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Double Bass Play loudly and buzz? Or play more softly and amplify?

#21
steve_n_his_urb said:
yeah, it's amazing what needs doing when it is time to practice...

I think that coat hanger bow may need some tweaking.

p.s. jealous about the 19 weeks to go.
Click to expand...

Yes, up until now, whenever I try to seriously practice I get sidetracked by improvements my instrument needs and start thinking about them instead of just practicing.

I actually have a real bow that a bassist-friend gave me, but I can really only use it on the E string (or F string) for that last ballad note. The coat hanger pretty much captures the spirit of this whole "upright guitarrón" project. :-)

Yep, I remember a year and a half ago when a friend had exactly 19 weeks left to retirement, and I was jealous, too. Looking back, that time seems to have gone by fast. But, looking forward, it's terrible how slo-o-owly the time still remaining seems to go.
 
#22
Well, the great upright guitarrón project is finally done.

The K&K pickup was satisfactorily installed, and I've been playing around with the EQ on the preamp and combo listening for the best sound.

I'm finding that this is hard to do by myself. I have to sit away from and off to the side of the speaker to avoid the booming of feedback, and then I have trouble telling what's coming from the speaker and what's coming from the sound hole. The amplified sound seems so natural, I can't even hear it separately until its really turned up.

[Edit: Another TBer has suggested using headphones to dial in the EQs. Don't know why I didn't think of that, but I didn't. Be trying that tonight.]

Oh, well. My luthier and his wife are giving a party next week. He's asked me to bring it. I told him I would if he would play it instead of me, since I have no chops. So, maybe then I'll finally get to hear what it sounds like amplified.

I want to thank all you guys for your suggestions here on TB. I see from my original post that I was in a quandary as to whether I was going to get the instrument playing well even just unamplified. Now, only five weeks later, the problems have all been solved. Is TB a great resource or what? [And it continues! See "Edit," above.]
 

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