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Marginal interest in upright bass

#81
LBS-bass said:
This is my thought, as well, and it's not just audiences. People want to see that big bass fiddle up there. The sound is probably not as important at this moment in time as the visual. I know that I can get an acceptable sound from my BG, but it *looks* out of place in that context.
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Dead On Analysis for jazz circles.
 
#82
One more thing about DB is delicacy and climate control. Got to avoid dry out during the winter. Around 2005, I took my good ($5K) bass out to an outdoor concert after a hurricane. Warm and Humid. I suspect it got handled roughly by stage crew. The next time I opened the case, I had a crack at the tip and at the bout.
 
#83
mrmxyzptlk said:
On the jazz gigs I used to play, there is no way that musicians would have accepted a uke bass as a substitute for an upright bass. And frankly, I don't agree at all that it sounds like an upright. I own a uke bass, and about the best I can say for it is that if it's played in a band and its volume is turned low enough, you can't really tell what kind of bass it is. But turn it up, or play it solo, and there is no mistaking it for an upright.
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I agree that the Kala basses don't sound exactly like a string bass. I find the sound a bit artificial and toy-like, but they can (IMHO) sound closer to string bass than most standard fretless electric basses and EUBs (Note. it's a relative statement). I have actually seen players use a Kala in a big band so I know it will work. IMHO a Kala would be restrictive from a technical standpoint due to the extremely short scale and nature of the strings. I have only noodled around a bit on a Kala, and my impression is it feels and plays very toy-like as well. I am not really interested in owning one.

In the last big band I was a member of, I switched between electric, EUB, or string bass depending upon which instrument I felt was best for a given tune. Sometimes the set list wasn't conducive to all of the instrument changes I wanted to make. I approached the music director and he was not interested in which instrument I played or modifying the set list to facilitate instrument changes. So basically I went through a lot of extra effort to perform on all three instruments because it was important to me to select the right instrument for the material...none of the other band members seemed to care one way or the other.

Course different bands have different personalities and purists will only accept a real string bass and play repertoire that was originally played on string bass. The previous music director in the same band was such a traditionalist, and would throw a fit if anyones' amp was loud enough for him to hear it on stage. Basically he thought of a big band as an acoustic ensemble. No close mic'ing was used with this version of the band.
 
#87
I am also 60 and have been a guitarist for 52 of those. About 5 years ago I Picked up a friends DB at Old Settlers music festival and gave it a workout. I fell in love with it and ended up with two. It a wonderful instrument and you should own one whether you make money with it or not. I had a pretty nice Eastman but sold it and kept a plywood to haul around. It actually had more bottom than the Eastman.
 
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#90
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#91
hintz said:
All that I will say is that it's never too late to start and that open strings are your friend on Upright. A nice low setup and "gut" strings also make it easier
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I went through a couple of set of gut strings when I first started playing. They seemed to tame some of the harshness the cheap plywood bass my junior high supplied. The G string didn't last very long and years later when I tried gut again on a pro-level instrument, I thought they sounded and felt really weird.

Years ago I preferred Spiricore Weich for amplified pizzicato work. Weich translates to soft. I transitioned to these from regular Spirocores which were considered one of the better crossover strings, IE equally good for bowing and pizzicato. The Weich's are noticeably easier to play...they are also a smaller gauge so you can't really go back in fourth as the nut and bridge need to be tailored.

Over recent years, the basses I have thought sounded best and played the easiest were strung with Pirastro Obligatos...these are not exactly cheap, and I believe they need to be changed more frequently if you want to retain their desirable tonal qualities.
 
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#93
"Almost 60." ... Sounds old when you say it like that.
I'm 66 and still dragging mine in and out of the house for jazz/blues gigs and recording. I was 40 when I picked it up and it kicked the crap out of me at that age. But I started swimming and doing Tai Chi, still do, and I managed to fend off the quick decline of age.
If you want, start searching through used/pawn/barns for a cheap bass. I paid $350 for a German laminate two years ago, that I keep in Florida, so, they're still out there. ... Since you won't know how to set it up, spend the money and put good strings $250, (Spiro-Welch (lite strings) and get it set up to play. ... High action will gripple anyone newbe. ... Forget bowing, no ones going to pay you to bow, then start practicing. ... It'll take about a year of an hour or so a day to build up the strength to get a good consistent sound out of her. ... Be patient, don't be in a rush or you'll risk permanent damage of carpal-tunnel. (Look it up) ... I buddy who is 60 had to stop playing for 6 months because he had tennis elbow from playing too hard. ...
 
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#95
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#97
mrmxyzptlk said:
Do gigging bassists really spend $5000 and up for their instruments? I've always wondered this. I used to keep fairly busy free-lancing on electric bass, but I did lose some gigs and get some attitude from musicians over my stubborn refusal to play the upright. I had several reasons for my decision, one of which was that I couldn't rationalize spending four or five figures on an instrument on which to play gigs that usually paid $30-100 or so. Still, if I had it to do over again, I might suck it up, buy a bass with a carved top and plywood sides and back, and fake my way through gigs. Snobbery is a tough thing to try to resist.
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The 5000 - 10000 comment you quote is a bit weird. Yes, it seems that in US very popular workhorse instrument is a older german shop bass or newer asian, US or european carved bass. These are in that prise range, but in reality you can get a decent ply bass for way less, starting from 1500 -ish. Carved top hybrid basses start from 2000 -ish and fully carved from 3000 -ish. Even vintage American Standard plys, which are really sought after, go under 5000 bucks.

My point is that you totally can get a professional quality and craftmanship, beautiful, great sounding and playing gigging instrument for the rest of your life for way under 5000 bucks. Professional classical world is a bit of it`s own animal in this regard, that`s where the truly expensive basses are a norm.
 
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#100
Wasnex said:
I went through a couple of set of gut strings when I first started playing. They seemed to tame some of the harshness the cheap plywood bass my junior high supplied. The G string didn't last very long and years later when I tried gut again on a pro-level instrument, I thought they sounded and felt really weird.

Years ago I preferred Spiricore Weich for amplified pizzicato work. Weich translates to soft. I transitioned to these from regular Spirocores which were considered one of the better crossover strings, IE equally good for bowing and pizzicato. The Weich's are noticeably easier to play...they are also a smaller gauge so you can't really go back in fourth as the nut and bridge need to be tailored.

Over recent years, the basses I have thought sounded best and played the easiest were strung with Pirastro Obligatos...these are not exactly cheap, and I believe they need to be changed more frequently if you want to retain their desirable tonal qualities.
Click to expand...
. To each their own. I know that gut strings aren't the most versatile but they just felt right to me and I loved their sound... they felt lower tension, or at least the one set I tried
 
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