New (Electric Upright/Double) Bass

[Tony W]

If you're selling it cheap.... I love that thing! I've got a massive gas attack just thinking about it. It's about as cool of an instrument as I've seen in a while.

[Wiley]

Did you get a bow with it also?   Amazing what you can do with that!!  Can't wait to hear it!!
PJ

[AndyR]

No, no bow yet... wasn't planning on one originally, but I'm definitely thinking about it now

Apparently (from the talkbass forum) the factory strings aren't particularly good for bowing. And opinion seems to be divided on whether the bass itself supports bowing that well.

By the way, I'm stunned/horrified at how much double-bass strings cost though - combined with all the variations in what they're for and what they do. It sounds like once you've found the set you like then the price is reasonable because they last a long time... But figuring out the set you need could be very expensive if you start swapping and changing...

[Geir]

By the way, I'm stunned/horrified at how much double-bass strings cost though - ......

That is a major concern for me too, if I ever get to surrender to the GAS attack.... from what I've heard they cost about the same as a decent cheap guitar !!!

[AndyR]

Yep, I've seen as cheap as £60-£70 (a set), but it looks like I'll be looking at £100-£120.

Having said that, as long as you don't damage them, it looks like you can get 4-5 years solid playing out of a set.

[dasilvasings]

Hi Andy!

Congratulations for the doublebass. I used to play doublebass (the real thing), and I still own one. It is useful to make a fire, to use as a boat, or to smuggle dead bodies. That's for saying you did the right thing in going for the electric. The captation is a lot easier (e.g. my db makes the windows tremble, which i s not nice in a home studio), and it is more comfortable to play.

Be careful with orchestral strings! They are meant for... orchestra. The usually have a higher tension to be used with the bow and to make a lot of dB. You probably want some light jazz strings. I can't give you advice on them, but check dbass (late) godfather Niels Hennings Orsted Pedersen (NHOP for friends). He doesn't use orchestral strings... I suspect he used butter-strings.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6xk9Qvm4Vo

PS not my favorite song from him, but....

[dasilvasings]

I've heard it again! what a blast of solo!

[AndyR]

Thanks for that

I've been wondering about Orchestral strings because I've heard word that it's possible that they might make an EDB sound a little more "acoustic" if that's what you're after. I'm not convinced I need to go chase that too much because with some judicious EQng on a BR I can start getting close enough for my liking. On my BR1600 I've found the acoustic simulator patch is another route to go - getting some nice sounds out of it.

One of my gut feelings has been D'Addario Hybrids - partly because I see me wanting to be able to do some arco in the future as well as pizz. But whereas some folks seem to think that's the route to go, others seem to look down their noses at hybrids as "neither one nor the other".

I'm aiming at the moment for a folkie sort of vibe, capable of going with folkie acoustic guitars but also marrying up with blues electric and rock and roll. Not too worried/interested about slap. The impression I'm getting is that apart from "will the set take a bow without getting too scratchy" (and obviously volume's not a problem on an electric), most of it's going to be in your fingers anyway - so go for a set that feels right to play.

And thanks for the clip - I've been meaning to sit down and trawl the web looking for stuff to watch. I've been worried I might be in danger of damaging my left wrist, but I seem to be playing in pretty much the same sort of shapes as he does.

And funnily enough, my missus was telling some of her friends last night about my new bass. One of them went "Why? he doesn't play jazz..." ... when she got home she found that he was indeed noodling around in a very jazz bassist kinda way. It just kind of does it to you without you realising!

I'm not anywhere near this guy's dexterity though!   I'd definitely need lighter strings at the moment to get near that!!

What gets me though, a few days ago I would have been thinking "a guy playing a jazz bass, yeah, cool...", but now I already understand what he was doing/saying scalewise etc... I was aware of the possibility, but I never expected this thing to drag me into jazz that quickly!

[dasilvasings]

I learned classical double bass for 4 years. I invested a lot of time, effort (an money) and I even missed 1 year at uni because of the db, and I feel that's the intrument I play worse. I still have my db, although I dream of throwing him (yes, "him", not "it") from here



So far I lack the courage, and I'm afraid that evil beast will not break. As you can see, I still hold some grudge...

Anyway, I can't give you much advice on string brands. I'll just put some advice I should have been told:

1. Work your tone! Since it is an electrical, I personally wouldn't mind in abusing EQ and even some compression. I once recorded my db dry and the sound was so bad, I thought for years I played awfully.

2. Noodling with the db is fun, especially doing walking lines. However, be careful with your fingers' position. It is easy to get obsessed with the groove (rythm) and start play out of tune. (I wonder how the BR pitch correction works on the db...)

3. I like the bow a lot. You should go for it, but it is not that easy. I learned the German bow. In the beginning it is painful since you hold pressure with the right side of the index finger, and it is a part of your anatomy I use much. Now I'm confortable with the german bow, but each time a friend lends me a violin or a cello, I feel stupid because I can't hold their bow. Since you don't want to be a master bower, I suggest you go for a French bow. Less painful, and whatever you learn, you can take it to a violin or cello.

4. there are lots of jokes of double bassists. DON'T TELL NO ONE YOU HAVE ONE!!! ;-)

After all this rant, let me tell you that I envy you. I would love to do a reset and start all over again, but there are too much resentments... for now...

[dasilvasings]

There's a good thing...

Once I was carrying the beast, and a very gentle old lady said (I'm absolutely sure was naively) "what a big instrument you have there".

On that moment, all my sacrifices were worth it and now I can die in peace.

M