Double Bass Moving to New York City, best EUB for subway/train?

[RodneyMac]

Relocating to New York (Brooklyn) to get my music career kicked into high gear. Any suggestions on the best EUB for commuting? I have my amp covered (AI Coda) but would like any suggestions on the easiest EUB for dragging along on mass transit....preferrably by players who have gone through this situation. Thank you!

 

[vanderbrook]

Relocating to New York (Brooklyn) to get my music career kicked into high gear. Any suggestions on the best EUB for commuting? I have my amp covered (AI Coda) but would like any suggestions on the easiest EUB for dragging along on mass transit....preferrably by players who have gone through this situation. Thank you!

I think you will find many options that will be easily transported. Finding one with a sound you like may be the tougher challenge. FWIW, the NS Design EUBs can be carried, in their gig bags, on the shoulder. Easy to carry the bass, a small amp and a music stand. But it doesn't sound like a double bass -- at least, not when I'm playing it...

Good luck with your search.

 

[RodneyMac]

Thanks,

I think you will find many options that will be easily transported. Finding one with a sound you like may be the tougher challenge. FWIW, the NS Design EUBs can be carried, in their gig bags, on the shoulder. Easy to carry the bass, a small amp and a music stand. But it doesn't sound like a double bass -- at least, not when I'm playing it...

Good luck with your search.

Thanks for your reply. You hit the nail on the head regarding sound, that seems to be a hurdle with many players...including me. The NAMM show is almost here in LA so I might hold off and play as many as I can there.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I take my real bass on the subway all the time (you just have to lift it over the turnstiles), but I take my Eminence out every so often too in bad weather, or if I don't feel like bringing the real thing out for whatever reason.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

I hear what you are saying, but NYC is at least 99% acoustic double bass. Bandleaders who hire DB players want the look and sound, and have enough players in the call list who don't mind taking the big guy on the train. If you use a bass buggie, it's actually not bad at all. I'm a pretty slightly built person, and I would take my bass and Phil Jones Cub with me to gigs on the subway at least 5 times a week. No hassles, except maybe at rush hour....

EDIT: if you want the ultraportable setup, it seems like a lot of people have Chadwick's that can be broken down and moved about safely in the flightcase....

 

[Ed Fuqua]

@Ross Kratter - I've never had a booth clerk refuse to open the gate for me and any stations that don't have a booth, it's easy enough to swipe through a turnstile and then open the gate yourself from the inside.
But @RodneyMac, like others have said, I travel by subway with my upright pretty much all the time. ANY EUB is going to be no problem.

 

[damonsmith]

On one hand the 99% of leaders that "want upright" would at least go down to 50% if it was between Eberhard Weber and a random pro upright player. Same goes for Steve Swallow. When I had an EUB it got requested fairly often.

On the other hand, it does seem as though you are looking at EUBs for portability and not for the sound. Therefore, it seems like a double bass is the better tool for the job.

 

[hernameisrio]

Ask me about the time I fell down the subway stairs with my bass in the freakin rain. It's a constant uphill battle! Enjoy Brooklyn, I was there for almost 10 years and moved out to the Bay Area six months ago!

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I've brought a bass trunk (and my daughter) on the subway with no problem. Just don't try it at rush hour.

 

[Ross Kratter]

I've brought a bass trunk (and my daughter) on the subway with no problem. Just don't try it at rush hour.

The first and last cars of the train are the best bet, too, for having the most space for your bass. Rush hour is not easy, though, as @KUNGfuSHERIFF said.

 

[bassfacer22]

What you are looking for is only and I mean only between the two..

(unless there is another bass i'm forgetting or dont know of that is removable neck..)

You either get the Removable neck Eminence bass .....or the *New Yamaha Nathan East endorsed silent bass..

Those are the closest soundwise and portable you can get that you will probably like enough to work on to get the sound you want..


In all the rest -either by playing firsthand or research online through videos sound samples etc.. these are where you will end up if you want "portability and sound"

 

[RodneyMac]

Ask me about the time I fell down the subway stairs with my bass in the freakin rain. It's a constant uphill battle! Enjoy Brooklyn, I was there for almost 10 years and moved out to the Bay Area six months ago!

I'm originally from the Bay Area (born and raised in Santa Clara), moved to L.A. 6 years ago and can't stand it! My wife is from Brooklyn, we spent some time there last year, and I know a few bassists who live in Brooklyn and Manhattan. I want to give it 110% for a few years (at least). Why did you pick the Bay Area?

 

[hernameisrio]

Haha...I figured I'd have similar feelings about LA, hence the Bay Area instead. Kinda feels like a smaller west coast equivalent of New York to me, and some parts of Berkeley remind me a bit of Savannah, where I went to school, so I enjoy that too. I had been interested in living in California for years because I hate cold weather and love the sun...then I visited out here last year to do training for work, and I loved it. I just had this gut feeling that it could be a good change and I think I was right. I think the smaller music scene has really brought me out of my shell. I've been gigging a lot and it's pretty great. I feel like living in New York was just not good for my mental health in the long term, especially dealing with the winters. It just got worse for me over time somehow. It's been in the mid-40's out here for the past couple of weeks (unusually cold, apparently), but got up to 60 in the evening... and it's just so beautiful. Being able to get outside this time of year without being so uncomfortably cold and without feeling like it's so gloomy, has really been good for me. Even my cat is happier!