bassace

There is a gorgeous bass on Upton's site by Luciano Golia. You could get it shipped over here for about £16k including taxes. No idea how it would sound for jazz, but in the meantime just feast your eyes on the great pics. [url="http://www.uptonbass.com/Luciano-Golia-Double-Bass-Italian-Bass/"]http://www.uptonbass.com/Luciano-Golia-Double-Bass-Italian-Bass/[/url]

I'm going to see Steve Winwood at Cornbury this Sun. Reminded me I used to enjoy playing BG on Keep on Running. OK, maybe it's been eclipsed over the years but was quite funky at the time.

Ah. I had the Upton first and it was a bit difficult to amp. This often happens to complex basses and that is why some people favour hybrids or laminate basses. So, for the band that I get most of my work from I reverted to the Meinel that I had most of the time. Also I found the Upton a bit heavy to lug around, that is why I am talking to Upton about making me a lightweight 5/8 bass for gigs. Initially the Martin was a tad disappointing but it has since opened up a lot. Acoustically it's not as strong as the Bryant but it amps really well on anything I connect it to. It also has a lot of attack, or 'thump'. The Bryant is a real singer with a lot of sustain and is great for trios/quartets. Again, being a somewhat complex bass it was initially difficult to get the very best amplified sound. Like the Upton it prefers a 10" speaker. I have recently bought a Genz Benz 10" Shuttle combo and that has what I've been looking for for a long time, a tight solid bass sound but without the boom. I haven't tried it with the Upton yet but I'm confident that it'll sound great. So I don't really favour one bass over the others; choosing a bass shows up the many different characteristics that are inherent in DBs. I'm sure that I'm not betraying a confidence in mentioning that jwbassman visited me to try the Bryant and Martin together before he committed himself to choosing a Martin. I wouldn't like to second guess why he made his choice but I'm sure that Martins' lifelong aftersales service that was offered had a lot to do with it. And George's sheer enthusiasm is very hard to resist. I've had an opportunity to play it and he's got a great bass there. Just as a PS, my particular Martin was roughed out in Hungary, and the Upton in Eastern Europe although they are 100% USA now. In buying the Bryant I had a craftsman made all English bass. And that's nice.

He's dead right of course. When I first played my Martin a good bass player was in the audience and at the end he came up to me and said, that's the best bass sound I've ever heard.' I told him he'd made my day to which he replied 'well, you've certainly spoiled mine!'.

We used to have a dear old chap who owned the music shop in Reading - I bought my first DB there. I once asked him how much the Gibson EBO was that he had in the window. He frowned for a minute and said 'well, the tenor sax is ££££'

[quote name='MandShef' timestamp='1340573774' post='1706514'] Thanks Bluejay, I'll keep trying. I've found I'm OK plucking, it's bowing that seems more of a struggle. Sitting is normal in an orchestra Bassace. Reckon the 'greats' would be able to do both. Hopefully I'll get the support/advice I need to master it, but don't think I'll feel the need to shoot myself if I don't [/quote] Agreed, bowing seems easier sitting down, which is why classical players don't stand up. But in a jazz context the 'greats' I referred to always stood. Which is what I've been doing for quite a while; I feel I can enjoy the music more if I can get a bit of body movement. The gun's still loaded btw.

To paraphrase the great Sir Steve, if you ever see me playing bass seated you can shoot me. How many of the 'greats' have you ever seen sitting?

Helpful Banking?

Sometimes I've had an annoying buzz and it turns out to be something in the room, unconnected to the bass. Everything else seems to have been covered but how about pickup wire? Endpin is often the culprit.

Ha ha, good topic. I have in mind to get a new cab to beef up my new Genz combo. Coming back from a gig at the weekend my car's computer said 'low tyre pressure' and so it turned out that I was running low. So I pumped it up, only to lose 10 psi overnight. Went to get the puncture repaired today only to find that the rim was cracked, probably by a pothole. So, new wheel @ £500 - plus, and no need for Bass Direct to get too excited for now.

Even the most 'difficult' bass can usually sound good outdoors; there are no room acoustics to get in the way. Problem with a DB is that there could be a risk of rain or it's so hot that there is a risk of warping. But you seemed to get a good day, Bilbo, so that's great. I'm doing an outdoor gig in two weeks; I would usually take my old German lami but as I'm due to play with some great musicians I'll risk taking my Upton.

So the daft woman thinks Nancy Sinatra's Boots has a walking bassline?

done

[quote name='ChrisF' timestamp='1339930852' post='1696342'] cheers...looks like you n me are the only ones that think so [/quote] I don't own a Thomann but I know they've got a great reputation. You'll do OK.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1339916804' post='1696146'] Bill Cosby on his gig with Sonny Stitt. Funny jazz anecdote. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zn-P0ZH3_M[/media] [/quote] That's great, Bilbo! Somehow reminds me of my earlier bass gigs.

There are always two stories to each dispute. Trying to figure the merits of each party's allegations is the hard bit.

The Rev is dead right of course. Each bass is different and seems to have its favourite pickup - and of course each player and his particular style. A pickup that sounds great at home, eg a Realist, may not do it on stage where you have to cut through the mix of the other instruments. I'm in a minority in not particularly liking the Full Circle sound, also mine failed on its first gig; I also consider the wiring to be a bit flimsy. For an all-rounder pickup I strongly favour an Underwood which I've got on all my basses. It is reasonably feedback resistant and it gives a clear sound on stage. Its sound is not 100% double bass but neither are most other pickups but I've got well-used to the sound. Micing is best but you have to strap on all sorts of stuff to reduce the feedback. Great when you put it through the PA tho'.

An acoustic guitar is a very good percussion instrument. I work in a five-piece: two saxes, keyboards, bass and r/guitar. We can do some quite powerful stuff.

Try going to Cornbury this year, it's a great experience and three miles from my home. Last year I saw Buffy St Marie, Cindi Lauper, Ray Davies, The Straits, Faces, Imelda May, Jack Bruce, Wilko Johnson incl Norman W-R, Bellowhead, Sophie E-B (nice legs), Quo, Stackridge, Saw Doctors and lots more. Because I am of a certain age I didn't have to pay for the three days. Very friendly atmosphere.

Trouble with pubs is there is not a lot of volume (LxBxH) to disperse the volume. And the audience is quite vocal. So you've got a couple of probs to start with.

In my experience, I can put up with a lot from a drummer as long as he keeps his kick drum under control. So often I get reports that the bass is too boomy - when it is the bloody kick drum.