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Double Bass Romanian Bass Directly From The Source?

#41
Congratulations for the new kid in the block. The strings are the Orchestral of D' Addario, with almost zero pizz sound. If your purpose is jazz playing you have to sell them ASAP and try the Spiros mittel, which seem to be the default strings for this particular instrument.
Having strung it with Spiros i recommend a 5-6 mm clearance in G and increasing by 1 mm for D, 1 mm more for A and 1-2 mm for E you can have a decent, user friendly string height. If you are not experienced you have to find the best luthier available, in order to have the best set up.
Now you have a beautiful, resonant instrument in your arsenal. Enjoy it and try to build strength, good calousses and master a proper technique.
Wellcome to the dark side!!!
Mike
 
#42
Thanks for the info Mikman.
I thought the zero pizz sound was just me! I'll get a set of Spiros on it ASAP and report back. I'll do that at the same time I get the adjustable bridge sorted out. More money!
Thanks again for the tip on the strings - they do sound awfully dead sounding with not much ring or growl.
When I've changed them over, if anybody wants to pay the postage on the current ones they're welcome to them FOC as I won't be using a bow (I know, don't tell me off! I just won't, I know)
Mikman should have first refusal I suppose. Just let me know when I've changed them.
Thanks again for all the advice everyone.
Mark
 
#43
dj5 said:
Perhaps I SHOULD have bought that Precision I was looking at - I'd be able to play it now!
Click to expand...

NO no no! I have a precision I used allot when I was younger. It is strung with LaBella Deep Talkin' strings and sounds awesome, but comes nowhere close to db. I don't play it nearly as much as I did when I was younger because it tires my left hand considerably. My db however does not tire me in the same way. It is a different instrument which uses different muscles so just work up to it slowly and you will never regret passing on the precision. Just my 0.02.

+1 on the spiro mittels, I just switched to them and I LOVE them!
 
#44
MIKMAN said:
...i recommend a 5-6 mm clearance in G and increasing by 1 mm for D, 1 mm more for A and 1-2 mm for E you can have a decent, user friendly string height.
Click to expand...

That puts the G at around 6 and the E at around 10. Once again, Mike and I are in tune. :)

dj-- take a look here again. ;) Just trying to help you avoid injury.
 
#45
drurb said:
That puts the G at around 6 and the E at around 10. Once again, Mike and I are in tune. :)

dj-- take a look here again. ;) Just trying to help you avoid injury.
Click to expand...


Les we are indeed in tune because i learned from your experience, since you have significantly more manhours in double bass. Your suggestions have been always on the spot. I wish some of our members could understand it better...
Mike
 
#46
Spent some time cutting the bridge down to 6mm-10mm.
Much better, although 5 mins IS enough at a time.
Thomann's idea of setting it up for jazz was to shave a bit off the G, leaving the D higher than the A, and not adjusting the thickness of the bridge at the grooves so that the G was about 3/16ths compared to the E's 1/8th. Must have taken all of 5 mins. Never mind, it's all graduated upwards nicely now, although it still feels a BIT high compared to the 1.5mm-3.5mm height on my EB six string. I cut the grooves so that they're approx 1/3rd string diameter, instead of the 100% they were at.
I've got the Spiro's on order - I hope they've got a bit more growl/volume to them than the D'Addario's, which I'm finding dull and thumpy, unless I pull REALLY hard, in which case they're a bit louder, dull, and thumpy. Did get a tiny bit of mwah out of the G, so perhaps things will look up with one day.
Thanks again for all the advice, and I will see a teacher when I can find one - it's just a bit embarassing to have to admit I played fretless EB for so long and I can't even find my way round the neck on this beast!
I'll get there in the end. I picked up my EB 5 today and it seemed like a precision surgical instrument which plays itself. God knows how people double.
All the best
 
#47
dj5 said:
...it's just a bit embarassing to have to admit I played fretless EB for so long and I can't even find my way round the neck on this beast!
I'll get there in the end. I picked up my EB 5 today and it seemed like a precision surgical instrument which plays itself. God knows how people double.
All the best
Click to expand...

Please don't be embarrassed at all. You are confirming what's been said here so many times. That is, that the DB and EB are related, but very different, instruments. Each requires a different approach and set of techniques to be played well. I really admire people who can double. In my case, it's because I have no respectable chops at all on an EB and don't have the knowledge or skills to play EB well.

When I play an EB, it's obvious that I'm a DB player who turned a small version of his instrument 90 degrees. Likewise, many DB players can spot a converted EB player. Often, they just tinkle the strings and don't pull a big acoustic sound out. That's where a teacher can be so helpful.

Please let us know about your progress. Players are here to help. Again, welcome to the dark side. :)
 
#48
Will do.
I'm looking forward to the new strings, and I'll post some pics when i work out how best to do it.
All the best
Mark
PS My nephew was a professional orchestral bass player for a good while (he gave it up because it was so back-stabbing (his words)) and he recently had a go on my EB. "What's wrong with this thing, it just buzzes like crazy?" He could NOT play it! - his fingers were just too heavy/strong. So that's some consolation then!
 
#49
Mark we all have been in your situation. Progress is built step by step in DB world, but after each step forward the satisfaction you feel is the best reward.
BTW some pictures of your double bass would be more than wellcome. Please try some shots without the flashlight, in order to allow us to watch the colour of the top and also some close ups in order to discern the grain of the spruce.
Mike
 
#51
Yes, that's the word that escaped me for some reason.
I've taken the notches in the nut down a bit to compensate for the unexpected upwards curve in the fingerboard in the last 1.5" before the nut. In other words, if the nut allows a, say, business card thickness between the strings and the board, the upwards curve I mentioned makes the string height pretty high by first position, so I've got the space down to a lot less than that, with no buzzing because of the inbuilt curve.
I'm still waiting on the new strings, and nursing the blister I now have on my index finger, the position of which shows that I'm still favouring the tip rather than the meat of the finger as I thought I was.
The good news is that every time I go back to it and play(?) it for a few minutes, the task of actually being able to do something with it seems a bit less daunting!
 
#52
I've put some pics on Flickr, but I don't know how to post a link to them on here. If you look up laklanddj5's account, they're the only ones on there.
Perhaps one day I'll learn how to use a computer.
I used to program in DOS you know!
I'm not old.
 
#55
That's the way it came I'm afraid.
They've varnished over a few places where a little sanding would have made all the difference, but I'm trying not to be obsessive about it. After all, it only cost what I paid for my Lakland, and there must be twice as much work in building an upright than there is in an EB, although very different work of course.
I treat my EBs like babies, and I'm determined not to do that with the upright. I don't think it will be possible anyway - I've already banged it on the wall and the light fitting twice - they are BIG aren't they? I see how they get their patina now!
 
#56
Mark the bass is as expected, robust and beautiful , with a medium grain in the spruce top. Some minor varnishing defects are relics from the communist era of the Luby factory and they could be addressed easily. You can definitely fix them and consider it as a part of the learning process. Enjoy it!!!
Mike
 
#57
They don't worry me at all.
I think this is a fantastic instrument for the money and I thank you again for steering me in it's direction.
I just can't wait to get those Spiros on it - I'm having trouble getting much of a sound out of the D'Addarios. You don't know if they're the heavy ones do you? I'm hoping the Spiros aren't quite so hard to pull. Perhaps I should have got the Weich's, although I've read that some people find the G a bit thin.
I used Thomastik jazz Flats for years on my EB's, and they were really low tension, which suited me down to the ground. I've always found that strings change the feel and sound of an instrument more than anything else, and I'm hoping for a lucky hit from the Spiro's.
 
#58
Just a final note - received the Spiro's today and put them on. I must admit that when I phoned the supplier to see what had happened to my order and discovered that it hadn't gone out yet, I changed it to the weich set - I know, I'm a chicken.
They feel much nicer than the D'Addario's to me, and sound vastly better - more like I'd hoped the bass would sound, with a bit of growl.
As I said before, if anyone wants the D'Addario's free of charge (you pay the postage), just send me a PM. I think Mikman should have first dibs as he put me straight on the bass, but if he doesn't want them, then give me a shout.
I can't say how helpful everyone has been, and I really appreciate it (quite a contrast with the EB forum IMO).
Now to several years of learning to play the thing! It sounds so quiet compared to my normal practice volume on the EB, but perhaps that's because it's new.
My wife is very grateful.
Cheers
Mark
 
#59
Hi Mark and thanks for the offer. I do accept them since i use these strings in one of my basses for orchestral work. Please send me via a PM your Paypal account or a Bank account and the money i have to send you. I'll give you in a PM my address and all the necessary details. Again thank you from all my heart!
As for the bass it sings perfectly either with the mittel or with the weich. As a final touch i'd suggest you to tweak a bit with the soundpost. Given that the Strunal (or the Thomann) guys made a set up with orchestral strings it might need some soundpost tweaking in order to find the best spot for the Spiros. In my own Strunal i changed the soundpost position by moving it towards the tailpiece a bit. The pizz sound became darker with more fundamentals. Your luthier will find the proper spot rather easily and,believe me, is a major improvement.
Mike
 
#60
Hi Mike
If you pm me your address I'll post them off to you, and I'll let you know how much the postage was. I know I would never use those strings again, and although I'm sure they are good for the bow that's something I'll never find out!
I'll try the soundpost thing, little by little, and see what results I get. The tone at the moment sounds quite dark, which I wasn't expecting from new strings, but I expect that's because I'm used to my super zingy EB's. I find I really have to pull those strings to get any volume out of the bass, but there again I don't know how loud an upright sounds when you're playing it. I'll have to get someone else to play it and see how it sounds!
All the best,
Mark
 

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