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Double Bass Looking for an EUB to practice DB in my condo.

PsychoCharged

PsychoCharged

Jan 5, 2022
5
2
#1
I recently moved into a condo and I'm afraid my DB may be too loud for me to feel comfortable playing for along amounts of time. What are some good basses to practice with? I may have a line on a Dean Pace for a good price, is it an acceptable bass for practice?
 
#3
The Dean is only a 35" scale instrument so not the same as a standard 3/4 DB. I made a couple of EUB's for myself for practice and jazz gigs before they became a thing but don't have any experience with the current choices. Chris Minh Doky uses a Yamaha and it sounds good.
 
#5
jallenbass said:
The Dean is only a 35" scale instrument so not the same as a standard 3/4 DB. I made a couple of EUB's for myself for practice and jazz gigs before they became a thing but don't have any experience with the current choices. Chris Minh Doky uses a Yamaha and it sounds good.
Click to expand...

That's good to know about the size thank you. I saw some Yamahas in my area but they were a bit more than I was willing to spend at the moment. I'll keep my eyes out for more.

If you don't mind me asking what was the process like making one? How difficult? I'm pretty handy and seems like a fun project.
 
#6
PsychoCharged said:
That's good to know about the size thank you. I saw some Yamahas in my area but they were a bit more than I was willing to spend at the moment. I'll keep my eyes out for more.

If you don't mind me asking what was the process like making one? How difficult? I'm pretty handy and seems like a fun project.
Click to expand...
It wasn't terribly difficult as I had a luthier showing me the ropes. Designing it and coming up with the best step-by-step to creating it was time-consuming but rewarding.
 
#7
Mutes -
Based on some measurements in our house ,
- The loudest sustained tone I could reliably get was about 95dB in the same room . In a frame house with plaster walls, that sound level drops by ~30dB through one floor.
An Ultra Mute in the same test reduced the level in the room by ~10dB , but only about -6dB in transmission, so might reduce a double forte from 65dB to 60dB in the next floor if doors and windows are closed.

DB apartment Hunting thread
DB Apartment Hunting Questions

In which steel mutes for cello are noted. As the ultra mute outside surfaces are relatively square and parallel, I wonder if you could clamp a piece of steel angle to it after putting an Ultra Mute on your bridge.

good luck
 
#10
PsychoCharged said:
I may have a line on a Dean Pace for a good price, is it an acceptable bass for practice?
Click to expand...

From what I remember playing one, the Dean Pace is nothing more than a fretless bass guitar neck, mounted vertically on a stand.


Francois Blais said:
Did you think of using an UltraMute?
Ultra Rubber Practice Mute for Upright Bass
It's very effective.
And you don't have to adapt to a new instrument.
Click to expand...

I'd go this route. I have one (somewhere), and am amazed as how much it quiets the instrument.
 
#11
My Knutson Messenger bass would fit the bill. But for it to really sound good it needs to be run through something with the right impedance kind of like a DB pick up. I like it as it’s full size on the scale length so there’s not a lot of fuss going back and forth. I recently picked up a DB but will still bring this for gigs as it’s really simple to pack down and bring. Through mic’ing my amp to the PA most people and my quartet have said it sounds great.
 
#12
I've tried all the DB tricks: huge rubber mute, stuff socks in the F holes, set the end pin on something soft, and it's still plenty loud enough to annoy a downstairs neighbor. Depending on how sensitive your condo neighbors are, you may well have to go to something genuinely silent as an EUB. You will not be able to make it so they cannot hear the DB. You will be able to reduce it somewhat. They may be OK with it at lunch time with the TV on and their own kids running round; I doubt they're going to be OK with it at 3 am when they're trying to sleep.
 
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#14
PsychoCharged said:
I recently moved into a condo and I'm afraid my DB may be too loud for me to feel comfortable playing for along amounts of time.
Click to expand...

So, a couple of questions come to mind as I'm reviewing this thread.

How is your condo set up? Are you next to someone, above/below someone?
How long are long periods of time? And WHEN are those happening?
Have you introduced yourself to your neighbor(s) to find out if there's a magic window you can take advantage of?
 
#15
Jon Moody said:
So, a couple of questions come to mind as I'm reviewing this thread.

How is your condo set up? Are you next to someone, above/below someone?
How long are long periods of time? And WHEN are those happening?
Have you introduced yourself to your neighbor(s) to find out if there's a magic window you can take advantage of?
Click to expand...

I'm a corner unit and I play on the side I don't share a wall with another person. I do live above and below some one. I've met all my neighbors and none have ever complained, and in all honesty I'm probably being over cautious, I just try really hard to be a good neighbor.

I play/practice mostly rocka/psycho billy slap and the clicks seem to be the loudest part, not sure if i can reduce that so much with an electric.

My biggest issue is that about half the time i work hours that mean the only time I have to practice is later at night or earlier in the morning so my overall window is slim. so any additional time I can gain at all would be a big help in making progress.
 
#16
What's the construction method of the building ? I'll bet the clicks and high frequencies of the slap even though are loud in your room, are high enough frequency that the floor/ceiling isolation is good.

Isolating the endpin is problematic because in order to get isolation, the resonant frequency of the (bass + plate it's standing on) along with the "spring" - a pillow or foam , say - has to be well below the frequencies you need to block. That means you need a very squishy spring if you need mechanical isolation . In my tests above, we tried a plate of 1/2" plywood on a ~2" stadium seat-cushion , which was about as wiggly as you'd want to hold a bass on , but it only provided minimal isolation improvements in rooms below.

I'd look into clamping steel on the Ultra mute.
In very olden days, I put three smaller C-clamps on the bridge directly. A good deal more effective than the ultra mute (no measurements) but really chewed up the top of the bridge.
 
#17
I found an orchestral ebony mute to be a little better at reducing the low frequencies than a rubber mute, and those are the tones that really go through the floor. I also made a 4'x4' pad at one point, made of a rubber sheet with several layers of different kinds of carpet glued on top (my buddy worked at a flooring place). That worked like a charm in many cheap apartments.

Interestingly, my EUB upset the neighbors just as much as my DB if I wasn't muting and playing on the pad, I guess because the ending was still transferring the low frequencies through the floor.
 
#20
PsychoCharged said:
I recently moved into a condo and I'm afraid my DB may be too loud for me to feel comfortable playing for along amounts of time. What are some good basses to practice with? I may have a line on a Dean Pace for a good price, is it an acceptable bass for practice?
Click to expand...

When I lived in a condo I used to play my Azola EUB through headphones or a small loudspeaker elevated to ear level with a variable high-pass filter to cut the frequencies neighbors dislike the most.
 

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