As a recent SVB200 owner, I thought Id chime in with my personal experiences in my EUB quest. First off, my experience with other EUBs is limited to Azolas bugbasses, the acoustic baby bass, Czech Ease and both of Yamahas Silent Basses. Ive been playing BG for a little over 13 years and recently made the jump to the upright realm. I have been around and played URBs in the past, but my actual URB playing time was limited to a few minutes at a time. While Im not a seasoned upright player, I do trust my ears and know what sounds good and what does not. So there, my little disclaimer.
AZOLA
I actually made an appointment and made the drive down from LA to visit with Jill and Steve Azola out in Ramona a couple years ago. They were so warm friendly and felt very welcomed in their home Azola Ranch. I dont know if thats the official name, but it felt like one, very cozy. Steve gave me the history of his basses and a tour of his workshop and showed some of his prototypes. I checked out the bugbasses slab, floating top, and Eurocoustic as well as their Eurocoustic baby bass. I liked the customizable sound of the bugbasses, and they felt pretty good. The thing I wasnt too crazy about was the adjustable wire bar for the upper bout. The Eurocoustics produced a very convincing URB sound, but at the time they only had a volume control. In addition, I wasnt digging the steep upper bout. That was my first EUB experience and wanted to look into others. I was still debating on whether or not I could afford the space and money to get a URB. One thing I knew for certain was that tone and feel were high on the list, tone and feel as close to an URB as possible that is. One
CZECH-EASE
I wont get into too much detail about the Czech Ease, because it was way over my budget. One of the local luthiers had one in his shop on consignment from David Gage. David held a workshop here in Honolulu a while back and didnt want to go through the hassles of checking it in for the return trip home so he left it on consignment. He was selling it with the traveling trunk for $4500. While it was it was smaller than a full sized URB, it was still pretty big. It did sound great, like a true amplified URB. One unique feature thats not mentioned on David Gages site is that the scroll comes off, I think its held in place with a dowel and magnet so ½ friction and the other magnetic. Anyway for that kind of money, I thought to myself that I might as well get a decent URB along the lines of a Shen Willow or for a couple grand more, a New Standard. More tire kicking to come
YAMAHA
Fast forward to a couple months ago, I paid a visit to my local Yamaha instrument shop and had a go at the Yamaha EUBs by accident. I was actually heading over to place an order for a TRB1005F BG and they just so happened to have both SVBs in the showroom. In comparison to the Azolas wire frame upper bout on the bugbass and the very steep upper bout on the Eurocoustic Baby Bass, the SVB100 had a very comfortable and natural upper bout. The SVB100s suggested URB silhouette was pretty to look at and thats just about where it ended for me. The neck felt clunky, maybe almost square. It sounded like mud (it was plugged into an EA iAMP 500 and Wizzy cab). Im sure the sound could possibly be improved with some setup work new bridge, new pickup, new strings etc. I dont mean knock on the 100, but it is what it is. Id almost consider it for silent arco practice as long as I didnt plug it in. I suppose that was Yamahas intent as uprightbassghos mentioned.
Next I tried the SVB200. The 200 was an improvement over the 100 in regard to feel and sound, but overall wasnt thoroughly impressed (initially). The neck did feel a lot better, very close if not just like a URB. The tone, like the marketing ads stated, was much improved. The shop owner told me that it had been in the bag for over a year and no played on it. I spent a good 30 mins or so playing on it and then it began to open up a bit. It sounded even better with the tone shaping/EQ section on the iAMP bypassed. Before I left the shop, I had the dealer put in the order for the TRB1005F and left to digest my experience with the SVBs. I made a second trip and decided that I was in love (or lust). At any rate, the 200 grew on me. By the third trip, love or lust, the SVB200 came home with me. Other plusses to add to the 200 is that its more compact than the 100, sounds better than the 100, and is cheaper than the 100 ($2800). I picked mine up for $1900.
I think the stock onboard piezo pickup is better suited for bowed playing rather than pizz. In my 3 months of experience with the SVB200, bowed playing is where it really shines. At least thats the case with stock strings that came with my SVB200 as they sound through my amps. Dont get me wrong, the pizz sound is pretty darn acceptable and is a close approximation to an acoustic URB. Maybe my pizz technique just flat out sucks, but from what I can hear, I think it sounds better played arco. Im sure if I changed my strings, I may be singing a different tune. Id like to change my strings to somewhere along the lines of Corelli or Daddario Hybrid Mediums or perhaps even Heavies, but Im broke at the moment. Im still paying off my SVB200 and TRB1005F BG that I picked up 3 months ago. Id like to add that the 200 actually has a small acoustic chamber (like the floating top Azola bugbass). I'm sure the improvement in tone over the 100 has a lot to do with this chamber.
Speaking of amps, Im currently GASing over an AI Contra combo, or an AccuGroove Tri112L cab together with an AI Focus head. My main BG combo, a Fender 400 Pro, didnt quite fit the bill. At the moment I switch between my Roland Cube 100 and Yamaha BT500-110 with PA support. It'll have to do for now.
Anyway
my 2 cents.
). I'm on the lookout for a replacement, so I can continue practicing double bass.
