Well, I guess this isn't too new for some people, but for me this is the first time I've faced this dilemma of the string height of the action of my upright bass.
To start off, when I started playing my upright, I had no idea the action could be adjusted (the bridge adjusters were as low as they could go and the strings were still an inch off the fingerboard, I could stick my fingers under the string), so I just got used to having extremely high action, playing jazz and classical music.
Later on, my classical teacher (and other jazz teachers) commented that I should get a luther to come and lower my action, since with the action of my bass, thumb position was next to impossible.
Needless to say, I brought it to a violin shop and had it lowered. Now, my action now isn't super low (like Stanley Clarke's or NHOP), but its about medium height. But it was much lower than before as now I could play much faster (I can use two fingers now instead of just one), thumb position is much easier, and the sound is now more sustained.
Here is my dilemma though. The thing is, having played with high action before, I've gotten used to having that tension in the strings, having that punch, loud acoustic sound, and the way the E string rumbles when you pull it with all your might. Right now, I miss being able to get that punch when pulling the high action strings, yet, I enjoy being able to play with much more ease (especially in thumb position)
Any thoughts or comments?
To start off, when I started playing my upright, I had no idea the action could be adjusted (the bridge adjusters were as low as they could go and the strings were still an inch off the fingerboard, I could stick my fingers under the string), so I just got used to having extremely high action, playing jazz and classical music.
Later on, my classical teacher (and other jazz teachers) commented that I should get a luther to come and lower my action, since with the action of my bass, thumb position was next to impossible.
Needless to say, I brought it to a violin shop and had it lowered. Now, my action now isn't super low (like Stanley Clarke's or NHOP), but its about medium height. But it was much lower than before as now I could play much faster (I can use two fingers now instead of just one), thumb position is much easier, and the sound is now more sustained.
Here is my dilemma though. The thing is, having played with high action before, I've gotten used to having that tension in the strings, having that punch, loud acoustic sound, and the way the E string rumbles when you pull it with all your might. Right now, I miss being able to get that punch when pulling the high action strings, yet, I enjoy being able to play with much more ease (especially in thumb position)
Any thoughts or comments?
