Eberhard Weber's EUB

[Tim Pharoah]

Does anyone know what sort of EUB Eberhard Weber played? Was it custom-built?

Also, are there any views on which brand of EUB produces the sound nearest to a double bass?

Thanks

[Burns-bass]

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/eberhard-weber-question.655765/
 

“Eberhard´s first EUB was a vastly modified Grazioso Arco resonet, made in Czechoslovakia ca 1960, an "almost look-alike" of the old Framus Triumph EUB. Then he played a bass custom made by German luthier Paul Lijsen. His current EUB is made by Israeli luthier Eyal Vodnizky. It has a semi-hollow body, and is fitted with Wilson pickups. All of Eberhard´s EUBs have a high C string.”

 

I have no way to verify if that’s true but seems authoritative in a typical TB way.

 

[simonlittle]

I’ve had a few EUBs over the years. My first was a Van Zalinge which was very natural to play but never quite hit the mark. I had to sell it to buy my main bass whilst at college sadly. I had a Warwick Triumph 5-string for many years which could get very close to Eberhard’s sound, but nowhere near a real upright. 
I now play a Yamaha SLB300 and its head and shoulders above any other EUB I’ve ever played in both feel and sound. It’s an absolute joy to play and can sound near as dammit the same as an acoustic upright. Bows beautifully too, which I found a lot of them really don’t. Can’t recommend it highly enough. 
I should add that I’m a massive Eberhard fan. Probably my biggest influence as a bassist. Total legend. I wish he was still playing as I only ever got to see him live once. 

[NickA]

I saw him at a tiny venue once where he did a lot of talking and explaining his bass and electronics.  He said the neck of his bass was a quite old neck taken from a double bass, to which he'd had added a solid body and pickups.  I guess that was the Paul lijsen one ( it was late 80s ). 

 

The electronics would probably fit in a tiny effects pedal today but were big and rack mounted.  Nothing that fancy, some reverb, some EQ and, of course, a looper ( tape less! A thing of wonder....I'd only seen an echoplex before then).

 

Great musician. 

[baldwinbass]

12 hours ago, simonlittle said:

Probably my biggest influence as a bassist

Mine too, I saw him several times in London - incomparable, sublime musicianship.

[Cairobill]

Isn't he great! For me, his amazing cameo on Hounds of Love is sort of a European counterpart to Jaco's legendary work on Hejira. A spellbinding solo bass voice complementing a great female vocal. Astonishing stuff

Edited October 7 by Cairobill

[NickA]

6 hours ago, Cairobill said:

Hounds of Love

I had never realised he was on hounds of love; I thought is was all Del Palmer... Also a wonderful bass player.  But Weber is also on my favourite Kate Bush album, The Dreaming; he's the bass on Houdini. Tho for years I thought it was also him on all the love (that's Del Palmer 😂).

 

 I also thought Del Palmer was playing a fretless Wal... annoyingly it seems he gets that sound out of a fender.   I digress.

 

Weber, great man.  Quote from that tiny venue:

 

"people ask me why it is I tour this time alone with no band; well sometimes I think it is good to play with yourself"

 

... stifled sniggers from audience, straight face from the man.

[Stub Mandrel]

For many years I was under the misapprehension that Eberhard Weber was married to Kaye Bush.

 

This was in the days before yon interweb thingy.

[three]

For anybody reading this and thinking, 'what', 'who'?  Have a listen to 'Morning Fog' from Kate Bush's Hounds of Love album.  Undoubtedly one of my favourite bass players!

 

https://youtu.be/CZQk2ZgZP3I

 

Whilst it's a beautifully produced album, Eberhard's playing hasn't been 'tidied' unnecessarily - stunning musicianship and fabulous authenticity (you can hear the character of the instrument perfectly, and even EW's fingers on the board/strings)

 

 

 

 

 

[Cairobill]

This knocked me sideways as a kid
 

 

Edited October 8 by Cairobill

[JPJ]

On 06/10/2024 at 15:23, Tim Pharoah said:

 

Also, are there any views on which brand of EUB produces the sound nearest to a double bass?

 

I’m on my third EUB, and each one has been quite different. Like quite a few of us electric players who’ve crossed over to DB, I started with the Stagg which sounded nothing like a DB and was difficult to play as it spun around requiring a lot of left hand steadying. My second was a five string KK Baby Bass, and whilst this was a massive step up from the Stagg, I had issues with the weight of the instrument which ultimately led to an old left thumb injury rearing its head, so that one had to go. Sound-wise, the KK definitely had thump but it missed the harmonic content of a true DB. I’m now gigging an NS NXT 4 string and this has been a revelation. The fact the bass is on a stand means you can get the bass to sit where you want it to, taking all the stress out of your left hand/arm. Sound-wise, again it doesn’t sound like a DB ‘out of the box’ (and it was never intended to) but there are a few tricks you can do (change to the NS Traditional string, use a ninomute or similar) that can get you pretty darned close. In my current doubling rig, I am running the NS through a TC Electronics impulse loader using the 3Sigma impulses designed specifically for the NS and others tell me I am achieving a very convincing double bass sound/tone. Bottom line is you can spend thousands going down the EUB route and still not achieve a true double bass sound/tone. Where I am at right now is a sound/tone that is close enough to the sound of a good DB amplified using a piezo type pickup, and whilst I am still lusting after a real DB, I’m happy where I am at right now. However, if I ever get the wife’s redundant treadmill out of my office/man cave, then a real DB will probably arrive shortly thereafter. 

[NickA]

Eberhardt Weber's sound is not really that of a double bass.  Very carefully adjusted EUB sound .. sort of turbo fretless electric; for what he's playing I think his EUB is better than a double bass and as his sound is very processed, it's the electric output that matters rather than the acoustic sound.  After all if he wanted an expensive old italian antique I'm sure he could afford one!  The NS ones are well up there for making "that" sound ..but also not very double bass like.  

 

Not that there is "one" double bass sound.  Old and/or good quality fully carved basses have a lot more harmonic over-tones than laminates or heavily built hybrids and the sound of any of them alters with string type and setup.

 

Then again, you get a real double bass, spend £1ks getting one you really like, hours getting the "right" sound by adjusting bridge height and position, type of strings etc ... then put a pickup on it and back to square one!