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Double Bass Engelhardt EM1

#41
hdiddy:

I find everything you've said to be enlightening (all except the "EB is easier to play" part =p) and I understand these concepts now.

I have actually played my teacher's bass, and I understand there will be differences with each bass. His sounds and plays much deeper and darker to my ears, and his has a huge sound, but then again his bass feels bigger to me (I'm not sure how standardized the sizes of basses are within the "3/4 bass" range"). But at the same time, he can make my bass do things that amaze me. I guess I come from the school of thought that the player makes an instrument sound, not the other way around. And this could totally be an EB way of looking at it.

My comments were on a much broader sense however. An upright will always sound like an upright, and most of the general population won't know the difference. I know that I'm essentially talking about timbre vs. tone and that these two concepts are completely independent of one another.

I'd like to learn upright bass, but as a complement to my electric playing. I would use it in roots, bluegrass, and rockabilly styles when the situation called for it, which is why at the moment I think $1,000 bass will last me quite a while. I may be ignorant, and excuse me if I am, but I don't believe the folks in the appalachians, the delta south, the plains, and the factories were using top quality basses to make some of the soulful music that was produced by these people. And this type of music is really my calling. I love jazz and the musicality of it, but I love the emotion of a good blues and folk tune even more.
 
#42
That was eloquently put and refreshingly astute... I concur, and I also took the advice of the "veterans" when I was growing up. The times have changed, most definitely..

MIKMAN said:
One thing that amazes me during the last five-six years is the fact that young fellows are easily offended and irritated with anyone who disagrees with them. This attitude leads to an erratic behaviour, usually characterized by arrogance, disrespect, insulting comments etc. Young guys tend to find hybris when they should have found just a different opinion, they tend to find provocation when the sould have find humor... and the list goes on.
I teach for 23 consecutive years in the local University and this attitude, albeit in a small level, starts to annoy me. Obviously is a universal phenomenon and it appears from time to time in our forum. I don't like to be paternalistic giving advises etc, but in my twenties i was listening the opinions of my superiors, trying to learn as much as i could.
As a final comment, i believe that all the young fellows should gather some information about some people who write in the forum under their full name and learn their credentials. This fact IMHO will lead some to a decent behaviour.
Mike
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#43
powellmacaque said:
I'd like to learn upright bass, but as a complement to my electric playing. I would use it in roots, bluegrass, and rockabilly styles when the situation called for it, which is why at the moment I think $1,000 bass will last me quite a while. I may be ignorant, and excuse me if I am, but I don't believe the folks in the appalachians, the delta south, the plains, and the factories were using top quality basses to make some of the soulful music that was produced by these people. And this type of music is really my calling. I love jazz and the musicality of it, but I love the emotion of a good blues and folk tune even more.
Click to expand...

You're probably right, it will do fine for that.

I couldn't get away with that, $15k of German carved bass is good for me (in the orchestra). My bass probably wouldn't sound as good for blues or folk, certainly not set up the way it is.
 
#44
Why don't we all at least thank Mr. PowellMacaque for buying an American-made bass. Englehardts are really the last true connection to the great old Kay, Epiphone, etc. basses made here, and used by so many to make so much great music in the last 70 or so years. If more of us would support Englehardt, perhaps it would enable them to continue to further enhance the instruments they offer, wouldn't that be great.
Steve
 
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#45
In comparison, I have played some Chinese basses at a local shop priced in the same bracket as my EM1, and those feel like a toy to me, not to take a shot at anybody with a Chinese bass.

Now once again, this may seem a bit unrealistic, but will my EM1 gain the "mojo" that some Kays and other early plywood basses gain? I know that instruments were different back in the 40s - 60s, but I think it's safe to assume that since the Asian import basses are becoming more prominent in the student market, the Engelhardt and their contemporaries are a rarer beast than they were 15 years ago.
 
#46
I, for one, would like to compliment Mr. PowellMacaque for being a very well spoken young man of 19 years when most of the younger generation do not know how to construct a thought or a sentence. Without taking any sides in this discussion I must say that you articulated yourself well, sir. Bravo!
 
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#48
powellmacaque said:
In comparison, I have played some Chinese basses at a local shop priced in the same bracket as my EM1, and those feel like a toy to me, not to take a shot at anybody with a Chinese bass.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much true I think. In that price range, only the Cremonas can really compete and those can be scary. Toss in another grand and things start to change where you go past the Engle price ranges.
 
#49
MIKMAN said:
One thing that amazes me during the last five-six years is the fact that young fellows are easily offended and irritated with anyone who disagrees with them. This attitude leads to an erratic behaviour, usually characterized by arrogance, disrespect, insulting comments etc. Young guys tend to find hybris when they should have found just a different opinion, they tend to find provocation when the sould have find humor... and the list goes on.
I teach for 23 consecutive years in the local University and this attitude, albeit in a small level, starts to annoy me. Obviously is a universal phenomenon and it appears from time to time in our forum. I don't like to be paternalistic giving advises etc, but in my twenties i was listening the opinions of my superiors, trying to learn as much as i could.
As a final comment, i believe that all the young fellows should gather some information about some people who write in the forum under their full name and learn their credentials. This fact IMHO will lead some to a decent behaviour.
Mike
Click to expand...
Off topic
 
#56
All basses seem to be a little different, and sometimes you just get lucky. I had a late '60s / early '70s Knilling laminate student bass. I got it from someone who had it just sitting in their living room as decoration. It had been a high school bass and the neck had been broken at the scroll and repaired poorly. It broke again and we had to replace the neck. We tweaked other things over the years, and it was a very fine sounding bass. I would regularly visit the local bass shop and play everything they had: 15 - 20 basses. Yeah, mine didn't sound as good as the ones with the $8K+ price tags... but I thought it sounded just as good, and often better, than any of the basses in the under $4K range. If I recall correctly, I paid about $850 for it (25 years ago).
 
#59
Panda73 said:
[QUOTE="IMO, (again) you stated what your teacher said. Not what he "meant" according to your internalization of his statement.
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Paul your just an ******* looking to start an argument ![/QUOTE]

This is so bizarre and ironic I can't even tell which way to interpret it. To respond to a 6 year old post in this way is either very funny in an ironic way, or something else entirely.
 
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