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Double Bass Play high or play low?

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DILYSI Dave

Jan 26, 2013
42
1
#1
Do you tend to go to the high side of the bass or the low side? Why?

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that I could damn near cut the G string off the bass and be unaffected. If I'm playing a G, 90%+ of the time, it's on the E string. A's are almost always open A string. Etc. Then I got to wondering if this was good, bad, preference, or what. I think the reason I default to the low notes is that I just get off on low sounds. My electric is a 5 string, and even then I will go low if I have a chance. On the other hand, I met a player with a 5 string upright at a jam and she had it strung with a high C string. She rarely went to the low side of the instrument.

Where are the rest of you guys on this?
 
#2
I would say it depends on the exact situation/feel in the moment.

Within the same song playing for example a repeating chorus I may play it both ways. Going low isn't always an option. The WL seems to like it better when the PA isn't getting overwhelmed.

Now if I could just get the scratch together for a Greenboy Dually......
 
#3
To me it all comes down to context. The busier the mix the more conscious about each other's frequencies you should be. Many rock guitar players won't leave much room to step out of the lowest octave, however with a bass-heavy keyboard player it's a whole different story.
This has to be worked on hand in hand with everyone's EQ. Right now I'm playing in a 6-piece prog-ambient rock band and the sound tweaking involved is mind-bogling (but necessary). Before that I'd always just plug in and play.
 
#4
there are two bassists in my band, sometimes three for the noise stuff, i have to be kind of conscious of what's going on so i could be playing really high at times, even playing the open strings between the nut and the tuner to make sonar blips
 
#9
I like Bluegrass and have for a long time. My upright playing was all about jazz and standards though...

One day I got a call from an acquaintance that needed a bassist for a band he was putting together for the Y2K Union Grove "World Championship Fiddlers, Old Time, and Bluegrass Competition". He was a fine player and had recruited some folks I knew to be really good players, so I accepted with some reservation.

My wife told me "just play like Mike Bubb and Viktor Krauss". They were known at the time for approaching traditional Bluegrass by staying low, keeping it simple, and subbing a lot of repetitive tonic in place of the endless one/five.

Not that I had much to do with it, but we won first place for Bluegrass Band for the whole shebang. We split the money, but the band gave me the hallowed Purple Ribbon because it was my first-ever competition. (My last competition too, so I suppose I "retired at the top..." ;) )

I guess my wife gave me good advice, or at least I didn't screw it up.
 
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#10
If Im walking I try to keep moving around so I don't get stuck in one area. Obviously it's dictated by the note choice, but I like to push myself to explore different options and shifting to a new area an help.
I also think its hard to play smoothly from thumb position to low without jumping back down straight to half position from the g harmonic.
 
#12
(OK, Not DB and not Bluegrass but still) Relevant or not for your playing I don't know, but as an example I may play one octave higher during a jazzy keyboard solo for a different lighter overall sound, and then switch back to a lower octave when a distorted guitar take over and solos ... just for contrast, as a musical effect. Some songs/keys may be played an octave higher because it's played on a four string bass, with my five strings I can choose that or go an ocatve lower, and it will affect how the overall mix sounds.

I guess what I'm trying to say is "whatever serves the music". :)
 
#17
My take: The fat strings on a bass are there for a reason. Sure, I mix up my bass lines with second and third position octaves/fifths/tonics etc for interest, but if you stay on upper end you are in the same sonic range as the guitar which will make your mix sound very thin on the low end.

In addition, unless I need to play in bflat/eflat/f keys (sure wish someone would invent a capo that actually works on an upright), I almost always stay in the first position and play open strings as much as possible to save my hands!

Actually, my take on this subject is the same for blues, not so much for rock and pop.
 
#18
Say I'm playing Cherokee Shuffle In A.
I'll switch from the higher A on the G string and the open A to highlight a new chorus .
For example , I'll stick to the lower range at the end of a solo then switch to the higher for the begging of the next solo.

Btw
I thought this thread was about the high or low string setting .
 
#19
I play open strings whenever possible. If a song is in the key of G, I play open G and D and C on the third fret of the A string. And if there's the minor, Em second fret in the D string.

I feel that the "longer" you keep the string, the better it sounds. I always go with open strings and never go over where the fifth fret would be in standard bluegrass songs.
 

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