daflewis

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='436149' date='Mar 16 2009, 02:49 PM']Good job you used a credit card [/quote] Yeh, but it's going to be a while... I called my provider and they said they'd get someone from their dedicated team to call me back; when I asked how long? they said, "well, normally a few days but there are so many companies going bust at the moment that it's going to be 6-8 weeks!!" and that's with the extra staff they've taken on to help with the backlog. Sign o' the times I suppose.

I ordered some DB strings last week but they never arrived and I can't get in contact with them; no reply to e-mails and the phone is off the hook. I suspect that they've gone bust so I'll have to get the money back through my credit card provider, but the web site is still up and running and still taking orders so I thought I'd put up a warning not to use it. Cheers, Daf

Hi Jim, Sorry, as Velvetkevorkian said, I haven't checked this thread for a week or so. PMs (private masseges) are the best bet for this sort of thing as you know that someone is trying to contact you. I'll e-mail you....

[quote name='cris the man' post='317986' date='Oct 29 2008, 10:10 PM']i seem to get alot of harmonics? also, how can i really bring out the higher notes on the higher pivot points? (that may be a setup issue)[/quote] The guys are right that a few lessons would be good just to get you going in the right direction, but to help with the immediate problems i would say that you probably need to adjust the position of the bow on the string. To explain..... There is a sweet spot where you will get the best sound, and for the lower positions this is usually just a bit off the end of the fingerboard (depending on the sound you want this can be both over the fingerboard [warmer] or very close to the bridge [harsher], though these are more specialised techniques) the problem with getting harmonics is often simply because you're playing on a (harmonic) node, so simply move the bow slightly toward the bridge and it should disappear. Another thing that can help to eliminate "harmonics" (or squeaks!) is to slow down the bow movement. a general rule of thumb (particularly in thumb position - excuse the pun!) is, the higher you go up the string, the closer to the the bridge you need to bow and the slower you need to bow - also make sure that you are pressing down the string firmly enough, as this can also cause harmonics (as far as this is concerned it could well be down to the set up of your bass as well as simply the strength in your fingers.) - i would say experiment with bow speed, position and the weight that you put on the string - keep in mind a simple (Rabbath) idea that you don't try to push the bow into the string, just use the weight of your arm. That's a lot to explain in a short(ish) post - so if you have any further questions or things are a bit unclear - (it is 2am!!) then please feel free to PM me. Cheers, Daf

[quote name='Sibob' post='310771' date='Oct 20 2008, 07:37 PM']My Shuker EUB is for sale in the FS section (page 3 i think lol), it's in a higher price bracket, but due to it's true upright fingerboard and bridge, you can bow on it as well as any acoustic double bass.[/quote] There are a couple of things worth mentioning - Sibob makes a good point - I have an NS Designs and you need to have a really light touch with a bow or you'll just strangle the note, but I've also played a Cetus Bridge, and that bows just like a real upright. There are huge differences between different makes so it's really worth trying before you buy. as Sibob also says, I've tried one that was like a bass guitar - completely flat across the strings so impossible to bow. On the subject of carbon fibre bows, if you're a beginner then a wood bow will be much more forgiving than a carbon one - apparently it's because the carbon stick is much stiffer than a wood one so you tend to get more "squeeks".

That "posh stool" is £130 cheaper here [url="http://musical-instrument-suppliers.co.uk/bassaccs.htm"]http://musical-instrument-suppliers.co.uk/bassaccs.htm[/url] and £170 cheaper at thomanns [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/km_stehhilfe.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/km_stehhilfe.htm[/url] !! I have one and they really are very good. I always knew that the contrabasse shoppe were expensive, but that's just a rip off!

[quote name='subaudio' post='282627' date='Sep 12 2008, 01:39 PM']Hi Daf Nice to hear from you, thanks for this, I'm playing double bass exclusivley at the momment, I need to really, so much to learn I think I will take you up on the shell case, I will need it for three weeks in November if it's free. Cheers Marti[/quote] Hi Marti, Yes, that's fine. What date will you need it from? (by shell, I assume you mean the stevenson?) I'll PM you my phone number. Jake, thanks for that, by the way! Cheers, Daf

Hi Subaudio, Hope all's good with you - it's been a while, and it's good to see you getting on so well with the double bass! I have a couple of options which may be of help if you're interested.... It depends what you're after, but I have 2 cases believe it or not! One is a full flight case made by Alan Stevenson www.stevensoncases.co.uk Which I hire out for £50 per week (you must pick-up and return it, and it must be insured against loss or damage for £1500 whilst you're using it) The other is a very light case with a hard polystyrene shell and canvas covering which you can have for £10 a week. (this would be ok for say a van or truck where you're loadind/unloading it yourself but offers nowhere near as much protection as the stevenson (of course!) The other option is here: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-4-DOUBLE-BASS-HARD-CASE_W0QQitemZ200253136747QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200253136747&_trkparms=72%3A984|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3-4-DOUBLE-BASS-HARD...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] This looks the same as the lighter case that i have and is currently 99p!! (8 days to go) Hope that's of some use, Cheers, Daf