Keithgg26 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 hi i just got a baby bass and i seem to have a problem which i hope one of you can help with. Whenever i play it,it seems to twist in my hands therefore making it awkward to play. Also because of the lack of thickness of its body, i cannot rest it against my chest to play like a normal double bass and therefore i have to use a lot of thumb pressure which i find difficult, has anyone else had this problem and found a way of solving it please. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I find that I use a very different technique with my Baby Bass. Rather than holding it close to me like my DB, I hold it upright, often nearly at arm's length, so that I am plucking with my right hand quite close to where it would be on a DB. I let the bass lean slightly forward, into my "fretting" fingers (you know what I mean), so that the weight of the bass supplies much of the pressure to hold the strings against the fingerboard. All this, plus the amplification, means that I don't need to either hold the neck so firmly or pluck so hard. I think of my Baby Bass as a cousin of my DB, not its brother. If I tried to play them both in the same way I'd hit the buffers pretty quickly. Incidentally, if you YouTube the Baby Bass (there are plenty of brands besides KK) you'll soon notice how differently the salsa players handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithgg26 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Thanks a lot, was quite a surprise that I hadn't thought through. I had a Stagg before and that had a wire structure on the back which snuggled into your stomach.seemed more natural. Love the sound of the bass baby though so need to work on it I think. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 As per Happy Jack's reply: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithgg26 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks for the picture. Also seems very low output from the bass. Heard that washers under the bridge makes a difference. Checked with Kriss and he confirmed it is a way to go ! Any comments ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Perhaps using a preamp will help and be less of a hassle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) +1 to that. The output from the Baby Bass is not particularly powerful, but run it through any preamp pedal (I've used Sansamp BDDI, Hartke VXL, MXR M81) or active DI box (I've used Fishman Platinum Pro, Radial Stage Bug) and you'll be fine. Just because it looks like an EUB doesn't mean you can't use normal electric bass pedals with it. ps: I've just noticed that, in the photo of me playing with KK at Proud Camden (above), I'm running through the Sansamp, and that's going straight to FOH with no backline at all. Unexpected extra bonus was that the band following us were a touring outfit of Australians travelling light - their bass player (Fender Jazz) was expecting to borrow someone else's backline and was a bit put out to find none there. So he borrowed my Sansamp and went through that instead. Happy as Larry, he was. Edited January 12, 2015 by Happy Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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