mtroun
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Everything posted by mtroun
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Bryant Soloist Double Bass - Reduced – £4995 - *SOLD*
mtroun replied to Burns-bass's topic in EUBs & Double Basses For Sale
Ooh I have no 101, and it's also got a Penning bridge and Spirocore Weichs, it's like a twin! Good luck with the sale! -
Double bass luthier in South West required. Any ideas?
mtroun replied to spyder's topic in EUB and Double Bass
Mark Jennings in Mullion, near Helston is also a very good luthier. -
Hi, I’m a DB teacher in Leicestershire. Drop me a DM. Mark
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This is intriguing to me. I bought a realist from the classifieds here that I think had only been on a bass for about 12 months. I put it on mine and after about 9 months it just stopped working. I ended up replacing it with the lifeline which I'm pretty happy with now, but it would be good to get some use out of the broken one.
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When I saw the topic I thought it would be someone starting out but clearly you've been playing for a while. You don't say much about yourself in terms of style of music, setup of your instrument etc which could all have an impact. For what it's worth, my experience of hand cramp (in the left hand) is luckily not too frequent. I remember finding it harder when I first played the instrument but have worked a lot on technique since that point and I feel like lots of little-and-often practice outside of the gig context would be useful for making sure you're playing the instrument as efficiently as possible. Then there's the setup, I have at various times experimented with having a high action but I have quite a low one at the moment, for playing jazz. It's possible that you're punishing yourself with your setup, whether that's with high tension strings or a high action or both. The other thing that I think of that really does bring on the cramps is repetitive playing. Playing simple riffs on the double bass that would be easy on the bass guitar can be absolutely punishing if you're having to do the same thing again and again. If I do have to play a repetitive figure I often make the point of finding some kind of alternative fingering or variation just to give my hand a rest. Do you have a teacher? I think a good one would probably be able to diagnose all of this a lot more easily than speculative comments on Basschat.
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On hold: Greenboy Crazy 8. - *SOLD*
mtroun replied to Marc S's topic in EUBs & Double Basses For Sale
I use this cab! Great for double bass. -
That duo album with Cedar Walton is a hoary old classic, I absolutely love hearing Ron playing with Cedar, and it's really interesting without drums (even though Billy Higgins is my all time favourite drummer) I read an article, which I have copied below, about how Ron is getting used to teaching over zoom, kind of puts my life in perspective if my favourite bass player in the world is having the same issues as I am! https://pitchfork.com/features/article/musicians-are-surviving-the-pandemic-by-giving-and-receiving-virtual-lessons/ I guess you never really get to retire if you're a working musician, Ron is adapting just like the rest of us!
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With fatherhood approaching and knowing full well this great instrument should be getting played regularly, I've decided to move on this rare 5 string super jazz. It's been used on a fair few gigs by me, but I'm not really playing much electric bass at the moment and it's a bit too much bass for my needs. I'm sure many of you are familiar with Pete Skjold's work, true hand built instruments with incredible attention to detail and flawless workmanship. There aren't too many of these instruments about, though I believe this one was custom ordered from Bass Direct and the instrument dates from 2008, as evidenced by the signature on the back of the headstock. It has been through a few owners through this forum though I have had it since 2015, and I have subsequently had it professionally set up by Noiseworks in Coventry. With its 3 band East preamp and 70s style jazz bass pickup spacing, it provides a modern take on the classic Marcus Miller sound. I'd describe the sound of the instrument as deep but it can also really snarl on the bridge pickup. I recently restrung it with Dunlop Super Brights. Condition wise it has a number of small dings on the headstock and around the body, plus the back plate is looking a bit scratched. It's been gigged! The veneer is peeling a bit on the bottom of the headstock, I have tried to picture this. Price reduced to £1300. If you want the mono M80 gig bag to go with it, it will be £1400. Body: two piece ash with burl maple top, gloss finished Neck: 3 piece maple with morado fingerboard and matching headstock veneer, satin finish Scale length: 35" String spacing: 18mm Nut width 1 7/8" Weight: 10lbs 2oz, 4.59kg Hardware: Hipshot ultralite tuners, Hipshot A style bridge Pickups/preamp: Skold SC-1(manufactured by Dingwall) pickups Neodymium pickups, East 3 band preamp and 3-way pickup selector knob. Neutrik locking jack socket. Based in Leicester, would prefer local pickup but can look into getting it delivered if necessary, at buyer's expense. I'm mostly looking for a sale but a Fender precision or jazz (any country) could be of interest. Any questions please don't hesitate to PM me. -
It seems to go under the radar but the absolute best book on bass line construction I’ve encountered is ‘The Jazz Bass Line Book’ by Mike Downes. I use it with all my pupils. I’d also recommend transcribing lines but it takes a lot of work beyond just getting the notes down to make the most of transcribing, I’ve transcribed a lot of Ron Carter but that hadn’t automatically translated to me playing like him. As always a good teacher will help!
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Wow, controversial thread. I use gut strings, but clearly 'no amp' isn't going to work in the majority of circumstances. That said, there's nothing worse than seeing a double bass played like it's a big fretless bass guitar to my ears. I can't help but feel that a few of the posters seem to think there's no logic in wanting your bass to sound like 50s or 60s records because technology has moved on. Having had all sorts of different strings on my bass I'm happiest with gut strings because of the very low tension, but I must admit that the sound is also deeply satisfying. For me it's not really about trying to invoke a previous era but a desire to get towards a sound that some heroes of mine had, and the common denominator was gut strings. As much as I like Ray Brown, he isn't the last word on gut vs steel strings. Charlie Haden sounded fantastic on a setup (gut plus spirocore) that I have tried out and absolutely hated! If you really love the sound of gut strings on classic recordings, it would seem logical to try it out for yourself.
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This is the big question isn't it? Are there a set of strings that do everything well?I'd hazard a guess that the answer is 'no', there's always going to be an area where a string falls down or doesn't quite fit the player's requirements. I know some players rave about Gerold Genssler's strings, but they are prohibitively expensive. I think of plain gut strings as excellent for pizz, slap and a certain kind of 'old school' arco but they do cost a lot and I've never ventured into using wound lower strings because of the price. I've used Thomastik Spirocore mittel which I do think are excellent strings for both pizz and arco, but find them too tense for my liking, preferring a lower action than I go for, which also precludes them being suited to slapping I expect. I've used Evah Pirazzi, both medium and weich but find them too dark and too short lived to be recommended. At the moment I use Velvet Garbo but haven't used the bow for a very long time because of their deficiencies in that area. I can live with that, but I do pine for a more versatile string... No doubt when I have something versatile on I'll be pining for the very specific pizz punch that Garbos have.
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I'm a big fan of the crazy 8. It can take a surprising amount of power I find. I had mine made by tricky audio. For an amp I use a tecamp puma 900 (which I know is no longer made) but I'm plugging straight into the fx loop with my headway EDB-2 and the realist. I originally got the headway to use to blend my troll mic with the realist but to be honest I get a really great sound from the realist with a bit of EQing from the headway, the EQ points are perfect for getting rid of piezo quack and together with the Crazy 8 i can dial in a decent sound for all the different rooms I've played in.
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[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1474458570' post='3138151'] You forgot the lead! [/quote] Quite right I turned up to a gig once and remembered everything except for a speaker lead. The keyboard player said 'don't worry I have a big bag of cables!' but sadly he didn't have a speakon! To be honest, I try my best to play acoustically as often as possible, but clearly that's not an option in loud situations.
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I was just thinking the other day as I loaded my double bass into the car, which accessories I couldn't do without and how experience has resulted in the current selection I use now. There's the car, obviously, the most expensive of the lot! My case, I have a Gewa with lots of pockets and straps (but still not enough handles!) A tuner, I have the TC electronic polytune clip on, very useful, especially as I can't bow the Garbo G string. My 'secret weapon' which used to go in the bag with my amp in, but has recently migrated to the back pocket of my bass bag. My secret weapon is a doormat I bought from lidl. This is particularly fantastic for when I'm working on laminate flooring, which is surprisingly often. My wheelbass, which has both a protective bumper and a pair of wheels. To my mind it's superior to the bass buggie, though it does weight significantly more (not that much fun going up stairs on the London Overground!) The realist pickup, nuff said. My TecAmp Puma 900 and my Crazy8 cab. I got the crazy 8 as I heard you could carry it on your back in a cajon case, which I do. I don't particularly want to do that for long periods of time, but it means I can take the bass and all the amplification gear in one trip. The Headway EDB-2 preamp. I've really come to appreciate the EQ bands on this one. It takes a bit of twiddling but you can dial it into a room very well. I tend to mute the output of the amp regularly to compare it to the acoustic sound of the bass. I also have a troll microphone, which I have used together with the Headway to blend some mic sound into my playing. More recently I've not done that because of feedback issues, which is a shame. I hope to use it next time I've got front of house amplification.
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I'm hoping to change over to these when necessary. Let me know how you get on with them. I've used Gamuts and Evah Pirazzis, Olivs, Spiros and currently use Velvet Garbo so I'm interested how these stack up.
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[quote name='DanOwens' timestamp='1472486461' post='3121492'] I'm trying to improve my jazz playing and transcribing the great horn players is a bit beyond me but transcribing a bass solo is much more achievable. [/quote] Just to say not all horn players are blazingly fast. Try Miles Davis (on one of his more sedate outings) or Chet Baker or Lester Young. I would record myself for you, but I've already got a tonne of verite recordings I have yet to sort through!
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In Somerset, there's Martin Penning (Frome) http://mpenning-luthier.co.uk who I can highly recommend. In Cornwall, but all the way down in the Lizard, I can also recommend Mark Jennings. http://www.jenningsviolins.com/repairs.html
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[quote name='thebigyin' timestamp='1472148101' post='3118909'] Yeah i agree in some respect because you have to make your own judgement otherwise like you rightly said you will always have that doubt and never satisfy ones curiosity....but i-ve only been playing Upright a week....played Electric for many years. So obviously a bit wary and seeking a more knowledgeable and professional opinion thanks for your reply Cheers Bob [/quote] If you've been playing a week, I think finding a good teacher should be your foremost priority.
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Gut strings are lovely, but expensive. Try them on someone else's bass. The main reason I like them is the lower tension. At the moment I am using Velvet Garbo, which are an alright compromise.
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Can I just point out that whether you use a Bass Buggie or a Wheelbass, they are definitely not suitable for standing up your bass with them on (at least not attended)! My friend had his bass stored standing up with the Bass Buggie attached and it fell over and broke the neck. I've got a wheelbass myself as they seem a bit more durable and the bumper is invaluable in protecting your instrument from pavements etc.
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A guitboard? (Flight of the Conchords)
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Have you considered the troll microphone? Got to be honest though, the realist can get a decent sound at reasonable volume levels that seems to work well with a band (as long as they are decent players)
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Interested. Sorry for bailing last time. Sundays aren't great for me though, I'm normally either watching rugby or singing in a church choir.
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Acoustic all the way! Frankly imo, there's a more practical electric alternative to a double bass called a bass guitar. It's an expensive instrument, mind, buying one is nothing like buying a bass guitar but there's lots of info on basschat about looking for one. Buying used is the way to go anyway.
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Let me know about what he says. As it stands, I am moving in the direction of switching the Garbo G to a Gamut Lyon in the future, so I can bow again!
