Electric Double Bass

[kedo]

I presently play a Stentor Elysia 3/4 bass through a Markbass 2 x 12 and get a fantastic sound from my Shadow SH950 pickup, playing mostly jazz. However, I am getting on a bit, and am beginning to find the transportation of the bass a bit of a problem, especially for practices and rehearsals where sound is less important. I have therefore been considering an EDB for these occasions and wondered if anyone with experience of both types of instruments could comment on whether or not the sound from an EDB is close to a traditional bass, as I may even consider using it as may main instrument if I could achieve that special double bass sound with it. Do they just sound like big bass guitars?

[Bilbo]

I think the ones I have heard mostly sound like fretless basses rather than double basses but the technology is moving very quickly and there may be EUBs which I have not heard but which do sound convincing.

[kedo]

Yes that my worry. I already have a nice fretless bass guitar. DB has that 'woody thump' and short sustain.

[BassBod]

Some are better than others. The Mo Clifton is as close as I've found (shut your eyes and everything is in the same place) but it has a solid body, so there is a longer sustain to notes, and a bit less of a thump. Having said that, it makes a very good alternative for loud or small gigs where an acoustic just isn't going to work.

String choice makes a difference - modern "gut-like" strings can help an electric sound more thumpy and less fretless, and the same is true of pickups (although a bit less).

[Silvia Bluejay]

Make sure to choose an electric with a DB-like bridge, fingerboard and general setup. For instance, I love my NS NXT 5, but I don't think of it as an electric DB at all - it sounds like a fretless electric and you can't use the DB plucking style on it due to the shape and size of the neck and bridge. You can, however, bow it all right.
Portability and the huge saving in size in any electric upright are a fantastic bonus, though.

[Happy Jack]

The KK Baby Bass (based on the original 60's Ampeg Baby Bass) is good for this sort of thing.

It gets you maybe 80% of the way to a true DB sound, but 90% of the way to the portability of an electric bass guitar.

The playing experience is difference because it lacks the pure physicality of a 3/4 DB, but as a practical rehearsing tool and for use at gigs where access is an issue (the last gig where I used mine on-stage was up a spiral staircase ) it's hard to beat.

There's probably one with another Basschatter in Edinburgh that you could try but if not, next time you're in London with some spare time ...

[franzbassist]

I own a [url="http://www.bsxbass.com/home.html"]BSX Allegro[/url] which, to my ears, does a great job.

[TheRev]

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.

[TheG]

Ive got an NS CRT4 which is solid body. (also play Double Bass and Electric Bass) To me it is like a big fretless but it does have a sound that is different to a fretless bass guitar as the string length is so long which you don't get on an electric bass.

I haven't tried any gut type strings on it yet though, reading above. I might have to try.

I think of the Electric Upright Bass as being another instrument type. It isn't quite a double bass but it isn't quite an electric.

I have had a go of one of those Yamaha SLB basses and they do seem a lot more natural sounding than my NS CRT4. I would trade in my CRT4 for the Yamaha SLB for that reason.

[kedo]

Thanks everybody for your help. Food for thought, Maybe I should hire a roady.

[Bilbo]

Of course, there is always this fella

http://www.czech-ease.com/

[kedo]

Yes. I saw Danny Thompson play with one that looked a lot like that recently.