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Rondo Douglas Violin Bass
- Thread starter TheSuzie
- Start date
I second the little G-tar amp as an option, only don't turn em up too loud....I killed a speaker on one last winter......
Tslicebass
Commercial User
Bump
anybody else got one of these and would care to share their opinions.
I was hoping to get a violin bass sort of as a novelty/for those "vintage tone" recording sessions.
This one seems to be the best bet for the price. Are the electronics noisy???????
anybody else got one of these and would care to share their opinions.
I was hoping to get a violin bass sort of as a novelty/for those "vintage tone" recording sessions.
This one seems to be the best bet for the price. Are the electronics noisy???????
I bought a Douglas violin bass back in Jan. and I was amazed at how well it was put together. Bass Player reviewed a Johnson bass a couple of years ago that sold for ~$300.00 and except for the headstock it is identical to the Douglas. I was also interested in the idea of a violin bass but didn't want to spend a lot so I couldn't resist the Douglas when I saw it for $139.00 (price has gone up a few $).
The only things I did to it were put on a set of 40-year-old nylon tapewound strings, tweak the trussrod a hair, add a second strap button on the side of the body, and lower the neck pickup quite a bit. The electronics aren't especially noisy, the pickups seem to be very hot, and there is an interaction between the volume controls that takes a little experimentation. Both volumes full-on is not the loudest output - backing off the bridge pickup to ~7 increases the overall output.
The bass is really light - under 7 lbs. Balance is horrible - with the strap button on the back of the neck it falls forward, and with the button on the side it just neck dives. I always play it sitting, but I found that a Slider Strap works pretty well also.
I use it mainly in a big band setting where the big punchy sound fits in very well.
Rick B.
Does anyone else have some sound clips of this thing? I almost bought one the other day, and the only thing that stopped me was that they were out of the hard shell case that goes with it. I'm really curious how it sounds.
How bad does this thing neck dive? If there's a big problem with this, is there any way to get around it?
Can't imagine it is THAT much different than my Epiu Viola... the bodies are the same... I use a simple Levis strap with the sued-y feel. No probs here, and I play standing all the time...
that may certainly be true. it may also be the thing that these have going for them 
i almost ordered one, but saw a similar brownsville copy at samash and liked the stripe maple figuring on it. i played it next to a cheap hofner and a more expensive hofner (but not really the $1k+ hofners). I liked this bass much better - more life and variety.
other than headstock shape it seems identical to the douglas bass, controls and all.
i am in love with it. it's my only bass now, but years ago i had a yamaha rbx (p-bass), a fretted and a fretless MIM Fender Jazz basses, a 1973 fretless gibson ripper, etc. they were all good (yamaha was best) but i was never really in love. this is my favorite bass right now. the short scale is important to me, though.
i almost ordered one, but saw a similar brownsville copy at samash and liked the stripe maple figuring on it. i played it next to a cheap hofner and a more expensive hofner (but not really the $1k+ hofners). I liked this bass much better - more life and variety.
other than headstock shape it seems identical to the douglas bass, controls and all.
i am in love with it. it's my only bass now, but years ago i had a yamaha rbx (p-bass), a fretted and a fretless MIM Fender Jazz basses, a 1973 fretless gibson ripper, etc. they were all good (yamaha was best) but i was never really in love. this is my favorite bass right now. the short scale is important to me, though.
Anyone interested in posting sound clips of this bass?
We had some a long time ago, but they seem to not exist any more.
I have a renewed interest in this bass, and I'd love to hear some clips.
We had some a long time ago, but they seem to not exist any more.
I have a renewed interest in this bass, and I'd love to hear some clips.
Can anyone comment on the intonation of these basses?
I'm a bit fussy about that. Is there any reason why I wouldn't be able to get this bass to intonate properly up and down the neck?
Anyone know what's under the plate under the knobs?
I always thought those plates looked awful. Anyone know
if I can safely remove the plate? [What's underneath - the finish, or a sloppy cavity?]
I'm a bit fussy about that. Is there any reason why I wouldn't be able to get this bass to intonate properly up and down the neck?
Anyone know what's under the plate under the knobs?
I always thought those plates looked awful. Anyone know
if I can safely remove the plate? [What's underneath - the finish, or a sloppy cavity?]
Underneath the plate you've got a sloppy cavity.
Here's a pic that shows the bridge:
You set the intonation by sliding and angling the bridge. If there was a major discrepancy between strings, you could move one of the saddles; they each sit in their own slot across the top of the bridge, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't pull one out and put it into the adjacent slot.
Violin basses mate 16th century instrument technology with 20th century electronics. As the Brits say, it's a bit "fiddly."
My G string is about 2 cents sharp at the 12th fret right now. Sometime when I get around to it I'll try loosening the strings and sliding that end of the bridge back just a tiny bit. The rest of the strings are right on.
Rondo just got in some black ones. From the pics they look really cool.
By the way, earlier in this old thread I asked if light gauge medium-scale D'Addario Chrome flats would fit on this bass. They fit perfectly.
John
Here's a pic that shows the bridge:
You set the intonation by sliding and angling the bridge. If there was a major discrepancy between strings, you could move one of the saddles; they each sit in their own slot across the top of the bridge, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't pull one out and put it into the adjacent slot.
Violin basses mate 16th century instrument technology with 20th century electronics. As the Brits say, it's a bit "fiddly."
My G string is about 2 cents sharp at the 12th fret right now. Sometime when I get around to it I'll try loosening the strings and sliding that end of the bridge back just a tiny bit. The rest of the strings are right on.
Rondo just got in some black ones. From the pics they look really cool.
By the way, earlier in this old thread I asked if light gauge medium-scale D'Addario Chrome flats would fit on this bass. They fit perfectly.
John
I have the Jay Turser variation on the viola bass. By eye? It looks like the Chinees factory that does them is hammering out similar but different versions of the same theme. I like mine alot. I used it to do a session with a Cowboy band, and it nailed the sound. I would advise changing the strings. I have D'addario short scales i place of the original rounds, big difference. It can be played around the house as long as there is nothing louder than your TV playing. And as far as neck dive? The whole thing weighs 5 lbs! Man up ya weenies!
Thanks very much for the info.
This concerns me a great deal. Sounds like grief to get it spot on.
I wish someone would do a violin bass - at a Rondo price
- with a modern bridge, even if it means sacrificing the design a bit by placing a wood block under the bridge area so that a modern metal bridge could be mounted.
The Rondo Douglas violin bass, like the Epiphone Viola it "copies," already has a center block under the bridge. I don't think that it is big or strong enough for a modern bridge, however.
On a guitar, I would be unhappy with a string that was two cents sharp, but on a bass I rarely play that high on the G string. If you were doing a lot of soloing, you probably wouldn't want to do it on this bass anyway.
And I know I can make it a little better.
Anyway, you can get it close, but not perfect. That's true for Tele players with three-barrel bridges too, yet many prefer those to the modern bridge. And even if you get it perfect, play a while, get some gunk on the strings, and the intonation drifts anyway. We live in an imperfect world.
John
On a guitar, I would be unhappy with a string that was two cents sharp, but on a bass I rarely play that high on the G string. If you were doing a lot of soloing, you probably wouldn't want to do it on this bass anyway.
And I know I can make it a little better.
Anyway, you can get it close, but not perfect. That's true for Tele players with three-barrel bridges too, yet many prefer those to the modern bridge. And even if you get it perfect, play a while, get some gunk on the strings, and the intonation drifts anyway. We live in an imperfect world.
John
I got a red Douglas Beatle bass a few days ago, and am amazed at the level of quality for the price. I ordered D'Addario Chrome flats for it just now on your recommendation.
UPDATE: Got the strings, and they fit and sound great. VERY pleased.
UPDATE: Got the strings, and they fit and sound great. VERY pleased.
Borrowed this very cool Beatle Bass for my gig last night. We play reggae and funk... for the get down and dirty reggae stuff - dubwise bigtime low end thumping - this beatle bass was HUGE. Playing through an older Trace Elliot System - 4x10 cab. The short scale neck lends itself to playing up the neck, finding all these Paul-ish licks.... need to work on the the E string... kind of disappears compared to the rest of the string dynamics... that also kept me up the neck a bit more than I'm used to playing... normally play a Fender Jazz 5-string, but I'm diggin the Douglas Beatle bass, being gifted to me by a former student who is getting the real deal Hofner - lefty, no less! Watch for Hayley Walton - could be the next young bass sensation...!! Nice to be with ya'll... keep on thumpin'
Kim
Kim
