Double Bass NS BassCello (now OmniBass) megathread

[Bruce Lindfield]

I'm talking about the bass/cello, the one that has the 34" string length...not the doublebasses. But hey thanks for the info....

So was I!!

So- I was contrasting the fact that part of the big appeal of the NS DBs was the fact you could use any strings and they were the same scale as a "real" DB - whereas I can see this being a big problem with a 34" scale "Cello"...

 

[Johnny L]

So was I!!

So- I was contrasting the fact that part of the big appeal of the NS DBs was the fact you could use any strings and they were the same scale as a "real" DB - whereas I can see this being a big problem with a 34" scale "Cello"...

The "cello" isn't a 34" scale, Bruce...as opposed to the "bass/cello". To my understanding, the NS cello can accept any brand cello string no problem.

Anyway, thanks.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I decided to replace my beloved Azola bugbass with something smaller for travel. Hate to do it, but I often use island-hopper airlines, sometimes several flights in a day, so baggage carousels are not my favorite thing. So the Azola is up for sale, and I'm now the owner of a BassCello.

I bought one from Bob and Mark Gollihur, who displayed more of their legendary exemplary customer service. He beat everyone else's price by a huge margin. In fact, the next lowest price I could find was a damaged one, and he beat that by a coupla hundred. All Hail, indeed.

The bass was ready to play out of the box, so I plugged it into my Contra and messed around a bit. The controls are very intuitive once you know what they all do. The fit and finish are perfect, as you would expect from NS. Really nice ebony board. I felt really comfortable with it right away, and the "boomerang" strap system works really well. It's really light, too, and a lot more comfortable than any of my slabs.

I was able to get some very workable sounds from the NS right away... nice "DB" sounds, a real nice Jaco-esque burp thing, and a lot of stuff in between. I think I'll be using this for pop gigs as well as the more common jazz stuff. There is plenty of bottom available from the EQ. I tried just a little bit of arco with the included Glasser bow, and it seemed fine for what I'll probably be doing with it. The action is really low and slippery. I may raise it a bit, we'll see. It's all really new right now.

If you're not comfortable with short (34") scales and feather light action, you probably won't like the BassCello at first. It's probably best to forget comparing it to slabs or DBs, and just accept it for what it is. I'm going to gig with it a bit, and I'll let you all know after some stage time. Nice instrument so far.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Raised the string height a bunch, much better now.

Okay, that's enough, I won't bore you with my funny little "bass" anymore.

 

[Francois Blais]

Sounds cool!

 

[Mike Goodbar]

Raised the string height a bunch, much better now.

Okay, that's enough, I won't bore you with my funny little "bass" anymore.

Please -- bore away!

I've been intrigued by this thing ever since I saw it on Bob's site.

You say it can't replace either a slab or a double bass. If I took it to gig where I played a fair amount of blues and rock, would I be kicked off the bandstand? Do the magnetic pickups capture an acceptable slab tone (if there is indeed such a thing)?

Also, do you like having the high C string? I have a feeling that it would have a distinctively thin, un-bass like sound. True?

I have some ergonomic issues with playing the slab, and this guy looks like a cool solution.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

It could definitely be used on a blues/rock gig. The EMG magnetic pickups pack all the punch you would expect. I bought the low B model, so I don't know how the C string model is working out, but my guess is that cellists would probably like it better than bassists would. The G feels pretty spindly as it is, though raising the bridge height made a lot of difference in the feel. I've actually found myself playing it mostly in "semi-upright" position, which seems to give me the best attack and access to the fingerboard. It seems to like to be in a sort of gunslinger position off to my right side, but it's easy to place it wherever the individual player wants it.

 

[GhostLobby]

I just picked up mine today and love it. I had the NS DB, but like the OP, coming from a bass guitar background the intervals were just too much. The bass cello is perfect and will be a great transition instrument (I want get an upright in the near future). My only problem is, never having had a bow before, I'm not really sure how to apply resin to the bow....... Help?

 

[tappingtrance]

Have you ever bowed before? Because if not you probably don't know the technique in order to make the strings ring. It may be the rosin, but in order to bow, you really have to dig into the string. Try bowing nearer to your bowing hand and farther away from the tip of the bow.

Playing upright I would disagree - it is not at all about rosin or 'digging in' it is moving the bow across the strings to get it to vibrate.

 

[Chasarms]

I just picked up mine today and love it. I had the NS DB, but like the OP, coming from a bass guitar background the intervals were just too much. The bass cello is perfect and will be a great transition instrument (I want get an upright in the near future). My only problem is, never having had a bow before, I'm not really sure how to apply resin to the bow....... Help?

1. Tense the hair.
2. Hold the rosin cake firmly in one hand.
3. Draw bow across the cake with modest pressure from frog to tip. Convention is to only draw in this direction. Unsure why. Although, frequently violate this convention a take an extra "reverse" stroke or two on roughly a third of the bow hair at the tip. It seems to make the bow play more evenly.

Three or four strokes is plenty. It might take a couple of extra on new hair. One or two more after an hour or so, if needed.

Be conservative with the rosin even though in the beginning it will seem that more rosin makes it easier to start the string.

Once you get the rosin worked into the hair, never apply rosin to the bow without checking first to see if it is needed. You have to play the bow for a few minutes sometimes to soften it up and get some tack.

Too much rosin makes for a mess, bad form and ugly tone.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I'm a double bassist as a profession, and that will always be my first love as well. But I really welcome the presence of EUBs, and I think that they are really viable instruments unto themselves.

I've gone even one step further into the world of upright bass heathendom; I've chosen the NS BassCello as my EUB (after several happy years on an Azola Bugbass). Say it ain't so! BG scale, no endpin (I use the Boomerang strap)..... some of my friends just shook their heads when I bought it as a touring bass. But the response upon hearing it has been similar to that of AlunJW... they pretty much love it. It doesn't really sound like anything else, but it does sound really good. And it fits in the overhead compartment of almost any plane.

I bought it as a stopgap instrument, for the times when I just couldn't put a rental DB in my tour contract, or whatever. But as time has passed, I've found that I really look forward to playing the little thing. It's actually capable of replacing the BG on pop gigs as well. Plus, I can do arco solos on it, which flips people out. I actually had audience members coming onstage in Japan, asking what I was playing! The cool thing is that it's the size of a BG, but it retains a DB sensibility that allows me to feel really comfortable in an improvising situation.

The NS basses (at least the high end ones) have a very nice build quality. It feels and looks great, very roadworthy.

 

[jkdahlman]

Hi all, Marcus I'm with you on the BassCello. I get requests for it on a regular basis. Sound guys love it. It's kinda fun to see peoples faces when they hear it. Most just walk away shaking their heads.
I had a corporate gig last week that spec'd URB (they wanted the look, argh). I took the BC as the leader had heard it before and loved it.
At the end of the gig, the production company manager came up and asked all kinds of questions saying they all couldn't believe the sound. That's why I got it, great tone and enough of a headstock up in the air to keep the "listen with their eyes" crowd happy. Much easier to haul through a hotel, too.

 

[Bob Gollihur]

FYI, NS Design has introduced a four string version of the BassCello. It will be a little while before it is available for sale, and expect a flurry of ads in the usual bass mags in 2008.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I'm curious, Bob... how many have you sold? I was a little surprised to see a Bass Cello megathread! My thought is that maybe a lot of folks are reluctant to try a "strap-on tool" approach to the EUB. I love the idea, personally. I still really dig this bass. I remember asking your son Mark a bunch of questions before I ordered from you, because at the time, you and he were about the only people who'd gotten their hands on one.

I guess I appreciate the fact that the BC doesn't try too hard to be a double bass. Just a cool little bowable axe that gets monstrous bass sounds and doesn't kill me when I haul it around. People are endlessly curious about it; you have to be prepared to answer a lot of questions after the show.

 

[Bob Gollihur]

We've sold quite a few, not as many as CR4/5 models and certainly not as many as the WAVs that have gone out the door. I think NSD will be emphasizing BASScello in their ads... personally, I think the choice to integrate Cello into the name may not have been the best choice. It's a bass, period. (unless you order it strung/tuned in fifths like a cello with a different scale length, I guess, but I only recall selling one, maybe two, in that configuration).

I've taken one out on gigs a couple times, and prefer to play it on the stand, not only because of the physical proximity but also since I need to switch off between basses and found the stand more to my liking.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

If I were mainly playing it off the road, I'd probably give the stand a go. For my purposes, portability was the main selling point.

Here's a typical scenario for me; I've used this bass a lot with Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom, a very popular Hawaiian artist. She does shows in big halls and arenas for the most part. She lives on O'ahu, where most of these bigger shows occur. So, sometime in the early evening, I'll catch a flight over to whichever island the show is on, wearing the gig clothes (flights are 20 minutes to an hour, depending on which island). In the BCs gig bag, I'll have packed a pair of cargo shorts, T-shirt, rubbah slippahs, toiletries and so on, maybe a paperback... plenty of room in there, there's a big full-length compartment aside from the bow pocket. The whole thing fits in the overhead, easier than any bass guitar, due to the shape.. The car picks me up at the airport and takes me to the venue, I plug and play, Amy cuts me a check, and I crib out in Honolulu, fly home the next morning with the gig clothes in the bag. No Luggage! Works great.

It's also great for international or Mainland tours. The BassCello and one small bag, I'm good to go. No waiting at baggage carousels, just start hunting down the food!

 

[Stephen]

Greetings,

Trespassing here from the BG side.

I play fretless Turner Renaissance piezo bass guitars. One is standard with Tomasik Infeld Acousticore strings and the other has La Bella black nylon wound strings. Between the two, I can get a nice range of sounds.

However, the desire for more expression has not abated so I find myself drawn to the Bass Cello.

So it would be great if anyone had or could direct me to any sound clips.

Bob ??

Thanks much

 

[daHammer]

Hi,

If you send me an email address at [email protected] I can send you a clip of myself playing the NS bass cello. Alternatively you can check out the website for the group that I play with (the Princeton Jazz Quintet) at Link Removed. There are a number of MP3s of the group there, which include bass solos, but some were played on an NS double bass (CRM5), which I traded in for the bass cello. Unfortunately I can't easily tell the sound of one instrument from the other on the recordings -- or perhaps I should say "fortunately"! If you are interested I might be willing to sell the bass cello.

Ed White

 

[Stephen]

Hi,

If you send me an email address at [email protected] I can send you a clip of myself playing the NS bass cello. Alternatively you can check out the website for the group that I play with (the Princeton Jazz Quintet) at Link Removed. There are a number of MP3s of the group there, which include bass solos, but some were played on an NS double bass (CRM5), which I traded in for the bass cello. Unfortunately I can't easily tell the sound of one instrument from the other on the recordings -- or perhaps I should say "fortunately"! If you are interested I might be willing to sell the bass cello.

Ed White

Thanks much Ed.

I sent you my email address.

 

[Suresh]

Hv anyone ever use regular BG flatwound?How does it sound?
Can you bow it?I really would like to know.
Thanks.
Regards
Robert