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Double Bass The Chadwick Folding Bass

#121
I have the Barbera on my 1880s Czech bass. I went through a bunch of pickups before settling on that one. Great ever since. My Kay has been awesome with realists since day one.

Super intrigued by the Chadwick. Seems like a great answer for travel, maybe even local gigging.

How does it compare to your traditional basses?
 
#123
I've heard Dave's Barbera recently, and (unrelated) asked him how he likes his two channel Warwick class D amp. He spoke very highly of both. For me, my favorite pickup on the Chadwick (probably because it's my favorite on my real bass) is the Upton Revolution. I also usually blend that pickup with a Krivo magnetic. It really helps on the loud festival stages. -DK
 
#124
My sentiments about Charlie Chadwick's bass/design/business:

1) He is such a great guy; he will go to great lengths to get the bass set up/dialed in to YOUR specs.
2) He is constantly revising/perfecting/tweaking. He welcomes feedback from frequent travelers/flyers and truly wants to get it as perfect for each player as possible, because he himself is a traveling bassist.
3) Simply, the CASE. It's really solid, it really fits the bass nicely, and the whole package is under 50lbs. It just seems so much more rigid than the Lemur Flyaway case. And it's far cheaper.
4) Yes, it has a door in the back. Yes, you lose some low end and maybe some sustain. The hybrid model helps in this department, but you can't beat the price, service, and durability.

I'll add that most of the skycaps (especially Southwest) at BNA in Nashville either A) Recognize the bass since so many folks fly in and out with the Chadwick and know it's within the regs B) They actually know Charlie personally, and arrive at the same conclusion. As always, the usual palm grease when checking in streamlines the whole process.
 
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#127
I gotta say it is so darn tempting to try one of these. I don't even travel that much with my bass and am not even playing a ton nowadays although my wife, who is a vocalist, and I have talked about doing some vocal and bass duet touring and this would make life so much easier. I also live downtown nowadays and hardly use my car anymore and am thinking of switching to car sharing and this would be the only practical solution. However I just have this feeling that I would be unhappy with the compromised sound. I remember playing the plywood Shens and even some of the hybrids and they just didn't have it for me. My current bass is a Shen Gemunder Willow 7/8 and love the huge sound and I love my C extension too.
 
#128
I think you'd might like a well-set up Chadwick, TBH. The sound isn't compromised as much as you might think. I was happy but not wildly thrilled about mine with Zyex Mediums on it, but when I got Garbos on it, WAAAPOW! Loved the big, loud acoustic tone and it had that thick, husky punch I was looking for. That said, different strokes and all.

I just got an Audix i5 mic for mine, as what I was hearing via the Full Circle wasn't what I was hearing acoustically, as there was a bit too much finger detail (I use IEMs when we monitor, so all those little details REALLY stand out). But the mic was definitely MBOL because there seemed to be more natural body in the sound. I'll likely play around with blending the two a bit, but I don't know that I'll go to that effort live.

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#129
Since I posted I had a few e-mail exchanges with Charlie and I also got really lucky and found someone here in Ottawa who has a CFB. He kindly let me try it out last night and I have to say I was pretty damn impressed by how good it was. Pretty decent sound volume, pretty even across the strings and across the registers. I'm still leaning towards the hybrid and the CAD-USD exchange rate really sucks right now but I'm hoping to have one of these before the year is out. I wasn't particular thrilled about the finish on the bass but I know there are options there and I'd be happy even if I just got something close to the color and finish on my Shen Willow. Probably leaning towards matte finish.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy any of the other travel bass solutions. I've tried many of the others including the Czech-Ease, Eminence, Yamaha Silent Bass, etc. and hated them all. Charlie's price is also fantastic especially when you get some options on the bass including the finish, etc.
 
#130
Adrian Cho said:
Since I posted I had a few e-mail exchanges with Charlie and I also got really lucky and found someone here in Ottawa who has a CFB. He kindly let me try it out last night and I have to say I was pretty damn impressed by how good it was. Pretty decent sound volume, pretty even across the strings and across the registers. I'm still leaning towards the hybrid and the CAD-USD exchange rate really sucks right now but I'm hoping to have one of these before the year is out. I wasn't particular thrilled about the finish on the bass but I know there are options there and I'd be happy even if I just got something close to the color and finish on my Shen Willow. Probably leaning towards matte finish.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy any of the other travel bass solutions. I've tried many of the others including the Czech-Ease, Eminence, Yamaha Silent Bass, etc. and hated them all. Charlie's price is also fantastic especially when you get some options on the bass including the finish, etc.
Click to expand...

Hey Adrian, have you seen the matte finish on the hybrids? That's what I have on order now. Charlie sent me a pic day before yesterday.
 

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#131
Adrian Cho said:
I'm still leaning towards the hybrid ... Probably leaning towards matte finish.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy any of the other travel bass solutions. I've tried many of the others including the Czech-Ease, Eminence, Yamaha Silent Bass, etc. and hated them all. Charlie's price is also fantastic especially when you get some options on the bass including the finish, etc.
Click to expand...

Adrian,
I pulled the trigger on a CFB this past summer, and I am extremely pleased with it. It has been on numerous flights with zero issues, and no oversize/overweight charges.

Charlie was great to work with, and for a small uncharge he was able to dial in the setup to my preferences (thinned out the neck, and there's the option of getting the strings extremely low without buzz). I've got mine strung up with Spiro Mittels, with a medium-low string height, and the bass works great. Is it the best sounding acoustically? No. Does it work acoustically? Yes. Does it sound amazing with a Full Circle and DPA4099 blended together? You bet.

I was also considering the hybrid option, but when thinking about the travel, ply seems more "stable" as far as the top expanding and contracting, the setup/break down, etc, I decided to go with the full ply model. Since I plug the bass in 99% of the time, I can always EQ in a bit more high-mids to get my sound where I'd like it to be.

It's the best bang for the buck by a long shot for what I need in a travel instrument.
 
#133
dkimbrobass said:
Hey Adrian, have you seen the matte finish on the hybrids? That's what I have on order now. Charlie sent me a pic day before yesterday.
Click to expand...

That matte is sexy as all get-out!

BTW, early this AM, I plugged the mic into my Focusrite iTrack Solo to Cubase and ran through a few passes of Fly Me To The Moon. Please be kind, as this was done on very little coffee, with no metronome, and one-take strictly to hear what it sounded like recorded. Velvet Garbo strings, Velvet Anima G, 2009 model Chadwick Folding Bass, a smidge of compression and EQ to flatten the room response.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#134
Charlie offered me the option of the oil finish like what's on my current Shen Willow 7/8. Apparently this is what he used to get from Shen but started getting the lacquer finish as it's a lot more durable for traveling. The oil finish is very tempting but will require a special order. If I go with the lacquer it will definitely be matte for sure.
 
#135
I'm currently in the market for an instrument for international travel and the top two choices at this point are the Chadwick bass on the one hand and a custom Rob Allen fretless BG on the other. Sometimes when you get to a city where they claim they have a decent bass the information turns out to be correct, and sometimes not. When the answer is not, I would rather play a Rob Allen than the other option. But, if the Chadwick was nice enough and consistent enough, I'd obviously rather play that. I plan on reading the entire thread later today, but I have two questions before then:

1) Has anyone ever had one of these denied by an airline on an international flight?
2) Does Charlie have a stock - even a small one - of completed basses that are waiting to be sold, or does he only make them to order? Nashville is close enough to Louisville that it would be worth the trip to play one in person and then buy it if I like it just like any other bass.
 
#136
He's on Facebook and email. Why not float him a kite and ask? I believe he does, however. Never took mine internationally.

ETA, it has traveled internationally, however. It used to belong to Mark Fain, Ricky Skaggs' bass player.
 
#137
Delivery times currently seem to be about 3 to 4 weeks assuming you don't need anything special in terms of bass shape or finish. Charlie gave me options on the finish and even the option for gamba corners but either of these would have taken months as he would have to order the bass from Shen. In the end I opted for a standard violin-cornered hybrid with the standard lacquer albeit in matte. Charlie says I should have it in early December.
 
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#138
Adrian Cho said:
...In the end I opted for a standard violin-cornered hybrid with the standard lacquer albeit in matte. Charlie says I should have it in early December.
Click to expand...

I am using this same bass- hybrid w/matte finish. So far it's traveled from California to the south eastern US via air, UK and Ireland via air and most of the western US via van. It's not quite as loud or sweet/bassy as my Cleveland but that bass is set up really differently (w/gut.) IMHO the Chadwick is a nice option for the road. Ultimately I might convert the Cleveland to a removable neck but that requires luthier work, sourcing a case, etc so at this point the Chadwick is a great alternative. I'm sure you'll get it dialed in and it will sound great... be patient and realize it will need a little set-up work to be optimized for your playing style and preferences.
One note for a bigger acoustic sound- You can remove the internal brace for recording, etc. but you'll have to put it back in to hold the neck when folded. I did a session with mine in London and there was a small but noticeable difference without the brace- a bit more resonant and clear.
J
 
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#140
rolandm said:
@JeffKissell … whoever sparked your sig must have been listening to me play.
Click to expand...

The full quote (paraphrased or thereabouts) is from a friend of mine talking to a booking agent at a club just after they finished a set...
"I loved it, you guys are great... kinda noisy and sloppy though, sounded like a goddamned train wreck but I loved it!!"

Adrian- sorry for the derail...

J
 
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