hubrad

If it doesn't work out with gyrus, at that price I'll have them!

If it's useful for anyone, I have a couple of Cream cables from their early days.. the 10 years warranty expired a few years back! Trouble-free operation over lots of gigs and recording sessions, plus the colour makes them much easier to avoid with the size 10s on stage.

GLWTS!

35 minutes ago, alyctes said:

How big a job is the bridge replacement?

Needn't be a major job, but from here it looks like somebody put the finger wheels on top rather than I  between the two parts of the bridge.

Picture shows mine..

If it's been used for rockabilly/psychobilly the action could well have been set extra high for slappity stuff. I knew a guy 20 years back who had mad high action on both dB and guitar so he could really hammer the playing in gypsy jazz. Far higher than needed, imo, but it worked well for him which was the main thing. 

Quite probably not the original bridge if so, so less likely to be a neck joint problem. Basses do flex a little with atmospheric change,but not usually so much without completely coming apart. Unless you've got at least finish cracking around the neck joint I wouldn't be too concerned there.

As above, one string at a time for now! 👍

I deepened the slots in my bridge a few years back, as a temporary measure before getting the bridge off and onto the disc sander. Still not got round to that last bit as it works fine and perhaps gives the strings a little more protection. Technically wrong but plays and sounds great!

I used a selection of those small engineers' files. 

If you zoom in you'll see a sliver of paper I used last summer to raise the G just a tad when everything just wandered ed a bit with outdoor gigs. I'd forgotten that; probably get it out again.😃

I've put the link in now! 🙄

This is what you've got. Don't remember if they did a 4/4, possibly so.

https://www.jhs.co.uk/products/antoni-debut-double-bass-outfit-3-4-size

If you have one that plays well it'll get you off the ground, but back in music shop days I went to JHS trade sales day and made a beeline for the double bass with a view to persuading my boss to stock it. The display model had a massive hump in the fingerboard around fret 2, making it unplayable. I said to the chap handling the section "if we were to order one, would it come properly set up?", and when he said it was set up I just walked away!

Still, a very nice gift, and if you're getting better strings on it that'll improve matters. Make sure the soundpost is up!

I wouldn't worry about the fingerboard unless it's really bugging you, it's only paint.

If it gets you hooked (fingers crossed, double bass is brill!) and somebody offered you as much as a couple of hundred against your next one I'd go for it 

Nm

Anyone here tried the new Upton Bass rosin? I've seen the chap on Double Bass HQ speak positively of it, and of course the Upton advertising is glowing.

Sounds like their own custom blend of Pops and one or two others.

On 28/08/2024 at 14:51, Bloopdad1 said:

 

 

 

Playing the Bottesini is made so much easier with a quality bow... 

 

It gets interesting about halfway through... 

The bow is an extension of your arm and should require no effort to keep it under control. 

It always has to be in perfect contact with the string to draw out the tone and power the top of the bass to "sing". 

 

As I've said before, plucking a bass is only about 10% of what it can really do... 

I got really into Bottesini duets, way above my ability but great listening and quite inspiring.

My bass teacher once I knew I wanted to get more out of the bow followed the Bottesini method; actually really nice studies in their own right, and after a few you start to pick up on what each one is aimed at.

Here's the Gran Duetto Nr.2, which I originally heard transcribed for db and viola. This is two double basses, pretty intense!

21 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

As someone new to EUB (4 days in 😆) who would like to try arco, this thread is making me very sad... 😉

Don't panic! If you're fancying a try then seriously anything is better than nothing. Even a very basic bow will let you know whether you fancy pursuing it further.

It's something I was told 20 plus years ago by someone in violin restoration world. Dunno if things have changed.

I suppose there are bows that we can't tell the difference whereas to some players, just like the old argument about spending more than £x on a bass.

Stands to reason that if an instrument can be different then so can a bow. That thing I was told was along the lines of getting the best out of both instrument and bow. A cheaper bow would work but limit the instrument and vice versa. When I upgraded from basic, I enlisted the help of a friend who doesn't play bowed strings but has excellent ears; he identified the differences straight away, in fact better than I could in playing position.

My most expensive bow is 'only' a few hundreds worth, but it's probably better than I'll ever be. Mind you, I can't help but wonder.. see you all in one of the specialist shops!

22 hours ago, Dazed said:

I barely play double bass. I’ve been asked about playing with a band - their wants list included “ a double bass would be brilliant, occasional bowed parts even better” Seriously sickened reading this thread and the costs 😄 the last time I used a bow was 35 years ago and I don’t imagine it was anything decent being it was whatever the college I was at had it hanging around. 
 

Where do you start if you have no idea what you’re looking at?

A basic bow is way better than no bow. From there you can decide how far you want to take it and in which direction. For occasional parts as long as you're playing the band will be blown away anyway!

Try some if you can. Where is Manchester...ish? I'm north of Bradford if you fancy a trip over sometime. I can show you some differences, plus I do actually have a basic French type one I'd let go for not much.

When I first started on DB I knew I wanted a bow, and bought a pretty basic one in need of a rehair. That got me off the ground until getting a much better one once I knew I was going to use it. Then I got introduced to German bow (different hold) and went down that road.

General consensus seems to be that, in order to get the best out of both bow and instrument, the bow should be valued around 1/3 to 1/2 of the instrument, but that's more for the long term IMHO.

I've got the same preamp in my OLP SR5.. that alone is a brilliant tonal upgrade. GLWTS!

I'm a big fan of Helicores; if I've understood the D'Addario blurb correctly, the difference from Orchestral to Hybrid to Pizzicato is simply the damping in the string.. more in Orch, least in Pizz. I mostly like the Pizz for the sustain and growl, but the Orchestral (I still have the G on my 'other' bass) are also really nice for my mix of folk/blues/jazz. All three types are fine under the bow.

GLWTS!

3 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Im still gainfully employed!

 

All joking aside, it’s going well thanks. Something like 20 - 30 gigs a year which is about right for me.

Excellent, always good to hear! 👍

I just rediscovered this thread.. how did the gig go, BurnsBass?

On 02/07/2024 at 21:10, NickA said:

Bass bags do custom cases. They'll get anything made up.  Give them a call and talk to David ( NB: you might be on the phone a while 🙂 ).

Another Hup for BassBags.. I spoke to them then visited when passing for a gig; I needed to try my particularly large db in the bag rather than shipping things back and forth. Found them to be really helpful and knowledgeable. 

As I walked in with my old bag (the foam had  as mentioned above, perished with age, best part of 20 years but now a grotty sticky residue) they said "Where did you get that bag? We made it!"

DB is way harder to amplify really well. I'd say get it sounding good without any pedals to start with, otherwise you'll never get a satisfactory effected tone.

My own experience is that 15 inch speakers just don't do it. I usually am on 12", sometimes a 10. Full range even better.

It can definitely be done, mind.. https://youtu.be/qKSUPy64W7M?si=oyU8RvLFBYWwwqc5

I really like mine, even having tried a shoeboxful (literally) of other pickups belonging to a friend.

The most natural sounding pickup I've tried so far (always open to suggestion, mind you..), and the only player I've spoken to who wasn't keen said it's so natural that if you have a dark sounding bass that's what you'll get  from the pickup.

Interestingly, when I first had my Copperhead on my previous bass I took that bass to a specialist luthier friend who advised putting the pickup under the treble foot rather than the Realist-advised bass foot, as it'd present less obstacle to the bass frequencies of the instrument. Dunno if it was just that or the new bridge and soundpost I had her fit, but the overall effect was great. I still go for treble side mounting to this day, and have had countless positive comments on my tone.

21 hours ago, nilorius said:

 

It's just different, more organic although less twang. Personally I prefer fretless but they're both good!

Anyway, back to the double bass..

On 08/05/2024 at 12:10, hubrad said:

Easy selection for me.. I've owned this for about 40 years now. My first ever bass and I still love it, albeit in somewhat altered form.

Sharing this has reminded me I need to look for the photos!

 

I've found Before and After pics, so updated that thread. Looks like this nowadays..

Here's the view after a load of sanding, veneer, routing, finishing and all that!

This was the beginning point of the saga, obviously after a fair bit of tweaking from its original state.

Easy selection for me.. I've owned this for about 40 years now. My first ever bass and I still love it, albeit in somewhat altered form.

Sharing this has reminded me I need to look for the photos!