Which NS EUB?

[orm-irian]

I'm finally getting closer to being able to buy an NS EUB, but I'm very confused about which ones do what. I've been listening to loads of videos of people playing, and (as a newcomer to bass) I can't tell what's the instrument and what's the string choice when it comes to sound.

i want access to the jazz upright wownngg (I'm sure there's a technical term for the particular tone jazz upright bass has that you don't really get on a fretless electric bass). I also plan to play Bach on it :).

so how much of a difference is there in tone between the cheapest and most expensive NS models, and what are the best strings to choose for more traditional bebop-style jazz? They range from £900 to £4,300 and I could probably afford somewhere in the middle of that, and I have no clue. I can't travel to try them out, as I'm disabled and we're in a plague at the moment.

there are specific reasons (to do with my mutant anatomy) why this instrument will suit me better than any of the other main EUB models out there, incidentally, before we go into "why not Stagg" etc

i do have a little double bass experience - I got a Stentor bass a few years ago but my mutant arm couldn't cope with the big belly and broadness of the traditional instrument (my hands can do the work, just my arms couldn't keep them in the right place).

so my question probably boils down to:

What really are the differences between CR/CRM/CRT models, and why would you choose them over, say, the NXT or the WAV models, for sound?

what are the best strings for a good jazz twang-slap sound and sustain?

[petebassist]

You'd think NS would be better at creating videos to showcase their instruments, but as you've probably found they aren't, compared with Yamaha or MK.

CRM has an extra magnetic pickup, which is more expensive, but gives a fretless electric bass sound, so you'd probably mainly use the piezo pickup for jazz & classical. CRs and CRTs are piezo only.

CRT has a jacked up bridge, brass button at the D position on the neck, and stock strings for jazz/classical rather than the contemporary strings on others. CR is top of the range for 4 & 5 string and manufactured in Europe. Both have pizz and arco modes that are blendable I think.

My guess is that WAV, NXT, and CR have increasingly better components and electrics, but with the right strings, bridge height, and amp would sound similar to most people.

 

 

[orm-irian]

Thanks, that's a very helpful overview.

[TorturedSaints]

I have a NS Wav 4 with NS standard strings (to the best of my knowledge - it was bought on here).  If you'll excuse the composition, playing etc, here's one of my recordings of it (a composition that didn't go anywhere and my collaborators didn't find much inspiration from it either), DI out from a Quilter BB800 amp, and I don't think there was too much processing of the bass, though I will check.  Please skip to 1:30 to avoid ambient noodling.  I hope this helps you.  It is my first EUB  (first upright bass of any sort actually) and collaborators have said how nice it sounds (through Quilter and Barefaced One10).  Unfortunately I'm at the other end of the UK from you, so letting you have a go on it isn't practicable.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tjnavsbjyygo0pj/TransitionToReality.mp3?dl=0

[tinyd]

Not sure if you've seen it, but this is a good vid:
 

He has some good tips on how to make a WAV 4 sound a lot more like a DB
 

[chyc]

1 hour ago, tinyd said:

Not sure if you've seen it, but this is a good vid:
 

[Snip vid]

He has some good tips on how to make a WAV 4 sound a lot more like a DB

That's a great video. I've never heard an NS sound as close to a real upright as that. Thanks for sharing.

[tinyd]

1 hour ago, chyc said:

That's a great video. I've never heard an NS sound as close to a real upright as that. Thanks for sharing.

Me neither -  his point is a good one - just about all of the other videos that I could find have players playing them more like a BG and they therefore have that "giant fretless bass" sound, so maybe the easiest way to get them to sound like an upright is just to play them like one

Anyway, his video made me want one, which is a bad thing, but I hope you get one and get the sound that you want!

Edited October 28, 2020 by tinyd

[warwickhunt]

Where are you based?  I have the CRM version and if you are local (I'm in the NE) you're welcome to borrow it... sadly it's getting no use by me.    

[Downunderwonder]

I play the NXT omni. Flatting out the fingers gets more of the DB less of the BG. Playing it like a big BG is fun too. At the last jazz festival the guy playing a CR didn't sound significantly different to me from where I was standing.

[NickA]

Whichever one @owen
has is pretty much as good an eub as you can get. 

Does the big fretless sound with the magnetic pickups and a pretty good dB sound with the piezos, very playable too.  Forget which model, perhaps the man will let us know.

[Owen]

It was an NS5 EU. I no longer own it. But it was superb. Low action and TI Spiro is all mwah. Jack up the bridge and put Innovation Honeys on and it gives a lovely woody thump. There was another set of steel core classical strings which were like playing velvet. It responds beatifully to different strings

[NickA]

Just now, owen said:

it was superb

Yup

[DanOwens]

On 02/01/2021 at 22:48, owen said:

 Jack up the bridge and put Innovation Honeys on and it gives a lovely woody thump.

That's exactly what I've done to my CR4M; I tried quite a few strings and none of them were bad, but when I used the stock strings and had the bridge lower, it gave the fretless mwah that you hear in so many demos. Now its all thump.