Electric basses which sound like an upright?

[logdrum]

Just get a precision. String it with Jamerson La Bellas and raise the action.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Everyone seems to have a pony in this race, and we all will have to decide for ourselves. I personally think my Rob Allen Deep5 gets as close as anything. Its a little puzzling why someone would ask for advise, and then tell us all we are wrong.....

A Rob Allen is definitely on my list of basses to try.

 

[Pings Bass]

IMO the closest you can get is something that sounds like a DB through a piezo. You can approximate that kind of honk with a bridge piezo on a fretless, and a lot of people will think it sounds like an upright, because that's the only way they've really ever heard an upright (amplified through a piezo).

But you will never get close to the sound of a miked DB with an electric bass guitar, IME. You can get a lot closer with midi, but that's an abomination.

 

[jd56hawk]

I may be wrong, and I think it does.

You're right.
This sounds more like an upright to me.
QUOTE a few agree, too.

 

[GreyBeard]

One of the most convincing upright sounds came at a time I was at the Renfro Valley Bluegrass fest. It was with a fretless acoustic electric with a foam mute at the bridge. It had me looking for the upright.

 

[Jefenator]

I'm not very taken by the OP's approach to fostering discussion, or by the look of that contraption with the fretless Fender style neck on a cello body.

But I have to say: that thing actually sounds way closer than most piezo BGs I've ever seen demo'd!

For a second I thought, why not just use a cello, but a quick Google search revealed that a standard cello scale length (27" for a 4/4) might be a bit on the short side. (Not to mention the tight fingerboard radius would probably be awkward for playing horizontally.)

 

[Nashrakh]

Some people also say Steve Swallow sounds like he's playing an upright. (5 string semi?-hollowbody, nylon tapewounds, played with a copper pick over the neck heel)

I don't think he does really, but it's a cool sound all the same. Just mentioning him because he is bound to come up in discussions such as this. I'm trying to mimic his style recently, but I would never go so far as to try and pass it off as a substitute for upright (which I do play too).

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Since I have a PhD in the totally effing obvious I thought I'd share my insight:
electric basses will never sound exactly like upright basses, frets or not.
Thank you TB!
My work here is through.

 

[Lackey]

How about... A 36+ inch scale fretless Parallel Chambered bass from Cliff Bordwell, piezo in the bridge + magnet wherever, and flatwounds..

 

[MrLenny1]

Rob Allen.

 

[luciens]

I dunno, guys, color me nuts but that ukulele sounds amazing, to me, and he plays it like a champ too....

L