TPJ

Sorry to hear you're selling your bass Jez. Give a shout if you want to pop around for a chat

Nice playing there Ben, from you and the rest of the group. Must be a fun project

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='854568' date='Jun 2 2010, 10:37 AM']Well, inspired by all you lot I've just bought Old Slappers EUB and I'm going to convert to acoustic Upright in my 50's Rock and Roll band. I've now gone from "how hard can it be?!" when I got it last week to errrm "oh....pretty hard then!" already have blisters on my right hand fingers from a couple of hours practice over the weekend but I'm slowly getting to grips with the scale - as mentioned before it's very strange though going from playing lines without even thinking (gazing around the room etc) to really struggling to get anywhere - I will do it though and we've twenty gigs lined up at the mo so I can jump in whenever I feel ready - seems a long way off at the mo. Just bought some weedwackers to see what they're like and see if they're any better for the rock and rolly slap type thing I'm trying - hopefully easier than the cheesegraters I'm using at the mo - or maybe I'm being a wimp. Anyway the plan is to get used to the scale and get started on the EUB then after a final gig with my other band at the end of July sell all my PA equiment, stands, lights etc and get myself a decent acoustic. So lot of pain at the minute and not much gain except for a tiny few sparks where I could just see what things might turn into.....[/quote] Stick with it, well worth the effort.

Lovely bass! Good luck with the sale. I only wish I was in a position to purchase such a beauty.

[quote name='bass_ennyday' post='854561' date='Jun 2 2010, 10:32 AM']I would buy the VM Jag for sure, even my GAS attack-syndrom is healed.[/quote] I tried like mad to get one of those Rondo music short scale jag copies but they all went and it doesn't look as if any more are coming. I like the ideal of the P/J setup. Much tweaking can be had

[quote name='Bilbo' post='853709' date='Jun 1 2010, 03:59 PM']Loud drummer resulted in a complete lack of finesse on my part and the complete loss of any technique worth speaking of The realisation that, now the honeymoon period is over, I have a mountain to climb to get to the level I want to achieve. Not that I am shying away from that climb; its nothing more that a moment of pathos...[/quote] Loud anything seems to kill my technique as well. It's too easy to start playing hard to try and be heard. The result is usually the opposite in my case as my bass will choke out and volume goes. I'm trying to keep a mind set of "just play normally". If they ask me to turn up, laugh and tell them to turn down

The earlier MTD Kingstons are a good choice too. +1 on the advice to go play some to see what floats your boat.

Good luck Geoff. Have a great one.

[quote name='JTUK' post='851414' date='May 29 2010, 08:07 PM']Ditch the big TE cabs and get 2 DB's or 2 GS's whichever flavour you prefer. No point using them with the TE cabs, IMV[/quote] +1

I kind of miss the Honeys. The Evah's are clearer but a bit too rubbery feeling, I tend to dig in and it can feel like bows and arrows sometimes. Maybe the Evah meds would have been a better choice although they talk about the tension increasing on the weichs as they get older. Time will tell. The Full Circle seems a great pup. I'm not far behind you on that one.

Nice stuff there Steve. How are you getting on with the Honey's?

I'm afraid I haven't used any of those strings so I can't comment. It's hard to say how the strings will differ on the EUB other than string tension and feel etc... Go over to TB and have a good read through the strings section in the double bass forum. Lots of great info there

Update: Played bluegrass for 3 hours last night. The sound was fairly full and clear but there didn't seem to be the same pop to the note like the Honeys had, and not quite the presence. I miss the shear size of the Honeys, I could really grab hold of them ( I'm a bit of a brutish player ). I'm curious to see how they wear, they reportedly get stiffer with age which may be just the ticket.

[quote name='Steve Amadeo' post='847458' date='May 25 2010, 01:19 PM']TPJ what pickup and amplification do you use?[/quote] K&K Bassmax into and AI Focus 1 hooked to an Aguilar GS112. I might try it into a recently acquired Mesa Walkabout 12. I'm possibly looking at getting either a Full Circle or an APTflex to replace the K&K.

Welcome to the lovely world of DB. Thanks for the link too. Post some pics when you get your bass back. I love looking at basses

[quote name='harmonicon' post='847111' date='May 25 2010, 02:27 AM']Just something I want to point out here, even though it seems counter-intuitive: tension on the strings is actually lower with higher action. Think about it like this: if you raised the bridge, the pitch of the strings would go up, right? That would be because the tension was higher which raises the pitch. To get the strings back to the same pitch with higher action, you actually have to decrease the tension on them. What may feel like "tension" is more likely associated with the different playing techniques associated with the height of the action. Personally I've never bothered too much about action unless it's REALLY high or REALLY low - once it's ok I just forget about it and get on with the other things (all of which I'm horrible at, btw and why I stopped trying to be a professional player)[/quote] All I know is turning the adjuster wheels a half turn to lower things and the string tension is spot on. I'm like you where I try to set it and forget it, it's just getting the initial setting Bluegrass tonight with no amps in a room I'm familiar with so we'll see how these strings stand up acoustically

[quote name='endorka' post='836785' date='May 14 2010, 04:27 AM']It would certainly help for the really serious stuff, but you can do a lot with normal tools. Off the top of my head, things I've done are; Saddle repair Nut filing Cut the bridge properly and adjusted string spacing Fitted bridge height adjuster wheels Soundpost adjustment Open seam repair Steel endpin replaced with carbon fibre Afterlength tuning Removal of varnish from back of neck There are probably more but my brain is hurting! It's all good stuff and there is a lot of potential for tweaking many factors on a double bass to get the optimum sound. Jennifer[/quote] Are these skills you've gained using the book mentioned earlier? I admire your courage to tackle some of these. I'd love to be able to adjust my sound post with confidence, knowing I wasn't going to break anything. Common sense and knowledge are a necessity, but not necessarily in that order.

Some of the old Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong stuff is fun to play. Easier standards with great arrangements. I think the trio for a lot of it was Oscar Peterson on piano, Ray Brown on bass and various drummers. Glad to hear your delving back into DB. Enjoy

UPDATE: Had an acoustic rehearsal yesterday afternoon and an amplified gig last night. The chap I played with at the rehearsal noticed the bass was way less boomy and the note definition was more clear. Similar comments at the gig. I'm really struggling with the action height and associated tension. I thought I had it right based on the afternoon session but then I screwed around with the adjusters and mucked it up At the gig the action was too low and the strings felt flabby. I had lowered the bridge one whole wheel turn. I then ramped it back up and it felt too high and too much tension. These strings change a lot with not much adjustment. I'm getting nearer. I do like the feel of the strings so far and the tone seems good on my bass. Another gig tonight playing pop/rock classics.

Just changed my strings for the first time in 2 1/2 years. I had Innovation Honeys on there. They still sounded good to me but were getting a bit boomy for a few projects. They where heaven for the bluegrass though. It took me a few weeks of hemming and hawing and reading before deciding on Evah Weichs. Initial thoughts are they are much thinner physically than the Honeys. Never realised how used to the big strings I had become. In a way I miss the mass. After letting them settle for a few hours and then playing them for a few more hours I hear a distinct difference. They are much clearer than the Honeys where when I took them off. The tone is only marginally brighter which is good because I like a dark tone and not a bright twangy one. I wish I had recorded the Honeys when they where first on the bass to get a better comparison. I can't remember back that far and one tends to get used to the tone even though it's changing over time. Still not sure if I should have bought the mediums instead of the weichs. I don't mind a bit of tension as it gives you something to dig in to. I'm hoping that my bass has retained it's lowend. I'll know later in the week when we play some bluegrass. It's impossible to tell with "front room" playing. I have an acoutic rehearsal tomorrow, a gig tomorrow night and Monday night. Kind of looking forward to it to see how these strings perform. I'll keep you posted.