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Double Bass Weedwacker vs weedwacker pro?
- Thread starter TheKevil
- Start date
T Kerr
Commercial User
Tom here with some input on weedwacker pro's. The E and A are thicker and stiffer than regular weedackers. They do have more volume, especially on the A, and especially have less travel or flop than lesser weedwackers making them more controllable and more like the D and G.
Most players who try them LOVE the increased tension feel in the E/A and appreciate the increased volume as a secondary fact. The above is attested to by player after player who tries them in our shop. They will put out a bigger sound acoustically than regular E and A weedwackers.
And an unbiased bassist on rockabillybass.com said he heard a definite larger sound out of the weedwacker pro's than regular weedwackers.
We've heard of a few bassists doing jazz gigs with them too, that's a good trick as they're just not going to give a good defined sound like metal strings. But they can be used for whatever you can be okay with yourself.
Jimbo Wallace of Reverend Horton Heat plays them exclusively for the big fat sound they give. Eurosonics make him miss the big beefy sound of weedwacker pro's.
There are other great slap strings out there but most cost $130 or more a set, so $50 a set for weedwacker pro's turns a lot of heads.
Well that's my 2cents worth. :^)
Tom
Most players who try them LOVE the increased tension feel in the E/A and appreciate the increased volume as a secondary fact. The above is attested to by player after player who tries them in our shop. They will put out a bigger sound acoustically than regular E and A weedwackers.
And an unbiased bassist on rockabillybass.com said he heard a definite larger sound out of the weedwacker pro's than regular weedwackers.
We've heard of a few bassists doing jazz gigs with them too, that's a good trick as they're just not going to give a good defined sound like metal strings. But they can be used for whatever you can be okay with yourself.
Jimbo Wallace of Reverend Horton Heat plays them exclusively for the big fat sound they give. Eurosonics make him miss the big beefy sound of weedwacker pro's.
There are other great slap strings out there but most cost $130 or more a set, so $50 a set for weedwacker pro's turns a lot of heads.
Well that's my 2cents worth. :^)
Tom
Yeah.... I had read that stuff too from your site. Just trying to hear it from the mouth of people who have played them and not the vendor selling them. Not that I don't believe you, I'm just the type who wants to make sure of things before I spend the money.
Glad to see you are back in town Gearhead 43.
Well, I've haven''t tried the the **whacker off the shelf models**, but I've tried the hardware store version. Not my cup of brew. Some people seem to like them so much that they get the logo tattooed to their forehead. The evolution of Rock-A-Billy Music is really something to beholdI'm not giving the OP advice about the strings, that should be clear. I'm trying to help him have a longer bass playing career by pointing out his ignorance of the importance of good basic technique. He already asked for, and received advice on amp-ing up his ax with distortion pedals in another thread. I gave some advice, and he PM'd me for more to which I gladly responded to the best of my ability.
Yeah... That was helpful. Your post here was not. Your basic people technique needs some work. You have no idea how I play. You have not heard me. You are actually not listening to the things I say about my technique. I'm new, admittedly, and there is stuff I could learn and I'm open to it, but not in the manner of which you are trying to give me advice. I have developed and am happy with the way I play. I don't play hard like you seem to think I do. I'm not killing myself. Don't call me ignorant or say I'm trying to make excuses unless you know what you are talking about. Otherwise it makes YOU look ignorant.
Btw... This thread was started with the intention of comparing the two types of wackers. Nothing about technique.
Btw... This thread was started with the intention of comparing the two types of wackers. Nothing about technique.
And what's the problem with using distortion and effects on an upright? I love classical bass ans jazz bass too, as wel as the sound I'm going for, but you people should be happy that people like me are trying to modernize it. We're allowing it to evolve and not get phased out because new generations think it's boring.
And weed trimmer line that you buy at home depot is not the same as weedwacker strings. It's basically the same, but the strings are thicker and Kevlar cored. It my exist, buy I hvent been able to find trim line like that at any hardware store here. The thick stuff is all diamond shaped and stuff.
And weed trimmer line that you buy at home depot is not the same as weedwacker strings. It's basically the same, but the strings are thicker and Kevlar cored. It my exist, buy I hvent been able to find trim line like that at any hardware store here. The thick stuff is all diamond shaped and stuff.
Sorry Kevil, I know I'm touching a nerve. Sorry to be harsh, but maybe when someone offers you some pointers in real time, you will be open to it. I'm listening very closley to what little you are saying about your experience. I don't need to hear or see you play to tell that you don't know a lot.
Your description of "trying" to play softer on the low strings points to some very shallow knowledge and understanding of how the DB works, and the relation of how your body works in interacting with it.
I understand, you want to know about equipment, strings distortion, signal processing, how to play loud without feedback and all. That's the icing on the cake.
There just isn't any replacement for good technique if you are serious about playing DB, regardless of style. It all starts with you and your relation to your acoustic instrument.
Your description of "trying" to play softer on the low strings points to some very shallow knowledge and understanding of how the DB works, and the relation of how your body works in interacting with it.
I understand, you want to know about equipment, strings distortion, signal processing, how to play loud without feedback and all. That's the icing on the cake.
There just isn't any replacement for good technique if you are serious about playing DB, regardless of style. It all starts with you and your relation to your acoustic instrument.
There are a lot of problems with it, on the tech side of things. Otherwise it's all in your attitude and presentation. It's up to you to make a strong presentation and be willing to live with the reactions you inspire.
What are you talking about? Someone else told me to play softer on my e and a string on my wackers to compensate for the volume difference with them and the d and g strings instead of buying pros to make it the volumes even. I told him I would try that, but it would be difficult to do at first because I'm not gonna immediately have the muscle memory to do it while I'm not thinking about it. And then you started all this. Sorry my muscle memory isn't an immediate thing...
I can already walk pretty well. I don't think you really understand... I am new to db, but I have been playing music since I was like 12. I practice a crapload and have picked up this thing super quickly... I guess that's one reason why your comments got me all mad. I have worked harder this past year that I have had my bass than any other instrument I have ever learned and I was classically trained on trombone... So to have someone try to make it seem like I don't know how to play anything...
Go over to rockabillybass.com first of all.
Second - No weedwacker is gonna sound good on the E. I gave 'em a try myself. I had a set of superior brand which you will find all kinds of info about over at the above mentioned website. The E will get better over time - but it's never gonna sound that good unless it's amplified.
IMO wackers are only good for slapping. You have to jack up your string height to get any volume out of them, and it will never compare to nylon or steel. If you all you wanna do is slap - have at 'em, but don't waste $50 or more at FMI for "pro" weed wackers. They suck for pizz playing, not because of the tone but because of the lack of tension.
I also doubt seriously that Jimbo Wallace plays those things on his main gigging bass. http://www.doublebasschat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8132&highlight=jimbo&page=2
I'd recommend that you try one of the Innovation string sets -- Black Rockabilly, Super Silver or Super Slap, etc., or Labella Supernil. You can find Supernils for around $70. All of these are good for slapping, and get a decent sound for regular pizz playing too.
One of the best slappers I've ever heard, Nashville's Dave Roe, uses Super Sensitive Sensicore on his E&A and plain gut on his D&G. Something like this would be a good, versatile setup. Many slappers also use lower tension steel strings.
I know that Rockabilly is sort of a separate world of upright bass, but in the long run, IMO, investing in decent strings will be worth it.
One of the best slappers I've ever heard, Nashville's Dave Roe, uses Super Sensitive Sensicore on his E&A and plain gut on his D&G. Something like this would be a good, versatile setup. Many slappers also use lower tension steel strings.
I know that Rockabilly is sort of a separate world of upright bass, but in the long run, IMO, investing in decent strings will be worth it.
Cool. Thanks guys. I will check all those out. I kinda like my wackers... Acoustically, yeah, they could get louder, but atm, I don't have many opportunities where I need to play acoustically. If that starts to be something more common, then yeah, I will have to find something else. I totally see that about the e being kinda dead. But I can bow them, slap and pluck in the same songs and keep it awesome, while amped. Plus they are neon green, so combined with my led's they really appeal to my "oooh... Pretty.... Shiny...." side. Haha. It's sacrificing sound for vanity, I know, but it's so damn awesome looking and hard to throw away. I just need to buy a really good pair of guts or something to keep on hand for my less crazy show oriented, more just get a good jam going sets. Tax season is coming up... Maybe I can convince the wife... That's my main wall I run into with this stuff. Haha.
Tell your wife that new strings will make you a more sensitive husband. That's what I always do.
Kevil, you say that you teach classical and jazz bass in your profile. You teach using an amp then?
Actually, I didn't realize I had it in there that I teach anything. I will correct that. Thanks for letting me know.
I was kinda wonderin'.On the string thing. In case you haven't noticed, the TB classifieds are a great place to find great used strings at often very reasonable rates. Heck, if I had some Silver Slaps or some other such strings lying around unused, I'd pass them to you to try out.
