Usable tone from an NS CR upright

[petebassist]

Most of the YT clips make them sound like fretless guitars, but this one's got a nice tone diallled in, using pirastro solos and a GR Bass Pure Amp 800.

 

 

[NancyJohnson]

I'd like to hear what these sound like through a Sansamp BDDI or a dUg.

[DanOwens]

Les Claypool bows his through distortion (poor audio but you can hear the grind)  

 

 

[Owen]

Whack up the bridge and you are a solid 75% of the way there. I used Innovation Honeys and got a lovely thud.

[petebassist]

16 hours ago, owen said:

Whack up the bridge and you are a solid 75% of the way there. I used Innovation Honeys and got a lovely thud.

Just out of interest, what kind of string height/action can you get up to with an NS wav/nxt/cr? I tried a CR at the London bass show a few years back and the action was set crazy low so I couldn't play it like a double bass and didn't have time to ask the guy to raise the bridge so I could try it, and I've never been able to find on the Web out what you can set it to? 

[Owen]

I no longer own one, but nice and high for proper DB thud is how I would define it. I do not like a low DB action and the NS delivered. 

[Bloopdad1]

"Standard" double bass string height (end of the fingerboard to the bottom of the string) is 9mm under the G through to 11mm under the E. But ultimately there's not much standard about a DB! 

I wouldn't go much lower than that. 

[Beer of the Bass]

12 hours ago, Bloopdad1 said:

"Standard" double bass string height (end of the fingerboard to the bottom of the string) is 9mm under the G through to 11mm under the E. But ultimately there's not much standard about a DB! 

I wouldn't go much lower than that. 

Though as you say, that's not at all standardised. A lot of people playing modern jazz styles with higher tension strings go somewhat lower, and I'd say perhaps 6mm G to 9mm E would be considered a medium for that. You might go higher if using lower tension strings or if maximum acoustic projection is the goal, but personally I wouldn't take that approach on an EUB.

[Bloopdad1]

On 17/03/2021 at 08:10, Beer of the Bass said:

Though as you say, that's not at all standardised. A lot of people playing modern jazz styles with higher tension strings go somewhat lower, and I'd say perhaps 6mm G to 9mm E would be considered a medium for that. You might go higher if using lower tension strings or if maximum acoustic projection is the goal, but personally I wouldn't take that approach on an EUB.

Yep, agreed. Although it depends on how much arco you'd be doing. My yamaha SLB is set up as closely to my main double basses as possible so it "feels" as much like the real things when I switch between them. But I do play a lot of arco...so all mine are set to "standard" orchestral height. My 5st double bass has 12mm under the B string and when I'm really laying into it for something like Shostakovich or Wagner in a fff section I can sometimes grind it out (can't let the brass section have all the fun...! 😂). 

[Huge Hands]

I have the more budget NXT5. In my experience, you need to try one live and get someone to record it - I never find it sounds amazingly "double bass" when I stand next to it and play it, but when I listen back to a recording someone has done at the gig (usually on an iPhone at the back of the room), it sounds really alike.

All IMHO of course.....