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Double Bass Czech-Ease

#21
I tried on at the IAJE conference last January and immediately liked it. I'm hearing here and elsewhere the sound is decent.

Found a buyer for my second bass yesterday and going to get one, although this is more for convenience, not any big travel. Last night, went to a jam session just to play couple of songs and it would have been perfect if I could have just rolled this in and plugged it in. Tomorrow night I have an outdoor gig with lots of steep steps to go up and down and if I had the Czech Ease now, I would take it to that gig.
 
#22
I got my Czech-ease on Tuesday. I'm loving it. It is so much fun to play and it sounds better than I was expecting. I've never been a fan of plywood basses, but it sounds pretty d*mn good for it's size and being brand new. So new that I have to take breaks from practicing because of the fumes from the glue. I expected to just use it when I toured, but I plan on using it around town. Thinking about how easy some load-ins will be is making me giddy. The bass feels so natural to play. I don’t even notice that it is a small body once I start playing, except that thumb position is so easy on this bass.

My main complaint is that the bass is so top heavy. The heel is weighted and it has a big, thick neck. I guess they do that so it feels like a full size bass leaning into you (which it does and I appreciate since my last touring bass was an EUB), but it is awkward to pick up and rest on its side.

For some reason my bass does not like the second octave C# when I bow it whether I play it on the G, D or A string. The string starts to jump and then choke and I can’t keep a steady sound. This is all in the same bow stroke. It is just that one frequency. I’ve never experienced anything like that with the four double basses I’ve owned. This is with Spiro mediums, but it happens on all the strings when I play that frequency. It plays like butter outside of that issue. The Gage shop did a great job on the set up.

I look forward to trying some other strings on this bass. I have some older animas that have some life in them and I would love to put some dominants on it.
 
#24
Good call, but the G String afterlength is around D#, the D string is around A#/B, the A String is around G# and the E string is around E-ish.

I didn't really describe the problem well in the last post, but it is like it wants to be another note. Like it wants to jump up to D from C#. Sort of a wha-wha-wha-wha sound. It only happens when I am spot on C# at 440 and with the bow. I'll call the Gage shop next week.

I still really dig the bass other than this issue that I just noticed yesterday.
 
#25
Great to hear another positive report about this bass. I noticed that the neck is kind of thick and planning on getting the neck reshaped anyway to be more like my other bass. Might help with it being top heavy, depending on how much the heel is weighted. Would like to know is you can get that C# problem solved.
 
#26
masmasbasso said:
Good call, but the G String afterlength is around D#, the D string is around A#/B, the A String is around G# and the E string is around E-ish.

I didn't really describe the problem well in the last post, but it is like it wants to be another note. Like it wants to jump up to D from C#. Sort of a wha-wha-wha-wha sound. It only happens when I am spot on C# at 440 and with the bow. I'll call the Gage shop next week.

I still really dig the bass other than this issue that I just noticed yesterday.
Click to expand...
Have someone grab the afterlengths while you're playing and see if it makes a difference.
 
#27
masmasbasso said:
Good call, but the G String afterlength is around D#, the D string is around A#/B, the A String is around G# and the E string is around E-ish.

I didn't really describe the problem well in the last post, but it is like it wants to be another note. Like it wants to jump up to D from C#. Sort of a wha-wha-wha-wha sound. It only happens when I am spot on C# at 440 and with the bow. I'll call the Gage shop next week.

I still really dig the bass other than this issue that I just noticed yesterday.
Click to expand...


masmasbasso, what you're describing is called a "woof tone". It is a common problem with a lot of basses and can usually be fixed fairly easily with an adjustment of the sound post or bridge. If not, I know fellas who use woof eliminators. They're little metallic clamps that are placed on the after-bridge (next to tailpiece) portion of the string. I'm sure Gage will be happy to take a look at it. Sometimes, the woof will disappear on its own as the bass "settles" or expands/contracts due to humidity. This is true especially on new instruments.

For more info, here's an interesting article where the phenomenon is referred to as a "wolf tone".

http://www.cello.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=tips&tip=tip50

IMO, that term is incorrect as there's no such thing as the big bad wolf tone. ;)
 
#28
ispider6 said:
masmasbasso, what you're describing is called a "woof tone". It is a common problem with a lot of basses and can usually be fixed fairly easily with an adjustment of the sound post or bridge. If not, I know fellas who use woof eliminators. They're little metallic clamps that are placed on the after-bridge (next to tailpiece) portion of the string. I'm sure Gage will be happy to take a look at it. Sometimes, the woof will disappear on its own as the bass "settles" or expands/contracts due to humidity. This is true especially on new instruments.

For more info, here's an interesting article where the phenomenon is referred to as a "wolf tone".

http://www.cello.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=tips&tip=tip50

IMO, that term is incorrect as there's no such thing as the big bad wolf tone. ;)
Click to expand...

yeah, I figured it was a wolf tone, but I never came across that problem on other basses I've owned so I wasn't sure.

I've noticed the bass doesn't stay in tune as well as my other basses, but I was attributing it to the new strings. I'll get to play it on some gigs when I get back from vacation later this week.
 
#29
I believe that Lynn Seaton's bass had a funny wolf tone as well, but I can't remember what pitch it was. I'm pretty sure that if STANDBETTER were here, he'd say that the A0-B0 relationship was out of balance due to the fact that half of the B0 has been chopped off, which kinda makes sense if you think about it.
 
#30
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I believe that Lynn Seaton's bass had a funny wolf tone as well, but I can't remember what pitch it was. I'm pretty sure that if STANDBETTER were here, he'd say that the A0-B0 relationship was out of balance due to the fact that half of the B0 has been chopped off, which kinda makes sense if you think about it.
Click to expand...


Hehe... you said the BO has been chopped off. I think that's called right guard. :hiding: :scowl:
 
#31
Hi everyone,
just in case you're curious to hear what the Czech-Ease sounds like, feel free to download the following sound clip:

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/marcopanascia/moaninedit.mp3

It's an excerpt from "Moanin'", recorded with my minidisc player right on stage, during a recent gig in Maryland.

Personnel:

Yours truly: Czech-Ease Bass through a Roland house amp

Eldar: Piano (www.eldarjazz.com)

Carmen Intorre: Drums

You can definitely tell from my intonation that I'd gotten the bass just a couple of weeks before that gig :D

Best,
Marco
 
#34
Thanks Marcus and Doug,
I appreciate it.

Doug, I've lived in Edinburgh for 6 months back in 1995... music was more of a hobby for me then (I was about to graduate in Chemistry). Is bassist Garry Fimister still living there? I haven't been back since 1998. I won a jazz bass competition that year, and Brian Kellock and John Rae accompanied me for a concert at Queen's Hall.

Nice memories, aye!

Best,
Marco
 
#36
Hi Marco, is the chemistry now the hobby then :D ?

I'm pretty much a hobbyist bass player myself, which is why I won't be playing with guys of the calibre of Messrs. Kellock and Rae anytime soon! Those two are both very active on the Edinburgh jazz scene, which is in the ascendency at the moment. Brian won (I think) Radio 2 Album of the Year for his last release, and only seems to be getting better. You probably knew the Bancrofts as well, and they've got their own record label going now.

Bill Kyle the drummer has opened a new place - The Jazz Cellar - after his old place burned down in a huge fire that took several other buildings with it, and Jools Holland is about to open a high-profile club in the old BBC premises in Queen Street (where I used to work!).

Other bassists I see around town are Brian Shiels, Mario Caribe, Roy Percy, Kevin McGuire who plays with country outfit the Felsons, and though I've not met him yet, Martin Beer is a Talkbass regular who lives here. Erik Hansen, who's California based and posts on here as Low Note, was in town over the summer and said there's more work here than back home! Of course, if you're as good as Erik, you won't be short of work...

So plenty to be doing if you come back for a visit. Let me know if you do.

I haven't met Garry Fimister that I know of: who does he play with?
 
#37
william parker plays a czech ease bass.
i have a live recording of him playing with some people and i emailed him to see what strings he was using......spirocore reds on his czech ease bass. thats what he says he travels with so i assume thats what i was hearing....pretty nice sound amplified.
 
#38
Hi Doug,
sorry it took me a while to reply your note. Glad to hear that some good jazz is happening in Edinburgh these days. Unfortunately, the scene will never be as big as New York's, but I'd much rather be living in a place like Edinburgh than New York. Talk about the sacrifices you gotta make for being part of a bigger music scene (e.g., paying $1200/month for a closet-sized apartment, etc).

I actually haven't talked to bassist Garry Fimister since I left Edinburgh in 1995, so I have no idea where he may be right now. He's evidently left town a while ago since you've never heard of him.

I hope I'll be able to make it back to Edinburgh for a visit in the future. I still remember the house I used to live in on 72 Comiston Road, and I do miss being there from time to time.

Best,
Marco
 
#39
Hi Marco, yes, clearly a town of half a million can never compete for gig numbers with New York. But look at it another way - if there are fewer musicians chasing a smaller number of gigs, maybe it works out to be the same amount of work? You could always PM Low Note - Erik Hansen - for his take on it. He was turning down gigs before he left!

Comiston Road is a good address for being in the thick of things. Plenty shops and pubs there and lots of students keeping the area young and lively. I'm living out in the burbs myself, in an area with nothing but bungalows for miles, but hey! I can rehearse a full rock band in the house without the neighbours complaining, so life is all about compromise for sure.

I wouldn't assume Gary's left town just because I haven't heard of him! There's a jazz community alright but I'm not really one of the brotherhood. I'll ask around about him though.
 
#40
could you take some photos of your CE and post them? The online photos are so-so and it'd be nice to see a detailed shot of how the removable scroll, heel, and end block/bass bottom was done. I'm just really curious about them. Thanks!
 

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