Double Bass Sound Difference with CF vs. Wood?

[jayscheuerle]

I just received my first UB, an Upton Standard Laminate. It's a very solid and loud bass, though my experience level means this should be taken with a grain of salt.

The recommended strings that came with it, Spirocore S42 Lights, make it easy on my newbie fingers, and my primary desire is to play basic old-school jazz, pizz-style. Lower down on the fingerboard, the D & G strings get very bright, even buzzy if my fingering isn't solid. My instructor has lent me an inexpensive plastic bow to pull sustained notes so that I can work on my intonation, but I really need to get my own. Bowing the G-string nets an overly bright sound, which I primarily attribute to the Spiros, along with the bass not being broken in yet and the bow being as cheap as they get.

As I see my bow usage being for practice only, I'd like to keep my purchase price under $200. Fortunately, there seem to be a lot of options in this range, from eBay, Yita, String Emporium, Shen, Worldofbow.com, Upton & Gollihur, that this forum relates positive experiences from using. My question isn't really which of these is "best" as there are lots of subjective accounts, but more of an overall difference between CF and wood in this category.

For a laminate bass with bright strings like my Spiros, is there a consistent difference between CF and wood that would bring more warmth to my set-up? Would a specific hair choice help as well? Any reason, other than instructor preference, to go French or German? And for shitzngiggles (as many of the searched posts were years old), what do you recommend in the $200 range in the Spring of 2011?

Thanks! - j

 

[chubbyjackson]

I have an Upton laminate set up with Evah Pirazzi weichs- it's a nice dark sound with good definition. I use the Finale bow
($340 from SE).One advantage to a CF bow is it won't break, and this one plays really well. A CF will generally sound brighter than wood but this varies from bow to bow.I would advise getting in touch with someone who teaches both German and French and get a lesson to see which bow suits you.

 

[JtheJazzMan]

Really, your only concern should be to get a decent quality bow - a brand with a solid reputation. Otherwise you can end up with cracks in the frog, warped stick etc. So in that sense carbon can be a better choice.

As for the tone theres a myriad of factors. You have a new bass with new spiros and youre new to arco.

When your technique is less than optimal youll find more scratching and choking sounds coming from the spiros. That will improve with practice.

But the bass itself is a factor, and theres not much you can do. You can experiment with the soundpost position, or ask your luthier that you want a mellower tone. That can help to quiten the rosin scratch sound. However if your bass naturally has a pronounced response to midrange frequencies, the spiros will probably sound raw no matter what you do.

 

[JtheJazzMan]

In fact if youre looking for an "old school" pizz style, Im assuming that means darker with shortened sustain?

You may consider trying a darker set of strings - Evah Pirazzi, Belcanto, maybe Permanents etc

The arco response will be more forgiving to your technique, and whatever particular tonal characteristics your bass has.

 

[jayscheuerle]

Thanks for the info, but I'm not looking to change my basic set-up or even adjust it at this point (just got the bass and I LIKE it).

I need to buy an inexpensive (<$200 range) bow for practicing and was wondering if there were generalizations about CF vs. Wood in terms of tone, as well as generalizations about hair type in terms of tone.

Thanks! - j

 

[skittles767]

I started with wood... It was a basic bow and pretty good for my beginning years... But when my ivory broke and I needed a rehairing the shop said it would cost more than it's worth so they recomended I get a new one... I went and tried many bows that he made and ordered

I tried many wood bows from many different price ranges... And only one carbon fiber... I got stuck between a wood one and the carbon fiber.... Both sounded just about the same

The thing that won me with the carbon fiber was that it was more sturdy and easier to repair... Wood bows all will eventually have the wood warp... (wood bending to the side) this also happened with my last bow

In the end I highly recomended a carbon fiber.... It can be repaired easily and will last you the rest of your life and even if you get an even better one it is. Great backup... Many proffesionals are using them now

I love my bow now... It is perfect and I keep it well maintained... I bought it for about 500... It is an Arvid Brasil carbon fiber graphite... I highly recomended it!

Hope this helped

 

[skittles767]

Also... For hairs... The darker the hair well... The darker the sound... And vice versa... Usually cinimon hairs are a nice inbetween... Although most bows are usually just white... I would recomended the cinimon

 

[iiipopes]

Let the Spiros settle in and loose the twang. I have a set of S-42 Spiro Weichs, purchased used, on my CCB and everybody in my 9-piece jazz/dance band really likes the tone. They will settle in nicely, but it takes awhile. If after a year of moderate playing you don't like the sound of them, then you can start shopping strings. By then you'll also have developed your technique better and that will also change the tone of the Spiros and give them more "meat." And in the meantime, try out different basses strung differently to start listening for the comparisons & contrasts of tone. I think you'll grow to love the combo of Ply/Spiro Weich over time.

As for bows, I'd spend @ $200 for a good brazilwood bow from one of the boutiques. Since you purchased your bass from Upton, call them to see what they recommend.