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Double Bass Flying with a Double Bass

#21
When I was first learning to play the fretless bass, I put a little bit of tape that at the 5th and 12th fret areas and then practiced some scales on each string with a tuner connected so I could verify my pitch, and I was able to get very accurate without looking.

I'll be able to mark the 5th fret area on the DB easy enough, but I'll have to find another way to index something further up the neck.
 
#22
I have to say that I've never seen a more un-welcoming group of replies to an honest question on TalkBass before. The OP has a chance of a lifetime to go on tour with one of his musical heroes, asks a valid question, and gets discouraging remarks from people who apparently think he should just pass it up. You naysayers should be ashamed of the way you've acted, this is supposed to be a community.

Landy67 - I applaud your disregard of the negative comments, and I hope you have a great time on tour with your new Chadwick Folding bass. Next time I'll bet you'll be playing shows with them.
 
#24
Hey Man. You gotta PM me sometime and let me know how that Chadwick does when you take it on the road.

I have an Eastman 3/4 but I'm in the market for an electric upright myself specifically because I fly so much and i want to practice. I'd certainly like to know how that handles during air travel.
 
#25
Landy67 said:
Problem solved!

I picked up a Chadwick Folding Bass last night, and it looks and sounds like it's exactly what I was looking for!
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I was going to suggest that. Also the David Gage Czech Ease and Eminence Electric Upright are favorite fly basses among a lot of players.
http://www.davidgage.com/store/index.php?cPath=26
http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/1430-EMINENCE_ELECTRIC_UPRIGHT_BASS.html
Charlie Chadwick lives here in Nashville and is a fine bassist himself. His instruments work well, are easy to play and are favorites here.
 
#26
Landy67 said:
Already bought and paid for!

The resale on the Chadwick seems to be high enough that I'm guessing that I could sell it and recoup most of my money on it. I'll bet that I could sell it in a year, and lose less that it would cost me to rent for a year. Or I could just keep it forever in my collection and let my heirs worry about what to do with it when I'm gone.

It's funny, but when I was asking about buying one of those Chinese folding basses on ebay for $700 I was told that they would be crap, and I should look at something quality made because they have resale value, now I'm hearing that I shouldn't buy one because it's hard to play compared to an electric bass.
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Bow tie said:
Since you've already made the leap, good on you! I wish I would of had the option of trying one out like you did. I ended up with an Electric Upright, but it is "not quite" the right sound. Still a blast to play however.
You've gotten some discouraging input from some guys here, but I found I could make the transition to DB. Just be prepared (if you're like me) to be embarrassing iffy on pitch anywhere above the fifth fret for quite a while. I have no idea if it's "approved" advice, but I put tiny pencil marks VERY occasionally right on the neck (not too many for fear of becoming a crutch) and it help me quite a bit.
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TrickyPat said:
I have to say that I've never seen a more un-welcoming group of replies to an honest question on TalkBass before. The OP has a chance of a lifetime to go on tour with one of his musical heroes, asks a valid question, and gets discouraging remarks from people who apparently think he should just pass it up. You naysayers should be ashamed of the way you've acted, this is supposed to be a community.

Landy67 - I applaud your disregard of the negative comments, and I hope you have a great time on tour with your new Chadwick Folding bass. Next time I'll bet you'll be playing shows with them.
Click to expand...

First of all congratulations on your new bass. The Chadwick is a quality instrument with a decent resale value (though you should probably keep it if you intend to keep playing.) In general DB is more expensive than EB for comparable levels of quality.

Second the DB is not an "easy" transition from BG if you're serious about playing well. There are many ways to acquire bad/unhealthy habits & technique that can hinder your playing in the long run. I'm glad you're looking for a teacher. It won't take but a few lessons for you to be well on your way to good intonation and the ability to play comfortably.

Finally, I think what are often construed as hostile/rude/"trollish" responses is the actual reality of playing this instrument at a high level. It takes a dedication and diligence to "want" to master the instrument. If that's not what you're interested in then by all means have fun but try to be careful with your body. It's pretty easy to make good/decent music with little or no specific DB training but to be proficient there are no shortcuts.

I hope your adventure turns out as fun as it sounds and who knows maybe you'll become as obsessed as the rest of us.
-Jeff
 
#29
Roy Vogt said:
Thought we needed a bit of comedy relief:
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That's awesome!!! I can't wait to try mine on a plane. It should be a real hoot.

I've been meaning to respond to some of the posts, especially yours. I looked at the Eminence, but I couldn't get any answers on one simple question. Eminence says that it's a full acoustic instrument and is meant to be played unplugged, but I couldn't find out from anyone is it's loud enough unplugged to play with a banjo, a couple of guitars, mandolin and fiddles in an outdoor setting, or would it just be lost. I wasn't able to get an answer here, or from the Eminence "contact us." I really would have rather had something easy to store, ship and carry. Also, I think it's really cool looking!

And for JeffKissell: Thanks for your explanation and the congrats on the purchase. I don't expect to spend a lifetime studying the bass, or have aspirations of joining Boston Pops. I started playing late in life, and I'm quite comfortable being a total amateur as a musician. I'm happy with my career (although today was kind of tough) and I consider myself to be quite successful at what I do.

I love playing music, and I'm happy just being able to play songs around the campfire for friends. Twice a year I get the luxury of being able to play with some of the headliners that I've met in my travels. I'm always amazed with the patience of people with real talent and skills have for sincere amateurs.

My primary objective with with the double bass is to make happy "thumpy. thumpy" sounds that put a smile on people's faces and gets them to tap their toes. I have very simple goals, and I can survive quite nicely in the space between frets 1-7. (I hear there's no money to be made above the 5th fret anyway)
 
#30
Landy67 said:
Eminence says that it's a full acoustic instrument and is meant to be played unplugged, but I couldn't find out from anyone is it's loud enough unplugged to play with a banjo, a couple of guitars, mandolin and fiddles in an outdoor setting, or would it just be lost.
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It would just be lost. You'll need a regular 3/4 size double bass for that.
 
#31
I agree with Jake. I have an Eminence. Without an amp, it's loud enough in a hotel room for you to hear without disturbing your neighbors. I'm very disappointed that Gary didn't get back to you regarding your question, but that's consistent with my dealings with him too. He blows me off unless I get him on the phone.
In a nutshell, I think the Eminence is great for a semi-acoustic plywood bass that's easily transportable by airline with the neck off. It's bowable, and I don't make any adjustment when switching between it and my URB other than my expectation of the depth of tone. I think the price is quite fair in comparison to other vendors.
Gary's responsiveness as a vendor could take some pointers from Rick Jones at Acoustic Image.
It is definitely not loud enough to play any performance without an amp. It could still work for you if you're willing to lug a 20 lb amp, like the Acoustic Image. It's still one trip from the car, in my experience. The downside with it is that it's just heavy enough that I use a luggage cart to lug it more than a quarter of a mile because my arm and shoulder get tired carrying it. it's kind of a hassle hooking it to the cart with bungees but I find it worth it.
 
#33
tcl said:
I agree with Jake. I have an Eminence. Without an amp, it's loud enough in a hotel room for you to hear without disturbing your neighbors.
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Indeed. Good volume for solo practicing while not bothering people in the next room, but wouldn't even hang with a single acoustic guitar, unamplified. That's not its purpose.

We have not made any formal recordings, but Bob did make a quick and dirty (and he confesses, pretty sloppy) PC recording of the Eminence Bass unamplified for a TalkBass thread some years ago. You'll find it at http://www.eclecticbass.com/EminenceUnamplified.mp3. It was done using an old (1970's?) Radio Shack condenser mic, desk-high and about 18" from the Eminence, plugged direct into a 500mhz PC using Sound Forge; no post-processing was done other than convert the WAV to an MP3. It will give you some idea of the authentic acoustic bass vibe (and fairly low volume, acoustically) it has.
 
#35
dmusic148 said:
He meant to say "the only real SIMILARITY....."
:-)
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I'm getting that... I've only been able to play it once since I got it for a few reasons, but I noticed the difficulty finding notes (accurately) above the area where the neck joins the body. I've learned one song already, and I see that it takes a completely different mindset to play this thing. I'm starting to look for, and find, notes that fit below the 7th fret.

On the EB, I usually start on the E string and go up in tone. On the DB, I see that it's much easier to start on the higher strings, and go down to find my 5th, 4th, 3rd, etc. That's really cool! This is going to add a whole new dimension to my bass, guitar and mandolin playing! This thing is a "Way Cool Tool" for learning music theory!!!
 

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