ubassman

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1376642266' post='2177140'] [b]Who: [/b][color=#0000FF]Dan Styffe[/color] [b]Why: [/b][color=#0000FF]Principal bass of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Professor of the Norwegian Academy of Music[/color] [b]What: [/b][color=#0000FF]Masterclass[/color] [b]Where[/b]: [color=#0000FF]Royal College of Music, London on Friday 4th October , 2pm [/color] [b]How much:[/b] [color=#0000FF]Free but tickets required.[/color] More info [url="http://www.rcm.ac.uk/events/listings/details/?id=216833"]on the event[/url] More info on [url="http://www.danstyffe.com/"]Dan Styffe[/url] Anyone else going? [/quote]

Hey Sam, yes definitely - great to see you there!

Good call Floyd man ! ( Ben was the guy that had this huge smile - right ? ...great musician and produced that fantastic singing sound on his bass ). Andrew , if you get the chance to have a look at Ben's bass then do . A trip to the Royal College in London will be a lot cheaper than flying out to the USA - you could even meet up with FLoyd ( you may need to buy him a drink or two if this works out for you ! )

Good luck with whatever you decide - I am sure when you start pulling basses off a rack either in the UK or the USA, one of the basses will [u][b]choose you ![/b][/u] ...from experience its ALWAYS the one that is slightly outside one's price range !

You know the simple matter is that if you buy an instrument of that value you have a legal duty to show the customs the paper work and pay the taxes - its the law. Although you can rehearse any 'what if' scenario , the risks are that if get rumbled the authorities will treat you as a criminal ( technically where do you draw the line between someone who is passionate about the DB wanting to bring thier baby home without paying the required import tax and someone who wants to bring jewellery into back into the UK to sell at a huge profit ? ). The way you will get caught is by being asked a pile of well played questions and being observed.

...I wonder if someone in the USA is thinking of coming over to the UK to look at the Contrabasse Shoppe or T + G Martins huge selection - thinking to themselves that they can get a real European bass at a great price !! ...I guess its how you see things ! Either way it will be an adventure

Good luck with it Andrew ! May be useful to check out the flying with instruments [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/41208-flying-with-instruments-my-guide/"]thread[/url] !

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1379697672' post='2215912'] Clef Guts, but they may well be like Triggers famous broom ,and are actually all Lenzners now, Im not sure anymore. [/quote] ...can you say that in english !

[quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1379695619' post='2215889'] when Tom Martin looked at my bass he said the bridge was too small and wasn't covering the bass bar properly. But I've just spent £150 on a new bridge so I'm loathe to get a replacement just yet. The luthier who fitted the new bridge was recommended highly on basschat, so I don't know if it's just differences of opinion on bass bridge size. He shot the fingerboard as well and it's playing absolutely beautiful compared to before. [/quote] Many luthiers will keep a range of standard stock bridge blanks and cut the profile and feet to suit the bass and take a ' thats near enough approach' . A properly carved bespoke 'tailored for the bass' bridge will be twice the price. I would have a go a aligning up the E foot on the bass bar and see what happens. Its an entirely reversible operation and usually a case of moving the bridge only a very small amount. If that doesn't work then a Wolf tone eliminator might be your best bet and not too expensive.

if they were a great player ...then yes it was me !!

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1379693644' post='2215842'] Above people are talking about Bryants as if they're still being produced, did I miss something? [/quote] Andrew - clearly you need an Old Romanian Double bass ( Chris - can I charge agents commission?...just call me Mr.10% )

Try ringing up your local school and see who services their music lessons - quite often they will be subcontracted out to companies that provide all instruments ( rentals ) to students as well as teachers. There are plenty of places to hire DB and they dont need to be local - you may have to travel off patch to pick one up or alternatively pay for a courier but still, a pretty cost effective way of getting your hands on a DB ! GOod luck with it !

Hopefully Andrew is next on Paul's IBTL list !!

G # and A seem to be the hot spots for Wolf notes on a DB - dont know why that is but it usually in this frequency range. I get a seasonal Wolf Note appear this time of year when the central heating comes on . I put it down to changing the natural moisture content air in the house which is dryer and so the natural resonant frequency of the bass changes slightly with less moisture content. A few DIY things you could try - theres a Wolf eliminator to fit on the after string and dampen the vibration ( obviously !), but you could also try Dampits and see if your bass is like mine and likes to be a bit higher moisture content. This time of year I also move the bridge away from the f notches 5 mm towards the tailpiece - it will shorten the after length of string ( sometimes its the afterlength that contributes to the overtone ). It will produce a deeper richer and fuller sound which on my bass seems to 'push though' the problem. Finally, you could check the position of the E foot of the bridge to see that its centred over the bass bar - I use a thin piece of wood 2mm thick the size of a £5 and carefully slide it in through the F hole so that it sits tight to the bass bar. Then its a case of marking on the curve of the f hole and notch , pulling it out of the bass, and using the information to draw where the bass bar is situated. Mark a line with a wax chinagraph pencil to mark the position on the top , and establish the centre line of the bass bar. A properly aligned E bridge foot over the bass bar will make the top vibrate as efficiently and cleanly as possible and can help eliminate unwelcome 'dirty' frequencies.

why would anyone ever want to play anything other than the DB - what a beautiful instrument!

Problem with importing a DB from the States is paying import duty taxes + the joys and expense of having a bass in transit! What are your thoughts about a [url="http://www.thomasmartin.co.uk/instrumentsforsale/martindoublebassesforsale"]Thomas Martin[/url] bass ? I think that you may just slide in there with your budget !

Did the Strings arrive ok?

[quote name='FLoydElgar' timestamp='1379602626' post='2214716'] Electric bass is to much of a toy and boring to play to me... [/quote] Lol ...I guess a fair few people on BC might disagree with that sentiment - but I know where you are coming from - the DB has its own unique set of challenges !!

Speak to any master luthier who does mode matching ( à la Chuck Treagher ) , they will say dont go anywhere near a bow quiver if your bass has been expertly set up. Speak to a player or soloist and they will probably say get a quiver as the fastest way to draw to bow is when its but a few inches away from your hand! Personal view is that a hook has its merits and having tried out mode matching on my bass its extraordinary how a few tweaks in the weight of the tailpiece and fingerboard change the vibrations, tone and volume of the whole instrument. Its a fascinating field matching the natural marimba like tone tapping on the fingerboard , and comparing it with the tone of the tailpiece, and the resonant frequency of the body. All clever stuff towards sound enhancement! Before trying out mode matching I would have said 'quiver' ....now I would say 'hook' but only if your instrument has been expertly set up by someone like [url="http://www.beecheracoustics.com/sound_development_intonation.html"]Beecher Acoustics[/url] ! FWIW if a bass hasnt had that level of attention then I cant see that it makes a whole lot of difference !

Whereabouts are you based?

Welcome ! Come and post the question in the DB and EUB section !

Do you think I could trust my postman with that? !!

Not heard of Gregory Porter before - thanks for the post ! Looks a little bit like Thelonius Monk !

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1379350022' post='2211578'] I've got a kind of suction cup thingy ... [/quote] They are pretty versatile things those 'suction cup thingys' ...you can get them if you get caught in a shower too ! [url="http://imgur.com/p8oP2vu"]http://imgur.com/p8oP2vu[/url]