Staggering on

No photos but the seven piece "little big band" packed the hall last night with over 100 people and very few seats left empty. We have had very few rehearsals and only a couple of gigs in a store and a museum where we just played as folks walked by and I was expecting a pretty ragged show but the band came together really well and we even had to play an encore which is very unusual at this venue. We had two vocalists with us last night for the first time and both did a fine job on some Christmas tunes and classic jazz vocals and they also did a couple of duets and the audience loved them. Usual rig, Shen SB100 and Realist Life Line pickup with NuX wireless into a music stand mounted Schatten Design preamp that only has a volume control into a Bose PA and I had some good comments from a double bass player about my sound and playing. I love having that preamp right on the music stand, I can easily adjust my volume to fit the song. The band played well and the crowd was really with us, all in all a very good night.

Apparently there are a lot of opinions about hybrid basses but usually the basses sound better than all laminate ones so that is very positive. My teacher and others think that the mix of solid wood and laminate can cause some problems because they do not expand and contract the same way when temperature or humidity changes and this can lead to stresses on the top and bottom, especially on hybrids with laminate sides and backs. I wonder if a bass like yours with solid top and back might have the same problem, perhaps a luthier will join in here and give us some ideas. I guess the best thing is that the top and back have not cracked and only the side seam has opened a bit, there must be some stress somewhere. Full disclosure, I was interested in buying a hybrid but after doing some research I now have two laminates. I live in a house that is heated by wood so the temp can be a bit erratic, I use a humidifier 24/7 all winter, I live in northern Ontario where winters are very cold. My luthier thinks I take proper care of my basses but both my Shen (2010) and Czech(70's) basses have had a bit of seam separation that my luthier repaired. My conclusion is that even with good care any bass can have a seam problem, the good thing is that it is easy to repair and there is no damage to the top or bottom.

I have had a Stagg EUB and currently play a Yamaha SLB 200. I use either my Acoustic Image amp or a Traynor SB112 and have spent quite a bit of time playing around with the EQ on the Yamaha and the EQ's on the amps and the closest I got to an "acoustic" sound is with the Acoustic Image amp and that changes in different rooms of course, it's very frustrating. I use the Yamaha for rehearsals with a 7 piece swing band and a bluegrass band and have actually used it on a few gigs when space is limited and in both bands I can get by with a sound that is not really very "acoustic" but cuts through and is quite loud. For most gigs I use a double bass with a pickup. I am still trying to get a nice acoustic sound but have never found it, I use the Yamaha as it came from the factory with the original pickup and so far it has worked for me and the bands I play in are happy with my sound. There are quite a few discussions about this topic on here and on other sites and many ideas and opinions including some that say an EUB is not a double bass and just accept that fact and go ahead and play it as it is. Your instrument sounds interesting, any chance of a Photo?

I second that! 👏🤞

Very tight space in the North Bay museum for a seven piece Christmas gig last Saturday night, BL looks unhappy but he booked the gig knowing where we would be set up. We were in an area where there is a big staircase in the room leading to the upstairs area where there were activities for kids so there was a constant stream of people passing us and some even stayed to listen for a while. We played some standards and quite a few Christmas pieces arranged for a small band and it went well, although in the jazz waltz arrangement of Oh Christmas Tree (terrible chart and too long) I was totally lost for about a third of the song while the tenor sax was soloing but I just kept the 3/4 pulse going and finally got back on track. Lots of vendors set up outside the building on a cool night (-4C) so folks came in to warm up and listen for a bit so we always had an audience. I used my Yamaha SLB200 straight into a small Roland amp that handled the keyboard too. Reasonable load in and out and a nice no pressure gig that also served as a rehearsal for a couple of gigs we have coming up before Christmas.

Gollihur in the USA, they ship anywhere.

A busy week so this is a bit late. Last Tuesday Simply Blu (not my idea!) played to packed house of over 120 with extra chairs crammed into the corners and we had a great night. We normally play summer bluegrass festivals that are mostly open air and this was the first time we have played in a hall. Some debate amongst the organizers if this was the biggest crowd they have had since starting monthly concerts in 2017 so we were very happy with the turnout that included some friends and family and a whole bunch of bluegrass fans and some who were just regular attendees. We were up for it and from the opening notes of Freeborn Man until the last chord of our encore we put on a good show. We played a set of about 70 minutes and took a short break before another good hour of energetic bluegrass and the crowd loved it. The band members are scattered over a large area so our only rehearsal was on the Sunday before the gig, first time together since early August but it came together fast. These guys are fantastic musicians and I am lucky to be playing with them, I joined the band almost 4 years ago when the leader saw me playing with a jazz band and asked if I had ever played bluegrass. The answer was "no but I'll give it a go" and it has turned out to be great fun and a good learning experience. Given the setting we decided to abandon the usual laid back festival approach and went with energy and entertainment in mind and it worked. Lots of amazing solos throughout the show but the only bass solo was in I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome where I tossed is nice gliss on the G string and apparently got the most applause of the night for a solo. I'm not a great bass player but sometimes a schticky lick will fool most of the people! A memorable night.😄 Not the best photo but it's all I have now...

Another gig with the Nu-X on Tuesday with no problems, set up as described in my earlier post. This was a bluegrass gig in a hall packed with at least 120 people, 8 mics for the other 4 members for vocals and instruments while I just had a vocal mic and the Nu-X and from comments I heard the bass sounded good.

Another idea is to rent a DB and try it out, maybe try several before you actually buy one. Good advice in the other posts, I went EUB first but looking back it would have been better if I went straight to DB. Good luck.

We had all five members of our bluegrass band together yesterday for our only rehearsal before our Tuesday show at a Legion hall in North Bay. We usually play festivals with the audience seated on the grass in front of the stage but some distance away from the band so it will be interesting to see how it goes when we are right up close to them in a long narrow hall where the bands set up against a long wall. This will not be a real bluegrass crowd so the BL decided to do a show that traces the history of the genre and we will play songs from the 1930's to more modern bluegrass and I will be explaining how the songs fit in as we go. I just got the "script" from the BL yesterday so I am working on smoothing it out and doing a little research as well as trying to memorize as much as I can. Excellent musicians and it should be fun, just hoping the sound man will get us set up so we sound our best.

Not just rock'n'roll, almost every type of live music has the same problems with attendance. Of course I am not including the huge stadium and arena concerts by the big stars, I'm referring to the smaller venues that most of us play in.

And here I was thinking I was the only one with the Schatten mini pre, I use it with my DB's and love being able to adjust volume so easily. I run the NuX from the bass to the mini pre that is mounted on my mic stand using a bracket I made and then it goes by cable to my amp or directly to the PA. Cheap, you can adjust the impedance and it's simple to use, can't get much better than that!

It should be good,I have two of the cheaper Protec cases and although they have less padding and different handles they have been very tough and I have had no issues with them. The zippers are well made but I get the edges close together before I try to zip up the case, I think when people use the zipper to pull the case together it puts too much strain on them and they fail, guess how I know.🙄

I just checked mine and the transmitter doesn't rattle and I have had no problems with the system, I have been using it for just over a year. I expect it is a one-off fault as you said, haven't seen it mentioned in any reviews. Hope it works out OK and the replacement works as it should.

Maybe not insane but definitely a bit nutty even in a big place like Canada. Of course you have to be somewhat crazy to play DB and owning two of them and an EUB might be verging on insanity, but it is soooo much fun when things are going right. Certainly agree with your last sentence, it just makes you want to play and play and play....😊