Double Bass The EUB "makes it look like you're doing something you're not."

[Chris Fitzgerald]

This “Don Higdon” character sounds like a prat.

He absolutely wasn’t. He was an early member here who passed years ago. Don was a lovely gentleman who lived an honorable life and studied for a time with Michael Moore.

I haven’t seen that quote in context and am not going to bother searching through all of his posts looking for it, but if I had to guess it might have been said to one of the many DB curious posters visiting from the other side who often used to ask about learning EUB in lieu of studying DB, usually because of the trouble and expense of studying DB.

 

[bass player 53]

The sound of the Baby Bass is awesome in this context ...and you won't duplicate it with a real double bass.

If anyone’s interested in what that music is, the song is Ave Mari Lola,
from the group Conjunto Imagen, from their album Ayer, Hoy Y Manana, Muziq
Records.
I have it on this great Rough Guide CD.

On YouTube:

 

[fdeck]

For concert band, where I played in a classical style, I found that playing the EUB messed up my intonation on the double bass. So a few days before tour prep, the EUB went in its case and I pulled out Simandl to calibrate my hand to the double bass.

What about the basses made it hard to switch? I have a possible line on a used EUB, and this is totally speculative.

 

[Wasnex]

What about the basses made it hard to switch? I have a possible line on a used EUB, and this is totally speculative.

The issue was volume. In a bass section you blend with all of the other basses. IME you frequently can't hear your own instrument well enough to correct intonation on the fly. To play in tune, you hand has to be calibrated to the instrument, so your chances of nailing it are higher.

Both the double bass and EUB were fairly close to 42" scale. But they did not intonate exactly the same. The required hand calibration for each instrument is a bit different.

Not a problem to switch in big band because the bass is loud enough to carry the ensemble by itself. I.E the bass is so loud that you can clearly hear and correct pitch issues on the fly.

 

[GKon]

No, not at all.

 

[bass player 53]

Since there is some mention of Afro-Cuban music in this thread, I will stick this interesting article here. It makes reference to David Gage.

Darianna Videaux Capitel: The Art and Craft of a Cuban Musician | Craftsmanship Magazine

 

[bass player 53]

BTW, I’ve been listening to an utterly fantastic 3 CD album called
Tocando Tierra. I see that it is available on Amazon and eBay. Bassists include Abraham Laboriel and Oscar Stagnaro, on one track, which is worth the price alone.
Wonderful music throughout.

 

[Happy Steve]

Since there is some mention of Afro-Cuban music in this thread, I will stick this interesting article here. It makes reference to David Gage.

Darianna Videaux Capitel: The Art and Craft of a Cuban Musician | Craftsmanship Magazine

Love that story. My previous insight to learning bass in Cuba was from a book called 'Looking for La Bomba' by Richard Neill, quite a different and humorous take.

 

[bass player 53]

Love that story. My previous insight to learning bass in Cuba was from a book called 'Looking for La Bomba' by Richard Neill, quite a different and humorous take.

I probably have a similar book to what you’re talking about. I also study Cuban music on bass, piano, and tres. I have many books, CD’s and DVD’s.

 

[bass player 53]

How many folks have seen this 10 year old performance of Timba superstar Issac Delgado, with his bassist not playing a “real bass”?