Staggering on

Well I had great time at the double bass bash today! Thanks to Brother Malvis for organizing the event and to all of you who brought basses and let us all try them out.After seeing and playing Roger's Kolstein travel bass and Audrey's Emminence I have a serious case of GAS. Nice day,nice basses,nice people...perfect day. Special thanks to Bassace for the ride to the bash. Bob

Speaking of stance, I love the sound of my EUB(Yamaha SLB200) but I LOVE the stance I use when playing upright, it makes me feel like a "real" bass player...you'll know what that means if you play any upright EUB or DB.Heaven.

This is starting to look like a really good day! I'll be there but my SLB200 will be sitting at home in Canada. Bob

As I suggested earlier, check out the Double Bass bash April 14 near Bicester,there will be some EUBs there.See Events forum for more details.

Many(most?) punters" hear what they see "to a certain extent.The last sentence in the quote above is what it's all about.

I have found the same thing happens when I play different music.I am in two bands that play essentially the same type of jazz/swing music but one is a quartet where we just use a lead sheet for melody and chords and the other band is a seven piece swing band where we play professional arrangements from charts and that demands real concentration and accuracy.Each band requires a different type of playing, in the quartet I can be more creative and in the septet I have to be right on the money or the arrangement doesn't work.One result is that my reading skills have gone up a lot and using some ideas from the arrangements I have started to be more inventive in the quartet. I also feel better playing bass after a session where I play guitar or banjo, like you, bass is the right instrument. And we are all so lucky that we have music in our lives!

It was NOT this Canadian! ...and Canadians rarely get irate... Bob

Your persistence paid off...and you were right, medium it is. Much as I love my SLB200 I have found it very frustrating when I have contacted Yamaha and asked any technical questions (ex."should I use a preamp?")so you have done well. Bob in Canada

This is his only appearance in the UK and should be a great show.I will be back in Canada by then(poor timing) so I'll miss it but you can find ticket sources easily online.Lucky you!

Yup,probably medium but it will be nice to hear what they say. I just checked the string ID chart at Gollihur Music(https://www.gollihurmusic.com/faq/57-STRINGS_STRING_IDENTIFICATION_CHART.html) and it seems that string is only shown as light or heavy.The plot thickens.... ...a few minutes later... I went to the Gollihur site again and found that they sell that string in light, heavy AND medium!There is also a video from the manufacturer and they mention the three weights too.This is getting interesting.

That would be great,I would love to hear an Eminence in a live setting, it's hard to tell what they really sound like on videos.I want to hear how it compares to my Yamaha SLB200, which I will be leaving at home in Canada unfortunately. Bob

My SLB 200 has the stock strings the same as yours.Not sure of the gauge but here are the colours of the silks on mine if that's any help. Tailpiece-red and gold Pegbox-E green,A black,D gold,G red There are sites where you can use the colours to identify your strings and there are other sites that deal with the Yamaha SLB200(Talkbass...oops,sorry about that BC). I'm in Canada and there is a phone contact on the Yamaha website but nobody seemed to know much about the instrument.I have the owners manual but it does not give any details about the strings other than how to change them and tune.In the specifications it says "contra bass strings" with no names or gauges. Good luck!

I started with a Stagg and it was a good intro to upright for me and the neck is similar to many DBs (being careful here...).A few months later I came across a Yamaha SLB 200 at a price that I couldn't resist and I have been using it for about 3 years for gigs.It has a better sound and can be set up pretty much like a DB and although some would disagree, it is a really good instrument, at least for me.Because it is not usually very easy to try out several EUBs at one time since most stores carry a limited stock, it might a good idea to take your time and try as many as you can,it seems what is great for one person doesn't work for others. I'm sure you'll get lots of ideas on BC and there might be other threads on here to check out.The Double Bass Bash in April near Bicester(see Events) could be a good source of advice and there may be some EUBs there to try out. Good luck and happy hunting!

And here we are... p

First outing for our seven piece swing band Sunday afternoon.Most of the two swing sets were charts by the arranger and composer Dave Wolpe and I would recommend them-good arrangements and a good challenge with lots of key changes and interesting timings.All but two of us have music degrees and everyone reads well with me as the weakest link but I managed to get through with only a few minor problems.I was using my Yamaha SLB 200 EUB and went straight into our Bose PA along with the piano.I had a busy time as I am also the frontman and did the between song chatter. The third set was a Dixieland/Trad set and I switched to tenor banjo and one of the horn players switched to tuba. All in all a good afternoon with a sold out hall(OK,it was small but packed with close to 100 people)and we got a standing O at the end of the gig and are being booked back in June. Trying to keep live music alive here in Canada... Bob

Thomann also has the Stagg stand.

What kind of EUB do you have? I use a Stagg EUB stand for my Yamaha SLB 200.The stand came with a Stagg EUB that I had for a year or two and I kept the stand after I sold the bass.There are a lot of bits to adjust so you might be able to make it work for you,my Yamaha fits well on it and the stand is quite sturdy.

I agree, you're not going to drop from dehydration on stage(or anywhere else probably) and having a sip of water every few minutes is totally unnecessary for most of us but seems to be "the thing to do" these days.Most people use commercial bottles of water and I think marketing has more to do with it than necessity, the same as energy drinks.Even here in Canada where water is abundant and cheap I can't believe how many people buy cases of water for use at home as well as other places.Depending on what is on sale here water can be more expensive than gasoline(petrol) in some situations...crazy! I have a drink of water between sets sometimes but not on stage unless I really need it due to throat problems,I do a few vocals and backups.

I think any upright bass is welcome according to other posts in this thread,also anyone interested in uprights from what I can see.I won't be bringing a bass but I want to see and hear what other people have. Bob in Canada,but I'll be at the bash in April...

Double bass bash April 14 near Bicester.I will be bassless but I'll be there.Too far to bring my EUB since I'll be coming from Canada. Check the Events forum for info about this and other bass bashes.

So if you hadn't heard of them they didn't exist?Pretty sketchy argument. I think I'm finished with this thread,Dad was right about the blinkers.

Not to be rude, but I assume you have heard of Carol Kay and James Jamerson.

Breaking news!We have booked our flight to Heathrow and will arrive April 12 and head to Bicester by bus. We have booked a room at the Travelodge in Bicester and will use it to recover from jet lag so I will be in reasonable shape for the Double Bass Bash on the 14th.We won't have a car so I'm not sure how I will get to the venue,I guess a cab is possible unless anyone has other suggestions.I won't have an instrument, the EUB will be at home in Canada so there will just be one old guy to transport.Getting pretty pumped about this! Bob