TorturedSaints

I played at a Concert Band concert recently alongside a DB player from abroad. She had forgotten her end pin stopper, so she put the end pin into one of her shoes (low heels) and played barefoot!

I will have to try harder! In rough order of purchase: Shine SB24 PJ 4 string bass, red/rosewood (sold). (Missed for nostalgic reasons) Fender Geddy Lee J bass , black/maple MIJ. (Lovely but haven’t played it in ages) Tanglewood by Overwater Elite J 4 string (Lovely, heavy but records well) Sue Ryder P 4 string white/rosewood (Cheap P, surprisingly good) Aria Pro II 5 string J black (given away) (Cheap intro to 5 strings) Lakwood fretless J lined 4 string (Lakland cheapo copy, professional de-fret) Starfire acoustic bass, 4 string (cheapo, new strings cost more than the bass did) Aria Sinsonido travel bass 4 string (Never travelled much, not a great play) ACG J type 5 string red/maple (Marvellous, main bass forever) ACG Finn 4 string black (Also marvellous, not played so much as only a 4) I don’t really like selling my toys, even the cheap ones!

Try a proper saddler (not just a retailer) or leather worker. It should be relatively easy for them to make one - they could probably reuse the hardware from your original strap. Not sure about the cost but horse riders (not me any more) get leather tack altered or custom bits made all the time.

If you play with a concert band, so much music is written in flat keys (to make it easier for the transposing instruments like trumpets/clarinets/saxes etc) that a 5 string is so much easier to play without too many shifts. In addition, when tuba parts are put in front of you, they are written going down to an low G, so a 5 string makes it easier to play tuba parts without having to spoil the flow of the tune by transposing up the octave (although technically you should as tubas play an octave higher than written). I do have a number of 4 string basses and will use them if I ever do any rock band playing again.

When I messaged you about NS Wav basses at the beginning of 2023, I said you had better budget for a DB in about a year. I was only 9 months out! 😀 I second hubrad’s suggestion to try bowing again - it’s much more rewarding on a DB than on a EUB. Good luck with your search! R.

If my original Bass Block ever fails, I’ll be looking for one of these.

I’m using my NS Wav about 3 times a week at the moment for different concert bands. Just a tip, because this happened to me last week, the nuts inside the base of the stand work loose and the stand then collapses. The easy remedy is to replace them with M6 nyloc locking nuts from a hardware store.

Well, I wasn’t technically opted in to the 2024 competition, but seeing as I was GAS free for the last 2 years, it was a fair bet. However, in order to play sfz fp crescendo dynamics on the bass guitar with the concert band, I needed a volume pedal (I wasn’t quick enough to do it with the volume knob😮). So now I have a passive EHX volume pedal for that, and I’m out of the running for 2024.

Still looking.