Where next after a Stagg......

[JPJ]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1489659549' post='3258674']

JPJ - what pickup did you upgrade it with? Any recommendations (from you or anyone else) for beginner's technique material?
[/quote]

Congratulations on the purchase, the Stagg is a great starting point imho.

My 'upgrade' was out of necessity as the bass side piezo on mine stopped working. I went with a locally sourced Artec unit which proved to be warmer sounding and higher output, so a win-win.

As to beginners technique material, our own Geoffbass has some excellent YouTube videos on hand position and techniques etc here [url="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUXgtLdATSU6LQLd6Qlp0bQ/videos?feature=guide&view=1"]https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUXgtLdATSU6LQLd6Qlp0bQ/videos?feature=guide&view=1[/url]

[Al Krow]

Cheers JPJ. I've subscribed to Geoff's channel!

[ivansc]

dand666 PMd you

[bobmartin]

I'm selling a Stagg EUB with an upgraded nut in VGC.

[Al Krow]

Playing the Kinks "You really got me" on a Stagg EUB just seems wrong, buuuut yet it's soooo much fun!! And as for "Living on a Prayer"...what am I thinking?!!

[ivansc]

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1485268917' post='3222637']

I don't know if Bassix are still in business, but their New Tech EUB looked pretty cool and cost closer to £1k
[/quote]
Spoke with Alan recently and he is back in business!
He also said he still has spares for most of his earlier basses.

[petebassist]

Interesting to hear that Alan is back in business. Does anyone know where to find out more? Can't find the old website.

[randythoades]

That is great news. I have a Bassix 'stick' type EUB and love it. Just selling my acoustic bass as moving house and won't have room to store but would be interested in getting another EUB in the future so be good to have some up to date details for Alan as I also tried to go onto he old website and it is not functioning... and the facebook page is 3 years out of date.

[randythoades]

These Far West EUB look fantastic so would be interested in anyone has any playing experience:
[url="http://farwestmusicalinstruments.co.uk/the-redhead/"]http://farwestmusicalinstruments.co.uk/the-redhead/[/url]

[stingrayPete1977]

Yes those do look really nice, good find!

[Al Krow]

Does look good!

Novice question - what significant benefits in terms of sound quality / playability is provided by some of the more expensive EUBs e.g. the Yamaha SLB 200 (£2.5k) or the Far West models (£1.1k) as compared to my starter Stagg (£500)? I completely get that you get what you pay for. But exactly "what" more is it that these more premium EUBs are providing?

[Staggering on]

I had a Stagg and now play a Yamaha SLB200.Among other things I have found the body extensions("arms")on the Yamaha are much more comfortable and solid than on the Stagg and you can really use them for supporting the instrument.The neck heel is better on the Yamaha and is easier to use.
I think the tuners work better and the tone and volume controls are very sensitive and can be used to define your sound very effectively,much better than the Stagg.
The overall quality of the build makes the SLB feel much more solid and stable than the Stagg,but I did have to do some work on the endpin screw after it stripped(seems to be fairly common).
I like the sound from the body of the Yamaha,the Stagg is solid with no chamber.The fingerboard is much better on the Yamaha also,better shape and finish.The case is also better which makes a big difference if you have to move the bass a lot,it's not perfect but is definitely more substantial than the Stagg cases,I had the Stagg gig bag and also their hard case and both were pretty flimsy.
I am still working on basic arco technique but it is easier with the Yamaha bridge shape than it was on the Stagg.
Playability,comfort and good controls make the SLB a lot easier to play and sound better than the Stagg.
I use it in a jazz standards quartet(keyboard,drums,sax/clarinet) and while it doesn't sound like an acoustic upright it is close and I can fine tune the sound to work in a variety of venues.
All that said,it is very expensive and there might be other more reasonably priced alternatives like the Far West or MK(Italian) EUB's that are as good or better than the Yamaha.At this point I'm very happy with the SLB200.

[Al Krow]

Thank you very much for that detailed and helpful response. Out of interest how long did you have the Stagg (and how far had you progressed in your EUB playing / technique) before you decided to upgrade?

I'd be very interested to hear from others if they would consider the Far West or MK EUBs to be on a par with or indeed better than the SLB200?

[MB1]

MB1.
...."Where next after a Stagg?"

[Staggering on]

I had the Stagg for about 8 months before I found the SLB200.I played pretty much every day for most of that time through a long Canadian winter and made a lot of progress but didn't use it on a gig until I felt confident,around six months.Since then I have continued to play the SLB almost daily and would consider myself fairly competent for the type of music I play in my band.Some days I will only have a few minutes to play and other times I'll play for a couple of hours,you need to put in some longish sessions if you plan to play at a gig all night,it's pretty physical. I used a lot of online material and several books and my reading(especially sight reading) has improved immensely and my intonation is getting better.I am struggling with the bow but having fun with it and it has improved my left hand work and intonation,although I suspect most of the dogs in the neighbourhood start howling when I start my arco practice!
As many people have found,going upright is addictive and always a challenge but it is so much FUN!

[Al Krow]

I completely agree it is both addictive, challenging and so much FUN! I would be very interested in which online material and books you found particularly helpful / could recommend? Were you a standard electric bass player before taking up the EUB?

[Staggering on]

Yes,I played my old Yamaha RBX750A with flats for almost 25 years in a big swing band and several smaller bands before I went over to the dark side and started playing upright.A double bass would have been my first choice but in this climate(very cold and very hot) and my small house the EUB made more sense.By the way,I use a Laney RB5(rare on this side of the Atlantic) for home practice but for gigs go direct into the band's PA,makes for a good sound through our Bose L1 system.
A few of the resources I used -
-Geoff Chalmers discoverdoublebass website-good beginner and more advanced lessons-not intimidating and each lesson is short and easy to follow

-Jim Stinnett's lessons on line-he also has books-he does EB and Double Bass stuff and some things(walking bass lines etc.) are useful for both instruments and you can download some of his written stuff-I found a lot of his ideas easy to understand and use-very relaxed and not too stressful

-The Jazz Bass Book by John Goldsby-good history and all kinds of stuff to work on in the instruction part of the book,some advanced stuff too which will take me a lot of time to work through

I have looked at a lot of sites in the last 2 1/2 years and have copied fingering charts and other things from some and just listened to others.The ones above were the ones that I thought of first,I'm sure I'll think of some others after I send this.(...slaps forehead..."oh yeah,I forgot that one...")
It helps if you read but a lot of the material is done as a demonstration and may or not show the notation.Be forewarned that there are some absolutely terrible videos out there,both in terms of information and production,some are embarrassing to watch.I started with Geoff and then moved on to other sites and it has worked for me,some other BC members may have other suggestions,particularly for specific types of music.
It's pretty frustrating at the start but as you pick up some technique it gets to be fun and very satisfying and of course because you are playing upright you start to feel like a "real" bass player,if you know what I mean.

[Al Krow]

Thank you very much for sharing those thoughts - much appreciated. Happy Easter!

[ivansc]

I found Alan via linked in. Pretty easy.

[randythoades]

I started on EUB and moved onto acoustic bass after about 8 or 9 months. Interestingly I have started playing EUB a lot more, purely from convenience more than anything else. No feedback, no dropping the back seats in the car, no shuffling around to try to make room in rehearsal studio.
This weekend I did the unthinkable and sold my acoustic bass (we are moving house into a renovation project so would have nowhere to store it for the next year) but now thinking about taking that next step and splashing out on a great EUB instead of going for another acoustic (my Bassix is a prototype model so a little rough around the edges as well as from plenty of use). Not sure I will look the part in a traditional rock and roll band though - but making music is about breaking down boundaries and being different - maybe I will become famous (in a small area) for the EUB rather than the 'boring' acoustic basses that all the other rockabilly bass players use!
Won't have space to paint hot rod flames on an EUB though...

Edited April 19, 2017 by randythoades