I did and that's why. Too sick to post pics eh? A likely story. How 'bout posting some pics of yourself.
Ha ha haaaaa! Now I understand the "location issue".
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Double Bass Getting my first Double Bass
- Thread starter PRUNEFACE
- Start date
I did and that's why. Too sick to post pics eh? A likely story. How 'bout posting some pics of yourself.
Ha ha haaaaa! Now I understand the "location issue".
okay, anyways, back on topic. Were basses from East Germany considered lower quality than West German basses?
Hey...if your starting out, don't worry about those really nice bows and stuff. Spend a couple hundred on a decent bow to start and use until you get to a more advanced level of playing where then you can decide if you want to spend the money on pernambuco, snakewood, etc. Unless you are rolling in cash there shouldn't be much of a reason why a beginner should start out with top notch equipment.
Okay, yeah, I'll probably try to find a CF bow (not a pricey one) that wouldnt be destroyed by the humidity/temp; it'd be nice to not have to worry about the bass AND bow
Have you parents buy you this:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6788472#post6788472
Get an Upton or Ary bow or something and some Pops Rosin.
Then shut your pie hole and practice.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6788472#post6788472
Get an Upton or Ary bow or something and some Pops Rosin.
Then shut your pie hole and practice.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Then practice one of your electric basses or the guitar and worry about doublebass when you're ready. Until you can play and have developed a style, don't worry about what kind of wood the frog is made from on the bow that you don't have yet. It's not that important.
I've been playing quasi-professionally for a decade now and I've got a $400 bow. Don't know what kind of wood it's made from, I decided what I could afford and tried a few. I had someone who knew better than me try a few and make a recommendation.
That being said, I've heard people with worse equipment than me play better. Sorry I'm losing my patience with you. It is great playing the doublebass and I hope you make it and it is everything you want it to be, but none of what you're focused on matters.
I've been playing quasi-professionally for a decade now and I've got a $400 bow. Don't know what kind of wood it's made from, I decided what I could afford and tried a few. I had someone who knew better than me try a few and make a recommendation.
That being said, I've heard people with worse equipment than me play better. Sorry I'm losing my patience with you. It is great playing the doublebass and I hope you make it and it is everything you want it to be, but none of what you're focused on matters.
the history of the instrument doesn't matter either but that doesn't make it uninteresting or enjoyable to talk about.
Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
- 6,349
- 607
- Disclosures
- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
PRUNE honey, the thing is that we've heard ALL of your beginner questions more than 3,000 times.
If you are serious about the DB, go ahead and use the 'Search' function in the various Fora and do some reading! That way you won't wear out your welcome so quickly
If you are serious about the DB, go ahead and use the 'Search' function in the various Fora and do some reading! That way you won't wear out your welcome so quickly
The Florida sun? Hmm. A revelation or some "dis-information" to throw us off?
Beyond that, I gotta agree with folks here. Your questions are all over the map. It seems every day there are new ones about a different aspect of bass and associated equipment buying. What's next-- strings? People here are quite patient but there doesn't seem to be any focus. I think Jake's advice is spot-on. Spend time reading the forums.
That was a revelation... and I understand. But, however, it helps posting in the "Basses" subforum because of the traffic.
)
I can't sleep tonight. This thread seems to be helping, though...
Dearest Pruneface, while all of your ruminations may be keenly interesting to you, they are missing a not-so-subtle point.
We can't make you older, wiser, or teach you to play DB with a few pithy comments online, before you even have a bass. We can't even help you get a bass because you aren't ready to do so.
Maybe this thread belongs on some other sub-forum, like, "things I am thinking about doing someday, maybe," or "random thoughts that popped into my head, and I thought other people could comment on, so I wouldn't have to do any actual research."
My final, albeit patronizing, thoughts for you are, in this order:
- Quit talking and start listening. Folks here are trying to help you, but its starting to feel as if we are all pissing up a rope. Making dramatic queries, that have already been made, 3,000 times previously, by equally urgent and sincere folks, is wearing thin. You might salvage some dignity by using the search function and poring over the reams and reams of threads. So far, none of your questions are new. Neither is your failure to review the hundreds of thoughtful replies already provided, over the years, to similar inquiries.
- Consider renting an instrument, from the closest cultural center, maybe New Orleans, since you don't even know if you will enjoy the DB, really
- Get a teacher (pro orchestral player, preferably) and take some lessons
- If you want to play DB, really, set some specific goals; like a timetable for getting a bass and a budget
- if you still want to play DB, get your self in physical motion; go and play/see several actual basses with someone who already plays well.
- For now, focus on the basics of playing the instrument for awhile. The fine points of equipment are not going to be your biggest problem for a long time.
- Finally, if you really want to play arco, get the nicest bow you can. There is an old saw about, "better a good bow on a cheap instrument then vice versa."
Do not buy bows by spec or price; go and play them, or have them sent to you to audition/try. You might get a killer bow for $400 or a baseball bat for $2000. Its all about how it plays. The menu is not the meal.
This is not like BG, where buying the sexiest axe makes you cool. There is something sort of sad, IMHO, about DB players with nice equipment who can't really play. IMHO, it is much cooler to have a crappy bass and play the daylights out of it. Your biggest obstacle with be developing muscular memory, not the fine points of your bow or bass.
Just my 2c. Hope that it helps, in some small way, if only for comic value.
Dearest Pruneface, while all of your ruminations may be keenly interesting to you, they are missing a not-so-subtle point.
We can't make you older, wiser, or teach you to play DB with a few pithy comments online, before you even have a bass. We can't even help you get a bass because you aren't ready to do so.
Maybe this thread belongs on some other sub-forum, like, "things I am thinking about doing someday, maybe," or "random thoughts that popped into my head, and I thought other people could comment on, so I wouldn't have to do any actual research."
My final, albeit patronizing, thoughts for you are, in this order:
- Quit talking and start listening. Folks here are trying to help you, but its starting to feel as if we are all pissing up a rope. Making dramatic queries, that have already been made, 3,000 times previously, by equally urgent and sincere folks, is wearing thin. You might salvage some dignity by using the search function and poring over the reams and reams of threads. So far, none of your questions are new. Neither is your failure to review the hundreds of thoughtful replies already provided, over the years, to similar inquiries.
- Consider renting an instrument, from the closest cultural center, maybe New Orleans, since you don't even know if you will enjoy the DB, really
- Get a teacher (pro orchestral player, preferably) and take some lessons
- If you want to play DB, really, set some specific goals; like a timetable for getting a bass and a budget
- if you still want to play DB, get your self in physical motion; go and play/see several actual basses with someone who already plays well.
- For now, focus on the basics of playing the instrument for awhile. The fine points of equipment are not going to be your biggest problem for a long time.
- Finally, if you really want to play arco, get the nicest bow you can. There is an old saw about, "better a good bow on a cheap instrument then vice versa."
Do not buy bows by spec or price; go and play them, or have them sent to you to audition/try. You might get a killer bow for $400 or a baseball bat for $2000. Its all about how it plays. The menu is not the meal.
This is not like BG, where buying the sexiest axe makes you cool. There is something sort of sad, IMHO, about DB players with nice equipment who can't really play. IMHO, it is much cooler to have a crappy bass and play the daylights out of it. Your biggest obstacle with be developing muscular memory, not the fine points of your bow or bass.
Just my 2c. Hope that it helps, in some small way, if only for comic value.
Well, I get out of the Army in March and I'm going to school in the fall for Bass. I knew that I would have to get a DB and that my GI Bill would pay for one as part of the deal, so I came on this forum to ask about it; but I saw this post. I used to play DB in high school, but not since then since my family could never afford one. I have since worked on my craft in the likes of 4 and 5 string electric basses...Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who gave advice on this thread on how to purchase a DB. It has helped me guide in what I will be looking for when the Dean tells the VA to give me the money to get a DB...I just have one question:
These extended range basses, they're all over my hometown. I'm not sure what the official term for it, but it looked like an extension on the fingerboard from the top of the nut up the scroll...can anyone point me in the direction of something I can read on it? Google searches have been futile...
Once again, thank you to all who have posted!
Nevermind it, I found a page that explains it to me. Thank you once again!
These extended range basses, they're all over my hometown. I'm not sure what the official term for it, but it looked like an extension on the fingerboard from the top of the nut up the scroll...can anyone point me in the direction of something I can read on it? Google searches have been futile...
Once again, thank you to all who have posted!
Nevermind it, I found a page that explains it to me. Thank you once again!
Congratulations on finishing your military service! Very cool that you are going to study bass; I hope that it goes well.
Talkbass has mounds of opinion, experience, information, and diatribe on buying entry-level basses; you are in a great place to start some research. Reassuring to see someone using the search function. Another place to review is Ken Smith's site, if you haven't found it already:
http://smithbassforums.com/
I appreciate your workmanlike manner. Again, congratulations on taking this next step.
I can't sleep tonight. This thread seems to be helping, though...
Dearest Pruneface, while all of your ruminations may be keenly interesting to you, they are missing a not-so-subtle point.
We can't make you older, wiser, or teach you to play DB with a few pithy comments online, before you even have a bass. We can't even help you get a bass because you aren't ready to do so...
Eric-- Thank you for taking the time to write this cogent, on-target reply.
Pruneface-- You say that posting here helps because of the "traffic." What many of us are trying to tell you is that reading on your own would be far more advantageous to you (and us) than using this forum as you would a text-messaging device.
And I think we should stop this before he makes a pitcher of sweet tea and goes to fold some laundry while Chris Hanson pops out from behind a curtain with a Dateline NBC cameraman...
