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Double Bass DB Sustain?

#23
drurb said:
Yep-- just last Sunday, playing jazz with my group-- laid the bass down to pull out the endpin for the next set-- guy in the audience says, "Is that a cello?" I just stared at him for a few seconds and said, "No, it's a bass." Alternative replies went through my head. So this means that there are actually people who figure that a jazz horn section, jazz guitar, and drummer would be accompanied by a cello. Amazing.
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The "cello" question used to bother me, too, until recently when a little kid came up to me and asked if that was an oboe I was playing. I'm not lying. I was so stunned at his variation on the "cello" question that I was struck dumb, utterly speechless. Let's hear it for arts education in the US!
 
#24
It finally happened to me yesterday. I showed someone at work a picture of my gear, and the 'Is that a cello?' question came out! To make matters worse, someone had already told him I played upright, and he is a bass player himself! My kids on the other hand, see cellos, and call them basses.
 
#26
bassist1962 said:
It finally happened to me yesterday. I showed someone at work a picture of my gear, and the 'Is that a cello?' question came out! To make matters worse, someone had already told him I played upright, and he is a bass player himself! My kids on the other hand, see cellos, and call them basses.
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Yeesh! Is he a DB player? I'm guessing he's not.
 
#28
Silversorcerer said:
Double basses can have incredible sustain. The thud tone is usually a muted gut string. In a lot of ways there are similarities in the sound to the sound of a fretless bass guitar, but with a much richer and deeper timbre. I've even heard some that had too much sustain. Get some CDs of Brian Bromberg, Paul Chambers, and Ron Carter. You will hear it.

What is it with these cello people (not the players, but the one's that don't know what a DB is)? I've got a 6 ft. 3 inch instrument with five strings that weighs 30+ pounds and if I had a nickel for every time in two years that some one asks if it is a cello, I could retire. I think they do it on purpose. I'm trying to think of an appropriate response. Not that I want to hijack the thread, but does anyone have a good answer to that?

Q: Is that a cello?
A: Is that an ___ on your shoulders?

Q: Is that a cello?
A: Yep, accidentally overfed the poor thing.

Q: Is that a cello?
A: No, but did you notice your fly is open? Ha, Ha, made you look!

Q: Is that a cello?
A: I don't know, what's a cello?
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"That's a big guitar" is the one I most commonly get. I think I might start carrying a tazer instead of a witty retort.
 
#29
drurb said:
Yep-- just last Sunday, playing jazz with my group-- laid the bass down to pull out the endpin for the next set-- guy in the audience says, "Is that a cello?" I just stared at him for a few seconds and said, "No, it's a bass." Alternative replies went through my head. So this means that there are actually people who figure that a jazz horn section, jazz guitar, and drummer would be accompanied by a cello. Amazing.
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I think people are just clueless. When I was in university and I would tell people I was studying music, by far the most common response was ... "Do you play an instrument?" A witty retort would obviously have been wasted.
 
#30
The response i give is based primarily off of my mood.

Example: on the subway, i got asked "Is that a violin?" So i said to them "want to see me put this under my chin?"

Also on the subway-was asked "Don't you wish you played flute?"-my response "how many times do you think i've heard that today?"

I'm typically happy if they ask me if it's a cello.....much closer than violin, oboe, or guitar IMO.
 
#31
Yeah, I just love the "Don't you wish you played ____" class of comments. I suppose I could say, "Yeah, I chose the double-bass and it was only after a few years that I realized how big it was. By then it was too late to switch so I stuck with it for 35 years always wishing I had chosen something smaller."
 
#33
Got the opposite problem. Any note in first or second position closed or fingered just goes forever. Maybe it’s the strings maybe it’s the amp? Although it seems to do it in every amp maybe it’s the pick up? The strings were relatively inexpensive Dia Dario‘s. Fishman pick up
 
#34
Well, it's an old thread, but I didn't mind seeing some of the names that I haven't seen in a while.

My bass has a lot of sustain. I happen to prefer it that way. But I think it depends on the bass. Possibly strings, setup, etc. The curse of the bass is that it could be anything that happens to be costly to change. ;)
 
#38
D McCartney said:
Q. "Is that a cello?"

A. "No."
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Q. Is that a Violin
A. Yes… It’s a bass violin
Francois Blais said:
Is you string height very low?
Or maybe the fingerboard just needs some dressing.
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I don’t think the strings are that low but there are definitely guys who have them higher .
I heard on another thread that Supernils are a cheap way to get a gut sound which I think is what I want.
 

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