I play double bass in several jazz ensembles, and in lieu of hauling my full-size upright around, I use an EUB -- thus I'm in search of a minimalist EUB that produces a decent sound. I own an NS CR4A and love it, but with stand it is hardly lightweight. I have owned/tried the Yamaha, Ibanez, Stagg, and others. The most portable instrument I've found is the ERGO, and I have one and love it, but Jesse has stopped making them. Are you aware of other very light full-scale EUBs, including ones made by boutique lines or individual luthiers? Many thanks, Paul
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Double Bass what is the lightest, most compact 41.5" EUB?
- Thread starter Paul Mickey
- Start date
I bought a used Eminence EUB here
on TB, for ~2/3 the new price.
It’s basically a mini double bass,
with double bass string length.
It’s extremely light weight and
portable. It has a nice double bass
sound, but I use a Sarno variable
input impedance Black Box to
improve it. I use mostly my GK MB150
and extension speaker.
Eminence Electric Upright Bass
on TB, for ~2/3 the new price.
It’s basically a mini double bass,
with double bass string length.
It’s extremely light weight and
portable. It has a nice double bass
sound, but I use a Sarno variable
input impedance Black Box to
improve it. I use mostly my GK MB150
and extension speaker.
Eminence Electric Upright Bass
NS Design CR4
I don't see much room to make the bass shorter. Perhaps some sort of headless design could be made.
The stand and bass do have a certain amount of weight. AFAIK the NS Design website list 10.5lbs for the bass and the tripod is 8lbs. AFAIK, the weight for the NS CR-DB-GB gig bag is not listed. My guess it's about 3lbs. So estimated total is around 23lbs.
An EUB could be made out of lighter materials. However, a certain amount of mass and stiffness is probably necessary for consistent tone.
A certain amount of weight is also desirable for another reason. I own an NS Design EU6. One of the things I like about it is it uses a tripod stand. I have tried other EUBs and they wanted to spin on their end pin. This problem is eliminated with the tripod, although the bass remains in a fixed position which is a problem for some players who want the bass to move with them. IME there are some playing situations where the NS Design becomes unstable on the tripod. While making the bass and stand lighter would make for an easier carry, I think it would reduce the stability of the bass. I play sitting and can simply place a foot on one of the tripod legs. I supposed I could use a sand bag to stabilize the tripod as well, but a suitable sand bag will be heavy and awkward to carry.
Yamaha has some optional touch points you can add to brace the bass against you. This will make the carry bigger and heavier.
I don't see much room to make the bass shorter. Perhaps some sort of headless design could be made.
The stand and bass do have a certain amount of weight. AFAIK the NS Design website list 10.5lbs for the bass and the tripod is 8lbs. AFAIK, the weight for the NS CR-DB-GB gig bag is not listed. My guess it's about 3lbs. So estimated total is around 23lbs.
An EUB could be made out of lighter materials. However, a certain amount of mass and stiffness is probably necessary for consistent tone.
A certain amount of weight is also desirable for another reason. I own an NS Design EU6. One of the things I like about it is it uses a tripod stand. I have tried other EUBs and they wanted to spin on their end pin. This problem is eliminated with the tripod, although the bass remains in a fixed position which is a problem for some players who want the bass to move with them. IME there are some playing situations where the NS Design becomes unstable on the tripod. While making the bass and stand lighter would make for an easier carry, I think it would reduce the stability of the bass. I play sitting and can simply place a foot on one of the tripod legs. I supposed I could use a sand bag to stabilize the tripod as well, but a suitable sand bag will be heavy and awkward to carry.
Yamaha has some optional touch points you can add to brace the bass against you. This will make the carry bigger and heavier.
An EUB would only spin around the endpin if you don’t use the body support. But the support should not glide over your clothes. Winding rubber foam over the support avoids this.
A tripod is a lot heavier than an endpin, but the wood of a longer body can make the difference smaller.
A hollow box can be a lot lighter than a solid plank, but is also more sensitive to impacts and climate changes. And in most cases they are more expensive.
Don’t forget the weight of a stand you might need.
You might consider constructing some wheels for your EUB if you need to walk longer distances. But there are still the other stuff you might need to haul around like an amp, a stand and things like that.
For the EUB I need to have more trips to move my stuff than a DB (with wheels) unless amp, music stand and EUB stand are still there to use.
Find out what is most important for you playing the EUB. In my case it is definitely not the weight but the playing feel. (And of course the cost and amount of usage it gets.)
A tripod is a lot heavier than an endpin, but the wood of a longer body can make the difference smaller.
A hollow box can be a lot lighter than a solid plank, but is also more sensitive to impacts and climate changes. And in most cases they are more expensive.
Don’t forget the weight of a stand you might need.
You might consider constructing some wheels for your EUB if you need to walk longer distances. But there are still the other stuff you might need to haul around like an amp, a stand and things like that.
For the EUB I need to have more trips to move my stuff than a DB (with wheels) unless amp, music stand and EUB stand are still there to use.
Find out what is most important for you playing the EUB. In my case it is definitely not the weight but the playing feel. (And of course the cost and amount of usage it gets.)
