Double Bass NS Design WAV4 megathread part I

[smakbass]

I wish they would arrive in Canada as fast as they are getting to Aus and England.

 

[jasonbraatz]

I asked my NSD rep yesterday, do not expect a fiver anytime soon. The next WAV instrument to be developed and manufacturered is not a bass.

Fudge.

 

[Big Bass Daddy]

I asked my NSD rep yesterday, do not expect a fiver anytime soon. The next WAV instrument to be developed and manufacturered is not a bass.

any chance it is a bass - cello?

 

[cairomike]

Mike, I'm also a resident in the UK and have been thinking seriously (read: struggling to let economics trump emotion) about getting one of those for some time. The Thomann deal seems pretty good. It would be interesting to hear how you are getting on with the WAV, and indeed any sound samples. My goal would be to get as close to an acoustic upright bass sound as possible, although like yourself I am also interested to exploring the possibilities of the applicability of the instrument to latin jazz, which I believe has requirements all of its own.

As things stand at the moment, with the mostly good reviews coming in, I'd likely buy one ASAP, but the unanswered question of the possibility of a 5 string version is making me hold back.

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer

As I've already said this is my first experience using an upright of any sort, I've been playing electric bass for over 40 years, so I am not too familiar with the 'real' upright sound at close quarters. But, after messing with the set up on my PX3B and the GK amp I have what I think is a good sound, although I have decided to get a Fishman PRO-EQ Platinum Bass preamp to try to better match the very high output impedance of the bass with the amp. Hopefully that will be with me next week so I'll let you know how it goes.

As far as playability goes, coming straight from electric to this has been a doddle. Ok so I'm not pitch perfect, but that will come with experience, and I need to concentrate on the finger position but last night I rehearsed for the first time with the guitarist I work with and played almost the entire set. The thing I find most difficult is getting the higher notes, above '12th fret', accurately.

I expect I'm playing it like an electric bass, and I should think a real upright player would find a lot wrong with my technique, but I just love playing it, I've played it for hours and hours and it will be so much easier to take to gigs than a 'real' one.

The Thomann deal is very competitive at £660 inc. P&P especially considering The Bass Centre wants £799 for it, but Thomann only had a few in just before Christmas and the site is now is showing zero stock so you might have to wait.

Mike

 

[Huy Nguyen]

My goal would be to get as close to an acoustic upright bass sound as possible, although like yourself I am also interested to exploring the possibilities of the applicability of the instrument to latin jazz, which I believe has requirements all of its own.

Check out this thread as there are some good suggestions for strings to make it sound more DB like. I recently bought a CR4 from another TBer and finally tried it out with my amp rig. The last owner put flexocors on there and it sounds great for an EUB. With the CR, I can adjust the polar pickup to blend between arco and pizz settings. I think I put the dial at about 75% pizz and I get a nice open DB-like sound. Not completely the same as a DB, but close if enough if you close your eyes. IIUC, the Wav4 has a switch to go either 100% pizz or arco. Even at 100% pizz, my CR4 doesn't sound bad, it's just a little bit more EB sounding.

 

[cairomike]

Check out this thread as there are some good suggestions for strings to make it sound more DB like. I recently bought a CR4 from another TBer and finally tried it out with my amp rig. The last owner put flexocors on there and it sounds great for an EUB. With the CR, I can adjust the polar pickup to blend between arco and pizz settings. I think I put the dial at about 75% pizz and I get a nice open DB-like sound. Not completely the same as a DB, but close if enough if you close your eyes. IIUC, the Wav4 has a switch to go either 100% pizz or arco. Even at 100% pizz, my CR4 doesn't sound bad, it's just a little bit more EB sounding.

I've been reading through the posts in the link you provided. As I understand it the standard strings provided on the WAV4 aren't the same as those supplied on the more expensive basses, also the WAV4 is passive with no preamp. The sound of the WAV4 will be different from the CR series. So the question is what is the best choice to get a more natural sound on a WAV4? It seems that generally speaking the sustain of the D & G is the main problem when it comes to getting that 'acoustic' sound. So I have a mind to buy Spirocore D & G. What do you think?

 

[Huy Nguyen]

No actually, I would probably avoid spiro's altogether. Too stringy and too much sustain and the G is really nasal on a DB. I think it would be awful on an EUB. I think you want to go the opposite direction. I think I might try TI Belcanto's once my current set wear out. Darker, thumpy, probably short sustain. I would probably look for strings made for arco on DB.

IMO, the WAV4 might not have a pre-amp but I doubt if it's going to be that much different as to have a completely different character. The design looks like it's still the same: a dense stick of wood with an ebony fb and some strings. The diff that I notice now with my CR4 and my old Ergo was that the CR4 sounds decent while unplugged. Plugging it in accentuates everything that is EUB about it (brightness, sustain, etc). Meanwhile, I never bother investing further in the Ergo as it sounded pretty crappy to my ears, with the Corelli nickels I was using to - plugged or unplugged. Stringy, bright, no thump. Could've been the strings but I couldn't stand the construction. Yuk! It was like driving a Yugo compared to the Subaru WRX I have now (a Ferrari would probably be a Merchant Bass or Alter Ego).

 

[Chef]

signing on for the read as new info comes in...

 

[Chef]

Preamp: you can always run one outboard...like the K&K that pairs with the bassmax...

 

[cairomike]

No actually, I would probably avoid spiro's altogether. Too stringy and too much sustain and the G is really nasal on a DB. I think it would be awful on an EUB. I think you want to go the opposite direction. I think I might try TI Belcanto's once my current set wear out. Darker, thumpy, probably short sustain. I would probably look for strings made for arco on DB.

IMO, the WAV4 might not have a pre-amp but I doubt if it's going to be that much different as to have a completely different character. The design looks like it's still the same: a dense stick of wood with an ebony fb and some strings. The diff that I notice now with my CR4 and my old Ergo was that the CR4 sounds decent while unplugged. Plugging it in accentuates everything that is EUB about it (brightness, sustain, etc). Meanwhile, I never bother investing further in the Ergo as it sounded pretty crappy to my ears, with the Corelli nickels I was using to - plugged or unplugged. Stringy, bright, no thump. Could've been the strings but I couldn't stand the construction. Yuk! It was like driving a Yugo compared to the Subaru WRX I have now (a Ferrari would probably be a Merchant Bass or Alter Ego).

Hmm.
Thanks for that, I think I'll hold on for a while to see what more experienced users make of the WAV4. Perhaps Bob Gollihur could make some suggestions.

In reply to Chef.
I have ordered a Fishman PRO-EQ Platinum Bass preamp, I hope this will help tune the sound a bit better than the Korg PX3B

 

[Chef]

That's a nice flexible preamp.

 

[cairomike]

That's a nice flexible preamp.

Thats good, gives me a bit of confidence in the purchase, thanks.

 

[endorka]

Hi Jennifer
The Thomann deal is very competitive at £660 inc. P&P especially considering The Bass Centre wants £799 for it, but Thomann only had a few in just before Christmas and the site is now is showing zero stock so you might have to wait.

Thanks for your comments Mike, I find it heartening to read that you are getting on well with it. I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the new preamp - what does this add that that preamp on my amplifier would not? Would I be losing out tonewise by just plugging the WAV straight into my normal amp?

I played a gig with a big swing band tonight where an EUB would have totally been the business! I want one

Jennifer

 

[Chef]

The biggest reason for running a preamp is impedance matching.
Many piezo type pups have about 1k ohms resistance, and many amps are not setup for this, but run somewhere b/t 400-600... A preamp can help correct that.

 

[cairomike]

Thanks for your comments Mike, I find it heartening to read that you are getting on well with it. I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the new preamp - what does this add that that preamp on my amplifier would not? Would I be losing out tonewise by just plugging the WAV straight into my normal amp?

I played a gig with a big swing band tonight where an EUB would have totally been the business! I want one

Jennifer

The output impedance of the WAV4 is very high, and as Chef says most amps have an input impedance of < 1K Ohm. In the WAV4 user guide (downloadable from Bob Gollihur's site) it is recommended to use an amp with an input impedance of >1Meg Ohm to avoid degrading the signal, also long leads will degrade the sound. Using a preamp close to the bass with a good (expensive) short lead between the bass and the preamp will eliminate these affects, and it provides a comprehensive EQ. Check it out on the Fishman site Link Removed I've ordered mine from GAK.CO.UK even with a £10 delivery charge it was a few pounds cheaper than Thomann.

 

[zekmoe]

Can someone who ones one post some close ups of the bass? I'm interested in this, but would like some better pics than are available on the NS site. Thanks

 

[cairomike]

Can someone who ones one post some close ups of the bass? I'm interested in this, but would like some better pics than are available on the NS site. Thanks

What do you want to see? The pix on the NS site say it all really, but there are some more on Bob Gollihur's site Link Removed if that's not enough I'll take some for you.

 

[bman]

I've scoured my usual haunts and I can't find a sound clip of the WAV4 anywhere. Can someone point me to one? It's the final step in deciding if I want to pick one of these up.

I can deal with buying it without playing it if I have to, but I really need to get some kind of idea what it sounds like.

Thanks!

 

[cairomike]

I've scoured my usual haunts and I can't find a sound clip of the WAV4 anywhere. Can someone point me to one? It's the final step in deciding if I want to pick one of these up.

I can deal with buying it without playing it if I have to, but I really need to get some kind of idea what it sounds like.

Thanks!

This is the best I can do with a cheap mic plugged into a portable minidisc, copied to DVD-RAM on a Panasonic DVD Recorder, split with TMPGEnc and transcoded into MP3 with VLC Media player!!!!

 

[Huy Nguyen]

yup, sounds like my cr4 with the pizz turned all the way up. If you can dial it just a touch more towards the arco side, it would sound a little bit more open and airy and a little less EB like - just where I like it. Still it's pretty good for a stick I'd say.