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Double Bass The Chadwick Folding Bass
- Thread starter Bobby King
- Start date
Thats a pretty amazing price for the quality, if accurate!
Skycap man at Boston/Logan; "What is that?"
Me; "it's a chello"
Him; "you have to take it inside"
Me; "it is under 50 pounds and I will give you $10"
Him: "OK"
Me; "it's a chello"
Him; "you have to take it inside"
Me; "it is under 50 pounds and I will give you $10"
Him: "OK"
So, while there may be no such thing as "free jazz", there are, (apparently), denominations of "cheap jazz".
I'm confident you'd offer a 50 cent piece, seriously... No one's cheaper than Kasper!
Well, you have been following the New Standards thread, right?
$20s are for the ones who just do it!
I put it through the paces on this trip. It is opening up nicely. I did two acoustic sets and two amped up. Here is an amp set in Dallas with Stefan Gonzalez on drums and Tom Carter on guitar:
Yes, hybrid, spiro solos at orchestra pitch. The arco is clean and projects really well. I am fine with it, but happy to get back to my bass at home. I never feel like anything is missing.
I saw the Jim Hurst Trio last Saturday with Eric Alvar on bass. He was playing a carved top Chadwick that sounded really good...I was impressed with the bass and the bassist!
I just did a more extensive tour and a festival with the Chadwick. It has opened up a lot and I don't think there should be any concern about volume if you get the hybrid. It is as loud as any bass, I'd even say it is on the louder side. I did 7 unamplified shows - two with amplified instruments in the group, two with a drummer, and 1 amplified show. It was great at all of them. The low end is getting stronger and the top end more rich. I lent it to the other bassist on the festival a classical player, and he was impressed and pulled a beautiful sound out of it.
No charges or damages on my flight save the extra bag fee on United - $25.
No charges or damages on my flight save the extra bag fee on United - $25.
I took the Chadwick to NYC a week ago, here is an unamplified duo with a great young saxophonist. There is a good variety here, straight pizz & arco + plenty of extended technique:
Thanks man! It is a bit more aggressive than my recent solos - I had a trio with Akira Sakata coming a few days later! The Chadwick is totally fine, though. I think I might say it is a bit better than fine or adequate - it is opening up into a nice bass, actually.
A note of caution: when assembling this thing, either hold on to the neck or stay clear of it, I put the neck up the other day I and I was sitting right behind it, getting out the fingerboard and while getting out the fingerboard it leaned back and the neck slid back and just rung my bell like a scene from Tom and Jerry!
I had a lump on my head for a few days. So, use caution!
I also had another comical experience with it. I had a gig in NYC on Thursday. A what should have been the last hour of my drive down from the Boston area, our first snow hit right at the commute!
Just a few inches, however, they did not salt or plow and it turned into a 6hr drive at 3-10 MPH!
I came into the gig and my two bandmates had just started. I normally take off my wheel put on the endpin and then take the bass out of the case. I had tightened the wheel too much and was struggling to get it off and ended up pulling out the whole endpin mechanism! The bridge fell and all this - while in the bag! I had to get the bag off and get it all back together.
Luckily, it is really easy to get together. I didn't have time to set up my amp and it cut fine with a loud drummer and electric guitar. As long as you take out the plastic bar inside, I'd still call the hybrid a loud bass once it breaks in.
I had a lump on my head for a few days. So, use caution!
I also had another comical experience with it. I had a gig in NYC on Thursday. A what should have been the last hour of my drive down from the Boston area, our first snow hit right at the commute!
Just a few inches, however, they did not salt or plow and it turned into a 6hr drive at 3-10 MPH!
I came into the gig and my two bandmates had just started. I normally take off my wheel put on the endpin and then take the bass out of the case. I had tightened the wheel too much and was struggling to get it off and ended up pulling out the whole endpin mechanism! The bridge fell and all this - while in the bag! I had to get the bag off and get it all back together.
Luckily, it is really easy to get together. I didn't have time to set up my amp and it cut fine with a loud drummer and electric guitar. As long as you take out the plastic bar inside, I'd still call the hybrid a loud bass once it breaks in.
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It’s time to talk strings on the Chadwick. My strings of choice are Evah Pirazzis, but after experimenting with them and others, I’ve gone back to the Spriocores that came with the bass.
The reason? Settling-in time after re-assembly. The Evahs, in particular, took at least an hour of tweaking and retuning until they’d hold tune well enough for playing. That may be fine for someone setting up before a concert, but I’m more of a throw-the-bass-in-the-trunk, go-jam kind of guy. So Spiros it is, although I miss the Evahs (which are on my c.1900 Czech), particularly for bowing.
Anyone else grappled with this? Any alternatives, workarounds or other solutions?
The reason? Settling-in time after re-assembly. The Evahs, in particular, took at least an hour of tweaking and retuning until they’d hold tune well enough for playing. That may be fine for someone setting up before a concert, but I’m more of a throw-the-bass-in-the-trunk, go-jam kind of guy. So Spiros it is, although I miss the Evahs (which are on my c.1900 Czech), particularly for bowing.
Anyone else grappled with this? Any alternatives, workarounds or other solutions?
Spiro solos are more friendly to the bow. I have not really been impressed with anything but Spiros and gut. Sprios are a good string for this bass since it is not high end and getting it to cut is important. A "warm, dark sound" in the living room is just a dull thud with a band, especially when you add drums. An amp can help. Still, Spiros plus practice are the best arco strings around.
