Double bass dilenttante, here.

[ChunkyMunky]

Howdy, all.

I'm a regular electric bassist but I'd love to learn upright bass as well. I'm not on a mega budget either, but I was looking at something like the Stagg EDB? I'm not worried hugely on tone, I'm keen to get my technique down first; I might as well get good before I get something that's priced to the ability, right? I'm mostly a jazz guy for the upright.

I'm based in the Sussex area and I'd love to study under someone in that vicinity, if possible. As by what the title has said, I'm literally a newbie for double bass. Any recommendations, guys and gals? Cheers!

[marvin spangles]

HI ChunkyMunky
If you want to learn to play double bass get a double bass.
Best of luck

[randythoades]

I am in exactly the same position but about 6 weeks further down the line. A complete newbie on upright bass, I plumped for a Bassix EUB through the classified on BC and couldn't be more pleased. I know that people will say that you need to get a proper acoustic double bass, but my budget (nor the wife) wouldn't allow me to get get anything any better than a student plywood ebay job, plus it would quite large to store and transport, not that great to play in comparison to a decent instrument, and generally quite loud to play acoustically. With my EUB I can plug in headphones and jam along to some blues numbers at night without waking up the house or being annoying when I can't quite get the intonation or fingering, it is easy to pack away and easy to transport.
True, it is not "traditional", both in look, sound or feel, but it gives me a flavour of playing something that I may or may not really stick with in the future, and not everyone has got £2k to splash on a whim. Plus, I quite like forging my own path rather than conforming to traditional thinking - isn't that how Leo Fender made the electric guitar a household object.
Maybe I will be so good and influencial in the future that all my peers will be ditching their acoustic bass and going for a space age EUB... or maybe not.

From what i read, the Stagg is good once set up but a bit rubbish out of the box. Keep a look out in the For Sale Classifieds and pick one up from someone who has already done the setup... And good luck...

[randythoades]

This one in the Classifieds may do for you.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/222529-stagg-eub-stand-and-gig-bag/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/222529-stagg-eub-stand-and-gig-bag/[/url]

[sarah thomas]

Then again, a lot of people who started out on EUBs very quickly realise they want a proper wooden wardrobe jobbie and nothing else will really do. So buying an EUB can turn out to be a false economy. Why not see if your local council/music shop/music college/schools do a hire scheme? Or book a couple of lessons so you can get a feel for the upright before you decide?

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[randythoades]

[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1386058019' post='2295014']
Then again, a lot of people who started out on EUBs very quickly realise they want a proper wooden wardrobe jobbie and nothing else will really do. [/quote]

That is true, I am considering the jump to a full on 'wardrobe' but i see it in addition to my EUB.
I think that the EUB has real benefits for home practice, portability, no feedback etc and does offer a taste of the upright bass without the initial cost and is less intimidating. I don't gig regularly and don't expect to so I think an EUB fits with my personal needs at the moment. If I did intend to gig or do sessions, then I think I would plump for an acoustic bass as I think potential bands or producers would expect it.
If you buy used, then you can always sell the EUB in the future for hopefully a similar amount meaning that it wasn't a costly excercise.

[Marc S]

[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1386058019' post='2295014']
Then again, a lot of people who started out on EUBs very quickly realise they want a proper wooden wardrobe jobbie and nothing else will really do. So buying an EUB can turn out to be a false economy. Why not see if your local council/music shop/music college/schools do a hire scheme? Or book a couple of lessons so you can get a feel for the upright before you decide?

Best of luck whatever you decide.
[/quote]

Sarah is basically right here, but for some (me included) buying a cheap Stagg was what made me want to buy a "proper" DB
Getting a Stagg made me have a go at DB, and more than that, I had a prolonged trial of DB playing
..... if you walked into a music shop to try one out - that's not really long enough to see if it suits you...

My Stagg wasn't expensive, and as someone else has pointed out,
they fold down small enough to carry as a spare! - could be it gets you out of jail if a string breaks,
or a pickup fails, or some tragedy occurs re your bridge

Also, if you get a Stagg second-hand, you should pretty much get your money back
if you decide DB isn't for you, or you just want a better DB

IMHO The Stagg is a lot of instrument for your money
and if your budget is tight at the moment - I'd go for it

BUT - if it's still got the original strings on it....
Change them straight away! They are awful......
Again, you can get a used set on here....

Let us know what you decide
Hope this helps

Marc

EDIT: I also meant to add that I have Sarah to thank, for selling me my lovely acoustic DB
I am forever indebted to her for this

..... I'm keeping my Stagg EUB though

Edited December 3, 2013 by Marc S

[marvin spangles]

Hey Sorry for repeating myself but I'd still urge you to get the best laminate bass you can afford. You say you want to get technique down first. The physical/technical demands of a DB as opposed to an EB or EUB are very different. Why would you want to waste time with a halfway house solution if you see yourself as wanting to play DB.

[alistair Sutcliffe]

The stagg's a good instrument, but it's not the same as a dB. I would recommend getting one, but only if you can get a second-hand one at a sensible price. Pretty much everyone seems to sell them on to buy a dB pretty quickly. I had mine about an hour before I started looking at double basses!

[sarah thomas]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1386067244' post='2295142']

EDIT: I also meant to add that I have Sarah to thank, for selling me my lovely acoustic DB
I am forever indebted to her for this

..... I'm keeping my Stagg EUB though
[/quote]

She couldn't have gone to anyone better, Marc. I'm glad she's being played and loved. But I have one question - how often do you play your Stagg?

[TheRev]

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1386060657' post='2295048']

I think that the EUB has real benefits for home practice, portability, no feedback etc and does offer a taste of the upright bass without the initial cost and is less intimidating.

[/quote]

I started out with the exact same reasoning. My first EUB (Aria) cost me £500, my second cost £2000. My first double bass cost me £800 and my second £600. I'm not saying that you shouldn't get a EUB, just saying that EUB isnt necessarily the cheap option!
You should choose the path that suits you, but one way or another your journey will end with a big curvy wooden box.....

P.s. you soon get used to lugging them around.

[Marc S]

[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1386106204' post='2295952']
She couldn't have gone to anyone better, Marc. I'm glad she's being played and loved. But I have one question - how often do you play your Stagg?
[/quote]

I'm glad you realise that the lovely DB you sold me is being loved & played
I don't play the Stagg too regularly, but I give it a whirl occasionally
and I take it round to a pals house for a jam....

I put some nylon wrap strings on it, and it's quite a different feel, and quite nice to play

It's far easier to lug around in the car than my DB
... plus, as I've mentioned, I'll take it along to gigs, as spare
Got a gig with a guitarist pal in Newport on the 14th
so it'll come along as spare to that.....
I know, "belt & braces" - that's me

There was a horror story on here, where a DB player had his bridge collapse
in an accident, mid-gig!
To my mind, the Stagg is a good, cheap insurance policy

I know others may think it could be money wasted,
but if you buy one second-hand, then you'll pretty much get what you paid for it.....

When searching for a DB, I found they never come up for sale anywhere near me,
and I'd have wasted far more money, travelling around to try out a DB,
and not really knowing what I was really looking for,
or what would be a good, bad, or indifferent one....

Playing the Stagg EUB at least gave me some basic ability & knowledge
and an idea of what I was after, and some appreciation of DB playing
I'd argue that I'd have spent as much on petrol, trying out just a handful of basses
and could have spent far more still, buying a bass which wasn't up to scratch

To my mind the cost of the Stagg (a little over 200 quid) was one of the best investments I made
It convinced me to buy a DB, and I know I can get the 200 quid back

Not sure I'll ever get used to lugging a DB around
Not with my ageing joints etc

.... but it is worth it

[ChunkyMunky]

This is all excellent stuff, thank you very much everyone. I'm going to see if I can hunt out a cheap DB (wardrobe rather than the broomstick variety) and then see where it goes from there. I'm sure the Stagg would be a nifty backup, though!

[fatback]

[quote name='ChunkyMunky' timestamp='1386358162' post='2299341']
This is all excellent stuff, thank you very much everyone. I'm going to see if I can hunt out a cheap DB (wardrobe rather than the broomstick variety) and then see where it goes from there. I'm sure the Stagg would be a nifty backup, though!
[/quote]

Good on ya! Go for the big baby. True that the Stagg would be a good backup. I'm tempted to get one for routine band practices to save all that lugging around.

[Marc S]

Good stuff
Don't forget to let us know what you get
and post some piccies too

Good luck with your search
Cheers

Marc (one very happy DB convert)

[TheRev]

[quote name='fatback' timestamp='1386363698' post='2299435']
True that the Stagg would be a good backup. I'm tempted to get one for routine band practices to save all that lugging around.
[/quote]

Ever since I bought my second DB, my Eminence EUB hasn't been to a single practice - good as it is, it just doesn't compare to the big wooden box. The hassle of lugging it around is worth it from the first note.

[marvin spangles]

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1386598313' post='2301938']
Ever since I bought my second DB, my Eminence EUB hasn't been to a single practice - good as it is, it just doesn't compare to the big wooden box. The hassle of lugging it around is worth it from the first note.
[/quote]
+1

[fatback]

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1386598313' post='2301938']
Ever since I bought my second DB, my Eminence EUB hasn't been to a single practice - good as it is, it just doesn't compare to the big wooden box. The hassle of lugging it around is worth it from the first note.
[/quote]

I suspect that's exactly what would happen with me. Made more likely by the practice being the only time I hear the db amplified and really cranked up.