chrisd783

Hi Guys I'm toying with the idea of picking up an EUB. I've had an acoustic 3/4 double bass for around 2 years and I love playing it, but lately I've been thinking of looking into an EUB. I've never played one, so I'm very much a newbie and thought I'd ask this awseome community for a little advice! My band have recently moved into the wedding market, and as such we are offering an acoustic afternoon set in addition to the main evening show. Transport and portability of my existing bass are obviously issues. I also feel that it'll be easier to control the sound of an electric instrument, hence my interest in a EUB. I'm planning on running it through my Line 6 Helix then directly into the PA. So my questions are, what models should I focus on? What models should I avoid? Are there any other considerations I haven't included here? Any other advice/words of wisdom? And lastly, if you have one you're looking to shift, drop me an inbox! Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Captured this at a jam session last Sunday, so thought I'd share with you guys. I'm a COMPLETE beginner on the double bass, so please be gentle hope you enjoy!

Hi all I'm a DB beginner and I desperately need some advice. I'm getting aches and pains in the left side of my neck towards the back, working it's way down to my shoulder (I'm a right-handed player). It happens when I play for 20-30 minutes or more, and it's feels akin to sleeping awkwardly on the area. It lasts for hours after playing, sometimes into the next day. Altering the height of the tail pin doesn't seem to help. I think possibly it could be because I'm still having to turn my head to watch my left hand, as I'm still familiarising myself with the finger board. I find I'm concentrating so much on playing that I'm not aware of my posture, and I don't realise it's causing me discomfort until I stop playing. I say urgent help because I've been bitten by the DB bug in a major way. I can't express the enjoyment I'm getting out of learning this incredible instrument, to the extent that I'm playing daily despite the discomfort it's causing me. I wake up thinking about it and can't wait to get my hands on it every day. But the discomfort is getting progressively worse and I'm worried that I might have to refrain from playing soon. Did anyone else experience this when learning? What did you do to overcome it? Any and all advice will be gratefully received!

Guys I can't thank you all enough for your encouragement and advice. The BC community has come up trumps yet again, as I knew it would. You guys are fantastic, and I really am very grateful. It appears the consensus is a second hand instrument. I was expecting to be advised to throw more cash at it, but with two young children whose feet seem to get bigger every month and all the usual household bills etc it's just not possible at the moment. I need something to get me started, with a view to upgrading when I'm able. To that end, I'm currently taking the sage advice above and am in talks with @headofire. I'll update this thread when there is news! Once again, thank you all so, so much!

Hi all The sharper among you will have some idea of the nature of this post from the thread title. The say the devil is in the detail, so here's a bit of background... I have played electric bass for around 15 years in various cover bands, and the odd original project. I have always had a serious case of GAS for an upright, but could never justify the expense to 'er indoors as it wasn't something I needed for gigs. Luckily, my current band are just starting to move from pubs and clubs into the wedding/corporate market, and we have discussed offering an acoustic set in the day as well as the full band gig in the night as part of our pricing options. So I FINALLY have the green light! What I don't have however is the funds. I have some gear I'll be putting up for sale on Monday and I'm confident of raising £500 that way, and I could potentially add another £100 if I cash in all my brownie points, so looking at a maximum overall budget of £600. I have never actually played an upright for any length of time. A mate of mine has one that he brings to jam nights in my local, and I've spent the odd 10 minutes here and there arguing with his at these nights, usually under the influence. I'm under no illusion that I'll have to throw considerable time into getting to grips with it to get to gigging standard, something I'm looking forward to doing; I'm nothing if not tenacious. What I'm specifically after from the awesome pool of knowledge this community provides is the following: 1) Is my £600 better spent on a new beginner's upright bass (Gear4Music or something of that ilk) or a better quality second-hand instrument that may be a little 'road-worn'? 2) I've dipped my toe into the online learning resources in this area. There's A LOT. Any advice on particularly good/bad ones? 3) If anyone reading this made the transition from electric to upright like myself, what did you find most difficult? How did you overcome this? Any other specific advice from someone in a simialar situation to me? 4) Finally, if anyone happens to have an instrument they're looking to move on within my price range, and ideally not a million miles away from south Wales... you know what to do Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help or advice you guys can give me.

Bought a Korg rack tuner from Jon, great guy to deal with, can thoroughly recommend, a credit to Bass Chat!

Hi guys My covers band have recently decided to go totally ampless and put everything through the PA. Our set up is pretty simple, two tops and two bins run through a Behringer x16 Air. Going ampless has given us a much cleaner on-stage sound, far easier to control. I use an XLR out of my Sansamp that sits on the end of my chain, this gives me control over my own EQ etc. We play pink noise through the speakers at each venue and set the graphic EQ using the app depending on the acoustics of the room. This allows us to sound as close to the same across different venues as you can get. I'd never used IEMs before so I was a little dubious. The guitarist in our band has a lot of knowledge in this area so he advised me on which ones to buy etc. I also treated myself to a LD Systems wireless kit for them as well. I was totally blown away by how effective they are. I've recently started doing backing vocals and have always been a little nervous over the mic, largely due to being unable to hear myself through the mix. But with the IEMs I was amazed at how much my confidence increased, the clarity they bring is unbelievable. The X16 allows each of us to control our own IEM mix through our mobile phone independently, it's a really clever bit of kit. I guess the reason I'm writing this post is mainly to help sway anyone who has been thinking of going down the IEM route but have been unsure to go for it, I thoroughly recommend it! Was also wondering what other people's thoughts are regarding IEMs?

Hi folks Bit of an odd one this. Hope this is the right forum for it... Aside from my 'bread and butter' covers band, I run a small ukulele club. We're getting to the stage where we are competent enough to be asked to play at carnivals, fetes etc. Most of us just have acoustic ukuleles ( I usually play a Kala U Bass, so I'm sorted) and I'm looking for a way of amplifying us without a mic for each of us (12 ukes = 12 mics = 12 stands = 12 leads = 12 inputs... you get the idea). I was at a bluegrass festival a few years ago, and I noticed a lot of the bands were using a 360 degree mic that picked up everything really well. I don't know what they're called, or even if that would work for our needs. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Done, not much but gave what I could. Best of luck to you guys

I'm interested to see if this is also happening in other parts of the country, as in south Wales it's happening more and more! I'm in a four piece rock covers band. More and more I'm finding that venues are asking for duo/acoustic shows rather than full band. This generally involves the singer, the drummer playing a cajon and the lead guitarist on an acoustic. Which leaves little old me out in the cold, unable to gig that night unless a dep request comes in. I've spoken to my band about it and reminded them that I need to eat too, and in fairness they've not taken any more gigs that don't involve the full band. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?