Double Bass EUB for Bluegrass

[Ludwig]

I do not want to bring my good double bass to play bluegrass, too expensive and set up for orchestral playing. If I buy a second bass, I guess I will go with an EUB, less space needed and better with amplification, not with an additional double bass.
Would an eminence electric upright be something that could be played in a bluegrass setting ? What kind of strings should I choose with that and what could be used for amplification ? Since all other instruments are just acoustic, a battery powered amp would be preferable. Not many battery powered combos available for bass and most have just around 5 W like the Roland cube bass rx,,,

 

[Don Hergert]

If you're talking about on stage, sure, I've seen a number of EUBs (and other electric basses) on stage in bluegrass festivals, mostly because band bassists often have to travel and it's much more expensive to get a fully functional DB with a removable neck and a hard flight case for travel than it is to get an EUB or a uBass or a BG. And for that matter, it's not unusual at all to have a double bass plugged directly into the FOH on stage -- I know I've also setup my DB with both a pickup and a mounted mic, and I've used this setup with my DB on stage for a number of bluegrass events; it's often just easier to manage FOH sound that way.

If you're talking about bluegrass jams, that's a different story. I've seen occasional EUBs, uBasses and BGs, and their amps, in bluegrass jams, but they are most often not received very well. A lot of folks will walk away, not wanting anything to do with amps in jams, instead going for a pure acoustic sound. With that in mind, a number of bluegrass festivals specifically don't allow any amps for jams.

I have to say I'm sensitive to that myself, in my experience in bluegrass jams, when you get a bass using an amp, pretty soon you get a guitarist and a mandolinist wanting an amp, and pretty soon everyone else in the jam wants one too... And then the amp wars begin, mostly because these are people who are not used to balancing amp volume. And the whole acoustic flavor of bluegrass jams goes out the window...

I'll frequently suggest that I'm going to plug in my amp with my DB in a jam if the other instruments -- especially banjos and Dobros -- get too loud, but happily I've never had to resort to using it. I do routinely carry my amp with me to jams though.

 

[Don Hergert]

Not many battery powered combos available for bass and most have just around 5 W like the Roland cube bass rx,,,

FWIW, I use a Roland Micro Cube Bass RX all the time when I need an amp on stage and cannot conveniently plug into an FOH, or if I need a personal monitor so I can hear myself vs. other peoples' amps. I've used it outside, in very large rooms/very large audiences and in small intimate venues, all very successfully.

That diminutive "5W" power spec is remarkably understated, the amp produces excellent sound and volume for both indoor and outdoor venues; Roland custom designed those four 4" speakers to work well with 6-AA batteries (for "11"-20 hours) and still put out plenty of volume.

I also use this amp with wireless connections so I have no wires extending beyond either my double bass or my amp. Very clean and convenient.

The trick with small amps is to get them up off the floor to above waist level where they are not pouring sound out into people's feet and legs. If necessary I'll also aim my amp at an open mic.

 

[cultrvultr]

Don’t overthink it. Many grassers have very expensive instruments.

If you really won’t bring your current bass,then get a used plywood Shen, Christopher, Kay etc for $1-$2k. You’ll need to spend a lot more money to get an EUB and Amp (and preamp etc) to get anything electric that would sound and play halfway decent to match a mid-level plywood. Even then, you will always have the ‘cultural issues’ described above.

 

[bherman]

I use an Eminence EUB for a bluegrass/newgrass band and it works just fine. I've tried 2 different pickups - a full circle, and a Krivo magnetic pickup https://www.krivopickups.com/store/p6/Covid_Relief_SALE%3A_2020_model_Krivo_Pickup_for_Upright_Bass.html

The full circle sounds a bit more natural, but sometimes the band can get loud and the Krivo does not cause feedback no matter how loud we get.

As far as amps, I wouldn't mess with a battery powered amp, seems like too much hassle to always wonder about charging and/or replacing batteries. Something small and is an easy carry that sounds good is fine - just use the volume control as needed. Right now, I'm using a Genzler combo - Magellan 350 head and a 110-2 array cabinet. Lots of good, light choices out there.

Strings - use what you like. I use Pirastro Perpetuals on my DB, I use the same ADG on the Eminence with a Weich E. Sounds great and its nice for me to have strings that feel the same on the EUB and the DB. If you are using Arco strings on your DB, that may not work well.

 

[Holdsg]

I'm with @bherman, seemingly on most things.
When I'm playing bluegrass on stage, it's my Upton DB using a Krivo pickup thru my Genzler Magellan head and single 12" speaker.
For bluegrass jams, I bring my Upton and play acoustic.
When I'm playing at my favorite Irish session at a pub, where space is a premium, I use my BSX Allegro EUB thru a Phil Jones Double 4 combo amp, which can be run either via laptop battery, or plugged into an outlet. I point the speakers up towards me, so I can hear myself over the other instruments (accordions, mainly, they loud like banjos). The Double 4 sounds great and fits into a backpack for a one-trip load in.
yes, I'm fortunate to own all this gear, but I use it all regularly.

 

[bherman]

I'm with @bherman, seemingly on most things.
When I'm playing bluegrass on stage, it's my Upton DB using a Krivo pickup thru my Genzler Magellan head and single 12" speaker.
For bluegrass jams, I bring my Upton and play acoustic.
When I'm playing at my favorite Irish session at a pub, where space is a premium, I use my BSX Allegro EUB thru a Phil Jones Double 4 combo amp, which can be run either via laptop battery, or plugged into an outlet. I point the speakers up towards me, so I can hear myself over the other instruments (accordions, mainly, they loud like banjos). The Double 4 sounds great and fits into a backpack for a one-trip load in.
yes, I'm fortunate to own all this gear, but I use it all regularly.

@Holdsg I've never tried the PJ smaller amps, sounds interesting. I've tried some of their bigger stuff and found them to be pretty anemic. I've also never tried the Krivo on my DB (a Shen 190 hybrid). Might have to one of these days. I like using the EUB for outdoor gigs - we play (at least we used to) in lots of breweries, often outdoors in the summer, and the weather conditions can be pretty hard on a DB. The Eminence handles it fine, and as you noted, takes up less space. Especially important during breaks - lots of people drinking beer and milling around is not a good combination with a full-size DB when its not in my hands.

 

[Holdsg]

so true!
I don't need a lot of volume with my Phil Jones. Just enough to hear myself over a couple accordions.

 

[M0ses]

Electric bluegrass is a great idea. Personally I would go with a piezo-equipped stick and nylon strings. Any playable EUB will do, and then you'll need an amp that can make a thump, something bigger than the extralite 1x8s and 1x10s most acoustic bassists like to use. I'd probably go with at least 300 watts into a 1x12 or 1x15

 

[Ludwig]

Since I have decided not to get a second double bass, I will go either with the Eminence EUB or with the Takamine Acoustic bass guitar (used by Lindsay from Southern Raised) and use a batterie amp to not need a power cord, maybe the Behringer MPA40BT. For EUB or acoustic bass guitar some form of amplification is needed to be heard, but a 300W amp with big boxes like suggested in the last post does not fit with bluegrass in my opinion.

 

[brianrost]

Your decision should be based on whether you will simply be jamming in outdoor sessions, what we call "picking" here in the USA, or gigging.

For gigs anything goes. American bluegrass bands were using bass guitars as far back as the 1960s and maybe earlier. A friend of mine who comes from a "bluegrass family" where multiple generations are all pickers told me in the 1960s his father was in a band using an Ampeg Baby Bass. In the late 1970s I saw the Osborne Brothers a few times and their bassist was playing a lefty Rickenbacker 4001 BG! EUBs of all kinds are common in bluegrass these days, even radical "stick" designs like the NS basses.

Carolyn Routh of Nu Blue, both Eminence and NS EUBs, NS bass guitars.

Jeff Byrd with Dry Branch Fire Squad, NS EUB

Brett Sheffield of Breaking Grass, NS EUB

Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, NS Omni Bass and Fender Jazz BG

 

[buldog5151bass]

A working musicians is less likely to care, a "purist" amateur at a jam is more likely to take it as a personal assault. Silly, but true. Talk to the person in charge and gauge their reaction. It shouldn't matter.

 

[unbrokenchain]

Can't forget these guys..

 

[BarfanyShart]

An Eminence is a great instrument, and very appropriate for any kind of Bluegrass, Folk, Celtic, Roots, whatever music. Some jams are weird about amplification, but my solution has always been a very small amplifier, and, like hide it behind something so nobody who doesn't like it has to look at it. I'm waiting for them to invent an invisible amplifier for just this application.

 

[cultrvultr]

I would get run out of town if I brought an EUB to a jam, but every scene is different I guess.

If you do need a speaker the Upshot is fantastic. Tiny, incredibly loud, and the up-firing speaker is more natural than anything else I have heard. Get the balance right in the mix and the bass fills the room in a subtle and supporting way. I keep it in a snare drum bag with the head and all the cables. it rides on my shoulder At 15lbs.

 

[Don Hergert]

At one bluegrass-ish jam that I used to attend, a number of people playing different instruments -- mostly not bass -- routinely brought amps. Eventually we insisted that if a person brought an amp to the jam, they had to point it face up, so most of the sound was going directly to them. It made it a little easier for those of us who did not amplify. That said, that jam was often still an amp-war situation.