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Double Bass NS Design WAV4 megathread part I

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#521
Jason Hollar said:
Fender...

I bought mine through Bass Central who had them drop-shipped from the NS factory...$120 plus $10 shipping.

Kevin...

I'd hate to be the @hole clogging up the security line at the airport. Just flew through Denver Sunday and it was a nightmare...

I saw several people with guitar cases as carry-ons, but nothing like our axe. Also eyed up the overhead bins...and they don't look any bigger these days.

I'm wondering if an SKB "golf bag size" flight case might not be the best option?

So many people check golf clubs and skis, why not well-packed EUB's?
Click to expand...

I've carried on a violin before, and i've had friends carry on guitars. I've heard of carried on BGs. I've never seen the NS in it's bag so i'm not sure how big it is. Is there some way we can get the flight attendants to put it into the coat check?

If not... i'd get the flight case, but it's expensive as heck...:bawl:

speaking of checked in luggage, i saw a pair of checked in longboards at LAX when i flew out to Japan. it's not as a problem as to checking in... because the flight case should be adequate and it shouldn't be any different as checking in any other instrument. if we could fly with UBs then we should be able to pull it off with a Wav4
 
#522
Hi,

I was restringing my friend's week-old wav4, replacing the stock strings with a set of Obligatos that were retired from my UB, and the D tuner broke:

in the headstock, the peg around which you wrap the string has 2 wings that create a slot into which you place the string and then wind the string around the peg as a whole. So one of the wings broke inward under the tension of the string wrapping around it.

my friend (the owner) and I will surely be in touch with the folks where we bought the bass and probably also NS and I've heard that NS is very good about taking care of their customers, but I was wondering if anyone's had similar experiences with the tuning hardware on the wav4?
 
#523
Wow, that EBS Microbass II looks really cool.

It has two inputs...one is 10Mohm and the other 1Mohm...indeed a great match (on paper) for piezos.

Plus EQ...blending, DI, etc...

I'm still having trouble trying to dial out the "glack" sound from my Wav piezo...you know that yucky midrange tone.

However, I am getting a ton of bottom and of course, as much high end as one could imagine...I have the highs cut everywhere on my rig!

The best sound I'm getting is still with my Eden Navigator pre...but I'd love to find a more portable option like the EBS -- just wish it wasn't $400!
 
#525
All you should have to do n8pease is call or email them at NS and the will mail you the replacement part you need. After having many many broken parts on my stand. every time i called or emailed them they would send me what i needed just as quick as they could.
 
#526
re: broken tuner

yeah, I called NS up yesterday and they said they'd put a new tuner in the mail directly. the guy I talked to said it was only the second broken tuner that he knew about, FWIW.
hopefully it gets here fast and then all's well that ends well.

sounds like your experiences are similar funkybassplayer, & thanks for the note.

n
 
#527
So I finally had a chance to try out a WAV at a local Sam Ash. First off, I had so much trouble getting the stand to go high enough for me to play comfortably. The highest I could get it was the top of the headstock eye-level with me. kind of a bummer. I had to pull up a stool and sit to find a comfortable position. I can understand people's lack of interest in the stock strings. Not bad, but definitely could be better with a string change. Now maybe this is because I'm so used to my Ergo, but it seemed like the neck was huge and the string spacing very wide.

Overall, the bass wasn't bad. I'd have to spend some more time with it to really get a solid opinion. One thing I did notice, and I think i remember someone else mentioning it on here, was that the E string wasn't as loud as the other three when playing through an amp. I'm really trying to find someone in Chicago who already has a WAV and has perhaps switched the strings on it. That way I can get a much more "real-world" test drive out of it.
 
#528
el_mariachi said:
One thing I did notice, and I think i remember someone else mentioning it on here, was that the E string wasn't as loud as the other three when playing through an amp.
Click to expand...

Yep that was me, I dont know if this an issue with the stock strings or something to do with the set-up, but on my WAV the E string seems to lack the volume/punch/ presence of the other strings..acoustically it sounds fine but when di'ed or played through an amp there seems to be a distinct lack of "body".

Has anyone else experienced this? I dont want to lay the blame on the stock strings as it seems to be more of a pick-up issue.

cheers

Murf
 
#529
Kevin,

Any luck finding one of these yet?

I was thinking back to my musical travels and wanted to open this up for anyone currently flying or planning to fly with this instrument. Guess I should start browsing the other NS bass topic threads as well for more info...

Anyway, the past few times I flew with my electric bass, it worked out OK, but it was stressful. I have a Yamaha 5 string that measures a good 52" in length in the gig bag.

It fits thru the security x-ray screen and actully just seemed to fit in the overhead bin...if I had it all to myself. One time the gal at check-in told me I'd have to check it as luggage. Thanks to the Jedi Mind Trick, I narrowly avoided that one.

At the advice of an ex-flight attendant friend of mine, I booked seats as far back in the plane as I could. Then, after the announcement for the first class passengers and parents with small children to board, I muscled my way in line and was one of the first general class passangers to be seated.

Now, because of all the crap people bring on planes, I was cool with bags & jackets & stuff being put on top of my bass. However, I saw several disgruntled people not have room for their wheely carry-on bags because of my instrument...

Now...as for our axe...the NS Wav measures 56" in its gig bag. I'm wondering if that might not exceed the size of the overhead by a slight margain.

Anybody here succesfully stow this thing on board???

I'm wondering if it might not be a better idea to buy a shorter scale bass specifically for travel. For example...one of those NS Bass Cellos measures about 44" in length and would probably fit in a modified golf bag case -- perfect for checkinging as luggage. But it's not a DB, it's got a 34" scale like a slab.

However, something like that would leave room for an Acoustic Image Focus III head in your carry on! You can always rent a speaker cab in the next city for fairly cheap.

Thoughts?
 
#530
I'm wondering if it might not be a better idea to buy a shorter scale bass specifically for travel. For example...one of those NS Bass Cellos measures about 44" in length and would probably fit in a modified golf bag case -- perfect for checkinging as luggage. But it's not a DB, it's got a 34" scale like a slab.

However, something like that would leave room for an Acoustic Image Focus III head in your carry on! You can always rent a speaker cab in the next city for fairly cheap.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Tony Banda with Poncho Sanchez plays the Azola "Gypsy" [Band(of) Gypsy(s)] EURB which was made 'specially for him is a 34" scale, and is offered as a current model. A hollow body option is also available.

He sounded awesome at the Jazz Festival here in Bakersfield with Poncho's big group last May, so powerful like Thunder! I saw him walk in during the sound check with this small gig bag around his shoulder assuming it was a guitar, then these huge low sounds grabbed my ear, I realized it was an Azola (Tony used to play a Clevinger before it was stolen).

The hollow body Gypsy with the current Azola pickup and on board 3-band eq is real versatile and probably quite travel friendly.
 
#532
I just got back from traveling with my NS. I used the NS flight case. It's dang expensive, but it does it's job. All the security people thought it was a huge gun case. The one thing I'd recommend is bringing a soft case to haul it around in once you arrive. I have a undercover case for it, but it didn't fit in the flight case so I didn't bring it. Not smart. The flight case is super heavy and not fun to haul around for a month. I'll remember that for next time. Also, if you're wearing khakis and carrying the flight case you'll discover an attractive black smudge where the case rubs on your pants. Awesome.
 
#533
MacDaddyBass said:
I just got back from traveling with my NS. I used the NS flight case. It's dang expensive, but it does it's job. All the security people thought it was a huge gun case. The one thing I'd recommend is bringing a soft case to haul it around in once you arrive. I have a undercover case for it, but it didn't fit in the flight case so I didn't bring it. Not smart. The flight case is super heavy and not fun to haul around for a month. I'll remember that for next time. Also, if you're wearing khakis and carrying the flight case you'll discover an attractive black smudge where the case rubs on your pants. Awesome.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mac. You get through security without much hassle? It looks like that thing could carry a nice sized rifle:ninja:
 
#537
Wow...

$575 list, what's that $499 retail? Shipped?

Does this thing have wheels? It better wheel itself for that kinda bread!

I'm jealous of all those golfer executive travel types with their cool SKB golf bag flight cases.

They're more rock stars than we are! :bassist:
 
#538
Jason Hollar said:
Any luck finding one of these yet?
Click to expand...

I'm actually not going to buy until December or maybe November if I have the dough, but the local music store that I deal with is working to become a dealer so they can sell me all that gear.

As for now, I'm just haunting the thread to make sure I know exactly what to do when I get it.:hiding:


Yea the flight case is expensive, but the whole package (bass, flight case, upgraded stand, new strings) still adds up less than a flight case for the bass (which I'd have to buy or rent over the course of my 4 year stay in college)
 
#539
I bought the flight case from Bob Gollihur for 430 I think. He sells it for 400 if you buy the bass from him (which I didn't). The thing is pretty awkward. It's long and bulky and the handle is pretty rough. It sucked carrying it around for a month. I think the best flight case I've seen for an EUB is the the one for the Azola Lightning Bug. The thing looks awesome.
 
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