Winter 2019 Build Off - the EUV

[ctmullins]

Thanks! And yea, it is addicting. I’ve been lurking over on the DB side of the house, trying to soak up some concepts. It’s a different world over there! Lots of traditionalists, but some progressives too. The cool thing about EUBs (similar to BGs) is the huge opportunity for variety in design and execution.

 

[JIO]

Thanks! And yea, it is addicting. I’ve been lurking over on the DB side of the house, trying to soak up some concepts. It’s a different world over there! Lots of traditionalists, but some progressives too. The cool thing about EUBs (similar to BGs) is the huge opportunity for variety in design and execution.

Memorized/internalized left hand positioning and intonation are everything on an upright. Also really good for ear training, hearing the nuance of notes. Then there is bowing, and you have a choice between French and German ("Butler") style bows. I use Butler, because my teacher used one. Affordable bows can be bought which are decent, but the pointy-end of bows is where the rubber-meets-the-road (or I guess, where horse-hair meets the strings!) in stringed instruments. Yo Yo Ma says the sound of a cello (violin/DB) in great degree comes from the bow. Pizzicato/finger-style is cool/jazzy but bowing is really fun and once you develop good technique you can do some really cool stuff. My inspiration when I started was Miroslav Vitos (Weather Report) who played with a Butler bow. A fave from that time was "Will" from Sweetnighter ('73), in which he used an envelop filter on his bowed upright.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

You can spend a lot on a bow; You can also get a quite usable carbon fiber one for $50 or so on ebay. Assuming you want to bow at all, many don't. I happen to, though it took me the better part of a year to get to starting, and several weeks-to-months to make pleasant noises rather than screechings with it. But now I use it almost all the time...

I certainly know a violinist whose bow cost more than the violin, and it supposedly makes enough difference that that's worth it, but for the "just getting it together" end of the spectrum CF is a great improvement over cheesy fiberglass bows.

I use what seems to be called (debate as usual, continues) an "Italian" grip on a French bow - thumb position differs. I tried a German bow and found it wildly unsuited to me, or my style, or something. I could make it work in practice alone, but when playing with the band it helped me screw up much more than usual, so I went back to French. That's often a near-religious issue for some folks - I was willing to be agnostic, but simply could not make it work for me, so I went back to what worked for me.

Then you get into another religious debate around rosins (yep, tree sap in fancy packages) - I use a hard version (Sherman's) and have felt no need to change from it, but there's all sorts of goopy stuff out there, with Pops certainly seeming to be the one that gets the most mentions here - of course lots of those mentions are about getting it fresh enough, or freshening it up/softening/remelting old/etc. As a hard rosin user my only need for remelting comes when I drop mine and it shatters...

 

[ctmullins]

Great info, thanks! A bow is definitely in my future, just not before the competition final...

Volute shaped and sanded. Im pretty happy with this.

I also like the grain pattern on the back of the pegbox. That was intentional.

 

[ctmullins]

Regarding the broken string, Gollihur suggested I contact GHS directly; GHS was completely wonderful, sending me a replacement string gratis, overnight to boot.

I’m having difficulties with the Tung oil. Think I’ll have to switch to Tru-Oil. Why do I keep making this same mistake?

 

[JIO]

Regarding the broken string, Gollihur suggested I contact GHS directly; GHS was completely wonderful, sending me a replacement string gratis, overnight to boot.

I’m having difficulties with the Tung oil. Think I’ll have to switch to Tru-Oil. Why do I keep making this same mistake?

I've had similar good pr dealings with GHS - used to use their string exclusively but have been using D'Addario's the last few years. Still like GHS Progressives and flats.

 

[JIO]

I bought this butler bow a few years ago (eBay-China) and it was around $50. In an early chapter of my bass-journey I had an upright and a nice German-made bow that looked very much like this one. For my limited use of it, it is serviceable. My original bow was strung with black horse-hair which was courser and grabbed the strings more dynamically, and yes - as T_Bone_TL stated, rosin comes in many varieties and I too use a hard version. (Anton Breton)

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That looks like the one I have. I need to get it rehaired but I don't know that I'd use it enough to want to spend the money.

 

[D-Smith]

Nice job! Great thread, thanks for documenting the build.

 

[postalflunkie]

I think this is the most extreme build this year. Not a great upright player but I'd love to mess around with this one (with gratuitous amounts of distortion of course)

 

[ctmullins]

How is the piezo response with the body mounting?

Don’t know yet. Everything’s disassembled for finish. Hopefully in a week or so I can reassemble and install the electronics. I’m pretty confident based on my experimentation with the prototype.

 

[dwizum]

You should have entered your prototype in the build off. "It's a mashup between a bass, and a 2 x 4"

 

[JIO]

You should have entered your prototype in the build off. "It's a mashup between a bass, and a 2 x 4"

4 x 1?

 

[ctmullins]

So you have access to it, you can pull it out, etc?

Yea...??

Could you repeat the question?

 

[JIO]

 

[ctmullins]

Spent the last few days doing Tru-Oil on the back and sides. Got it to an acceptable stage for now. Before I flipped it, I reassembled, checking my nut and bridge slots. Bridge is still way high, which is better than it being low. Nut is good, though I improved the angle of the slots for the highest strings - I think that an abrupt angle might have contributed to me breaking the last G string. I also lubed up the slots with a hint of Vaseline.

Then I installed my piezos and reassembled the bass. It was finicky to install them; I might have placed the access panel a little better, or made it a bit larger, or something. At first I used some foam gasketing in their little trenches, but that didn’t go too well. So I cut some mahogany shims, and tapped them in with a block of wood. That was better. Plugged them into a TC Spark Booster (they still have the little plugs on their wires), one at a time, into my TE Elf, into my big cabinet. The bridge piezo sounds good, if a little quiet. The neck piezo is really hot, and might need some lows taken out of the EQ. But they work acceptably well, so that’s a win!

I ordered a Noll Mixpot - Best Bass Gear and a Richter MX2 Active Piezo and Magnetic Mixer - Best Bass Gear today. We’ll see which one works better. If they don’t arrive before the deadline, I’ll just use my Cafe Walter temporarily. Or maybe just a straight jack into the Spark...

 

[ctmullins]

You might find this useful:

You Can Build It

Great write-up, thanks!

I’m encouraged by my initial experiments with applying pressure to a body-mounted piezo. Just sticking a piezo on the instrument’s body is disappointing, but gradually clamping down on it improves things dramatically. I’m pleased with the amount of “clamping” or “preload” that my little mahogany shims are providing.

 

[ctmullins]

Tending to last-minute details.

Barrel jack location:

Recessed control knobs:

And discreet small black MOP side dots at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12:

(Heresy, I know. I don’t care. I want ‘em.)

 

[ctmullins]

I covered my EUB with marker dots.

I love what you did with yours! I considered adding a few strategically-placed face dots, and I still may, depending on what my needs end up being. I still have to learn how to play this thing!

Is the back of that neck square?

Mostly. I know what kind of profile I like for bass guitar, but not for upright. I do know that keeping the thumb behind the neck is a necessity for upright, and the flat back will help with that. But it may get carved more later. Uncharted territory, as I mentioned before.

 

[Jon Clegg]

I love what you did with yours! I considered adding a few strategically-placed face dots, and I still may, depending on what my needs end up being. I still have to learn how to play this thing!



Mostly. I know what kind of profile I like for bass guitar, but not for upright. I do know that keeping the thumb behind the neck is a necessity for upright, and the flat back will help with that. But it may get carved more later. Uncharted territory, as I mentioned before.

Yeah, but going into the unknown is fun!