bassace

Yup, should be a useful comparison. I recently took the Upton down to 3mm on the G and the others correspondingly low. The fingerboard is so good that it played perfectly without any buzzes. Perhaps a BGist would enjoy being able to get round the board but to me, as a DB player for most of my adult life, it just felt alien. I'm happy on 7mm for a compromise between playability and attack. I'm playing at a London restaurant tomorrow where I'm required to play the house bass. Hm, should be interesting.

[quote name='SevenSeas' timestamp='1406661736' post='2513554'] Chucks playing is out of this world! One of my favourite players! I think he's like 25 in this video as well! [/quote] A worthy successor to Scotty.

I've just received this through the grapevine. Could be a beater but, on the other hand................. Maybe worth someone 'up there' getting in touch? [i]This item about to go on the Sales Page I've just received a request from a friend for help in selling a double bass. Could you please add this to your 'Items for sale'? ' Full size double bass, light wood, 50 plus years old, fitted with acoustic Fishman pickup. £450. Location is Whitehaven in Cumbria. Contact Irene Woffindin at [email protected] Best wishes[/i]

I opened the Bill Evans broadcast in YouTube mode and copped this amusing(?) comment; well, I was amused. 'God I hate the double bass. If you care at all about the articulation of the notes being played, it's painful to hear them smudged and that god awful buzzing at higher notes using an instrument never intended for this purpose. Imagine how much better this would sound with a fretless electric bass'. Anyone on BC? Surely not Bilbo.

Even with an estate car it's still possible to have to carry the bass quite a distance to the stage or wherever the playing area is. I use a collapsible trolley with folding wheels - mine's from Maplin and is the best/cheapest version I've seen. I leave the bass in its cover and bungee it to the trolley, then wheel it to the stage. I can then return empty to the car and bring in amps, cab and other stuff. Does stairs easily and the cover protects the bass in transit. £30 approx.

[quote name='DaveFry' timestamp='1406234010' post='2509697'] The Dudley Moore Trio made a few albums [/quote] Dudley Moore was a musician before he was an actor.

All of the above. Plus changing strings two at a time should be OK. Lay the bass on its back, suitable padding/cushioning underneath. Swap G and E, then D and A, keeping tension on the other two. That should stop the soundpost falling out of position. I have a short length of wire with a 1/4" right angle bend at one end to help fiddle the string through the winder. Enjoy your double bass.

Without harmony we'd be redundant as bassists.

Great site. It's a good resource.

I see there's a guy considering selling a 1/2 size - from Glasgow. Well, it's closer to you than Watford.

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1404908978' post='2496856'] I'd really recommend trying a pneumatic wheel or trolley before ditching the double bass. [/quote] I agree. I have quite a nice stick - a Kolstein - but I use it where space is limited or where a double bass would make too much noise - yes, really. But there is no substitute for the satisfaction you get from playing a double bass. Instead of an EUB have you considered a 1/2 size bass? OK, scale length will be shorter but you'll get that DB satisfaction from an instrument that is lighter and more compact for taking to gigs. I'm now using wheels for some of the longer get-in routes: I have one of those folding trolleys, I put the bass on it standing up and tie a bungee round the bass and handle. I can also use it for bringing in the amp, wire bag etc.

Most 'old' hardware shops sell walking stick end rubbers of various diameters. That's what I last put on a DB end pin.

Would it help if you stood the lowest part of the back on a pile of books and then found the best position by adding/removing the books and tilting the bass. Then get someone to take the necessary measurement.

Pythagoras?

Continuing the theme, I was playing at the Upton Jazz Festival on Saturday and in the interval I was approached by a nice chap who rather diffidently asked me for advice about strings. He had recently been given a double bass by his family as a surprise present - for his seventieth! He was chuffed to bits and was having lessons from Alex Phillips who I gather is rather good. The DB community is certainly growing.

Did five gigs last week, and at my age I swore I'd cut down - but the phone/emails keep coming. Anyway, the last one was the Upton Jazz Festival with our 'village project' FiddleBop. Fiddle, two guitars and double bass. We've come up from some disparate starters to a useful folk/jazz outfit. The gig was three hours with just two 15min breaks, but of course we cheated a bit. First two houses were packed to standing room and the third one slightly less but we had great enthusiastic audiences. As in most festivals turnround is a bit fraught with the load-in up a flight of stairs, with punters from the previous band coming down. We borrowed a sound guy to help us out and he earned his keep in the first five minutes alone. Upton Food and Beer festival was across the river with some great 'heavier' sounds wafting across. Any BCers playing there?

Good for a burial perhaps.

I've got a walnut end pin. I used it with the Martin last week and I think it made an improvement. Anyway it certainly sounded great with a lot of attack. I'm out with the Bryant tonight (Cricketers at Horsell)so I'll have another chance to compare and contrast. I travel with the steel pin in position so that the rubber end protects the socket. Then I swap over at the gig. Trouble is at the end I swap the pins back again. I just know I'll leave one or the other behind one of these days.

Thanks Tauz, I find that very helpful and will get myself sorted.

Anything that encourages youngsters into the world of double bass has to be good, so keep up the good work, I say.

Yes, I'd go along with that. I had a Meinel, which comes from the Musima factory I believe. It served me very well for a number of years. I was attracted to the ad to which the Rev refers and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a first - or even second - bass.

Sorry, you may as well be talking in Swahili.