Double bass sound.....

[Bilbo]

Being 18 months into this double bass malarky, I am interested to note how all players seem to be working desperately hard to find 'the' sound; new strings, adjustments to basses, new purchases, new pick-ups, pre-amps, amps and so on. Whilst I understand the urge to search in new players, this tendency doesn't seem to stop with experience.

I read on Ken Smith's site that there is a feeling that the prohibitive cost of a 'good' bass (£15K +) means that we are all working with compromise to some degree or another and that, over time, we seek tio improve our sounds incrementally, despite knowing that it will never be the perfect tonal experience.

Now my concern is that, the hardest thing about searching for something like this, is that most of us wouldn't recognise it if we found it and that, if we did, we would carry on tweaking and tampering and lose it again. My own feeling is that the sound should serve the music and, whether you sound 'huge' like Ray Brown, brittle like Mingus or elastic like Ron Carter, as long as the music is good, the actual sound of the bass is not that important. I listen to lots of bass players and love the sound of some and like other less. What is interesting, however, is that the great sounding basses are not on the records I like and the crap sounding basses sometimes are.

I love the sounds of Marc Johnson, Scott Colley, Dave Holland or Charlie Haden but am less enamoured with those of Carter, Pederson, Eddie Gomez, Cecil McBee or Mingus.

But if I came out sounding like the latter 5? I could live with it

[thisnameistaken]

I've been playing for about ... 17 months now? I am starting to appreciate lots of different sounds and wishing I had enough basses to have them all on tap.

Realistically I think I will end up with two basses - one ply strung with something gut-like for rootsy stuff and one quality bass strung with hybrids for everything else. But I will probably end up playing the cheaper bass more...

[Beedster]

Pick your sound and your instrument and learn to be as articulate as possible with both, it's what many of the great players do.

[TheRev]

I'm four years in and on some days my sound is exactly what I'm looking for and other days it's...meh. I think it depends on what mood my fingers are in.

In a perfect world, I'd sound like Danny Thompson. When I play some of the songs he played on (Solid air, Down in the hole) I do indeed sound a bit like Danny Thompson but when I play my own stuff I don't. Maybe I need to get Danny playing my stuff to see if he can make himelf sound like me.

Gear wise, I'm happy with my Velvet Garbos (tho the G is a bit thin sounding...) and my Realist pup & Fishman Platinum Pro pre. Changing either would not change the fact that the only thing that would significantly improve my sound would be to practice more.

I have come to realise over the years that the gigs/rehearsals where I spend ages fiddling with EQ to get 'a sound' don't sound half as good as the ones where I just get on with it and play. Something that sounds good solo usually gets lost when the rest of the band kick in and a sond that's a bit crap at the start of the song ofen seems to improve if you're enjoying playing that song. I often find myself changing my right hand position mid song to find a sound that sits better in the mix or putting more or less finger behind the string.

Ultimately, I think it's more in the hands and ears than anything else.

[Beedster]

[quote name='TheRev' post='1271716' date='Jun 16 2011, 04:01 PM']Ultimately, I think it's more in the hands and ears than anything else.[/quote]

Think that's what I was trying to say

[fatback]

I think there has to be a distinction between worrying about the acoustic sound and the amplified sound.

It seems legit to want the amplified sound to at least sound like a double bass, and that bit seems to take some time and expense. It's bound to be the same as with bass guitar anyhow - what sounds good solo mightn't be best in the mix.

As for the acoustic sound, it's nice when it's nice, but I'm going to be the only person who notices, assuming that miking up is for higher beings anyhow.

Edited June 16, 2011 by fatback

[oldslapper]

"Now my concern is that, the hardest thing about searching for something like this, is that most of us wouldn't recognise it if we found it and that, if we did, we would carry on tweaking and tampering and lose it again."

A very good point.

I was watching you tube clip of benny goodman/Louis Stewart playing "Rose room", no idea who the bass player was, but I loved his sound. But there is no way I'd ever find that tone myself, I wouldn't know how. There appears, even to my dull ears, too many variations to factor in regarding DB, that I fear it would be a very expensive journey to find someone else's "tone".

You once said "it's not a competition" Bilbo, which helped enormously as I for one felt like I had to sound a certain way.

I'll stick with my feeble attempts at trying to play the right notes, at the right time, and not worry too much about anything else.

[Clarky]

I would love my DB to sound like the woody, buzzy rich tone that Danny Thompson or the guy from the Wood Brothers gets. But its a ply back/sides Zeller student model, so it will never get near that. Amplified, however, it really sounds very good through my AI/EA rig and especially in a band context. I am guessing that were I to have a very expensive carved 19th century bass it would approximate to the acoustic sound I love but be no better than my Zeller when amplified and in fact more problematic with feedback. Horses for courses and depends on context, in short.

[JPJ]

[quote name='TheRev' post='1271716' date='Jun 16 2011, 04:01 PM']Ultimately, I think it's more in the hands and ears than anything else.[/quote]

[quote name='Beedster' post='1271706' date='Jun 16 2011, 03:55 PM']Pick your sound and your instrument and learn to be as articulate as possible with both, it's what many of the great players do.[/quote]


Agree with both of these. My "db" experience is around 1 month and my reference point is my Stagg EUB but already I've found I can get quite different results/sounds from how I 'attack' the bass. It appears to me that the longscale is particularly more sensitive to the nuances of your playing than the electric bass. In fact, it reminds me of my conversion from fretted to fretless some twenty-five odd years ago, there is so much more expression available and the instrument is so much more sensitive to your touch/technique.

[TPJ]

[quote name='fatback' post='1271766' date='Jun 16 2011, 04:22 PM']I think there has to be a distinction between worrying about the acoustic sound and the amplified sound.

It seems legit to want the amplified sound to at least sound like a double bass, and that bit seems to take some time and expense. It's bound to be the same as with bass guitar anyhow - what sounds good solo mightn't be best in the mix.

As for the acoustic sound, it's nice when it's nice, but I'm going to be the only person who notices, assuming that miking up is for higher beings anyhow. [/quote]

I struggle with this Half my playing is acoustic and that's the sound I try hardest to match with the "sound in my head". The amplified tone I don't worry so much about as every room is different and the tone can be tweaked enough to work with the amp. The acoustic beast is sooo challenging. We play the same music each week in the same room and it's slightly different every week. Temperature, strings, standing in a different spot...it can dive you mad

[thisnameistaken]

Yeah I always try to practise in my front room at home. The bass is in a corner in the dining room but it always sounds too boomy in there, the bedrooms sound flat, the front room for some reason sounds really airy and natural. No idea why.

[fatgoogle]

Im very satisfied with the sound of my double bass. Not its amplified sound atm but its actual sound. Mainly, i think, because i won't be able to afford anything better for many many years and im not sure if i wont anything better. The only thing i mgiht be able to afford is a new set of strings one day and maybe a pickup. But i do feel like i have a bond with my one. It took such a long time to find and it just plays so nicely to me. Of course there is a few little things i would like to change but i dont think these would effect the sound all that much.

[fatback]

The only time i got to hear what my bass actually sounded like was when my luthier played it. Let's face it, we're always standing too close to hear the projected sound anyhow.

And, as has been said, the room makes such a difference.

[ficelles]

A year into NS WAV ownership and I sound completely different on the same instrument through the same amplifier than I did back in June '10. I guess it's all in familiarity with an instrument and sticking with it - in that year I've hardly gigged fbg and done maybe 3 gigs on acoustic upright. My WAV tone now gets compliments where last year I was making excuses for it (it doesn't sound like the real thing but it's more portable etc). Now thinking of adding a CR4M but I will keep the old WAV...

ficelles