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Double Bass Ergo Megathread part I

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Well, I can't tell you what grade exactly but I know it was fairly coarse, and then I worked my way up. It took me a surprisingly long time to get all remnants of the finish off. I guess it was a fairly thick coat. Make sure to tape off the sides of the fingerboard to protect them.

With the oil finish, the colour of the neck will be more or less like your bass looks (natural finish). If you use linseed oil, make sure you get the raw version, not the boiled one. You could also try tung oil.
 
I gave it a light sanding just to get the sticky stuff off, it feels a lot better now. The rest of the bass is still a bit sticky but I'm hoping that it will cure over the next couple weeks.

I was able to get in contact with jesse and he offered to refinish the bass, but truth is I like the damn thing so much I don't want to be without it. Maybe after I order my second ergo I'll send this one in for a touch up.:bassist:
 
Just popping by this side of the forum to update you on my Ergo 4 string experience.

Awhile ago I attached a K and K pure pre amp, and put some blue earthquake putty under the bridge of the Ergo. I had great results using the 2 modifications, and had a great tone going into my bass rig. One very close to the sound I was looking for. I was able to forgo using my Platinum Pro EQ, and save use of a few extra patch cables.

Recently I bought a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 10 combo amp. Of course as soon as I got it I plugged every bass related item I have into it. When it came time for plugging the Ergo in, I would have never expected the results I got.

The Ergo sounds amazing through GB 3.0. I tried it with, and without K and K. Sounds best without the K and K.

I finally have the Ergo sounding exactly the way I wanted it to, and have fallen back in love with this instrument. I was contemplating selling the Ergo because I couldn't exactly get what I wanted out of it, but now I don't think you could pry this out of my cold dead hands.

Thanks for all the info in this thread.
I have made good use of it, and appreciate the valuable information here.
 
I have exactly what you do for bass, preamp, and amp. I've found it hard to justify the preamp use. I just don't feel it helps and it adds more junk. Good think my violin player needs a preamp and he can't get one where we live. :)


Just popping by this side of the forum to update you on my Ergo 4 string experience.

Awhile ago I attached a K and K pure pre amp, and put some blue earthquake putty under the bridge of the Ergo. I had great results using the 2 modifications, and had a great tone going into my bass rig. One very close to the sound I was looking for. I was able to forgo using my Platinum Pro EQ, and save use of a few extra patch cables.

Recently I bought a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 10 combo amp. Of course as soon as I got it I plugged every bass related item I have into it. When it came time for plugging the Ergo in, I would have never expected the results I got.

The Ergo sounds amazing through GB 3.0. I tried it with, and without K and K. Sounds best without the K and K.

I finally have the Ergo sounding exactly the way I wanted it to, and have fallen back in love with this instrument. I was contemplating selling the Ergo because I couldn't exactly get what I wanted out of it, but now I don't think you could pry this out of my cold dead hands.

Thanks for all the info in this thread.
I have made good use of it, and appreciate the valuable information here.
 
I have exactly what you do for bass, preamp, and amp. I've found it hard to justify the preamp use. I just don't feel it helps and it adds more junk. Good think my violin player needs a preamp and he can't get one where we live. :)

I thought I was going to need the preamp, because according to genz benz specs it's input is rated at 500k ohms. But just like your experience it just added more noise and didn't add anything beneficial to the sound.

I liked the K and K use to use it a lot with my other amps.

But the GB is just so tasty sounding it doesn't need anything else.

I was also using an outboard compressor sometimes, a DBX 160, or the one knob on the Fishman. I don't need that anymore either.
 
I didn't really like the finish either, and have sanded the back of the neck down to bare wood, smoothed it out with grade 0000 steel wool and treated it with linseed oil. Plays wonderfully now.

I've had mine for a week now. It started gunking immediatly. It also made my strings and fingers sticky. That stickyness expedited the blisters on my right (piz) fingers. Ouch. That stickyness could also be heard through my amp with little clicks and such.

I could not get super fine sandpaper in this part of Korea so I used one of those fine woven green nylon kitchen scrubbers. That made a total feakin' mess off little sticky boogers in various places on my bass. I then applied a weee bit of isopropyl alcohol to the pad and tried it again, wiping the boogers away immediatly. Perfection with no mess or sanding.

I would have to asume overdoing that process would probably hurt the finish.
 
I have a new Ergo 4 string with a GB 3.0 8T and a K&K preamp. As a few others have found, the preamp is not so great of a boost to overall sound quality. How helpful would compression be? I have access to a Boss Cs-3 Compression sustainer. Would this help?

I did a search but just couldn't nail an answer.

Thanks!
 
I have a new Ergo 4 string with a GB 3.0 8T and a K&K preamp. As a few others have found, the preamp is not so great of a boost to overall sound quality. How helpful would compression be? I have access to a Boss Cs-3 Compression sustainer. Would this help?

I did a search but just couldn't nail an answer.

Thanks!
What strings do use have on the Ergo?

I also have a GB 3.0 8T (amazing sound for the size!) and it works quite well with my K&K Big Shot pickup. (on my modified Carruthers SUB-1 EUB)

A F-Deck HPF-Pre can help cleaning the sound from sub-frequencies.
 
What strings do use have on the Ergo?

I also have a GB 3.0 8T (amazing sound for the size!) and it works quite well with my K&K Big Shot pickup. (on my modified Carruthers SUB-1 EUB)

A F-Deck HPF-Pre can help cleaning the sound from sub-frequencies.

I agree about the GB. Sort of freakish powerful.

I use the strings Jesse sent on the bass as well as the stock pickup. here is the info on the F-Deck in case other cannot find it.

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Thank you sir. I will review your recommendation.
 
2 weeks old, still a bit sticky, but a blast no less. The folks at the gig in Incheon, South Korea had no idea what the heck that stick thingy was. I like it and so do they even if I'm playing 'er all wrong.
 

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Hallelujah! I've been wiggling those pickups for years with limited success, but now i've installed the PP637B piezo from Artec obtained from guitarfuel.com, and the sound on my ergo 6 is rich, even, fat and awesome! Had to chop up the bridge and add a couple extra strips of wood to allow the pressure to be distributed right across the pickup ( the original bridge shape wasn't flat at the bottom, but now it is. I also cut a small channel so the pickup could fit in. I also cut about a 1/4 inch off the pickup so it wouldn't stick out and i now route the wire externally back to the jack)..........my other basses are getting jealous and feeling neglected.
 
I'd love to see pics of the mods! (er, modifications of the bass that is. Not so much the folks that keep us in line..) :D

Hallelujah! I've been wiggling those pickups for years with limited success, but now i've installed the PP637B piezo from Artec obtained from guitarfuel.com, and the sound on my ergo 6 is rich, even, fat and awesome! Had to chop up the bridge and add a couple extra strips of wood to allow the pressure to be distributed right across the pickup ( the original bridge shape wasn't flat at the bottom, but now it is. I also cut a small channel so the pickup could fit in. I also cut about a 1/4 inch off the pickup so it wouldn't stick out and i now route the wire externally back to the jack)..........my other basses are getting jealous and feeling neglected.
 
not much to see now that the bridge and p/u are installed, except the little black wire that comes out of the side of the bridge slot towards the back of the bass to where it enters the jack plate. If you click on my talkbass account page you can see pics of my mods pertaining to string length which i posted before. Also have a wire grounding the strings to the ground on the jack ( to kill noise).
 
Hello All,
Last Wednesday I received my new Ergo 6-string, tuned F#-B-E-A-D-G:
Ergo6.jpg


I am totally new to double bass so I don't have much to compare it too, but as far as I can tell, this is an amazing instrument! Pictures don't do it justice, as I was very pleasantly surprised when I took it out of the box. Don't know how else to say it, but it looked much cleaner than I had anticipated.

I am in a Heavy Metal band and wanted the Ergo primarily to learn and play arco for something totally different, and I am not disappointed! Even played without an amp, arco notes are clearly heard and well defined. I cannot stop playing this EUB, even if I'm just practicing playing open strings F# up to G and back again, I just can't get enough. It has really inspired me to up my game and I've been practicing every spare moment since receiving it so that I can try and do it justice.

I primarily play 5-string electric bass but have always been enamored with the double bass. Seeing as I can't really afford a traditional upright, and also due to the style of music I'm playing, I feel like I got exactly the instrument and sound I was looking for. Not only that, but Jesse Blue (builder) was a pleasure to deal with and was always available to answer any questions I had.

I was finally able to bring it to the practice space last night and plug it into my Carvin rig (BX1200, 4x10, 1x18), which I've been waiting to do since the day it arrived. Played pizz sounded great, kinda like a cross between a fretless and an acoustic double bass, but I believe that to be because of the technique I'm using as I'm not digging in really hard with my picking hand and basically playing it the same as i would my electric. But played arco, it is absolutely gut-wrenching and can move some serious air. The two guitarists in my band both play seven strings with a low B, and I thought it would be nice to be able to play a few notes below them to keep things interesting, thus the 6-string with low F# tuning.
I know it may take a while, but once I get my chops up to par, I will try and get a decent recording of me playing arco with the band so you can get an idea of the sound.
Something about the Ergo just clicks with me and I feel like I've found a long lost friend that I never knew I had. It is beautiful in it's simplicity of design and also it's sound. Even my wife (a complete non-musician) remarked on how sexy it looks.

Anyways, sorry for the long post, just very excited/proud to finally be an owner of an EUB. If anybody has any questions about the bass, just let me know.
 
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