What is the most acoustic sounding EUB/Cutaway DB? What sounds most like the real thing without having to carry rhe same size? I'm In Switzerland / India.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass What is the most acoustic sounding EUB/Cutaway DB?
- Thread starter shashank das
- Start date
Something like the CzechEase
or Eminence
I have played both but it's been awhile. The CzechEase is far closer, as you might expect. It's not a great sounding bass, but it's not bad. Essentially a full size double bass with cut down hips.
I found the Eminence had more of a fretless bass quality, so less authentic than the Czech ease. However Eminence does have an acoustic chamber that makes it more authentic sounding than the average slab.
For the record I played an NS Design US Series 6-string EUB. This was a fabulous instrument but IMHO it sounded absolutely nothing like an upright bass.
I have never played one, but I believe the BSX Allegro is similar in concept to the Eminence.
The Yamaha SLB300Pro is probably the best solid body option. This model uses some sort of modeling to generate a more authentic sound.
I have played an older version of the top-of-the line Silent Bass and I was impressed. It felt and responded very much like a real double bass and the tone through and amp was also much more authentic than the Clevinger I was playing at the time.
or Eminence
I have played both but it's been awhile. The CzechEase is far closer, as you might expect. It's not a great sounding bass, but it's not bad. Essentially a full size double bass with cut down hips.
I found the Eminence had more of a fretless bass quality, so less authentic than the Czech ease. However Eminence does have an acoustic chamber that makes it more authentic sounding than the average slab.
For the record I played an NS Design US Series 6-string EUB. This was a fabulous instrument but IMHO it sounded absolutely nothing like an upright bass.
I have never played one, but I believe the BSX Allegro is similar in concept to the Eminence.
The Yamaha SLB300Pro is probably the best solid body option. This model uses some sort of modeling to generate a more authentic sound.
I have played an older version of the top-of-the line Silent Bass and I was impressed. It felt and responded very much like a real double bass and the tone through and amp was also much more authentic than the Clevinger I was playing at the time.
Attachments
Hey I just heard the Alter ego, it's nice but I'm really going for he acoustic sound as much as possible so would prefer a Czech ease or Kolstein Busseto bass any day, but still looking for more options in that direction, @Wasnex thanks so much for the information, appreciate it!
For the "most acoustic" EUB I would go for the Semi from Heiner Windelband..
Built like a Double Bass, "only in small"
Built like a Double Bass, "only in small"
I've played an Eminence, NS Design, Stagg, and Yamaha SLB200. Out of that group, I ended up buying the Yamaha SLB200. From an ergonomic perspective it felt the closest to a 3/4 DB and the way they designed the body with its tiny acoustic chamber, the pickups, and the preamp... it felt and sounded pretty close to a real DB being played through a piezo. It is also something I'm not completely paranoid about traveling with it.
I play the Yamaha SLB 300. It does not sound like my hybrid, until I plug in the hybrid through a piezo pickup. Then the sound is very close.
I
Exactly. I think so often the EUB is expected to sound like an acoustic DB when in reality the gold standard should be how the EUB sounds when compared to a DB being fed into an amplifier with a piezo. You can go extra steps to accomplish that, but really that evolves into some deep personal preferences/biases that likely go beyond the scope of this conversation.
Exactly. I think so often the EUB is expected to sound like an acoustic DB when in reality the gold standard should be how the EUB sounds when compared to a DB being fed into an amplifier with a piezo. You can go extra steps to accomplish that, but really that evolves into some deep personal preferences/biases that likely go beyond the scope of this conversation.
One more thing:
Do you want the same sound of an acoustic DB on the players ear (which can be very different from what is emitted from the front) or the same sound emitted to the public or both?
Both is hard to impossible to get.
Same sound to the players ear also largely depends on amp, cab, cab position and cab direction.
Solid body EUBs miss the resonance from the body. That can be helpful if you want to use effects but not playing very loud. A bowed string does not start as well as in EUB with vibrating tops or a suspended bridge. There is also no soundpost that can distribute the vibration at the bridge feet.
EUBs with resonance chambers support bowing better, but sound tiny because the resonance frequencies are a bit to much higher than the ones of a normal size DB.
EUBs with (internal or external) impulse response modeling deliver the same electrical signal as the mic it is modeled after. But that gets to an amp and cab and is different to what a player hears from an acoustic DB.
EUBs with a resonant chamber are also much more fragile than solid body instruments, so better use a case for them if you travel. They are also a lot more expensive than most solid body EUBs.
For me the the feel and serviceability is most important. The sound needs to be more similar to a DB than a fretless BG, but since they need amplification , the sound can be tailored by amp, cab and string and sometimes also pickup selection. Also some electrical signal processing (from impedance buffer up to impulse response modeling) can help.
So you can get ideas here, but no one knows all EUBs, so recommendations are from a limited perspective. And priorities might differ, also when looking into the pocket …
And there might be things outside of sound and playability like battery life and type, robustness, size (removable neck or not) etc. that may be important to one and not as much to another.
Do you want the same sound of an acoustic DB on the players ear (which can be very different from what is emitted from the front) or the same sound emitted to the public or both?
Both is hard to impossible to get.
Same sound to the players ear also largely depends on amp, cab, cab position and cab direction.
Solid body EUBs miss the resonance from the body. That can be helpful if you want to use effects but not playing very loud. A bowed string does not start as well as in EUB with vibrating tops or a suspended bridge. There is also no soundpost that can distribute the vibration at the bridge feet.
EUBs with resonance chambers support bowing better, but sound tiny because the resonance frequencies are a bit to much higher than the ones of a normal size DB.
EUBs with (internal or external) impulse response modeling deliver the same electrical signal as the mic it is modeled after. But that gets to an amp and cab and is different to what a player hears from an acoustic DB.
EUBs with a resonant chamber are also much more fragile than solid body instruments, so better use a case for them if you travel. They are also a lot more expensive than most solid body EUBs.
For me the the feel and serviceability is most important. The sound needs to be more similar to a DB than a fretless BG, but since they need amplification , the sound can be tailored by amp, cab and string and sometimes also pickup selection. Also some electrical signal processing (from impedance buffer up to impulse response modeling) can help.
So you can get ideas here, but no one knows all EUBs, so recommendations are from a limited perspective. And priorities might differ, also when looking into the pocket …
And there might be things outside of sound and playability like battery life and type, robustness, size (removable neck or not) etc. that may be important to one and not as much to another.
I own a Kolstine Busetto Travel Bass, after much research and having owned a Clevenger Keyhole EUB I think the Kolstine is as close as you can get because it is simply a downsized Double Bass. I was able to audition the newer version at the International Society of Bassists convention this year. The sides are thicker and shoulders are more sloped while the neck bolts are now flush with the back. I prefer the sound of my older one, but it has a new high density neck from Upton Bass
a New Harmony carbon fiber Endpin and different strings.
These look nice, very appealing.
Would you us more about what Upton did to the neck for you?
In Japan there's a longstanding bass maker called Oriente. They have a couple of "mini" models, the MB-30 and MB-40. The 30 is a hybrid and the 40 is all carved. I've got friends who have them and have played a few, they really are just very small bodied acoustic basses. Someday when I'm done carrying big instruments, I'm probably going to get one myself. They're quite tiny and light, but of course not as tiny as a stick bass. But you can use whatever pickup you like. A guy I know gets good results with a Realist.
They've also made some variations, 5 string version etc.
For sale at a shop in Tokyo: 全ての取り扱い楽器一覧 | クロサワ楽器店 日本最大級の楽器通販サイト
Comparison video:
and a promo one:
They've also made some variations, 5 string version etc.
For sale at a shop in Tokyo: 全ての取り扱い楽器一覧 | クロサワ楽器店 日本最大級の楽器通販サイト
Comparison video:
and a promo one:
- Jul 28, 2009
- 387
- 314
- Disclosures
- Is not compensated for endorsements. Does not sell for profit.
I had a Czech ease in the past. It wasn’t that much more convenient for the compromise made in terms of balance and sound. It just felt kind of cheap as well. I still lost the same amount of seating in a car. Perhaps those who frequently travel by air would feel differently.
I got a SLB300 and couldn’t be any happier with how it sounds live. I wouldn’t record with it. It’s just not as good as the real thing mic’ed. The compromise is certainly worth it for me. Excellent playability and the sound (with the help of a different type of strings) and it’s VERY portable.
I got a SLB300 and couldn’t be any happier with how it sounds live. I wouldn’t record with it. It’s just not as good as the real thing mic’ed. The compromise is certainly worth it for me. Excellent playability and the sound (with the help of a different type of strings) and it’s VERY portable.
That‘s very close to the EUB made by Bass luthier Heiner Windelband in Germany. (Sünnenblink Musikwerkstatt)
It is also very good, but all these smaller instruments have higher pitched resonances, so they (and also smaller fractional acoustic DBs) will never sound like a standard size acoustic DB. Less audible amplified, but still recognizable, specially when bowed.
But as a player of a solid body EUB, without any body modeling I know that you can arrange yourself with more worse things than that.
Of course you're right. But the OP is writing looking for a smaller instrument that sounds closest to a real one. It's really about portability vs sound/feel. Different people will fall in different places on that question. I think for some at least, this might hit that balance point nicely.
Well priced too, at 310,420 yen(2136USD) for the hybrid and 403,920 (2780USD) for the carved. The yen is super low now.
The instrument I suggested in my first post in this thread, which DoubleMIDI was responding to.
The original neck on my Kolstine Busetto cracked at the heel about a month after I received delivery on the instrument so it had to be replaced because of the location of the fracture. My local luthier discovered that the neck was made of soft maple, so it was decided that a new hard maple neck would be better structurally. Upton sells
high quality necks made from their own wood stock. You can order them directly from their website.
