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Double Bass NS vs Eminence
- Thread starter banjoboy
- Start date
I've been looking at them both carefully lately. I have friends who perform with both. My preference would be an Eminence, but they are not available new now; Gollihur Music is working on getting them back into production, but I don't know where that process is at this time.
For me this would be mostly a jazz instrument, setup with very low action and thin low-to-medium tension steel strings, probably Sprios. This is in contrast with my Alcoa which is setup for roots music with fat very low tension synthetic strings and higher action, primarily for pizz and slap. Both support arco at least for practice.
For anyone who hasn't done so, I'd recommend spending some serious time studying Gollihur Music's EUB website section (NFI). Lots of information about both NS Designs and Eminence EUBs.
Best of luck as you make your EUB decisions.
For me this would be mostly a jazz instrument, setup with very low action and thin low-to-medium tension steel strings, probably Sprios. This is in contrast with my Alcoa which is setup for roots music with fat very low tension synthetic strings and higher action, primarily for pizz and slap. Both support arco at least for practice.
For anyone who hasn't done so, I'd recommend spending some serious time studying Gollihur Music's EUB website section (NFI). Lots of information about both NS Designs and Eminence EUBs.
Best of luck as you make your EUB decisions.
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Eminence basses are still being imported by Concord out of Illinois. Fantastic Musical Instruments in Pasadena, CA sells them. They have a sale currently going. Check out their website. If I have the story correct, Gollihur bought the rights to the "Eminence" name, but they are still working on getting their ducks in a row. I've purchased several things through Gollihur and have always had a good experience. I'll be checking out FMI.
I played an Eminence RN 5 for about a year on a cruise gig a while back, and A/B-ing to my NSCR5M I'd chose my NS, TBH.
They are both excellent instruments, and neither are lacking, but I've really come to like the flexibility of having both piezo and mag PUs in the NS. Also, since it is stand-mounted, I never have to look for a safe place to lie it down in between sets.
My two cents. Good luck in your journey!
They are both excellent instruments, and neither are lacking, but I've really come to like the flexibility of having both piezo and mag PUs in the NS. Also, since it is stand-mounted, I never have to look for a safe place to lie it down in between sets.
My two cents. Good luck in your journey!
Joshua, if you don’t mind me asking, how did the string spacing, scale, fingerboard, and feel differ between the two - in particular in relation to your ‘big bass’?
@JBarz : All three basses compare pretty closely in string spacing, scale, and overall neck feel (to me, that is).
The slight differences I found were:
1. My URB is a 4 string and both of the EUB were/are 5's, so both EUB's width were/are a bit wider to accommodate the extra string.
2. The NS doesn't have a neck heel so I bought one of the NS neck heel "simulators" that NS sells on their website. I actually may instead replace it with something smaller, like a thumbtack but attach it with double stick tape (after I cut off the sharp needle thingy). The NS neck heel tends to get in the way when moving into the higher position, I think something small like a tack would work.
Also, I've never had so many positive comments on the sound and, of course, look of the NS from passersby at my gigs than with any other bass. That's kinda fun (and unusual) for me!
Hope this helps!
The slight differences I found were:
1. My URB is a 4 string and both of the EUB were/are 5's, so both EUB's width were/are a bit wider to accommodate the extra string.
2. The NS doesn't have a neck heel so I bought one of the NS neck heel "simulators" that NS sells on their website. I actually may instead replace it with something smaller, like a thumbtack but attach it with double stick tape (after I cut off the sharp needle thingy). The NS neck heel tends to get in the way when moving into the higher position, I think something small like a tack would work.
Also, I've never had so many positive comments on the sound and, of course, look of the NS from passersby at my gigs than with any other bass. That's kinda fun (and unusual) for me!
Hope this helps!
