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Double Bass - I don't really get it

#101
Freebase said:
Hey.
I've played bass for a number of years- electric only- mostly R and B, blues, rock....

I like to play jazz standards for fun and have often toyed with the idea of joining a small trio. However, most want up right acoustic and I just don't dig the sound. Or the size!

At the risk of being a jerk, not sure why anyone would play one of those. Cause it looks cool? Often the sound is so dull most will not be able to tell if the player is a half step off a chord tone on beat one. (Mic'd on stage is a bit better but seems rare)

I know I've pissed someone off by writing this. But I need to be enlightened on this instrument. Please explain.
Thanks!
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I haven't read any reply, but I really like the sound of a DB, and I suspect I'm not alone.
 
#102
PB+J said:
I double on upright and electric. They are very different animals. the upright is physically demanding and much much harder to play in general, unless maybe you are just thumping on one and five. But it's so frickin' amazing to play. The feel, the sound, the attack of the notes, the freedom from plugging in.... I didn't really understand "swing" until I played the upright, and then all of a sudden a bunch of stuff made sense. There's a totally fantastic quality you get with an upright that you really can't get with an electric bass--the thunk on the front of the note followed by the long full decay: the tension and release inherent on that, the way you have an urgent front end and a relaxed back end, just makes stuff swing hard. I changed my whole approach to electric bas after playing upright and it made me a much much better player, especially on stuff that isn't obviously "swing but whre, as Keith richards says, you need the roll as well as the rock. It also helped me figure out sonic stuff, on electric bass, like about NOT sounding like a guitar

If you don't like it, fine, maybe it's not for you. electric bass is a great instrument in its own right and you can do things with it you can't do with the upright. But it's not played the same way--you REALLY need to get your left hand position together in a completely different way, and you need the right hand to pull through with authority--nothing like the slab.

Also playing it with a bow--man, there is nothing like the power and range you get with that, from a whisper to a roar, LOOOOOONg held notes that you can swell or diminish....
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Well said.
 
#103
Pilgrim said:
An upright bass is a different instrument with a different sound than an electric bass guitar (which is really a proper description of an electric bass.)
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aprod said:
No. Electric bass is the proper terminology. A bass is not a guitar. Total different techniques are required.
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lamarjones said:
No he was right. Where are you citing this from?
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Actually, although there were other electric bass guitars and amplified urbs before the Fender Designs, the commercially successful instrument was originally referred to as the "Fender Bass" :)

as far as the "electric bass" or "bass guitar" debate is kind of like debating the difference bewtween "Garbage Man" and "Sanitation Engineer".............
 
#105
aprod said:
I'm with you on this subject. Its like riding a horse when an automobile is now available. Its old and antiquated.
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Yet people still enjoy riding horses.

To continue the analogy, now that you have the option to drive a car to get places fast, you can go horseback riding for the sheer fun, exercise, and ability to go places where cars can't go.

Horses are not an anachronism, their roles and usefulness in regards to humans has changed.

The DB has its own attraction, and situations where it shines and makes sense.
 
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#106
Historically it has become the established driving tone of swing, bebop, the round deep tone and attack supports the whole band, even played acoustically.
It takes a lot of practice to play a double bass properly, and good tone and intonation cannot be achieved without the correct technique so it is not for the lazy.
In addition to other posters suggestions, listen to masters like Ray Brown, Tony Dumas, John Patittucci, Mingus, and many more and tell me they don't sound great! I am sure you will be converted.....
Enjoy and be inspired :)
 
#109
I my self am in the same boat as OP, but I've only ever played really low end basses that are in poor shape, either in pawn shops, or schools I work at, when I end up fixing tech in the music rooms and no one is around :D

It may just be our personal taste for that rock and blues tone.

Now playing it with a bow is a totally different level which would be awesome!
 
#110
So don't play one ;) I make about 75% of my income with one, and I frankly love the instrument. There is nothing else out there like it. You can emulate the sound on an electric but you can't replicate the bloom, decay, or "air" that it pushes. There is a reason a lot of jazz players want an upright player. It just sits in the mix and "swings" differently.
 
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#115
Freebase said:
Hey.
I've played bass for a number of years- electric only- mostly R and B, blues, rock....

I like to play jazz standards for fun and have often toyed with the idea of joining a small trio. However, most want up right acoustic and I just don't dig the sound. Or the size!

At the risk of being a jerk, not sure why anyone would play one of those. Cause it looks cool? Often the sound is so dull most will not be able to tell if the player is a half step off a chord tone on beat one. (Mic'd on stage is a bit better but seems rare)

I know I've pissed someone off by writing this. But I need to be enlightened on this instrument. Please explain.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

If you don't like the sound you shouldn't play one. Why should I (or anyone else) waste time trying to convince you otherwise?
 
#116
The double bass certainly has it's own unique sound and is a very important part of certain styles of music like Jazz and classical. I can understand though someone coming across a poorly set up one with bad strings and wondering what the fuss is about. I don't know if there is any other instrument out there that must be set up properly to work properly like a double bass.
 
#117
Freebase said:
......At the risk of being a jerk, not sure why anyone would play one of those. Cause it looks cool? Often the sound is so dull most will not be able to tell if the player is a half step off a chord tone on beat one......"!
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Ironic; I feel that way about an electric bass! I live in a town where I play approx. 75 gigs a year and in ten years I have never had someone ask for me to play electric.....
 
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#118
angrychair said:
I my self am in the same boat as OP, but I've only ever played really low end basses that are in poor shape, either in pawn shops, or schools I work at, when I end up fixing tech in the music rooms and no one is around :D
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[Just a general comment using your post as a springboard, @angrychair . Not specifically directed at you personally.]

A low-end double bass in the hands of a master will sound 1000 times better than a master bass in the hands of the beginner, regardless of what condition the bass is in.

You really have to want to play DB to get anywhere with it. It's fine if one doesn't want to, but passing judgement on the instrument based on personal lack of skill is just dumb. It's like me saying "I don't understand why anyone would want to play saxophone because I tried one in a pawn shop and it sounded awful".
 
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#119
M.R. Ogle said:
I was given (as a birthday gift) three introductory lessons on Double bass at a music store in South Orange County. It was fun, but REALLY physical compared to my electrics, and although the sound was cool, In the end, it was just TOO MUCH WORK for me, lol! I get it, but it's just that I'm a spoiled wimp I guess.

Leo put up with quite a bit of guff (apparently) for his "plank" bass, but thank God he persisted.

And there are some very thoughtful responses on here outlining the DB's appeal. Very good!
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I recently brought because a) I like the sound, b) It opens up new challenges c) I have a plywood one with growly tone. It's the cat's pajamas :)
 

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