Double Bass The Chadwick Folding Bass

[rolandm]

I am using an Underwood with full-band performances, as it feels like it cuts more than my Full Circle does. I use thE Full Circle in duo situations with an acoustic guitar, though, as I feel it translates the warmth of the bass a bit more. I use Velvet Garbo strings with an Anima G into a Fishman Platinum Pro Plus Bass. Usually it's only FOH support and IEMs to monitor. I will be using my Ampeg PF500 and Acme Low B2 this Friday night, though. Change ups can be fun, right?

 

[Adrian Cho]

Does anybody know of a bass bag with backpack straps that has the option to take the CFB in either the folded position or the regular (neck extended) position?

 

[rolandm]

I would think that pretty much any bass bag would take the bass. However, it might not hurt to have a clip sewn to the top of the neck section so you can fold the fabric and button it down. Personally, I keep the bass assembled for the most part, as the tuning stability of the Velvets is much better that way.

Also, I use a thinner (3/8") black walnut endpin, and believe it or not, Traeger was right. It sounds better in volume and tone than the carbon fiber. Forgot to mention that.

 

[dkimbrobass]

I just posted a thread in the amps/pickups section. Wondering if any CFB owners are using any pickups other than Full Circle.

Hey Adrian. I like the Upton Pickup (Revolution Solo). I blend it with the Krivo Magnetic when things get loud. -DK

 

[ReiPsaeg]

Just out of curiosity how do these folding basses sound with a bow?

 

[John Sprague]

That's a good question Adrian, now that the neck is out of the way the backpack idea becomes viable. I'm talking to Charlie tomorrow, so I'll mention it to him. Maybe he's already had the question come up and has an answer.

 

[Adrian Cho]

Hey John. Good to see you still around these parts. David from Messina apparently has a bag that fits the bass in the neck extended position and the bag has no padding. Not sure I'd want that especially if I'm carrying it on my back. The idea of a regular bag and being able to just clip down the neck part when it is not needed is intriguing.

 

[Pat Harris]

Just out of curiosity how do these folding basses sound with a bow?

My CFB sounds like a really nice ply bass with a bow. As I'm sure you've read, the acoustic volume is quite a bit softer than other basses, but the response is quite nice. I find my bass to be surprisingly dark, even with Spiros, and I use my carbon fiber bow, which has a much brighter response than my wooden one, to compensate.

 

[Feral Feline]

I vaguely recall there being a soft bag meant for removable-neck basses, and IIRC it had backpack straps.

[edit]
Not this one, but
Straps?
Invalid Link Removed

Simply folded up, with extra bag for RN.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Does anybody know of a bass bag with backpack straps that has the option to take the CFB in either the folded position or the regular (neck extended) position?

I once contacted Mooradian to inquire whether they could make a bag to carry the CFB while folded, I wanted to be able to ride my bike to gigs. They weren't interested.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Does anybody know of a bass bag with backpack straps that has the option to take the CFB in either the folded position or the regular (neck extended) position?

I once contacted Mooradian to inquire whether they could make a bag to carry the CFB while folded, I wanted to be able to ride my bike to gigs. They weren't interested.

 

[ericsmith]

What non-steel or "low tension/gut-like" strings would you recommend for travel and frequent folding/unfolding? At least D and G... I have guts on now but I need to find a solution for a little tour later this spring.

 

[Jon Mush]

What non-steel or "low tension/gut-like" strings would you recommend for travel and frequent folding/unfolding? At least D and G... I have guts on now but I need to find a solution for a little tour later this spring.

My experience is more medium tension, but I know a few guys (myself included), that have had great success with Innovation's lineup.

Also, Kurt posted a while back about the Gut-a-Like Swingmaster strings. I know he's had them on his Chadwick as well. Maybe he'll chime in here on the reliability factor. I Saw him with Corb this summer and they sounded great--and he pulled a great sound arco too! Search under his name, he's posted some clips so you can hear 'em. He's a killer player.

 

[Adrian Cho]

I have Innovation 140Bs on mine. Somewhat gut-like. I haven't had my CFB long but so far they seem to be holding up fine to constant folding/unloading.

 

[Adrian Cho]

I ended up ordering a GEWA Prestige bass bag. It has padded backpack straps.

 

[Pat Harris]

I just had an opportunity to really put my CFB through the paces in a very acoustic setting. I was on an 11 day tour with a group that plays nuevo tango, and we performed in listening spaces, with nice pianos, and no sound reinforcement.

I'm of the mindset, "The minute you plug something in, all bets are off, and you EQ and shape the amplified sound as needed." The Chadwick amplifies very nicely, IMO. I tweak a few things, and I can get my sound pretty easily in most spaces. That said, playing without amplification, I was really impressed with the sound of the CFB on some recordings we took from the audience perspective.

My CFB sounds soft/quiet and dark from the player's perspective in comparison to my carved bass. However, thirty feet out front, the bass puts some serious air into a room-- far more than I would have thought. Granted, all of the other musicians are very musical and sensitive, but it was nice to know that the CFB can definitely hold its own in an acoustic chamber setting.

 

[rolandm]

I took a tip from the Traeger Coda book, and slacked my strings, pulled the soundpost, and rounded the edges on the soundpost. It's a 3/4" post in mine, and according to Traeger, you don't want anything less that 5/8" of bearing area contacting the top. When I re-placed it, it sounded a bit fuller, but still hadn't done much to the overall volume of the bass, which was a little choked in the upper registers. So I moved the soundpost back about 1/4" (I mark my bass soundpost locations), and retuned the bass.

Now it sounded louder and much fuller, with more sustain in thumb position. Was it the move? Was it the rounding of the edges? Was it my imagination?

I had a gig that night, so when I took the bass to the gig I plugged it into my Fishman. Normally I have to turn the input gain up to 3/4 before I get the red light to flash. This time, I could only go up to just under 1/2 before the pickup was overdriving the input gain. It was definitely louder. And the guitar player remarked, "Wow, did you do something? Your bass sounds really good tonight."

If I had to say, I'd say the changes made the bass fuller across the spectrum, and that meant certain frequencies were reinforced in the instrument, adding to the overall volume of the bass. When I got this bass, it was wearing D'Addario Zyex mediums, and my poor newbie hands were struggling to get the extra 30 lbs. of tension down to the board, and the bass was really upper-mid and treble heavy. So by putting the much darker Velvets on, and working for some time on my technique, my bass got louder, lower and more playable. And now, with these adjustments, the bass is much more to my liking acoustically.

I just wish I had someone locally that had a really nice, loud double bass which I could use as a benchmark to compare the Chadwick to.

 

[edfriedland]

I just had an opportunity to really put my CFB through the paces in a very acoustic setting. I was on an 11 day tour with a group that plays nuevo tango, and we performed in listening spaces, with nice pianos, and no sound reinforcement.

I'm of the mindset, "The minute you plug something in, all bets are off, and you EQ and shape the amplified sound as needed." The Chadwick amplifies very nicely, IMO. I tweak a few things, and I can get my sound pretty easily in most spaces. That said, playing without amplification, I was really impressed with the sound of the CFB on some recordings we took from the audience perspective.

My CFB sounds soft/quiet and dark from the player's perspective in comparison to my carved bass. However, thirty feet out front, the bass puts some serious air into a room-- far more than I would have thought. Granted, all of the other musicians are very musical and sensitive, but it was nice to know that the CFB can definitely hold its own in an acoustic chamber setting.

Hey Pat, do you know about taking out the internal cross bar that holds the neck? If you undo those little thumb screws on the left side, you can pop the top of the bracket off and remove the plastic rod. It opens up the response nicely, probably even more on a hybrid. Charlie has just come up with a cool quick release for that, in fact, I'm heading over to his place now to pick mine up - he just installed it on mine.

 

[rolandm]

Something interesting for the older basses as well as the fittings get loosened up over time. I noticed I was getting a bit of airflow through the backdoor, and that, on occasion, caused a bit of a buzz. So I took some pile weatherstrip from Menards, and lined the inside of my door, figuring that would at least keep the buzzing down. I also lined the area where the top-cap meets the heel joint of the bass. Made it a bit tighter, and no buzzing.

Thought I would share that hear in the hopes that it might help someone else.

 

[edfriedland]

Yeah, Charie tightened up the back panel a little for me too. So, here's the new bracket for the internal support bar (the old one is on the left). All you do is rotate the bar so the "keyed" section pops out. Real easy. If you want max acoustic volume, this helps.