TheRev

The technique is the same but the sound isn't quite the same. Im my experience musicals/pit gigs don't care too much about whether its acoustic or electric, as long as you can play the dots and it sounds ok - a decent EUB would be fine in this setting. Die hard jazzers are more picky but you can point them at Eberhard Webber and Esperanza Spalding. What's the most important criteria for you? If you want to get out there and playing ASAP, then EUB will get the job done. If, 6 or 12 months down the line you still have that DB itch, you'll at least be in a better position to decide what you want from your DB setup. This was the route I took, and while part of me feels I should have gone direct to DB, I was out gigging the EUB; n a matter of weeks, which probably wouldn't have been thae case with an acoustic double bass.

I have a Stentor 2 in our rehearsal room and it's totally decent. I'd be happy for it to be my main bass. As for a setup, every double bass will need a setup at some point to get it playing how you want it - the difficult thing is knowing what you want! You can certainly play one 'out of the box' but if this is your first DB and the action is set high (as they tend to be to allow for later adjustment) then you may struggle to stop a note properly and could even injure yourself. If you're a bit handy with wood, it's not that difficult to cut the bridge slots a bit deeper and sand down the top of the bridge to get a playable action - just take your time and don't take off too much at once.. Is there a specific reason you want to buy new? There's a bunch of decent double basses in the for sale forum and all of them will have already been fully fettled for optimum playability. Dave

For simple and light, i'd pair the AI head from the 2Ten combo with a Barefaced One10. I've A/B'd the One10 against my MAS45 cab and prefered my MAS45 - it was just cleaner with better note envelope definition. The LFSys Monaco I tried at the SW bash was pretty close to the sound of my MAS45 so if the LFSys Monza @Phil Starr mentioned above sounds anything like the Monaco, then I'd take that over the One10. If you'd prefer to sell your 2Ten, then I agree you'll have a better chance of selling it with the AI amp installed. Replacement wise, and in the absence of new/used AI or Euphonic Audio amps 😥, then I'd go with an Eich 500 (essentially a Tecamp Puma 500, which is great for DB) or a Genzler Magellan 350, depending on your power needs/bank balance. I agree with Happy Jack that for DB, the amp is less critical than the cab, so a MarkBass Little Mark woudl do equally well (and be familiar as you've already got an 801). I've just had a look at the GR stuff as i'm not hugely familar with them and their AT cube acoustic looks very interesting - a bit like the AER bass cube but without the hernia-inducing weight. Same price as an AER though, but you can't have everything.

You can buy a decent beginner double bass for £1400 from places like Thomann, but you may have to pay a few £100 on top to have it set up to your son's liking. For £1000 you'll be able to buy a good used bass ( there are several in the 'double basses for sale' thread) which, although a bit 'road worn' will have been set up and have proven durability. If you're looking to spend around the £1000 mark, then I would always recommend going for a used bass - it's taken all the knocks its going to take and survived to tell the tale. I'm in Bristol - if you want to try one of my East European basses (each bought for less than £1000), you're more than welcome. Dave

Francis jumped on my Chowny SWB fretless within minutes of it being listed and a meet up in a car park in the Brecons was swiftly arranged - I'm just sorry I made him wait two weeks until I had a gig-free weekend! Everything went super smooth. Francis is a lovely bloke and a nifty fretless player with a proper classic BassChat attitude. Dave

I would be all over a Danny Thompson documentary...

Ah- did not realise you're in Headsticks. You've played on my stage at numerous Fueled By Cider festivals in the south west. You guys have way less an overt political agenda than some of the bands we have on.

On big stages, I usualy start at 80Hz and turn it down only if I'm really missing the low end. I send a pre-HPF signal to the FOH, so it's just my onstage monitoring that gets the HPF treatment. The Rafferty unit is probably based on the FDeck, but it doesn't say what the imput impedance is, which is critical for piezo pickups.

I'd like you to talk about it....

The Winchester Gate on Rampart Road has an open mic night on Thursdays. The landlord, Rob, is a full on muso. Even if there's nothing on, the pub is worth a visit just to see the stage he's built in the beer garden.

Go up three posts Phil... 😁

I'm firmly in the 'lots of small drivers' camp for double bass. I use MAS cabs (4x5"), which are expensive and hard to come by these days. I didn't particularly like PJB cabs when I tried them, but plenty of DB players do. I did like the Barefaced One10 - if I was buying again (and MAS wasn't an option) then a couple of One10s would be on my list. But, the one cab I really, really liked was the LFSys Monaco 12" cab, made by @stevie ( https://www.lfsys.co.uk/bassguitarproducts) - super clean, clear and loud. If I had to find a replacement for my MAS cabs, that's what I'd go for.

Hi all. I'll post this here and on the RIP Norm thread: Simon's funeral will be at 15:20 on 29th March at Yeovil Crematorium, Dress comfortably, though Si did appreciate a loud shirt! Reception afterwards at Yeovil town FC Dave

We use Cram Duplication. Very happy with them. https://www.cramduplication.co.uk/

I bought both my basses via Ebay, but mainly because there wasn't anything local available on Basschat. I'd have much rather bought on here if it had been an option. The only shops that I've ever seen a double bass for sale in Bristol was in Cremona House on Park Row and Hobgoblin Music on Park street, and that was 5 years ago at least.

Here's another nice photo of Si/Norm, taken when our bands were on tour together last year.

It was great, we've played at The Grace and The Garage on a number of occasions and it's always been a good night.

I was playing in The Grace upstairs at the same time. Heard their soundcheck as we were loading in and the Dingwall was indeed a monstrous sounding thing.

Churrz mate, it was great to see you there! And it was very, very sweaty!

There's a pretty vibrant & supportive network of original bands, venues and grassroots festivals in the south west, but as has been pointed out, you will need to be prepared to travel a bit.

In the 100s of gigs I've done with my double bass, the worst things that have happened were a paralytic bloke tripping over the edge of the stage and knocking it off it's stand onto the floor (no damage) and two stage invasions at the end of the set where my bridge got knocked over and even then, only one of those occasions resulted in the soundpost falling out of place and a subsequent visit to a luthier. I can't see either of those situations arising with a swing band, so I reckon your bass is safe. I do however, always carefully assess where I put my bass back stage or on stage, whether on a stand or on it's side, and make sure it's as out of the way of stage crew & other band members as possible. That's not to say that Jayne (my bass) hasn't collected a few nicks and dents in the 10+ years we've been together, and I've twatted the scroll against door frames and low ceilings more times than I can remember, but so far nothing has actually broken off.