TheRev

On peizo pickups that is! After spending most of last night's set twiddling knobs to find a happy medium between an audible sound and feedback, I ordered a Krivo magnetic pickup as soon as I got home. I don't care if it doesn't sound like 'my bass only louder' I just want a consistent sound, even if it is a compromise.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1433839283' post='2794341'] [sub]I had the Roland and it struggled even in an acoustic instrument environment. I sold it on to The Rev here for use with an upright double bass, don't know if he still has it? [/sub] [/quote] Yarp. Still have it & still use it. I bought it for busking but it gets more use on acoustic gigs in cider sheds. I tend to use it as a monitor rather than sound reinforcement in acoustic settings, though I have noticed that it seems louder from 15ft away than it does when you're stood next to it. If you want something to make electric or acoustic bass guitar heard against unamped acoustic guitars/vocals/sympathetic drums then it will do the job nicely. For anything more you'll need to go down the camping battery and proper amp route.

[quote name='TheG' timestamp='1433016130' post='2787144'] Yeah Rev more than 3 dates is a Tour!! Ha ha ha! Would you trust them with your bass on an airline in one of those big polystyrene cases? I have assumed (and read somewhere) that you couldn't trust a baggage handler with a double bass in the hold unless it was in one of those David Gage Fibreglass flight cases that cost £2000 that have air pockets in and the only other way to do it is to book another seat next to you for the bass? ( I wasn't reading a David Gage advert at the time either). That has always been my assumption but at the end of the day I have no experience of it at all! [/quote] I've met quite a few touring double bassists who buy a polystyrene case cheap off Ebay (or Craigslist for the Americans), use it for one tour and then chuck it away at the end of the tour. They don't last more than one trip - Mark Robertson of the Legendary Shack Shakers described his as looking like 'it had been raped by a grizzly bear' but it's a cheap option and it does the job.

So are they expecting each band to supply their own pub gig level PA? Or are they saying they supply a vocal PA and the rest of the instruments just use backline?

Hmmmm. That looks like it would wag like a horny terrier's tail when you try to play pizz. Show me a video of it in use - then I'll bite

What's the event? I know most of the people involved with festival type events in Dorset (we put a lot of our own events on) and may have some insight into what's going on. I also know plenty of PA hire people if you want to go down that route. PM me if you'd rather not say the name in a public forum. Dave

[quote name='TheG' timestamp='1432914571' post='2786192'] Great stuff that you are going on a US Tour Rev! Cool! What kind of prices are you looking at with luggage charges vs bass hire over there? [/quote] 'Tour' may be overstating it a bit.... it'll be 5 gigs in various brew-pubs and cider mills over the week of Cider-Con 2016 in Oregon. I can rent a bass in Portland for about $80 (I'm not fussy so I've gone for a basic ply jobbie). Carting my double bass over would cost about £50 excess baggage plus whatever I could buy one of those big polystyrene cases for. If I was going over for a couple of weeks, then it would be worth taking my own bass. A removable neck eminence in a golf club case wouldn't cost anything as long as it and any other checked baggage is less than the airlines' checked baggage weight limit.

You can't go wrong with a Bassmax IMHO. OK, it's not the most transparent pickup, but it's got a huge output and is very feedback resistant, so if you're playing with a full band it's the dog's danglies. If you're playing in a quiet band, then a Realist is a good choice - good mix of string and body tone and probably the most 'my bass only louder' pickup that I've owned. Only downside is that it's not as feedback resistant as the Bassmax.

I'm going on a small US tour early next year and kicked myself for not buying the removable neck option, but looking at the luggage charges, it costs about the same for me to rent a bass when I got there (only going for a week). The reason I bought my Eminence was that at the time I was living in a small flat on the fourth floor and mostly playing local gigs that I could get the bus to. None of that applies now...

[quote name='TheG' timestamp='1432801127' post='2785033'] How much did you guys pay for yours? [/quote] Mine was a gnat's whisker under £2k, but I had side markers added which added £150ish to the price. [quote name='TheG' timestamp='1432847711' post='2785666'] So forgetting that idea you've only got the overhead lockers which I doubt are big enough or then theres the aeroplanes hold. The Eminence does have a hard case, so would this be strong enough to go in the hold or would it need to be stored in a full on flight case to be protected properly? [/quote] As far as I can recall, the hard case is designed to survive yer typical baggage handler. If you have a browse on the Eminence mega thread over on Talkbass, there are plenty of players using the supplied case as a flightcase. Dave

I ordered mine direct from GEL in the US, unseen and untried. No regrets whatsoever- it was everything I expected it would be. l have been thinking about selling mine - I always play the proper bigguns now so it only gets the occasional outing when I play particularly tiny places. I feel bad that it spends most of its time standing unplayed in the corner! It's a fixed neck though. Feel free to PM me if you're interested or even if you just want to try one again- I'm only 90 miles away!

Here's a nice 'un from Sunday night.

I use a korg pitch black pedal on stage and it picks up the E string no problem provided there isn't a load of noise coming through the monitors.

Have you looked into the BigE/Michael Arnapol Soundworks cabs? The MAS45 is a 4x5" cab voiced for double bass but the MAS46 (4X6") is designed for players who double on upright and electric bass. I had similar issues with my double bass sound, (but with my, otherwise amazing Bill Fitzmaurice Omni10.5 cab) and extensive research on the various bass forums led me to the MAS45 cab. I've had it about 2 years now and still very happy with it.

I don't understand "don't get on with it" ;-) Initially, it will seem daunting, maybe even impossible but the moment you get your first proper note out of a double bass you will wonder why you wasted your life on those skinny little planky things. You are right to be worried about selling your first bass on - about 7 months into your double bass journey you will start obsessing about carved tops and ebony fingerboards and pickups and gut strings and preamps... OK, joking aside- let's start at the beginning. 1) What's your budget? 2) What kind of music will you be playing?

You're on! The Skimmities are putting the night on so there'll definitely be some decent local scrumpy on the bar. See you on the 5th.

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1431031032' post='2767203'] Thanks Rev .....any particular rosin ......Pops ? [/quote] I use Petz. I don't do a lot of arco but with a bit of rosin on the string I can get a decent sound out of my super silvers.

Try a softer rosin and rub a bit on the bowing area of the strings.

[quote name='JJJack' timestamp='1430921400' post='2765956'] That sounds like a possible. What's the name of the band and what venues in Dorset? Jack [/quote] My band is the Skimmity Hitchers ([url="http://www.skimmityhitchers.com"]www.skimmityhitchers.com[/url]) Looking at the diary, although we're in Dorset twice this month (Bere Regis and Cursus Festival near Sixpenny Handley), they're both ticketed events, which probably won't work for you, unless you happen to be going to those events anyway. The next pub gig in Dorset is in Goldies in Dorchester on 5th June - that any use to you?

Yep. Exactly like that.

I have the Christopher one- 3 years and 250 gigs later it's still going strong and all the dangly bits in one piece. Lots of useful grab handles and pockets. Can't fault it.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1430821346' post='2764798'] If you could barely move your left shoulder the next morning, and the fingertips on your right hand were painful to touch, then it's official ... you had fun. [/quote] Are we still talking about DB gigs?

I use a LMII head, which probably isn't hugely different from the LMIII head used in the cmd combo. I live in Bristol but gig in Dorset a lot - you're welcome to try my amp if we can meet up at one of my gigs.

Sounds great to me... The beauty of double bass is that you can keep it simple and still sound interesting. Don't try to rush things, allow your sound to develop in its own time and with the sound of your band. If you had fun playing the gig then you're doing everything right.

We've got loads on this year: Cursus cider & music festival Welsh Perry & cider festival Weymouth Quayside music festival Wimborne folk festival Boomtown fair Tolpuddle Martyrs fair Jusassic Rocks festival OutCider festival Great Dorset Steam Fair Last of the summer cider music festival There's also a handful of little cider festivals, VeeDub, scooter and Harley-Davidson rallies. We're going to be busy boys....