Upright sound on electric

[Jason Hollar]

As a longtime user of rotosound flats, there's nothing wrong with them for playing jazz - just leave them on and let them settle in.

As a longtime doubler, I agree with JimmyM. Spend time transcribing upright walking lines and playing along with recordings - especially the arrangements you're doing in school if you can find them.

The right hand has been mentioned, but don't forget the left hand. My jazz foundation is with the Simandl / Ray Brown 1-2-4 method and I can pull off an upright-ish sound/approach on just about any electric bass using those techniques.

 

[morgan138]

On your jazz bass, don't use the bridge pickup

Gotta disagree here, I think on a Jazz bass [both pickups together] will usually get a better jazz upright tone than [neck pickup alone]. Deeper bass, smoother midrange.

I'd also be careful rolling off the tone, if you're going for a clear jazz upright tone (vs. say, a plonky old-school country tone). I think you'll have better luck scooping the mids and upper mids, leaving the highs for note clarity. And definitely try stuffing foam or something under the strings at the bridge, this was probably the single most helpful thing I tried.

And then, like Jimmy said: thinking like an upright player is HUGE. As someone who's played both a lot, upright feels like a totally different instrument.

Good luck!

 

[Stewie]

Don't go a whole lot faster than quarter notes. When I switched to upright, I had to learn to play a lot less, but put more feeling into every note.

 

[RSBBass]

Depending on the amp you are using the mids may be more scooped than will give a natural upright sound. In addition to the good advice above, try playing with the mids.

 

[SteveCS]

There are some setup things that can also help, such as slightly higher action and deeper relief that together reduce fret noise and create space for the larger string excursion that happens when you pluck over the fingerboard.

 

[Gaolee]

And then, like Jimmy said: thinking like an upright player is HUGE. As someone who's played both a lot, upright feels like a totally different instrument.

Good luck!

That's because it is a totally different instrument, just in the same tonal range.

When I amplify the upright, it takes a fair amount of work to get it sounding right. I roll off the bass and roll on the mids and have a touch of extra treble. To get an upright sound out of a bass guitar, that's the kind of eq I would probably try first, since the upright has a complex set of overtones that make it sound like it does. Mine does anyway, and it's only a Chinese plywood bass. Playing up on the neck, as others have pointed out, gets you closer to the same proportional location as you would be playing an upright. I'm sure there's an explanation that uses the physics of vibration and logarithmic scales to explain this. I just don't know it.

 

[bassliner50]

Use a Fender Precision bass (not a jazz ironically). Use medium gauge strings or heaviest that you can easily play (I use 050-.105). Vintage tone alnico pickups if you are able (nothing modern, hot or over wound). Fingerstyle right hand only (no pick!). Strike the strings between the pickups and the end of the fingerboard. (ala pizzicatto) A small piece of foam if you like under the strings nearest to the bridge will reduce sustain (like an URB). Turn the tone knob CC 1/2 to 3/4 of the way toward off (less treble). EQ your amp with emphasis on bass, low mids reducing upper mids and especially treble. Listen to UR players and play that style. I do this ***all the time***. Have fun. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Skybone]

I use a fender jazz bass, don't remember what amp I use at jazz practice

From this, I am assuming that you use the same bass for other bands/styles?

Do you play fingerstyle or with a pick?

As has been mentioned previously, play close to the neck. If you play with a pick, try maybe using a slightly softer pick, like a nylon, to reduce pick attack. If you play fingerstyle anyway, you should get very close to the sound you want.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Agree with others about the neck pup, leaving it out hurts the tone in any genre IMHO. I think muting is more important.

 

[Rib 13]

Gotta disagree here, I think on a Jazz bass [both pickups together] will usually get a better jazz upright tone than [neck pickup alone]. Deeper bass, smoother midrange.

I'd also be careful rolling off the tone, if you're going for a clear jazz upright tone (vs. say, a plonky old-school country tone). I think you'll have better luck scooping the mids and upper mids, leaving the highs for note clarity. And definitely try stuffing foam or something under the strings at the bridge, this was probably the single most helpful thing I tried.

And then, like Jimmy said: thinking like an upright player is HUGE. As someone who's played both a lot, upright feels like a totally different instrument.

Good luck!

re: thumb mute technique ---- although im one of the ones that offered the solo-the-mid-pickup suggestions, i agree what you say is true but i didnt want to get into that much detail -- it really depends on the player, the freq response of the pickups, how much theyve mastered the technique, and - most important -- where they are using the technique....if they are doing it close to the bridge for sharper articulation then i would recommend soloing the mid pu but the further down the body a player goes, the more i would dial in more bridge pu -- even if its only a few inches.....but thats a huge diarrhea microscope thats a YMMV situation anyway

 

[Rib 13]

After decades of doing things like those suggested above I cobbled this:

View attachment 1047045

It's the best upright pizzacato tone imitation I've had yet and, incredibly, everyone in our jazz-ish combo agrees. Someday I may even cobble a fretless version.

I use D'Addario tapes on it. It's still necessary to think like an upright player and pluck over the upper few of inches of the fingerboard for best results for those songs requiring that tone.

although not my cup o' tea, i do never tire of seeing you post this pic......i think its way cool and one of the hippest mods ive ever seen

fyi, the best instrument i currently own to emulate an upright is my Chapman Stick -- if played like a bass and using the thumb pick method (without palm mute) it is eye-opening pretty damn close

 

[lfmn16]

Search engine is your friend!

 

[BeowulfKingsley]

I would also agree that concept is really the essential thing...approaching the lines as you would on upright will get you 90% there. You can really get something that fills the space with any bass, some easier than others...a Jazz bass should do just fine. I'm a believer in EQing for the band and the room, so no hard and fast rules there, see how it fits into the mix, although boosting the lower mids might be a good place to start. And you can do it with any strings, although it's a little harder with brand new roundwounds. Of course nothing will truly replicate the sound of an upright! But you can get something that will work without too much trouble. That said, for gigs that required upright that were impractical to bring one, I've always been amazed at how well my cheap little Hofner Beatle Bass knockoff (it's a Jay Turser, actually) with Pyramid Gold strings to fit into that space. It's surprisingly good at that.

 

[SteveCS]

although not my cup o' tea, i do never tire of seeing you post this pic......i think its way cool and one of the hippest mods ive ever seen

fyi, the best instrument i currently own to emulate an upright is my Chapman Stick -- if played like a bass and using the thumb pick method (without palm mute) it is eye-opening pretty damn close

Got to agree here. Did you ever have the pleasure of seeing Frank Joliffe (RIP) play? His left hand walking style was immense (I had some lessons with him back in the 90's). He had a heavily epoxied fingerboard and IIRC used flats on the bass side.

 

[Engle]

Best way to make an electric sound as close as possible to an upright is to think like an upright player and play like an upright player. You'll never get it to be identical, but I've tried to mimic upright on a number of different basses, and thinking like an upright player is the only thing that ever worked.

+1^ play in the same positions you would on the upright

 

[mongo2]

although not my cup o' tea, i do never tire of seeing you post this pic......i think its way cool and one of the hippest mods ive ever seen

fyi, the best instrument i currently own to emulate an upright is my Chapman Stick -- if played like a bass and using the thumb pick method (without palm mute) it is eye-opening pretty damn close

Thanks for your kind words.

I can see the Stick working out. I used to use a NS Design CR4M instead of my upright but needed a shorter scale to compensate for the effects of surgery and general wornoutedness of my left arm. This put me on a short/sub-short scale search lasting several years and a DIY conversion binge for the last couple of years trying to get that sound back in something I could play without causing more damage. The AF55 conversion has been the best one yet.

 

[tpaul]

You'll need some chicken fat... and a hat. Don't forget to wear a hat.

 

[StatesideRambler]

The search for the means to make a bass guitar sound like a bull fiddle brings to mind Thomas Edison's assertion that he had no failures, he simply had found ten thousand things that don't work.

 

[jamro217]

If you don't mind modding your bass, putting a humbucker in the neck position with its own volume control will allow you to dial in just enough mud to soften the tone and bring out the fundamental. Using the fleshy side part of the fingers to pluck near the fingerboard definitely helps. If you decide to use a mute, use something light like the business end of a cheap foam paint brush and not something that deadens the note prematurely (that sounds fake). Flats will add to the overall upright sound. Hope this helps.

 

[skwee]

Nylon tape-wounds, turn back the tone a little. finger plucks, but from the pads of the fingers, not nails.