Double Bass Question from an Upright Newbie

[lvbass]

I am in an oldies band and have taken up upright for some of the rockabilly material we do. Its going much better than expected, but I do have a couple of questions.
1. The E string seems very loose and there is almost no tone. During a song it seems I am playing way too hard and it gets sloppy. I am using weedwhacker strings. Is it the type of string, the set up,or something else that I should be looking at to correct.

2. All the strings go out of tune, sometimes a whole tone during storage and travel. I have been using the bass for about a month and thought they would be stretched by now. Is this a problem with the tuners? I am getting worried about the tension on the neck and bridge.

3. So far feedback has not been an issue on gigs. One I played through my own amp, a GK Backline 600 through a 4x12, and the other through the PA through a Fishman preamp. (Also used the Fishman on the first gig through the band's PA, second was a house PA)My question is, I have not turned up volume too high in either set up because I was afraid of feedback. I need more stage volume both to hear myself and to drive the band. What's the best method of packing the holes? Or any other suggestions.

Just for general info, it is a plywood bass, painted, from FMI. It is definitely not a classical instrument nor do I need it to be for my purpose (could not afford one anyway...LOL)

Any advice would be appreciated. BTW I have been playing semi-pro for about 30 years on BG.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

1. That's life with whackers. LaBella Supernils might work better without being too expensive.

2. Hard to say without seeing the bass. The whackers could still be stretching, or the tailgut could be stretching.

3. Taping over the ff-holes is a waste of time. EQ may cure the problem, or you could jam a tennis ball between the tailpiece and the top.

 

[lvbass]

1. That's life with whackers. LaBella Supernils might work better without being too expensive.

2. Hard to say without seeing the bass. The whackers could still be stretching, or the tailgut could be stretching.

3. Taping over the ff-holes is a waste of time. EQ may cure the problem, or you could jam a tennis ball between the tailpiece and the top.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try the tennis ball if I have a problem, so far so good.

 

[Remyd]

I say strings.

Whacker strings have been inconsistent for me. Out of tune with travel, bad tone, floppy lows, etc are par for the course. D'a makes a couple sets that are cheap-ish.

 

[Sam Dingle]

You might consider Innovation strings. I'm using the Super Silvers right now and they sound really good. I've heard somewhere (?) that they are similar to weedwacker strings.

 

[FatBoutedGirls]

I started on that exact same setup, FMI bass with weedwhackers. New strings, either an Innovation product (I got Silver Slaps) or LaBella Supernils (cheapest) are good synthetic strings that will fix that E problem you have, or Blast Cult Low Lifes if you want to try low tension steels (my favorites).

I never had feedback problems when using a good preamp, the bass was so dead to begin with. The guy who used it before me didn't use a preamp and tried to tape the f-holes to control feedback but had no luck. Tennis ball is a good suggestion, also put one on the endpin to decouple from the stage. Just turn up, you might be surprised by how loud you can get without issues.

 

[lvbass]

I started on that exact same setup, FMI bass with weedwhackers. New strings, either an Innovation product (I got Silver Slaps) or LaBella Supernils (cheapest) are good synthetic strings that will fix that E problem you have, or Blast Cult Low Lifes if you want to try low tension steels (my favorites).

I never had feedback problems when using a good preamp, the bass was so dead to begin with. The guy who used it before me didn't use a preamp and tried to tape the f-holes to control feedback but had no luck. Tennis ball is a good suggestion, also put one on the endpin to decouple from the stage. Just turn up, you might be surprised by how loud you can get without issues.

Thanks I will look into some other strings. I pretty much thought that was the problem although I did see a video on You Tube of some weedwhackers that sounded pretty good but he said that he had the action adjusted a little higher. Maybe that would be something to explore before making the investment into new strings

 

[FatBoutedGirls]

I played with the action nonstop, tried a few different whacker strings, nothing fixed that E until I put out more than $30 for new strings.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Some basses are weak itself on the E string (or the notes below the A). I played a lot of cheaper asian basses (plywood, carved top, completely carved) in a shop and almost all of them have a weakness down the A, even the larger 4/4 basses (with only one exception out of about 10 basses). But this is for purely acoustic volume, a pickup might get more bass than what is radiated by the top of the instrument.
So you might even want to try an E string with a higher tension and hope that it will bring a bit more bass out of your instrument.
On the other hand the completely synthetic strings are weak on the low strings unless they are spun with metal.
You might want to try Innovation Silver Slaps with a Super Silver E or Super Silvers with an Ultra Black E.

It could also be your pickup type and placement or you might need to use a impedance buffer/preamp.

Innovation strings hold the tension rather well and quickly for a synthetic core string. They are also not as stiff as whackers and have a good sustain. It should be stable after a few days and almost stable after a day.