TheG

Nice one Karl. Enjoyed it very much!

FrankenBass!!! Just needs a couple of big bolts sticking out the side.

Hi hubrad, Bassace was selling an Upton recently and although he had already sold it (pending payment) he kindly offered that I could still come down to have a look at his other basses too. So I have been to see him and a thoroughly nice chap too. He had an Upton, a Thomas Martin and a Paul Bryant Bass which all sounded great. I went to see Paul Bryant but sound of the bass wasn't for me. This is why I am confused because I know Bassace loves his Bryant and it is a well respected brand from what I've read. So it must be me? Can basses made by the same maker have a consistent sound or is each bass different even by the same maker?

Hi there. Im trying to find myself a solid wood double bass and have tried basses for sale in shops (around Midlands, Stafford, Oxford) and also tried out several friends basses for comparison. I've tried around 30 basses old and new and none of them (for sale) really grab me. Actually a few have come close. I play Jazz and have got an old Checkoslovakian plywood bass that people have said sounds good which it does but it has its limitations, it doesn't sing out and its sound is all on one level. Its got a pretty good punchy low mid sound but thats all it does. [b]So the thing is this:[/b] People say buy older basses as they have been played in. However all the older basses in the shops haven't really sounded that great. Possibly because they haven't been played for a while? Or the strings may be for orchestral use? etc, etc? The basses that have come close have all been new basses. But they haven't been played in and so I wont know if the sound will change detrimentally, to me personally, over time. The best basses have been my friends played in basses. But they aren't for sale. Is there anyone here with experience of buying or trying basses that can give me a few pointers in the right direction?

I often play through my amp and when the others go through a pair of Mackie 450's I also go through them. Although not to hog the headroom I always ask them to take most of the bass out. This way the punters get most of the bass frequencies from my amp but a bit of presence/clarity from the 450's. Then what I hear is a big clear punchy sound from both which can be excellent. So its a balance of the two really.

Sounds Great!

Great Stuff. Love it.

Another idea could be to play using your thumb like a pick (down strokes only) which uses a larger softer skin surface area. It will give a softer sound but you can adjust the attack of how hard you play to taste. Possibly similar idea to the felt pick but you've got more control. Another could be to put some felt/foam under the strings at the bridge end to dampen the sound again you may have to adjust playing technique like above. This is a similar set up to the Music Man Stingray which had bits of foam on the bridge that can be screwed up in place or back down out of the way. (Not sure of their official reasons for putting bits of foam there - maybe someone can tell me?) A double bass has a natural long tail off of its sound and a softer attack (rather like a tear drop) than a electric. Thats what would need to be recreated here in a subtle way. An electric has a lot more of a precise sound which is better for most circumstances but its the very thing you are up against when trying to create a double bass sound. I play double bass but I really enjoy playing fretless electric on a jazz standard trying to create a double bass sound/feel just for a different angle on things. Incidentally I also love playing double bass on a track with an jazz organist and trying to recreate a Hammond foot pedal sound which is a completely different sound/feel/technique again.