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Double Bass Yamaha SLB300 New model
- Thread starter Henry Rose
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- silent bass slb 300 slb300 yamaha
I've mentioned it before, the shoulder extension should really be part of the deal, especially for the price... I mean, who likes the bass more without it than with it?!
someone else was asking about tuner replacements for his SLB200 in another thread, and together with these posts it's nice to know that they can be upgraded; mine are still going strong and work just fine (strung with Spiro Mittels).
someone else was asking about tuner replacements for his SLB200 in another thread, and together with these posts it's nice to know that they can be upgraded; mine are still going strong and work just fine (strung with Spiro Mittels).
If you are going to play the bass on an end pin, I would thing the shoulder extension is essential. I played an NS Design on a tripod, so no need for a should extension.
I nervously ordered the extension from EBay. Japan to Canada. I’m really happy with it.
If you didn't notice already, the knee extension is for sitting on a chair or stool. It attaches to the metal support arm on the shoulder. It's way to high for standing.
Yeah I saw that. Sometimes I'll sit when playing my real DB, but it's not quite as much fun trying to balance the Yamaha so I frequently end up standing when playing it.
I've been thinking about making my own one-piece shoulder because I have quite a bit of nice wood in the workshop (mesquite, mahogany, walnut, etc...) that I've been wanting to do something cool with. If I do that I might just make a matching knee pad as well. From the drawings I've seen of it online it's a pretty simple looking piece to fabricate.
all due respect, we are discussing the SLB. not sure how the NS comes into equation. is it possible to mount the SLB on a tripod?
one of the big bands that I played in bought a "crossover" DB, that had to be mounted on a tripod. the shoulders were not nearly wide or deep enough for the instrument to be balanced like the real McCoy. personally I felt limited, especially if I needed to maintain eye contact with both drummer and conductor. not to mention some beastly 7pg. arrangements...
How is this not relevant?
I have played several EUBs on an end pin (including older Yamaha SLBs). My feeling is the end pin is not a good solution.
I never missed the shoulders on the NSD because the bass was stabile on the tripod. I did have to experiment a bit to get the angles of the instrument just right. YMMV on this, so no need to argue further about my experience differing from yours....and yes I also played traditional acoustic upright professionally in jazz and classical settings, so I feel entirely qualified to comment.
Yamaha makes a tripod for the SLB line, but it's more of a holder IMHO. However, some people use this sort of stand while they are playing, although I have a hard time imagining how.
We have touched on building custom attachments for the SLB in this thread. Which is why I mentioned the NS Design...someone may be interested in building a "better stand".
For the record I don't consider the NS Design stand perfect, but IMHO it's much better than an end pin.
wow.
first of all, I began my post with "all due respect" because I truly value your experience and expertise that you share here on TB. seeing you reply like this is surprising, to say the least.
2nd, I thought NS is irrelevant here, because while both can be characterized as EUB, they don't have much in common IMHO. Yamaha's tripod is meant for temporary storage of the instrument, because it cannot be left on the floor or in the corner like a real DB. IIRC NS is either on a tripod or strapped, while SLB is balanced against player's body like a real DB - to the best of my knowledge.
lastly, I wanted to share that I also have had experience with similar instrument on a tripod, and wanted to make a distinction between the two. English being my third language, I apparently failed at getting the message across. it was never meant as an argument, but as sharing my experience. if that is unwelcome, I have zero problems with not doing it anymore.
why would anyone post anything crossed out is beyond me. I am really sorry that my post made you do that, or that you felt like your knowledge, experience and value to TB was in question.
Here is a hint to help you with your mastery of American-English: Starting a comment "with all due respect" is likely to be taken ironically, as it is often used sarcastically. Whether it was intentional or not, your post came across as you telling me my post was off-topic and superfluous.
My intent was to explain why I think my entire post was relevant, which I still do. As with most everything, YMMV! So you are entirely welcome to disagree.
As far as the crossed-out paragraph, that was unintended. I meant to correct a typo in the quote. The only part that was supposed to be crossed out was the letter "g" in the word "thing"...A "k" was added to correct the word to "think". Somehow the BBcoding I used did not stop the cross-out formatting in the intended place. So the following paragraph was crossed out. Based on the resultant post, my guess is I missed the final "s" in the BBcoding
. If you want to be upset, that is your prerogative. It's also your problem, because I will not go very far down the road with continued dialogue on this matter. My intent and desire is only to try and participate in a friendly and helpful conversation. If you want to argue further, find someone else because I am not interested.
You are however encouraged to continue with other comments you think may be helpful to the OP.
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Reformatted text from post #148 to remove unintended strike throughs. My apologies for any confusion or angst this caused:
I have played several EUBs on an end pin (including older Yamaha SLBs). My feeling is the end pin is not a good solution.
I never missed the shoulders on the NSD because the bass was stabile on the tripod. I did have to experiment a bit to get the angles of the instrument just right. YMMV on this, so no need to argue further about my experience differing from yours....and yes I also played traditional acoustic upright professionally in jazz and classical settings, so I feel entirely qualified to comment.
Yamaha makes a tripod for the SLB line, but it's more of a holder IMHO. However, some people use this sort of stand while they are playing, although I have a hard time imagining how.
We have touched on building custom attachments for the SLB in this thread. Which is why I mentioned the NS Design...someone may be interested in building a "better stand".
For the record I don't consider the NS Design stand perfect, but IMHO it's much better than an end pin.
I started with DB long before I got my first EUB. It might depend on the player, but I move with the bass during playing. Not much, but getting fixed at one point with a tripod is not an portion for me.
I changed the angled endpin of my Clevinger EUB (vertical close to the bridge) to a straight endpin (in parallel to the body) because when I used the bow, the EUB body got pulled sideways with the bow. That went away with the straight endpin.
It depends heavily how the endpin and body supports are constructed and where they reside on the instrument, if they slip over the clothes or not etc. to feel good or not with an EUB. Often something needs to be changed (if possible) to make an EUB more playable.
I can imagine that BG players coming to EUB are in general happier with the tripod. There also might be situations where you do not have enough room or time to switch from one instrument to the other where the tripod excels.
But personally I still prefer the endpin.
I changed the angled endpin of my Clevinger EUB (vertical close to the bridge) to a straight endpin (in parallel to the body) because when I used the bow, the EUB body got pulled sideways with the bow. That went away with the straight endpin.
It depends heavily how the endpin and body supports are constructed and where they reside on the instrument, if they slip over the clothes or not etc. to feel good or not with an EUB. Often something needs to be changed (if possible) to make an EUB more playable.
I can imagine that BG players coming to EUB are in general happier with the tripod. There also might be situations where you do not have enough room or time to switch from one instrument to the other where the tripod excels.
But personally I still prefer the endpin.
Update on my frame extension order: placed the order on May 25 through the eBay seller "the_big_dipper_" in Japan. Order arrived yesterday via FedEx. Much earlier than promised. No extra duty or other charges. The seller communicated really well. Total cost including tax was $103.
- Jul 28, 2009
- 387
- 314
- Disclosures
- Is not compensated for endorsements. Does not sell for profit.
Hopefully someone who has a talent for doing product reviews can provide that for you.
My personal experiences and observations (SLB300PRO): By the way, I've been a long time user of a BassBalereit Studio and my opinions are subjective because I'm extremely happy with those. Your experiences with pickups and mics (positive or negative) will impact your experience and comparisons.
- It is a product that serves a specific purpose of transportability and silent practicing. It does great to solve those needs, if those are constraints that prevent someone from performing more often and practicing more often. As others have said, it certainly doesn't make me feel like I could sell off my main bass. I see no reason to use it to record over a real acoustic bass. Might as well use the real thing instead of something that does a really convincing job of approximating one.
- It's a compromise as all EUBs intended to sub for an acoustic are. But it's far less of a compromise than in the past. My experiences with owning EUB's (including the Czech-ease) in the past few decades always left me selling them after less than a year. They were great for their own purposes, but they never could be an adequate substitute for a good acoustic, which is what I needed. They always ended up in storage and I ended up going back to the real thing, then selling those. With the SLB300, I feel like we're finally there in feel and tone. It's really good, but it's still not as satisfying to play and hear as a good acoustic bass. We're way closer than we've ever been, but frankly that was never a high bar. But I would say that it's actually sounds far better than the average budget plywood bass with piezo pickups (but in fairness it costs way more). In a live mix and blindfold test, It's difficult to distinguish it from an acoustic. It's also incredibly good at arco (a first for a EUB). I don't see myself selling it unless something better comes along the way.
- Gigs have specifically requested that I bring acoustic instead. Being performers, there are situations where our appearance matters. I can't show up in shorts and flip flops and they're willing to pay to maintain a Steinway instead of plugging in a Roland, so I get when someone requests the acoustic and I get where they're coming from. It is a beautiful instrument that gives a certain visual presence. Maybe I should start charging cartage as compensation for requests to bring my acoustic.
- For the price you'll do better getting a good Hybrid with really good pickups. Given the price, I don't see why the SLB300 would ever be someone's primary bass. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners who are considering it instead of an acoustic. It likely will result in developing bad habits making it difficult to transition to an acoustic. It'd tell them, spend the same money on a good Hybrid bass, setup and pickups. If it has to be one or the other, I'd pick an acoustic every time.
- It makes a great second bass. It's a great tool for specific live performance situations; travel and/or situations where I don't want my bass damaged. I like it better than having a beater plywood bass as a second bass because it has logistics advantages and sounds better. It also doesn't feed back. Have a bass that's easy to transport and takes up less space is a good tool to have, because those situations do arise and when they do, I'm so glad that I have this thing. Also, it doesn't feed back even at high volumes. If you're playing in situations where volume levels are that high (like a big band amplified) it has a distinct advantage. Interestingly it actually sounds better than the real thing at those ridiculous volumes.
- I have no feeling of long term attachment to it. Maybe because it's technology and we all know that technology always gets improved and there's obsolescence. I feel like I'm highly likely to replace it with a SLB-400 on the horizon (in 10 years maybe?)
Lawrence
That entire post was great, however these last two points summarize my feelings towards my SLB-200 quite nicely.
It's a decent tool that does what I need, but there are other things I prefer more. However in a very specific set of circumstances it's often the best tool for the job. I have a carved bass and a ply bass, but there are times when the SLB is the thing that gets loaded in. I've thought about selling it more than once... but then something always comes up where it's the exact thing I need.
- For the price you'll do better getting a good Hybrid with really good pickups. Given the price, I don't see why the SLB300 would ever be someone's primary bass. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners who are considering it instead of an acoustic. It likely will result in developing bad habits making it difficult to transition to an acoustic. It'd tell them, spend the same money on a good Hybrid bass, setup and pickups. If it has to be one or the other, I'd pick an acoustic every time.
That's an incredibly valid point. Sometimes it's just a utility issue.
Last time I used mine was because I was to accompany my daughter for her All State Solo competition. This was an overnight trip and four of us rode together in the same vehicle. I was able to easily pack the Yamaha SLB-200, a micro class D head, and my MAS 16 cab and still have plenty of room left over for everyones luggage. This would have never been possible with my Tyrolean. As an aside, it was an incredibly fun experience to accompany her as a trio while she performed the Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano. What a great senior year memory for both of us. The SLB performed beautifully and sounded great in that room. It was the perfect tool for the job in that instance.
