Double Bass Ibanez UB804 Electric Upright with vid

[rj1972]

So, I bought one one an almost whim. I like it alot. It has a truss rod (yay!) and needed a little tweaking set up wise out of the box. I am playing it through a Hartke Kickback 12 with the EQ flat except a tiny drop in the mid knob.

I haven't played upright in at least 20 years. But I am in one band that does some Americana type stuff and thought it would be cool to have. Here is a quick vid with my phone I took if anyone is interested in how it sounds.

 

[rj1972]

I forgot to add, I am looking into arco. Anyone have a an idea of what bow to get?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

3/4 or for your small instrument 1/2 size. French or German is hard to say. It depends a lot on the player. In the US the french is more common, the german can help people which get health problems holding the French.
The shorter bow avoids (hopefully) a tip heavy one. 3/4 is standard for DB and DB bow.

 

[rj1972]

Cool. Thanks

 

[DoubleMIDI]

But I‘m not sure if bass guitar strings bow well. I hope you have flatwounds on your instrument.
You will also need rosin. Gon Pops is often used, but can be too soft in the summer (it easily floats out and sticks to the bow hairs). You might need something else for the summer.
And rosin drys out and gets harder over time. Most DB players use it only for a year and. Up a fresh one afterwards.
Some electronics fiddler might be happy to get your old rosin cake.
You can use it longer (i.e. for the summer of the same or the next year after the winter), but be aware that it won‘t work as well as before.

 

[GodinFan]

But I‘m not sure if bass guitar strings bow well. I hope you have flatwounds on your instrument.

I checked out one of those Ibanez EUBs - they ship with D’Addario Chromes EB strings.

 

[Oscar Stern]

I checked out one of those Ibanez EUBs - they ship with D’Addario Chromes EB strings.

Yes they're Flatwound strings which can be played w/ a Bow.

 

[Oscar Stern]

I also found out they make a 5 string Version called the UB805 & that Low B String on it just Booms.

 

[rj1972]

I also found out they make a 5 string Version called the UB805 & that Low B String on it just Booms.

I saw those, I am tempted....

 

[Oscar Stern]

It looks something like this. These Basses have a very unique sound that falls in between a Fretless Electric Bass & an Acoustic Upright Bass, which I describe as being "SPICY", so it has that Latin-Rock Vibe.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Just a warning:

The headstock misses a backplate so it is very sensitive to breakage by a side impact. This has happened to the first version of the Stagg EDB and it can even happen to the later ones with the enhanced headstock.

To make the headstock more robust you can add a well glued backplate to it, but you need to remove any laquer or finish down to the bare wood on the backside to get the best bond, otherwise the finish or glue in between might break on an impact and the headstock too. I would take epoxy, since hot hide glue can separate with a hard side impact and needs a very plan surface.

Due to the high tension, a repair of a broken headstock might be difficult to impossible. On a Stagg the neck part can be replaced, but the fingerboard might need planing (again). If this is not possible on the Ibanez, it can kill your instrument.
This type of headstock was designed for easy manufacturing, not for durability.

Just a note:

Unless you change your BG playing technique to the DB playing technique you have a EUBG (Electric upright bass guitar) which might be helpful for getting weight off your shoulders and give you some bowability but with a rather metallic sound.

If you really want to get closer to a DB sound (pizz and arco), you better get a full DB scale instrument with DB strings, DB tuners and a resonance chamber.
For the cheaper instruments, a Stagg (no resonance chamber) or Palatino (with some modifications) and a better set of DB strings gets you closer to a EDB (electric double bass) sound than any instrument with BG strings.

But the Ibanez might be a solution for those who want to get off the weight from their shoulders and still wants the sound of a (fretless) BG.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Just a warning:

The headstock misses a backplate so it is very sensitive to breakage by a side impact. This has happened to the first version of the Stagg EDB and it can even happen to the later ones with the enhanced headstock.

To make the headstock more robust you can add a well glued backplate to it, but you need to remove any laquer or finish down to the bare wood on the backside to get the best bond, otherwise the finish or glue in between might break on an impact and the headstock too. I would take epoxy, since hot hide glue can separate with a hard side impact and needs a very plan surface.

Due to the high tension, a repair of a broken headstock might be difficult to impossible. On a Stagg the neck part can be replaced, but the fingerboard might need planing (again). If this is not possible on the Ibanez, it can kill your instrument.
This type of headstock was designed for easy manufacturing, not for durability.

Just a note:

Unless you change your BG playing technique to the DB playing technique you have a EUBG (Electric upright bass guitar) which might be helpful for getting weight off your shoulders and give you some bowability but with a rather metallic sound.

If you really want to get closer to a DB sound (pizz and arco), you better get a full DB scale instrument with DB strings, DB tuners and a resonance chamber.
For the cheaper instruments, a Stagg (no resonance chamber) or Palatino (with some modifications) and a better set of DB strings gets you closer to a EDB (electric double bass) sound than any instrument with BG strings.

But the Ibanez might be a solution for those who want to get off the weight from their shoulders and still wants the sound of a (fretless) BG.

Actually it sounds a bit more like a Contrabass Sax.

 

[Oscar Stern]

Just a warning:

The headstock misses a backplate so it is very sensitive to breakage by a side impact. This has happened to the first version of the Stagg EDB and it can even happen to the later ones with the enhanced headstock.

To make the headstock more robust you can add a well glued backplate to it, but you need to remove any laquer or finish down to the bare wood on the backside to get the best bond, otherwise the finish or glue in between might break on an impact and the headstock too. I would take epoxy, since hot hide glue can separate with a hard side impact and needs a very plan surface.

Due to the high tension, a repair of a broken headstock might be difficult to impossible. On a Stagg the neck part can be replaced, but the fingerboard might need planing (again). If this is not possible on the Ibanez, it can kill your instrument.
This type of headstock was designed for easy manufacturing, not for durability.

Just a note:

Unless you change your BG playing technique to the DB playing technique you have a EUBG (Electric upright bass guitar) which might be helpful for getting weight off your shoulders and give you some bowability but with a rather metallic sound.

If you really want to get closer to a DB sound (pizz and arco), you better get a full DB scale instrument with DB strings, DB tuners and a resonance chamber.
For the cheaper instruments, a Stagg (no resonance chamber) or Palatino (with some modifications) and a better set of DB strings gets you closer to a EDB (electric double bass) sound than any instrument with BG strings.

But the Ibanez might be a solution for those who want to get off the weight from their shoulders and still wants the sound of a (fretless) BG.

Usually the 34 in scale is easier to carry. The Ibanez has a Special sound that's in between a Fretless Electric Bass Guitar & an Upright Bass (Omni Bass Strings might help) which I describe as Spicy, so it gives you that Latin Rock Vibe.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Strings have a major influence on the sound. But since you only can use BG strings on the Ibanez, it will always sound like a fretless bass guitar, but with a piezo pickup (the last might be responsible for the largest difference in sound to a magnetic one).
I had the opposite, I once got EBG type strings in DB size for electric double bass with a typical DB scale. Sounds mostly like a fretless bass guitar (with piezo pickup).

 

[Oscar Stern]

Strings have a major influence on the sound. But since you only can use BG strings on the Ibanez, it will always sound like a fretless bass guitar, but with a piezo pickup (the last might be responsible for the largest difference in sound to a magnetic one).
I had the opposite, I once got EBG type strings in DB size for electric double bass with a typical DB scale. Sounds mostly like a fretless bass guitar (with piezo pickup).

But there's the Omni Bass Strings which have a special sound that's half way between a Fretless Bass & an Upright Bass.

 

[Oscar Stern]

The reason why I also like the Ibanez EUB is because the Amplifier works around the Compromises that Acoustic Upright Basses have (like the Violas) in that their bodies are scaled down from what's optimum for those low notes.

 

[WG Plum]

I recently checked out an Ibanez EUB at the Bass Shoppe here in Seattle - why on earth did they put the dots a half step down from where they are on EBs?

 

[DoubleMIDI]

A smaller body avoids boominess that you easily get when you amplify a full size body acoustic instrument.
Part of why an EUB sounds more like a bass guitar is that the low frequencies are not attenuated but raised.

The human hearing can only process a small dynamic range in the low frequencies. Therefor you have a loudness switch at your stereo that raises the bass and treble frequencies for smaller volume levels. But switching the loudness on for medium to higher volume levels it sounds unnatural.
This is also the reason why the low frequencies on your amp should be turned down (compared to lower volume levels) for a higher volume level.

 

[Erik Turkman]

I’ve got one of these. I put TI Jazz Flats on mine, which are a lot like Spirocores. That gets it sounding closer to a regular upright bass than a fretless bass guitar.