Double Bass Worsening back problems- Sell an upright for an electric upright? Which one?

[krfoss]

So, early 40s, but my back is getting worse and worse. My doctor is recommending surgery and moving my upright to and from rehearsal spaces is becoming a pain. Therefore, I'm considering selling an upright bass and buying an electric upright. I figure all my gigs with upright are plugged in through a PA system, and I'm using either a Full Circle or Realist so it almost doesnt matter what bass I have so long as I can play it (still questionable, but a topic for another thread).

I have an old American Standard bass that I love and has some sentimental value. I also have a Shen 150 which I bought for this gig because I bow a fair amount and the AS's fingerboard and bridge are pretty flat and a little harder for bowing. But, the 150 does play a little easier for bowing and looks fantastic with the violin corners. That said, I'd likely sell the Shen.

The question is which EUB? I'm likely to narrow my search to the Yamaha SLB 300 (maybe 200) or the Eminence. I like the look of both. From the videos the both sound fine plugged in, but I'd love to know which people like better for Arco and Pizz? Any reason to get one over the other?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Don Hergert]

I have zero experience with either the SLB or the Em, but I'm really sorry to hear about your back! I wish you the best for that.

I lust after Eminances, a few of my jazz bassist friends at Disneyland play them and really like them. But, they aren't available new, and SLBs are. That might be a deciding factor.

 

[krfoss]

I have zero experience with either the SLB or the Em, but I'm really sorry to hear about your back! I wish you the best for that.

Thats so much. Headed to church this morning with my MTD 6 in the bag and I almost didnt make it to the car. It goes in and out, but its out it's bad. Too bad I picked really heavy instruments to play (upright, electric bass, and banjo).

 

[Don Hergert]

Yup. I have to sit while playing my heavy banjo now, actually have for the last 15 years or so, but I can still stand while playing mandolin.

Had to sell my Harley because of my lower back, too, just couldn't sit on it anymore (thump-thump-thump); that was a low point in my transportation experience.

The bass buggy has saved my back for double bass and it continues to make a huge difference at festivals and jam events.

In 2010 while I was off work due to having GBS I had an unrelated C3-C4-C5 neck fusion surgery to correct pain and numbness in my arms. The surgery helped my neck situation but left me less flexible. I hardly notice it now but it was hard getting used to not turning my neck. Now nearly at 72 my lower back seems to have self fused and while it's stiff, I almost never have notable pain with it, but I'm super careful about what I do with it (hence the bass buggy), and I've been able to lose some weight too, that might be helping too.

Whatever your back is doing, I offer lots of sympathy!

 

[bass player 53]

So, early 40s, but my back is getting worse and worse. My doctor is recommending surgery and moving my upright to and from rehearsal spaces is becoming a pain. Therefore, I'm considering selling an upright bass and buying an electric upright. I figure all my gigs with upright are plugged in through a PA system, and I'm using either a Full Circle or Realist so it almost doesnt matter what bass I have so long as I can play it (still questionable, but a topic for another thread).

I have an old American Standard bass that I love and has some sentimental value. I also have a Shen 150 which I bought for this gig because I bow a fair amount and the AS's fingerboard and bridge are pretty flat and a little harder for bowing. But, the 150 does play a little easier for bowing and looks fantastic with the violin corners. That said, I'd likely sell the Shen.

The question is which EUB? I'm likely to narrow my search to the Yamaha SLB 300 (maybe 200) or the Eminence. I like the look of both. From the videos the both sound fine plugged in, but I'd love to know which people like better for Arco and Pizz? Any reason to get one over the other?

Thanks for your help!

Sorry to hear about your back issues. I have the removable neck Eminence. I weighs 19.4 lbs, in the thin cloth travel bag. It sounds like an upright to me, pizz or arco. It has the Gage Realist Copperhead pickup.
I have never seen the Yamaha in person.
I find it easy to carry the Eminence. I sit on a 23" padded stool when I play it, which eliminates any awkwardness in holding it. I bring along a 46" by 30" cheap Walmart rug to sit on to prevent end pin slipping.
I bought it used from a TB'er, and it arrived in its hard shell golf case. I payed ~$2k for it a decade or so ago.

 

[B-Low the C]

Yamaha SLB feels like an upright (no tripod stand) but you might look a changing out the stock strings if you play mostly arco. Many videos out there

https://www.google.com/search?q=video+of+yamaha+slb+300+being+bowed&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#fpstate=ive&sv=CAMSVhozKhFpYy1fX1B3cU9rcHZ1aFptTTIOX19Qd3FPa3B2dWhabU06Dkh4VENpWm9SU0ZrTzFNIAQqGwoEc3ZpbRIRaWMtX19Qd3FPa3B2dWhabU0YATABGAcg35PV_QI&vld=cid:4389cffe,vid:-r9pLh5IXk0,st:0

 

[BobKay]

Just a word of warning: if weight is the issue, I don't think an EUB will provide the relief you are looking for. I switched to a Yamaha SLB300 about 4+ years ago for medical reasons - severe arthritis in my right foot makes it hard to walk. I switched because my traditional uprights were awkward to handle, not because they were too heavy. If my foot failed while transporting the bass, the Yamaha in its case was more likely to survive compared to dropping my acoustic bass. Even in a really good case.

I play pizz only, so can't help on that question. IMHO, I don't think any EUB sounds like an acoustic bass, even when the acoustic is plugged in. Close, but different. I like the EUB because it makes it easier to play in loud situations, too.

 

[evanrunyon]

You sit or stand when you play? Just have had a handful of brief encounters with both, but the Yamaha felt, to me, more like an acoustic double bass. The Eminence is also a quality thing, to be sure, but it balances so much differently that I think it'd take much longer to adjust as a stander.

 

[Jens Telemark]

+1 on looking into a bass buggy.

 

[Jens Telemark]

You sit or stand when you play? Just have had a handful of brief encounters with both, but the Yamaha felt, to me, more like an acoustic double bass. The Eminence is also a quality thing, to be sure, but it balances so much differently that I think it'd take much longer to adjust as a stander.

This^^^ 100%. Only played Yamahas at the shop but I had a removable neck version of the Eminence for over two years.

 

[Pings Bass]

+1 on looking into a bass buggy.

I got an EUB to leave in a rehearsal studio and a bass buggy to haul my Kay to gigs. I don't think the bass buggy is a real solution for OP, because the hard part (for me at least) is getting it in and out of the car. And the bass buggy makes that even harder.

The EUB at the rehearsal studio considerably cuts down on the number if times I have to move any bass, which is a big win for me. I just show up with a bow.

If I were to make the change to gigging EUB I'd probably be looking at the SLB, based on my research when I was looking for a rehearsal bass, and based on the eminence no longer being made. (I ended up with an early model BSX and strung it with the same strings on my Kay so it feels very similar, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to gig with it.)

 

[matthewbrown]

I have back problems that led me to find the lightest weight options, too, so I feel your pain. I switched to playing an Ibanez EUB, but found that with the stand, it was still quite a lot to lug around, and it sucked for arco (I suck at arco, but still...) So I sold it and bought an Ibanez SRH500f, a light, hollow-body fretless with a piezo pickup. I put heavy flats on it, and it sounds as good as the EUB. Carrying it is no problem. If arco isn't a big deal, you might consider doing something similar.

 

[yeasty]

(Lumbar spinal surgery patient 7 years post op)

Before making any life-changing kit decisions, see what life is like after surgery. I walked out of the recovery room and went shopping at the grocery store on the way home, able to lift both feet without scuffing my shoes for the first time in almost a decade.

Back to bass gear, I picked up an NS CR4M and love it. This was, for me, a transition from electric bass into the world of upright for the first time since playing cello decades prior. The CRM4 is great for pizz and surely isn't limiting for my arco work. I think there's one in the classifieds right now, to boot.

Good luck -- and if the surgery is available to you and you're a good candidate, it can be life altering.

 

[Jens Telemark]

I got an EUB to leave in a rehearsal studio and a bass buggy to haul my Kay to gigs. I don't think the bass buggy is a real solution for OP, because the hard part (for me at least) is getting it in and out of the car. And the bass buggy makes that even harder.

The EUB at the rehearsal studio considerably cuts down on the number if times I have to move any bass, which is a big win for me. I just show up with a bow.

If I were to make the change to gigging EUB I'd probably be looking at the SLB, based on my research when I was looking for a rehearsal bass, and based on the eminence no longer being made. (I ended up with an early model BSX and strung it with the same strings on my Kay so it feels very similar, but I'm not sure I'd ever want to gig with it.)

You're probably right. The buggy was valuable to me moving two or more blocks and it was easy to get the bass in and out of my truck with the buggy on. But wrestling it in and out of a car could be a very different story.

A lovely carved top hollow body Grez bass guitar is a more satisfying concession to back pain than an EUB. It's not inappropriate for anything I do but that won't be the case for everyone.

 

[logdrum]

Yamaha the top end models are surprisingly close. But they are $$$

 

[coyote1]

So, early 40s, but my back is getting worse and worse. My doctor is recommending surgery[/B]?

Thanks for your help!

May I ask what particular issues are occurring?

 

[logdrum]

Sorry to hear. You are also young. Smart to not sell both, so you still have a real one at home

 

[krfoss]

May I ask what particular issues are occurring?

L5s1 disk deterioration and herniation.

Usually if I'm standing im fine. It's the bending to pick up the bass (or anything else) that's the problem.

 

[bass player 53]

Just a word of warning: if weight is the issue, I don't think an EUB will provide the relief you are looking for. I switched to a Yamaha SLB300 about 4+ years ago for medical reasons - severe arthritis in my right foot makes it hard to walk. I switched because my traditional uprights were awkward to handle, not because they were too heavy. If my foot failed while transporting the bass, the Yamaha in its case was more likely to survive compared to dropping my acoustic bass. Even in a really good case.

I play pizz only, so can't help on that question. IMHO, I don't think any EUB sounds like an acoustic bass, even when the acoustic is plugged in. Close, but different. I like the EUB because it makes it easier to play in loud situations, too.

Can you, or anyone chime in on what the Yamaha in a bag or case weighs when you're transporting it? I'm curious and can't find consistent information. Thanks.

 

[coyote1]

L5s1 disk deterioration and herniation.

Usually if I'm standing im fine. It's the bending to pick up the bass (or anything else) that's the problem.

Thanks for replying! I've got three disks in the lower back that show significant deterioration.

Thing is that I know a half dozen people who have had back surgery - not one of them is doing any better as a result, and two of them are in worse shape. So I don't know what your particular situation is, but I've mitigated mine by walking and stretching daily. I get much more flexible and comfortable after doing those things (plus a shower of course). In any event I would try everything you can before submitting to surgery.

Best wishes on finding relief!