Double Bass Homebuilt EUB build thread

[sonicnuance]

nice work and thanks for sharing the journey. I think aesthetically rounding out the sharp angles on the body would have been more to my liking, but I like the 3 dimensional quality of that top

very impressive!
How does it sound bowed?

 

[Videojunkie]

Acoustically, I think it sounds fantastic bowed. I am still fighting with the electronics to get a decent recording of it. It sounds like the piezo preamps are overdriving the eq, so I am doing some rework to fix that.

I might just set up a couple of condenser mics and see how that sounds. I've been practicing with it regularly to work on intonation and fingering.

Adding the bow is like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time. I have a ton of newfound respect for those of you who have mastered that.

 

[sonicnuance]

If you like how the sound is acoustically you might benefit from a contact piezo placed wherever the resonance seems greatest. Sorry if you already described this, there are too many pages to wade through for me

 

[Videojunkie]

If you like how the sound is acoustically you might benefit from a contact piezo placed wherever the resonance seems greatest. Sorry if you already described this, there are too many pages to wade through for me

No worries. There are 3 elements for the electronics. First, there are separate piezos under each saddle. Second, there is a microphone inside the resonance chamber. And third, there is a 3 band eq system to blend the "pickups" and provide local tone controls.

I'm just struggling to get all the pieces to play nicely with each other.

 

[Flamingo21]

If I remember, you started this build with the idea of having an instrument that can do long sustained notes in your church band. Do you feel that goal is now within reach?

 

[Videojunkie]

If I remember, you started this build with the idea of having an instrument that can do long sustained notes in your church band. Do you feel that goal is now within reach?

Easily. I definitely need more practice, but I am getting there.

 

[Videojunkie]

So. It's been a bit, I am still working on the electronics. I'm going to simplify the whole setup with a single piezo under the bridge. Waiting for some electronics to make that work.


But in the meantime here's a short video of me practicing my scales. All acoustic, using my cellphone mic and camera. I'm better playing it pizzicato, but without amplification it's not loud enough to be picked up by the mic in my phone.
Dropbox - 20220302_220207.mp4 - Simplify your life

 

[Flamingo21]

For whatever reason, that clip looks mirrored to me. As if you and your bass are lefty.

 

[Videojunkie]

For whatever reason, that clip looks mirrored to me. As if you and your bass are lefty.

Ir probably is, because selfie mode does that.

 

[Videojunkie]

So, fed up with all the issues I am having with the electronics, I pulled the trigger on a Richter PPX5 last night (please allow 4-12 weeks before shipping...)

Once the temperature gets consistently around 70, I will go ahead and continue working on the final finish. I have a nice coat of lacquer on the bass at this point, I think the plan is to build that up and sand down to level before applying a couple of top coats of water based poly.

 

[Videojunkie]

Got word from Best Bass Gear the PPX5 should ship from Germany next week! So yay!...

Still waiting for this flaky weather to change over to spring. It's been in the 80s, and in the teens, all within the space of a few days.

In the meantime, I have been practicing arco about 15-20 minutes a day, and am starting to approach some level of minimal competence with the bass.

 

[Flamingo21]

Still waiting for this flaky weather to change over to spring. It's been in the 80s, and in the teens, all within the space of a few days.

Same here.

(Although over here in Celcius-land, it hasn't been in the 80s...)

 

[Videojunkie]

Yay! Preamp has arrived! More fiddly soldering ahead as I re-work all of the jacks to make them work with the new circuit.

 

[Videojunkie]

Working on the case today. Found some foam at Jo-Anns (local fabric store) and cut it using a couple of knives and my bandsaw. I got a piece of velvet to cover the ugly green foam. I'll use spray adhesive to attach everything..

 

[Flamingo21]

Your path and mine have become parallel. I'm building a case for the bass from the Winter Build Off, and I will pick up the foam today. I still need to source the velvet.

 

[Videojunkie]

So... on the PPX5, the T symbol is an abbreviated ground symbol. Just a little tip from me to you...

Now that I've gotten that sorted. I now have a very nice sounding bass through my bass amp! (Except the low B, and I'm pretty sure that's a bad piezo- and I have spares! ) It is going to take some time to get the 5 preamps synced and balanced across the bass, I've got it about 80% but that last 20% is going to be some work.

Getting a fantastic woody sound through the amp. Higher registers on the upper strings (a,d,g) sound like a cello! The lower registers have a nice rumble overtones that feel very organic. It very much just sounds like the acoustic sounds just louder.

I have scheduled bass lessons with James Giles the bass master for the local symphony. James Giles

I'm pretty excited to get a chance to learn from him and see what he thinks about the instrument.

 

[Cal03]

I've been following this thread from a distance, but now I really wanna hear some samples!

 

[bassically_eli]

So... on the PPX5, the T symbol is an abbreviated ground symbol. Just a little tip from me to you...

Now that I've gotten that sorted. I now have a very nice sounding bass through my bass amp! (Except the low B, and I'm pretty sure that's a bad piezo- and I have spares! ) It is going to take some time to get the 5 preamps synced and balanced across the bass, I've got it about 80% but that last 20% is going to be some work.

Getting a fantastic woody sound through the amp. Higher registers on the upper strings (a,d,g) sound like a cello! The lower registers have a nice rumble overtones that feel very organic. It very much just sounds like the acoustic sounds just louder.

I have scheduled bass lessons with James Giles the bass master for the local symphony. James Giles

I'm pretty excited to get a chance to learn from him and see what he thinks about the instrument.

Did you discuss your instrument with him yet? I definitely would before you meet with him because there's a real good chance that an orchestral player/teacher will insist that you buy a "real" DB.

OTH, if he happens to also play electric, perhaps he'll be comfortable with your instrument (which I would consider something of a hybrid between BG and DB). Regardless, the build looks awesome. Congrats!

Edit: just to clarify, I think the potential issue is the scale length (34" vs ~42") and how that will affect your technique, which was discussed extensively early in this thread, iirc.

 

[Flamingo21]

there's a real good chance that an orchestral player/teacher will insist that you buy a "real" DB.

According to the biography, he plays electric with the symphony as well. So I doubt he'll be narrow minded about it.

 

[Videojunkie]

Did you discuss your instrument with him yet? I definitely would before you meet with him because there's a real good chance that an orchestral player/teacher will insist that you buy a "real" DB.

OTH, if he happens to also play electric, perhaps he'll be comfortable with your instrument (which I would consider something of a hybrid between BG and DB). Regardless, the build looks awesome. Congrats!

Edit: just to clarify, I think the potential issue is the scale length (34" vs ~42") and how that will affect your technique, which was discussed extensively early in this thread, iirc.

I have told him that it's a home made instrument and an EUB, not an upright. He seems to play all kinds of basses (based on his bio) and I am mostly interested in learning some basic techniques for Arco that I can build on my own.

My concern is that there are some fundamental things that I would like to have correct before I embed a ton of bad techniques that prevent me from getting the best sound I can.

I have no aspirations to be a master. I just want to "not be suck".