petebassist

That's useful to know - when I tried one it was on a tripod and yes when I used arm weight to stop the strings the bass did spring back a little bit. I've seen on the US talkbass site that some users play seated with the tripod set low so they can rest the top of the neck on their shoulder to stop the neck springing back, but I wouldn't like to sit all night. I don't think the end pin stand helps either.

I think you're right mate about not being intended to be replacements, but I'd probably only play one as a rehearsal replacement for my acoustic upright, or if I wanted a double bass sound but couldn't or wouldn't take a big bass to a gig. I hear that a lot of country/roots/bluegrass players in the US even get away with using NS Designs when they tour.

Agreed about the DB technique. For instruments so expensive, NS Design aren't much good at providing quality video content to show the different sounds and tones you can get. I did try an NXT a few years back at the London bass show, but the action was set way too low to dig in like on a DB.

This cropped up on my instagram stream. It's not often that you hear one of these played by someone who knows how to play an acoustic upright bass - to my ears this is a really usable tone if you wanted an amplified acoustic tone for a gig, and Marcus reckons there's no extra tone-shaping going on here. Maybe it's the amp. Whaddaya reckon?

Look what you've started mate! now listening to hours of Roxy Music and considering a new fretless.... Agree, the bass is sublime on this. Another thing about RM, they often had incredible intros, you just had to continue listening... Case in point, Avalon. Cheers,

It would be for this 80's sound definitely - I play mainly folk rock, and I switch between my upright bass and the Ibanez, so the woodier faster decay on the notes fits better with the higher action and keeps it in line with the upright tones.

Thanks for this recommendation - just listening to the album, amazing. I have an Ibanez SRH-500F fretless, which has slightly raised action to tame the mwah, and it's a bit woody, so might look at getting a pedal to get near this tone.

I think JG played on Love is the Drug, absolutely epic bass groove.

It's a beautiful looking instrument, I hope someone puts it back together, like the six-million dollar man. Best of luck...

Unless those were exactly what I was looking for and I couldn't get any other similar used strings, I'd probably avoid as well.

I use a K&K Sound Pure Preamp, which clips on my belt so I can tone shape & adjust the volume without having to go to the amp or rely on the sound person. I've heard about this impedance issue but I've no idea what it is 🙃

I learnt using simple walking bass lines for jazz and blues - even if I don't know the particular tune I can tell when I'm hitting the right notes as they harmonize. Also, Bach pieces for bass are brilliant for this.

Hi, you should be able to look up the silk colour at the end of the strings to figure out what strings you have, and some lookup sites also show the tension (e.g. the D'addario site) https://gollihurmusic.com/string-identification-chart/?srsltid=AfmBOooatO-fJJAUc10SynBPGqEaKyyOm6AepzTS_2RkOJRadf2nBDz2 There's not really a wrong type to put on, but some strings might need a tweak e.g. gut strings sometimes need wider nut grooves. And lower tension strings have more movement so you might need to raise the action slightly if the strings are hitting the neck.

Concur with this. I can get away with a Realist Lifeline in a live setting with a full band when I'm using my Roland keys amp. To record, I always use my AMT mic, which gives the 'air'/full acoustic bass sound. On previous threads about this people mentioned using stuff like a Tone Dexter II from audio sprockets to replicate that with piezo pickups - but I haven't used one.

If you happen to come across a Stentor 1950, they're light and slightly smaller bodied than many, much easier to lug around bars n pubs.

Love that tone, and nice playing !

Another GarageBand fan here - if you can get hold of a Mac I'd recommend it. I use it with a Focusrite and create my own songs that I put up on YT. I don't think you have to be a technical wiz to use it, just invest a bit of time in learning the basics, then you can concentrate on creating music rather than fiddling with dials and software.

I caught the penultimate night at the O2. Agree it was an amazing show, wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Aesthetically I think unlined boards look nicer, but I don’t understand the big deal about lined boards - you don’t have to look at the lines, indeed it’s difficult unless you’re bent double over your bass. I play by ear or use the side dots on my Ibanez if things go awry…

Have you not considered dusting off your old songs and forming your own band? At least you'd be guaranteed to like the music, you'd just need to find some like minded musicians.

Agreed that constantly looking would probably strain your neck. I usually play by ear, but I used to have have a bit of masking tape around 'fret' position 3 and 5, which I found useful if I lost concentration during a gig and lost the plot a bit - the 3rd one fell off so now only one bit at the 5th fret. Useful now & again, especially if I haven't been playing regularly.

For setup, I can recommend Bassbags over in Ripley - they did my new bass when I bought it and it's been rock solid ever since.

I did look for an old & used double bass years ago looking round similar places. One thing I found was that a lot of the basses I tried didn't sound good for pizz at all in the shops - my budget and amateur playing technique aside, they typically had really old strings and were maybe set up to sound good played arco, I don't know I wasn't an expert so just my guess. But tone wise they were pretty underwhelming. Just something to bear in mind. I'd recommend getting an adjustable bridge if you can, makes changing string type so much easier. Best of luck,

Gonna look fantastic on stage and I bet it sounds great as well 🤩