Good starting EUB?

[jamesbass116]

right, i've been playing bass guitar for 4 years but want to get a start on some serious double bass playing.

there are three double basses in my school which i've messed about on and really enjoyed playing, even though they're veeeeeeeeery old

i haven't got any room for an double bass! so are there any good relatively cheap EUB's out there?
would be very much appreciated, as i'll be buying one as soon as i raise enough gig money

thanks,

James

[derrenleepoole]

EUB's while convenient, they are no substitute for the real deal! Cheap EUB's are just that... cheap. They will not get you the sound of a URB, even though they emulate, to some extent at least, the feel of an URB. To get a really good convincing URB tone from an EUB, you need to invest considerable amounts of money..... thinks 1000's of pounds! Quite often people buy cheaper model EUB's and end up spending vast amounts of money again getting them to play right, which defeats the object really.

Not all EUB's are bad though... it really depends on your expectations and ambitions. I've you're deadly serious about learning upright, then play the real thing... no ifs or buts! But, if you understand that a cheap EUB is a fancy fretless bass that 'sort of' emulates the URB, then something like the Palatino or Stagg are not bad starting points. But even these will need further investment to get them reasonably playable. Spend a bit more money and the NS WAV4 or Aria SWB are good choices, or even an imported Ergo would be excellent. If you have lot's of money then a Framus or high end NS is the way to go.

Good luck... it's a bloody minefield

[jamesbass116]

thanks for the advice derren!


i guess i'll keep 'noodling' on the URB's in school for now then and wait till i have money for a good quality real deal upright. (i suppose if i'm going to start taking upright seriously i should take it seriously on the real deal like you said!)
the good thing is, i can still get an hour of practice on those school basses every day, so at least i'll have some rough idea of how to play properly haha

thanks,
James

[Doddy]

What Derren said is right. The majority of Electric Upright's don't even come close
to being like a 'real' Bass (I'm looking at you NS). Basses like the Stagg and Palatino are ok for
a relatively inexpensive instrument,but don't think of them as a substitute for an upright.
Even some expensive models,again, like the NS,I feel are more like vertical Fretless' than
uprights. However companies like Clifton (like I use), Clevinger,Azola and Eminence make great
instruments,but they aren't cheap.

Don't just noodle on one of the basses at school-if they give lessons,go for them. The Upright is
a more physical instrument than the Bass Guitar,so it's best to get some guidance on correct technique.

[TheRev]

If you do decide that you don't have the space for an acoustic bass, I'll have an Aria SWB lite up for sale soon. It does sound more like a big fretless than an acoustic bass, but with a nice set of nylon strings, a decent DB technique and in a live band setting, most people are hard pushed to tell the difference.

PM me if you're interested.

Dave

[Bilbo]

[quote name='jamesbass116' post='700938' date='Jan 4 2010, 08:41 PM']even though they're veeeeeeeeery old[/quote]

Errrr... that's a good thing, James. The older the better in most cases.

[51m0n]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='701483' date='Jan 5 2010, 12:32 PM']Errrr... that's a good thing, James. The older the better in most cases.[/quote]

He's always telling people that

[jamesbass116]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='701483' date='Jan 5 2010, 12:32 PM']Errrr... that's a good thing, James. The older the better in most cases.[/quote]

it would be a good thing, yeah!

but they're very old and treated very badly haha

[jamesbass116]

[quote name='Doddy' post='701162' date='Jan 4 2010, 11:51 PM']What Derren said is right. The majority of Electric Upright's don't even come close
to being like a 'real' Bass (I'm looking at you NS). Basses like the Stagg and Palatino are ok for
a relatively inexpensive instrument,but don't think of them as a substitute for an upright.
Even some expensive models,again, like the NS,I feel are more like vertical Fretless' than
uprights. However companies like Clifton (like I use), Clevinger,Azola and Eminence make great
instruments,but they aren't cheap.

Don't just noodle on one of the basses at school-if they give lessons,go for them. The Upright is
a more physical instrument than the Bass Guitar,so it's best to get some guidance on correct technique.[/quote]

thanks for the recommendations

i'll definitely try and get lessons, i get free music lessons cos i do a level music so that's handy.

btw.. i have a basic understanding of double bass playing so when i was noodling it's not like i was doing anything horribly inappropriate technique-wise! haha

[CoolCat]

[quote name='jamesbass116' post='701863' date='Jan 5 2010, 04:53 PM']thanks for the recommendations

i'll definitely try and get lessons, i get free music lessons cos i do a level music so that's handy.

btw.. i have a basic understanding of double bass playing so when i was noodling it's not like i was doing anything horribly inappropriate technique-wise! haha[/quote]



Check out the Stagg line of EUB (stick) and the Palatino model (semi-hollow). The Palatino at least will give some acoustic sound.

They seem affordable and should be ok to start with. Then you go Eminence or Babybass....