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Double Bass Newbie question about EUB's

L

Longshot

Jan 3, 2008
125
1
#1
Hi all,

I'm getting back to gigging with my bass guitar playing jazz/funk. But when I'm doing standard jazz gigs (standards, chick korea, miles, etc) there are times I really wish I had a double bass again.

Two problems:

1). There is NO WAY I can transport even a 1/2 size bass in my Jetta.

2). Not sure my upright playing is good enough to justify spending money on a beautiful instrument that is going to need some TLC to keep up.

So, my question is what electric upright is going to give me a good (doesn't have to be outstanding) upright tone but can fit in my back seat?

Any thoughts or am I just talking out of my butt here?

Thanks in advance.

:)
 
#2
Hi.
What does TLC mean, please?

I suppose you'd be interested in a short-scale EUB because you don't already play upright?
(your profile is empty so it's just a guess)

Furthermore, since space is very limited, a shorter instrument is probably more appropriate.

Switching to a short-scale EUB would be less difficult for you if you don't want to invest much time in learning the big one.

However: to get an upright tone, some technique is required, in particular in the way the strings are plucked with the right hand.
If you play a real upright the same way you play a bass guitar, it probably won't sound very uprighty anyway, if you know what I mean.
And if you take a short-scale instrument, it's even more difficult to make it sound uprighty.
It's not just a matter of the neck being vertical.

That said, the KYDD EUB seems to get good review.
(speaking short-sale instruments here)
Others: NS OmniBass, Dean Pace, BSX Mini Allegro, BSX Flip Bass, etc.

You may want to read this too:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-93531.html
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=167878
 
#3
Great tips. Thanks.

What I meant but TLC is tender loving care. I remember that a good double bass, plywood or otherwise, can be sensitive to climate changes and I do live in Wisconsin. Where if you don't like the weather here...just wait a minute. It's change :)

Thanks for the links. For playing upright I get the whole right hand technique thing. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I used to play upright a lot in college but that was about (censored) years ago ;)
 
#4
I live in Wisconsin too. I ride with a BSX Allegro in my Toyoya. I make good uses of the 60/40 split rear seat. Room for my amp and things. And never leave your bass in the car, hot or cold weather. If you want something that works like a real DB, thats what I have, and my car is a Corolla.
 
#7
Those are great suggestions.

I like the Eminence a lot from what I see on the website. I did notice that it is about $1000 more than the BSX allegro.

Would you say that it has more acoustic sound to justify a bump of $1k?

:)
 
#12
damonsmith said:
An EUB could be a good solution. I don't reccomend short scale. An EUB played with double bass technique is going to get you the best sound.
You can also just drop the passenger seat back all the way and put a double bass in.
Or, you can get a ride from someone else in group when you need to play double bass!
Click to expand...

Yeah I thought about how I would fit even a half size into the jetta. With an amp and a bass guitar to haul...just can't see that working.

But I agree about the double bass technique. That is going to be important.
 
#13
Longshot said:
Yeah I thought about how I would fit even a half size into the jetta. With an amp and a bass guitar to haul...just can't see that working.

But I agree about the double bass technique. That is going to be important.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but it will work. I have gotten my double bass, drums, amp, GF, drummer and I in a mini. In any case, the car is no reason to not get a double bass. If you get a double bass and need to get to a gig, you will get there.
I don't even drive and I've never missed a gig in my life.
 
#15
damonsmith said:
Yeah, but it will work. I have gotten my double bass, drums, amp, GF, drummer and I in a mini. In any case, the car is no reason to not get a double bass. If you get a double bass and need to get to a gig, you will get there.
I don't even drive and I've never missed a gig in my life.
Click to expand...

Sure, it will work, and most of us have done it.

The down side of stuffing it all in a small car is the safety issue. With any kind of impact any piece of gear stuffed in there is dangerous when it comes loose, or crushes a passenger. There's a bassist here who recently had his bass destroyed and got hit in the back of the head by the drummers cymbal bag that went flying on impact.
 
#16
To the OP. No, you are not "talking out of your butt here".

What it is.;)

The EUB will not ever sound or feel completely like the acoustic bass. Don't waste any time trying to say it is what it isn't.

The acoustic bass with a pickup mounted ( or a mic for that matter) will not sound like an acoustic bass either. Ray Brown's bass on a recording, and the way it sounded in the room that day are two completely different things.

Options for amplifying the acoustic bass have come a long way from the days of plugging in a Barcus Berry, Polytone, or Underwood PU into the old Polytone. EUB design has followed suit. There are some great EUB instruments available now.

I think that John Knutson's Messenger Bass is the best value anywhere***these days*** for purchasing an EUB. For the record, I don't own a Messenger, I own an Azola FT Bug. Azola is (sadly) out of business.

I love it that you want to gig with upright alongside your electric bass. The world needs more "doublers". How ever you can fit the upright bass into your playing schedule is a wonderful thing, IMO.

As far as spending the money on the acoustic, and making a commitment there.... It sounds like you have a good idea of what it involves. Good. Down the road, who knows?
 
#17
These are really good comments. Keep em coming!

I know that down the road I want to be a doubler. Heck, in college I was a tripler. Bass guitar, double bass, and tuba (and tuba was my major) :)

But now I'm older with a family and I have to be smarter about things. I can't gig as much. I've sold most of my instruments and now starting again with one bass and one amp.

All I know is that I have one small jetta, one hartke combo, and one heck of an ambition to play again.

I would love to buy an acoustic but I just have the feeling that it would never leave the house ;)
 
#18
TBH, an EUB (and I've owned several) sounds like a Fretless EB, but with a better bottom and less mwah. And the sound is more consistent from string to string. The problem is that it doesn't have the "puff" that a big wooden box gets you and no amount of technology has been able to reproduce that.

My complaint with EUBs also is that the ergonomics is usually nowhere near what a real DB feels like. So if you're thinking you can directly transfer skills from EUB to DB, it's not entirely that simple. And going from EB to DB: forget it - they're virtually two different instruments. Going from EB to DB is like starting over in several areas. Technique is totally different.

My advice: stay with EB and approximate the sound if you have to (fretless, tapewound strings) and only go with DB unless you've bitten by the bug and can't have anything but. At that stage, you'll prob drop you EB too. Learning to play jazz DB is a full time job. You can't hack your way through it like you can on a EB. In many ways, EB is so much more practical, but it doesn't have that one important thing: the sound.

And yeah, a typical DB will fit in your jetta on the front passenger side with the seat all the way down. All your other gear goes in the trunk or behind the driver seat. If a 3/4 DB can fit in an old school VW bug, it will fit in your Jetta. This is not a valid excuse. :)
 
#19
hdiddy said:
TBH, an EUB (and I've owned several) sounds like a Fretless EB, but with a better bottom and less mwah. And the sound is more consistent from string to string. The problem is that it doesn't have the "puff" that a big wooden box gets you and no amount of technology has been able to reproduce that.

My complaint with EUBs also is that the ergonomics is usually nowhere near what a real DB feels like. So if you're thinking you can directly transfer skills from EUB to DB, it's not entirely that simple. And going from EB to DB: forget it - they're virtually two different instruments. Going from EB to DB is like starting over in several areas. Technique is totally different.

My advice: stay with EB and approximate the sound if you have to (fretless, tapewound strings) and only go with DB unless you've bitten by the bug and can't have anything but. At that stage, you'll prob drop you EB too. Learning to play jazz DB is a full time job. You can't hack your way through it like you can on a EB. In many ways, EB is so much more practical, but it doesn't have that one important thing: the sound.

And yeah, a typical DB will fit in your jetta on the front passenger side with the seat all the way down. All your other gear goes in the trunk or behind the driver seat. If a 3/4 DB can fit in an old school VW bug, it will fit in your Jetta. This is not a valid excuse. :)
Click to expand...

Huh, never thought of it that way. Maybe I should go down to the high school an borrow a bass to see if it fits.
 
#20
I have an NS WAV4 EUB and have become a doubler. I couldn't be happier. I agree with the above that the EUB doesn't sound exactly like an acoustic upright. And I'm a BGist 1st, EUB 2nd. But don't be fooled - I can get my WAV4 to sound more like an upright than a fretless BG. Even if the purist would say "no way", I'll tell you that 99% of the people in the audience can't tell a difference. And that's what really matters if you are a professional. If it bothers you that you can only get "close", then you probably should go the upright route. I have the utmost respect for upright players. It's definitely not easy. Frets are much easier. But I can tell you it's always a fun challenge when my jazz trio plays before our classic rock full band takes the stage. I'm having a blast.
 

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