TheRev

I have the recorder set....

Okeydoke, I'm ready to pass these on to the next person on the list. Step up please! I liked the sound and feel of these - essentially the same as the Rockabillys on my working bass, but the higher tension gives a clearer tone, particulary with the E and A. The strong fundamental still comes through, but with more clarity and sustain. Tension wise, they feel a bit lower than Spiro mediums (close to Superflexibles) so if you like playing Spiros but want a tone that doesn't sound like a set of knackered springs from a Fender Twin Reverb then these could be the strings for you... Ultimately, I found the G tension a bit to high for me.....but then I hit on an amazing idea! I really like the super silver G and D, but find the A and E to be just a smidge lacking in definition (the sound of the A string when tuned to A# is great - drop back to A and the magic disappears...) sooooo, I removed the G and D Ultras and replaced with G and D Super silvers. The result is a very tasty combination of solid well-defined low end and smooth jazzy top end. Niiice.

EUBs with a small hollow body (BSX, Eminence) get closer to the proper DB sound (and feel) than the solid stick basses, but, as has been said, string choice and playing technique can take you a long way. Of the 'solid' EUBs (some have a hollow acoustic chamber in the body), the Yamaha SLB, The [url="http://www.alter-ego.it/english/instruments/double-bass.html"]AlterEgo[/url] and the [url="http://www.sandarac.co.uk/instruments/volante-bass.html"]Volante[/url] all sound very authentic in the right hands. [media]http://youtu.be/Vi1Ns06kkeM[/media] There's also the general opinion that the louder you get, the more pickup and less bass you hear, to the point that above a certain volume an EUB and a double bass with a pickup will sound the same (at leat to the average bod in the audience). I use a ply double bass, a carved double bass and an Eminence EUB - they all sound different. I've got some very authentic double bass sounds out of the Eminence and some very 'big fretless' sounds out of the carved double bass, it comes down to the strings (low tension synthetic strings & a high action on the Eminence gives a sound close to real DB, Spiro mittels on my carved bass sound like a nasal fretless bass) and playing technique. If i've been spending a lot of time with my workhorse bass (ply with Innovation rockabillys) and then take the carved bass out for a bit of jazz time, i find my left hand technique will have got lazy and, coupled with the higher tension strings on the carved bass, the sound will be thin with less air and wood in the tone. All things being equal, I will always take an acoustic bass out with me. If the onstage volume isn't too loud, then I can still hear some air and wood in the sound and I prefer being able to feel that big body vibrating against me. The EUB comes out if I'm taking the bus to a gig, or if stage space is limited or (and this is rare) if the song need a lot of sustained notes. If the problem is just the lugging around of a 6ft lump of wood, what about a [url="http://www.foldingbass.com/"]Chadwick folding bass[/url]? I'm quite tempted to replace my regular gigging bass with one of these, just so I don't have a bloody great scroll poking betwen the front seats of the car.

I use a Markbass LMII and a 4x5 cab and I play on some big stages.

BigE [url="https://www.facebook.com/BigEloudspeakers"]https://www.facebook.com/BigEloudspeakers[/url] Their website is difficult/impossible to navigate, so I'm linking to the facebook page.

[quote name='Jigster' timestamp='1391674908' post='2359908'] Hi Rev, thanks for the mention - Those Amongst Us Are Wolves are playing in Bristol on 13th March at the Stag and Hounds if you are around [/quote] Excellent. I'll see you down the front!

Those amongst us are wolves. I'm ashamed to say I can't recall the bassist/basschatter's name but I loves me a bit of post rock and this band are up there with the best of them..... Currently listening to InFictions and enjoying it very much!

I'm in. My contributions will be double bass shaped.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1390869304' post='2350841'] He may have been shocked but did he increase his offer or just find someone else for £20 each? [/quote] He did, but it's only just covering our travel and accommodation costs. We only agreed because the pub will be full of a large group of people we know who are having a bit of a shindig that hight so we're hoping to clean up though merch sales.....

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1390852099' post='2350453'] No, I love playing music. I'll do that bit for free. However the endless hours travelling to venues and waiting around. That's the bit I want paying for… ;-) [/quote] Yup. If a promoter will collect me and my gear from my house and drive me to the gig in time for me to have a pint before hitting the stage and then hang around for an hour afterwards waiting for me to finish basking in the appreciation of my fans before driving me home again while I chose what music goes on the stereo and then carrying my gear inside for me when we get home; then I'll play for free. The promoter will also have to actually promote the gig, instead of just sending me a snippy email asking why the gig hasn't appeared on facepuke/website within 20 minutes of the gig being agreed. Mind you, some pubs are a bit deluded as well, I recently had a landlord who was actually shocked that we weren't prepared to drive 250 miles in a van full of PA gear for 20 quid each. On a more constructive note, I personally think that venues that put on local band showcases where the bands are expected to sell a bunch of tickets to their mates at 5 quid a pop, would have a more successful night if there was no charge on the door with the understanding that these young local bands would play for free. The venue gets a crowd buying beer, the bands get to play to a crowd whuch isn't just made up of their mates and the other bands mates. The better/most entertaining/popular bands from these showcases could then be offered a paid gig on another night where they could realistically attract paying customers.

A Bassmax through a pre with a phase switch and getting your cab as close to ear height as you can is a combination that works for me. Also, keep the bass signal out of your monitor and ask the sound engineer to cut everything below 80hz going to the rest of the stage monitors. In terms of damping, I've tried a big wedge/ball of foam squidged between the tailpiece and the belly, blocking the f-holes and stuffing a beach ball into the bass side f-hole and blowing it up hard to dampen vibration in the front and back. None of these were a raging success on their own - the beach ball was probably the most effective of the three, but I was always worried about the ball pushing the soundpost out of place. For me, a sensible monitor mix and raising my cab high (and buying a BigE45 MAS45 bass cab so I can hear myself clearly) had the best result. The caveat is that I'm using a ply bass - if you've got a very resonant carved bass, it might be nigh impossible to amplify effectively.

The Fishman BP100 just clips onto the bridge next to the strings - no modifications needed at all. There's one in the for sale forum, IIRC. Not the best sounding pickup out there but it will make your bass louder.

Cheers everyone. I think I'm just looking for an excuse to buy something. ... My plat pro is pretty nifty, I certainly prefer it to my Headway from a user friendly point of view.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/shadow_shsb1.htm This Shadow pickup is pretty cheap....

Do you want the best way or the cheapest way? In my experience you can't have both ;-) A wing pickup like the Shadow or K&k basmax can be fitted to a bass without major modifications (or no modifications if the wing slot is wide enough). You'll probably need a preamp to get the best out of the pickup before plugging into the pa or bass amp. The cheapest shadow pickup plus a basic preamp will set you back about 60-80 quid.

I have flats on my Sterling (Chromes I think) and it sounds great. Mellow yet punchy.

Cheers Owen. I'm very tempted to order one to check out. Has anyone tried the Radial Stagebug? http://www.radialeng.com/stagebugsb4.php It looks to have all the essential bits that I use in the PlatPro.

Hmm. My pre of choice is the Pro Plat, but I was thinking that as the Fdeck is a bit smaller I could just tuck it in a pocket of my gig bag with my leads and tuner for the 1/2 mile schlep across a muddy field. If it doesn't do anything above the Plat pro, then I might as well stick to the Plat. Fdeck doesn't havean XLR out either. I like the XLR out on th Plat - it means I can give the PA a clean flat signal that doesn't change while I'm desperately clawing at the controls of the Ampeg SVT that's been provided as backline, trying to remove the subsonic feedback rumble that happens every time I hit a Bb. I find that i don't tend to use the EQ (rarely) or compressor (never) on the Plat pro - does anyone know of a preamp that just has a gain control, phase switch, HPF and XLR DI (as well as the regular jack output)?

Did the wheels grind to a halt? I quite fancy an Fdeck preamp for this years festival gigs - anyone this side of the pond handy with a soldering iron?

Works well for me. It even picks up the E on my double bass, which is no mean feat.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1389720453' post='2337211'] I don't play in any bands and i suppose you would be limited to what you could play. I can't see many pub audiences standing for an evening of Morphine songs. [/quote] You would if I was in the audience..... I played a couple of Morphine songs at an open Mic sesh with two like-minded muso mates, it went down so well we were all up for getting a full set together. As ever, other stuff got in the way so it never happened.

Do you have a budget in mind? It's possible to buy a new double bass for under £400 but they usually have an awful setup and action and therefore aren't suitable for beginners. Second hand can give good value for money, but you need to know what you're looking to avoid buying something that's about to fall apart. If you have £800 to spend, then the Thomann 2 basses are pretty good for an off the shelf bass.