tinyd

Not sure about how much low end is required. I find for jazz gigs on DB you don't really want that "feel it in your gut" low end anyway so the PJB works well. But if I wanted more of that kind of thing I'd probably match the Gnome/BAM with the TE Bassbox 110 cab instead (which is still very light)

I have a Gnome amp (the smallest one) and a PJB C2 cab and it's loud enough for jazz gigs with drums, keys, guitar, singer in pub/restaurant.

Haha, yep, they're very expensive alright. I've had the same set on for about six years and they were second hand when I got them. They still sound OK but I keep thinking about getting some new ones....

I'd agree with @Bloopdad1 about Evah Pirazzi - I use the light ones and they're really good.

It looks great and I can see why you enjoy playing it. In terms of advice I'd say getting your right hand (plucking) technique as close to DB is probably first on the list as this will have more impact that you might think on making it sound more like an upright (assuming that's what you want, of course...) Since it's same scale as BG then I'm not sure about left hand technique, but it's probably worth trying to get familiar with 1-2-4 fingering anyway and raising your elbow so your wrist isn't too bent. But ultimately all that matters is that you carry on enjoying it!

That action is at the higher end for a steel string "jazz" setup. Not badly so, but it might be worth considering getting a setup and/or adjustable bridge when you next have some money after buying decent strings

That's kind of the same as me alright, except I don't use a PA, so I have to try and get the balance right through my amp. The problem with too much treble / mid for the player IMO is that for walking bass especially you lose some of the "pulse" which is such a feature of DB, and because of the way that the DB notes "bloom" after being struck it impacts the music's swing/timing in a significant way. There's a good reason why so few "straightahead" jazz players use BG even though it would be so much more convenient (there's obviously a looks thing, but I can honestly say that avoiding hefting a massive piece of wood into some of the smaller spaces would override any fashion reasons for using DB). Anyway, I'm hoping that when I get an Fdeck it will tighten up the bottom end a bit....

On the Stax side of things, Green Onions is a good one (although I just found out from wikipedia that Lewie Steinberg played bass on this, not Duck Dunn as I'd always thought).

Played my third gig last night with the PJB C2 cab (plus small Warwick Gnome head) and I was able to hear myself really well in the drum/bass/piano/vocals lineup, even though the cab was on the floor at my feet right next to the kick drum. In terms of hearing, I find I have to overcome my natural dislike of the high-mid sound from the piezo pickup - I usually have mids turned way down but I've started tweaking it upwards a bit. It sounds a bit nasal when the bass is playing on its own, but "in the mix" it helps me to hear my own intonation while not really detracting from the overall sound.

I don't experience those volume differences but the Realist is very bassy and I tend to knock all the EQ way down on the amp. I've just ordered an Fdeck to see if that smooths things out a bit ...

I used to have a rev solo and while it sounded natural, it didn't cut through. I use a Realist Copperhead now and it's much better. Not quite as "hi fi" but pretty loud and I never have feedback issues with it. I also recently switched to a PJB C2 cab (5 inch speakers) and this cut through better than my old GK MB150 did. Obviously there are lots of combinations, but I reckon a louder pickup might be a good place to start.

I like the "not the X..." idea! I think in terms of standing out, you just need to stand out from the other bands in the local area, so if there are already tons of Dave Smith / Barry Johnson Quartets then it's probably not great. But if there aren't, then this kind of name might help single you out as a jazz(y) band.

I think The <something> Quartet/Quintet is a generally good way to signal a degree of jazziness...

I've seen his videos alright - he gets a great sound and the ubass definitely works for him in those cramped restaurant gigs! I can see how ubasses can work in gigs, and I haven't ruled it out in cases where I'd have to take public transport and/or tiny space for the gig itself, but I just haven't come up against that yet and probably won't...

This is a good one, reminds me of my uke bass purchase. Good for noodling while watching the telly, but not something I could ever imagine using at a gig (even though I convinced myself that I might when I bought it).

Mild disagree on this one - DB strings are expensive anyway, but getting the right ones definitely does solve the problem of the bass not sounding (or playing) right IMO

This has a really strong "one" which contrasts really nicely with the syncopation on bars 3 & 4

I tried one of the 3Sigma ones with my DB but it didn't make enough difference to the amplified sound to be worth bothering with. But since a DB amplified already sounds quite a lot like a DB (😀) it's not surprising. But I'd expect much more impact with an EUB alright.

I posted this video a while back in another thread. The sound he achieves at the end of the video is pretty good IMO

I can see how it might knock your confidence, and I'm sure that the session player is objectively "better" than you, but that doesn't mean that your initial playing wasn't good enough - it could just as easily mean that the singer heard something else in their head afterwards and got someone in to quickly record it. You've been playing live, you're an experienced musician on other instruments, and it doesn't take *that* much experience to be able to play decent bass for most genres of music anyway, so I wouldn't doubt yourself too much.

Good suggestion! Older Afro Cuban music has more double bass (as opposed to Baby Bass) e.g.

I'm based in Galway so I don't know much about what's available in Dublin or Belfast, but it might be worth getting in touch with this shop - they may rent instruments (or know somebody who does) https://www.crehans.ie/musical-instruments

Great choice! For those who haven't seen it this is a good illustration; https://youtu.be/K3lgmnsTdcA?si=xxs4aKL7VXxSblbF

This is a nice video with the man himself talking about it

Yep, I've found this as well - in my case I'm using it for DB so I want a less punchy tone, so I'm keeping gain down to less than half way (this isn't close to causing the compression to kick in) and using master to control overall volume.