These two sound very different from each other. But close enough for rock n roll. The Fender is a lot easier to transport.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Strings to sound like a double bass?
- Thread starter Just Wrong
- Start date
The recording in post #6 is not very convincing whatsoever...
Here is the best I have heard:
Videos — Rob Allen
Here is the best I have heard:
Videos — Rob Allen
i'm in the minority with this but..
jazz bass bridge pickup, roundwound strings, plucking over the fingerboard.
fretless definitely adds but i do this on fretted basses all the time.
jazz bass bridge pickup, roundwound strings, plucking over the fingerboard.
fretless definitely adds but i do this on fretted basses all the time.
Thanks! I think it sounds a lot closer than, say, a fretted Rickenbacker with stainless steel roundwounds.
But I did eventually sell the fretless Fender and buy a Rob Allen MB-2.
EDIT: .... or even closer than stainless steel roundwounds on the same bass. Here's the same fretless Fender with Rotosound 66:
Would the tapewound strings "convince" someone that the Fender is actually an upright double bass? Well, it might convince some people, but it wouldn't convince anyone reasonably proficient in bass tones. Even so, if all you have is a Fender bass, and you want to sound like a double bass, I think the tapewound strings get you closer than using roundwound strings. And maybe it's not so much about duplicating the tone of the double bass as it is, making the electric Fender better fit in the musical context where you desire a double bass.
But again ... yeah, the Rob Allens are much better than the Fenders if this is the sort of thing you're going for. And just exquisite instruments in general.
Last edited:
Just Play with the attitude of a.an upright player, higher action and flats .Fretless will help but not required unless your pieces need the slides but even so. It only may bother if you solo. The hardest to emulate is the xlicity tack of rockabilly but many jazz guys can't even come close. Those guys amaze me
- Apr 6, 2007
- 778
- 550
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fishman Transducers, Aguilar Amplifiers, Ear Trumpet Labs
Double basses all sound different, but if you’re after a dark and thumpy sound; this past weekend I did a short run of shows that the whole band flew for. I usually double on this gig but in order to keep things easy and to travel light I did everything with the p bass for these shows. I got close enough by palm muting and playing with my thumb. For the few tunes that required more than I could do with my thumb I used a Nordymute. It wasn’t perfect but it was close enough for these shows.
If you’re talking about tracking, a carefully mic’ed cab might give you acceptable results, but I’ve never tried it.
I was hoping to get in the ball park of this tone with my Fender bass (either a P or a J). I know I can’t possibly exactly get there, but good enough is good enough for me.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Meh - higher action, flats, and attitude aren't the sole ingredients, and you will not fool anyone by attempting an 'upright sound' on a fretted axe. I've played double bass and electric for my entire musical life, and the techniques don't really transfer between the two at all - the full body is involved in tone production on double bass - not so much on electric. And, high string height isn't always the answer to tone on double bass... it depends on the bass. But that's a topic for another thread, in the Double Bass forum. You can get a surprisingly big sound out of a double bass with far lower string height than most imagine. A lot depends on string choice there as well. So many variables.... so many different kinds of 'upright bass sound'. All of this being said, on electric you can get close to emulating that 60s/70s pickup-heavy double bass sound pretty well... because you aren't really hearing the bass itself in a lot of those instances. Think Nils Henning Orsted Pedersen, Eddie Gomez, and even Ron Carter.
Thank You.
Because the ONLY thing that will ever sound like a Double Bass "is" a Double Bass.
In fairness, in a live amplified setting, it is difficult enough getting a double bass to sound like a double bass.
Very True.
Only a DB sounds like a DB, but unless someone actually has experience playing one, your comment may not be understood.
Nice looking rig! I'm going out on a limb and assuming that holster on the front of your DB is to hold the bow?
My initial thought was "Nice rifle holster!"
- Apr 6, 2007
- 778
- 550
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fishman Transducers, Aguilar Amplifiers, Ear Trumpet Labs
NIce! Great frame of reference. Start with flats that you like. A foam mute, EQ pedal and a tiny bit of drive might get you close enough to this sound.
I agree. When I tried adding an amplifier for the first time after playing in an orchestral situation, I used a Fishman pre-amp and clip-on piezo pickups. I was disappointed in the result, because suddenly the wonderful timbre of that hollow wooden body was lost. My DB sounded more like a bass guitar . I took the stuff off and never used it again.
I've spent a lot of time and effort trying to get a double bass sound out of an electric bass. I've played with numerous Helix settings and adding IRs, using a fretless, changing strings, and using playing style changes to try to make it sound like a double bass.
The closest I've gotten it to sound like one is splitting a signal, running one half through a double bass IR, and using a setting that adds a little reverb/chorus and changes the pitch randomly by a couple of cents.
All that said, the best way to get a bass to sound like a double bass is to use a double bass.
The closest I've gotten it to sound like one is splitting a signal, running one half through a double bass IR, and using a setting that adds a little reverb/chorus and changes the pitch randomly by a couple of cents.
All that said, the best way to get a bass to sound like a double bass is to use a double bass.
The closest I've ever gotten was Chromes on piezo with a foam mute and playing over the finger board.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Yeah, the Fishman pre doesn't give enough tonal control. To really REALLY contour the problem areas of any piezo pickup properly, you need something with multiple low-cut options, sweepable mids, and impedance matching. I've settled on the Radial ToneBone PZ Deluxe. I tried a Fishman pre with a Realist one time and it just did not work. Then you have the amp's EQ to deal with and the room itself. Amplified DB is a whole other world of compromise. Took me decades to settle on something that is workable and pleasant to my ears/concept.
yeah I agree with this.
I was able to get some of the most upright like tones out of a German Hofner violin bass with flats. More than trying Tacomas, a fretless Rick Turner, and multiple solids.
