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Double Bass Moving your bass - truck-van-trailer?

Blankandson

Blankandson

Oct 20, 2010
2,258
1,399
Gallatin, Tennessee
#1
I can't find a thread on this so I'm starting one. Please move me to a better place if this is already addressed.
I've played electric bass since the mid-1960s but I'm getting more and more interested in the double bass. Before I get any more into it, I would like to know how you get yours from place to place? I have a car so I would have to consider changing transportation if I consider a double bass. So . . . what are the types of transportation you all use to move from house to gig?
Thanks.
 
#2
It isn't that big and it isn't that heavy. Mine goes easily into my 2006 Subaru, on top of a thick foam rubber cushion. A lot of bass players take their basses onto city buses and subways. You can buy a wheel and roll the bass along...but my luthier doesn't like wheels (they transmit vibrations throughout the instrument). I have a long strap on my case; I sling it over my shoulder and just carry the damn thing. I'm 60 years old and haven't had a problem yet.
 
#4
Simandl Fan said:
IYou can buy a wheel and roll the bass along...but my luthier doesn't like wheels (they transmit vibrations throughout the instrument). I have a long strap on my case; I sling it over my shoulder and just carry the damn thing.
Click to expand...

You're too damn old to be carrying the damn thing. Get a wheel. Vibrations throughout the instrument? I thought that was the idea.
 
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#5
I'm pretty much exclusively use backpack straps on my bass bag now and don't bother with a wheel. It's less fussy that way - just watch out for banging the scroll into a doorsill.

I've been using a Soundwear Performer bag for several years now - still holding up great.
 
#6
Most later model vehicles are equipped fold-down rear seats. You fold down the rear seats, feed the DB into the trunk head first, so the head winds up resting between the front seats.

Of course, this doesnt leave a whole lot of room for any other gear, but if you're not using an amp, this works rather well.

I did this for about 8 years with a '94 Mazda 626.

But eventually I wanted to bring an amp head/cab rig to gigs so I had to buy a pickup truck with an 8 foot bed. Everything fits in there nicely, and still have room for other stuff.
 
#7
I have a 2004 Sebring ragtop (which I do not drop to load). I put my amp and 210 in the trunk, another 210 in the back seat, by bg in the floorboard behind the front seats, by db in the back seat with the shoulder nested between the backrests and the scroll near the dash, and my wife in the passenger seat. There's enough space I could probably pack my boy next to the 210 in the back seat if I need help carrying equipment in to the gig. :)
 
#8
Thanks! I'm familiar with the electric bass part of TB but this is my first time to visit here. I'm 63 myself. I've already had an issue when I purchased a long-neck bass - it wouldn't fit into either my Toyota's trunk or back seat, and my back seats don't fold down. So I would really need a new set of wheels if I go with a DB. A pickup would probably be the way for me to go.
 
#10
When I had a compact sedan, I had the following routine:

1. Tilt the passenger seat all the way back.

2. Slide the bass in, neck first, in the drivers side rear door.

3. Bass rides upside down in the front seat.

With a bit of practice, it was pretty easy.
 
#12
Hatchbacks disappeared from the US market for a while -- during the SUV craze -- but have come back. There are a number of compact Hatchbacks available in the US. I've got a Toyota Scion XA. There's the Honda Fit, Mazda 3, Ford Fiesta, and VW Golf, to name a few.
 
#13
On my Chevy Aveo 5-door hatch, I do just what is listed above: put the back seats down, load it through the hatch, shift the body to the driver's side and angle it so the neck doesn't get in the way of the gearshift, put my little combo amp on the passenger side, and go for it.

I have also played electric bass since I was 14 in the summer of 1976. A little more than a year ago I finally jumped into it myself. And I turn 50 next month, looking forward to many more years of gigs. I think it's great you're getting into it. Go for it! There will be some threads that will help you sort out some of the issues to address as you go shopping, especially setting a budget and some playing fundamental transitional issues. Since switching over, I have played much more double bass and tuba, and hardly ever get my electrics out anymore, including one collectible instrument and one custom made instrument, that I do take as a backup on gigs.

Double bass and Electric bass: two great instruments separated by a common tuning.
 

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