinny teeth kind of sound that I don't dig....But 2 days ago I put some Obligatos on there, Whoa man that really brought the sonic spectrum into balance. For this small bass the Obligatos sound great. Makes me curious about Evah's but these sound super.
I love this small bass and practice on it all the time. So ergonomic so easy to get around on. With the Obligatos it is amazing how different it sounds amplified.
Some months back I added a raised saddle (Andrea is making the Contrabassettos with a raised saddle now) it makes a big difference in the openness of the bass and the bredth of the sound.
But all the way around from the growly very strong bottom end to the more muted and gut-y mid bass, all the way up these sound great on here.
Click to expand...
Try an under foot realist. I hate them on my regular basses but the one that came on here is just right. I think the small Body Benefits that pick up also. I put a wing mounted pick up on there when I bought the bass because I anticipated hating the realist, but it's exactly the opposite, the wing pickup is just way too bright and twangy, and it's a bass Max, which is not known to be bright. I use gut strings so it's definitely not the strings. I love the bass Max on my full-size bases and hate the realist, and the opposite on the small bass
 
#149
Yeah. I might try that. I had an underfoot pickup on there...a Russian Aptflex which is a great pickup (sound wise) but terrible build quality (they last only a short time before the leads pull out) and are no longer available. But the Stat B sounds super fat. I rented a Czech ese once from Gage when I had a NYC gig that I flew in for without a bass , and honestly I had a very bad impression.
I bought the Contrabassetto based on my conversations with Andrea and sight and sound unseen and heard, and while the gage might have a bigger acoustic sound, the Contabassetto is just so much better a fit for me.
....THe Obligatos make more of a difference then zyex (which sounded best after Obli's) Velvet Anima (they also sounded really good but I find I cannot get my fingers to love them) Spiros both kinds, the Ron Carter Black tape strings (not sure what they are called) and the Brazilian strings that came on there. Weird how they bring out the fundamental and deemphasize the brittle high end. They also get rid (mostly) of what I call the cello effect (ever listen to a cello player play pizz? it has a kind of hollow brittle thump) rather then a nice bass percussive thump. Anyway the Obli's get rid of that.
I may see if I can buy a Realist made for an Eminance....prolly be the right size for the feet of the little bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cultrvultr
#153
flatback said:
Yeah. I might try that. I had an underfoot pickup on there...a Russian Aptflex which is a great pickup (sound wise) but terrible build quality (they last only a short time before the leads pull out) and are no longer available. But the Stat B sounds super fat. I rented a Czech ese once from Gage when I had a NYC gig that I flew in for without a bass , and honestly I had a very bad impression.
I bought the Contrabassetto based on my conversations with Andrea and sight and sound unseen and heard, and while the gage might have a bigger acoustic sound, the Contabassetto is just so much better a fit for me.
....THe Obligatos make more of a difference then zyex (which sounded best after Obli's) Velvet Anima (they also sounded really good but I find I cannot get my fingers to love them) Spiros both kinds, the Ron Carter Black tape strings (not sure what they are called) and the Brazilian strings that came on there. Weird how they bring out the fundamental and deemphasize the brittle high end. They also get rid (mostly) of what I call the cello effect (ever listen to a cello player play pizz? it has a kind of hollow brittle thump) rather then a nice bass percussive thump. Anyway the Obli's get rid of that.
I may see if I can buy a Realist made for an Eminance....prolly be the right size for the feet of the little bass.
Click to expand...
that czech ease that he rents out has a sunken top... its not the best bass. (might be plywood too, mine has carved top) mine i really like a lot. it has become my main bass, and i own 3 other high quality basses. took some time to dial it in the way i like it with strings, setup etc. things that you really cant do with a rental bass. anyway, the point is, the small body bass will probably benefit from a dark pickup like the realist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flatback
#154
Yes.
Personally if I was renting out (to traveling pros) an example of a travel bass that I wanted to sell lots of, I would make sure that particular bass was peaches.
I love Gage and I love his shop and all the guys. They worked on my basses for many years when I lived in NYC. No complaints there.
And I'll bet yours (and Dave Holland's....although I gotta say I MUCH prefer his stage sound with his 5/8th bass ) is prolly set up sweet and nice and sounds great.
One of the things that I really dig about the Yamahiko is that it is neither warm nor cold it is Industrial: it has such a broad wide signal that it responds extremely well to even slight eq tweaks plus it lives half way down the bridge leg so there is a sweet spot between direct and body tone. I tried to have it installed on the little bass but my luthier didnt want to put the over sized and extra long threads into the lithe carved bridge legs on Andreas bridge. I will have a second bridge made with wider legs that can handle it at some point....WHen my daughter graduates collage maybe (she is 9 now....) It's all so expensive....
But the Contrabassetto with Obligatos sounds so sweet. And with the bow it is like a beautiful fat cello.
 
#156
I have been playing the Contrabassetto a lot lately, I have the amplification dialed in better (schertler Stat B and Remic Mic blended) there are so many reasons to love this bass. It is just a joy to play. I've been listening to recordings of myself playing different gigs in different contexts and the little bass sounds every bit like a bigger instrument and has both a totally defined and un muddied lower octave, and a sick thumb position singing quality. The woodiness comes across with clarity and definition.
Ergonomically it is such an absolute joy to play, I find myself practicing on it all the time, it is so light and the size is just perfect that I take it with me all kinds of places (no need for a wheel)
About a year ago now I got an old American Standard in partial trade for some work and I was really jazzed about fixing it up and playing THAT for a while and just really getting into the BIG sound of the AS. After having it repaired (new bridge bass bar glued and seams, Neck reset etc) I got it back and started playing it and it just was not my thing. I cant really make that big bass play they way I hear it. SO I'm selling it on Craigslist in S.F. (if anyone is interested) but more importantly I keep thinking about these little basses and contacted Andrea (he has made a few contrabassettos since mine)
I thought that since so few people have commissioned a bass (a few european cats have bought them and a few Brazilians) that I might take the proceeds from the sale of the AS and see if I can commission another Contrabassetto with the idea of selling it here (not to make any money on but to get more of these basses here and to be able to try the other designs) So I wrote to Andrea to see how things are going and what the possibilities are for getting another little bass in the next few years (figuring he's prolly booked tight for a good long time)
...gunna finish this in a new post.....
 
#157
When I wrote to Andrea he said that he was making just the very design I was interested in at this moment and that it might not be too difficult to make a second one simultaneously.
The Contrabassetto that I would like to try is a Gamba shape with a slightly deeper body and volume and a flatback. The other elements of the instrument (removable neck, string length 41, and full length highest quality ebony fingerboard, raised saddle, European tone wood of highest quality, and expert carving) would be the same.
Andrea is such a great person to work with.
We are old friends now and the trust is deep.
I believe that these smaller basses offer so much more then Chinese or Plywood or travel basses based on EUB type hybrid designs. I play all those basses from time to time and I have to say, the ergonomics alone of being able to get around the instrument AND the fact that these quicker tighter sounding instruments are Pizz machines. The Pizz sound speaks so fast and deep and punchy that it solves a lot of problems with bigger basses (My 7/8 Tyrolean which I dearly love can get muddy in the lower octave and it is just a bear to wrap my body around)

Anyway long story short Andrea is going to make another instrument and send it up here. If anyone is interested in getting one of these instruments with out going thru the commissioning process send me a PM I am trying to gauge interest and I will start with people who contact me.
Here is the thing about price of these instruments and I am going to be totally straight forward so that cats can get a clear cloudy picture: The Brazilian economy is totally ucked. It is going thru some seriously funky times. This is really really good for USA buyers. These instruments are not plywood travel basses but fully carved beautiful artist/luthier pieces ( I hope that the pictures earlier in the thread give some indication of the level of artistry and craftsmanship and transparency in Andreas work)
So the price is not cheap but inexpensive for the level of material and workmanship. I paid about $6000 for mine in 2015. I don't know what the price will be yet but in that neighborhood.
I am a player not a businessman and my interest is in being able to get the right instrument for the rest on my days as a player (at 53 I am really looking for the smaller bass to be my main gigging bass in the future) and also to help my friend Andrea break thru the distance barrier and get these wonderful basses into the hands of Jazz bassists in the USA.
I am trying to work out a deal where maybe he makes a few and I can help him find buyers here, but for now we are going to proceed with the one.
So if anyone out there is more then mildly interested or would like to try a contrabassetto (mine) send me a PM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: geoffbassist and Kristian
#158
....I was just reading in the Basses section above that some guy is getting his ass handed to him for I think not providing a recording to back up his claim of using a small bass....
Here is a short excerpt from a concert we did in Berkeley the other night in a kind of Bill Evans tribute ...we were accompanying a new documentary about Evans....really playing a set out front. The pianist just sent me some cuts. I don't know anything other then he had a zoom sitting on the piano which was across the stage from me.
The pick up was a Stat B and Ischell mixed run in to a MAS 16. sorry for being less then brilliant.
 

Attachments

#160
Thanks so much @flatback. I reached out to Andrea a couple weeks ago via Facebook to ask about a Gamba Bassetto too! We chatted for a bit and he seems really great to work with.

I really, really, really want one of these, but the $6K price is just too steep for me. I play a Shen now and do a fair amount of unamplified playing. at $6K this would have to be my only bass and I don't think it will work for "everything" the way a standard bass does.

Andrea seemed uninterested in making a cheaper version at a similar price point to a Chadwick. I understand the commitment to quality, but it seems like a ply or hybrid offering would really help open up the market for him when most other small/travel basses are $2-4K
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back