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Double Bass Question for Edgar Meyer fans

jazzbass72

jazzbass72

Jun 26, 2003
441
126
New York, NY
#1
Hi guys,
are there any Edgar Meyer fans that have a close up pic of his fingerboard in the higher register? I seem to remember that it's longer on the G (and maybe D as well) side and cut off to a normal length for the low strings. I'd like to explore a similar option for my newly installed extra-long fingerboard (can play up to an E past the high G harmonic, or what I would call 24th fret on an electric bass).

If you have this close up pic, please share!

-Marco
 
#12
jguevin said:
mcnaire, can you tell us more about the FB--specs, cost, source, etc.? What are the "guide dots" made of, btw?
Click to expand...
As far as the FB length-it is supposed to 4 inches longer than the finger board I have on my 7/8ths Juzek (haven't seen it w/ FB on it yet). My old fingerboard that got taken off is a long one that went all the way to D just past the G harmonic 2 octaves above the G string. So I guess it will go about an octave higher. Sorry if I can't give you numbers (my bass is at my luthiers) And btw I don't know where he gets it. I think it is custom made?.
As far as the guiding dots- I wont have them on my FB so I don't have a clue what it's made out of. But, I honestly think you could youse a small round blank stickers. But, I think by looking at his bass from the pic I mite be able to tell you. It looks like where his thumb is at looks like G the dot obove the note he is fingering (C?) would then be D? The next dot is G? It looks like to me that his dots are harmonicaly based (smart idea). Hope I could be of help.
 
#13
I asked really just out of curiosity--maybe it's just me, but I think most of us would lose a little credibility with a DB with little "cheater dots". Edgar, of course, need not worry about such things, and such a customization will only elicit a reaction like "cool" or (as you say) "smart". And it is cool and smart, but on my bass the reaction would more likely be "wimp" (especially if I just stickers!).

Thanks for the info. I have about 5 more years of TP playing before this kind of thing is worth it for me.
 
#15
Damon Rondeau said:
You can really see it in that second pic: he wins the prize for narrowest ribs and highest end pin. There can't be much pin left inside the bass.

I saw him play that thing four years ago and it didn't look that small....
Click to expand...

It's always looked like an average 3/4 size bass not small to me either, just lighter in color and a little more worn compared to the other basses hauled in by students seeking his advice in masterclasses .

Edgar Meyer isn't a small guy either.

Why he has it so high I don't really know, myself. I've seen him have to stand on his tiptoes to reach the end of that fingerboard and squeal with the best, and his lack of interest in endorsing some narrowly defined standing-while-playing vision tells me his own reasons for playing that way (if he thinks about it at all) don't point exclusively to, say, ergonomics as Rabbath and Karr intend. We got to see Edgar "shred" a little while playing a bass with an angled endpin, trying to chase the back of the bass with his knee still...and he was still amazing.

Anyway, I thought that extension at the bottom was added on later and not originally part of the fingerboard.
 
#16
jguevin said:
I asked really just out of curiosity--maybe it's just me, but I think most of us would lose a little credibility with a DB with little "cheater dots". Edgar, of course, need not worry about such things, and such a customization will only elicit a reaction like "cool" or (as you say) "smart". And it is cool and smart, but on my bass the reaction would more likely be "wimp" (especially if I just stickers!).

Thanks for the info. I have about 5 more years of TP playing before this kind of thing is worth it for me.
Click to expand...
Yea I know I would be called the same thing if I had dots on my bass.

Another bassist in my section thought Edgars bass was a 1/2 size when he came a few months ago(LOL). I thought it was small to untill one day I laid my bass down (my 3/4 ply)and walked a little distance away and turned around and looked at it. I was like "WOW that realy looks small from here" (it was only like 30 60 feet).

Just looking at the first pic has anyone else noticed a mic by the right F hole on Edgars bass?
 
#17
jguevin said:
I asked really just out of curiosity--maybe it's just me, but I think most of us would lose a little credibility with a DB with little "cheater dots". Edgar, of course, need not worry about such things, and such a customization will only elicit a reaction like "cool" or (as you say) "smart". And it is cool and smart, but on my bass the reaction would more likely be "wimp" (especially if I just stickers!).

Thanks for the info. I have about 5 more years of TP playing before this kind of thing is worth it for me.
Click to expand...
Edgar says the dots eliminate bad nights. If thats your thing I wouldnt worry about "credibility" among the crowd of bass players.
 
#18
Jake said:
I believe the dots on Edgar's bass are inlaid boxwood or a similar kind of wood. Would the dots cause a loss of credibility? WHO FRICKIN CARES! If you miss less shifts because of them, why not?
Click to expand...
For me though coming close to my college audition time dots would realy make me look bad. (well, except for when I audition at Curtis since Edgar teaches there) (Don't expect to make it but i'll try. crazier things have happend right? lol)
 
#19
As far as dots go, some players use a single-hole punch tool and black electrician's tape. It makes a nice black dot that only you can see. Placed between the D and G strings, it works quite nicely, and keeps the bad nights bearable. Also, if you want to re-sell the bass, they peel right off.
 

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