petebassist

Thanks everyone for the info, very useful. I think it might be ok, will have to find my tape measure and double check.

Most specs say 1.69 metres, but is that with the end pin set at minimum or maximum? Just checking as I'm 6 foot 1 and don't wanna be stooping over the neck, and of course there're none near where I live to try out. Any info much appreciated. Thanks, Pete

Thanks guys for the advice, very useful.

Marc, thanks, that would have been great to pop in and have a cuppa, a very kind offer. Not sure you would have appreciated my being covered in mud and "unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed" from the festival. Was just thinking about having something more portable for rehearsals & tiny venue gigs. Let me know when you're playing a gig and I might just be able to come along.

Interesting to see Chris Price of North East folkies The Unthanks playing an Eminence upright at the Green Man Festival, Crickhowell/Crughywel, Wales at the weekend. Looking at their international touring schedule I don't blame him for not trying to take a full size acoustic upright around the world. What an amazing set though, and the band sounded great to my ears. I contacted Smart Distribution about Eminence prices recently but got no response.

Hi, Can anyone recommend a good preamp to use with a Bass Max piezo bridge pickup? As well as balancing the sound from my bass, I'd like to be able to adjust the volume & tone from the bass itself. I've looked at the KK Pure Preamp. Thanks, Pete

After trying Pirastro Obligatos and [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Innovation Rockabillies, which are both great BTW, I found that Presto Jazzicatos are the closest I've got to that wonderful gut sound and feel & work best for me on my half carved Stentor 1950. They amplify well when I'm plugging straight into PAs in little pubs and bars where the sound isn't that great. Have fun mate![/font][/color]

More fretless than Double Bass? Dunno, but maybe you're right - it's difficult to say. I wasn't there, I only saw it on TV. I was wondering about the strings, pickup, amplification etc as I'm looking to upgrade my Stentor 1950 with BassMax pickup for something better. I've just played a few outdoor shows plugged directly into the PA, so I'm interested in what other players do. Not that I'm playing to 30,000 people though, more like 30 :-) Any tips appreciated.

Anyone see him at Glastonbury? Wonderful bassist on a very smooth sounding upright, was it JAHMAL NICHOLS, does anyone know? That's the kind of setup & sound I'd like.

Yes, looks like you're right - stock Stentor strings. I'm surprised as off the bass they feel decent quality. Thanks for looking that up, appreciated. Pete

Hello string experts, I have a nice looking set of 3/4 size Solo strings (I think!) that were on my double bass when I bought it, but at the time as a DB novice I didn't think to ask what they were. I don't think they were the stock Stentor 1950 strings. The colours are: A - Purple E - Light blue B - Green F# - Black I tried may different string ID websites but have drawn a blank - does anyone recognize these ? Many thanks, Pete

I love the sound of the bass on the theforgottenworks sample tracks - what did you use for 'tangle' in terms of bass, pickup, recording method etc? That's a great tone.

Hi mate, If you can't find local lessons, you might want to try the fantastic discoverdoublebass.com site created by Geoff, which has great lessons posted. I can also recommend this book: Jazz Upright Bass Featuring Ed Friedland (DVD). For Double Bass, which is aimed at beginners and covers posture, left and right hand technique, and basic Jazz technique. A lot of bass technique books can be woolly, but this one covered everything I needed to know to get started, and practice pieces and tips that I use everyday.

This is a great thread! Got me listening to all sorts of tracks. Thanks TheRev for the link to John Martyn with Danny Thompson - Solid Air. Loved it, hadn't heard this, definitely inspirational... I've always loved the bass on Roy Budd's theme from the Get Carter film - it plays in my head whenever I get the train back home up to the North East.

Hi mate, You'll find loads of information about Stagg modifications/fixes on this site [url="https://staggeub.wordpress.com/modifications/"]https://staggeub.wor.../modifications/[/url], and other bass forums. I've never owned one, but I understand from the forums that common quality issues include a loose/wobbly end pin, dot position markers being out of place, electrics not being shielded sufficiently, and stock strings being low quality. Good luck with the search.

I play upright bass, but I just bought this great book, Walking Jazz Lines for Bass, by Jay Hungerford, which is all done on electric bass, so I'm learning a lot about jazz standards. If it's good enough for Jay... You can never please everybody, no matter what you do.

I've used a Stentor 3/4 1950 as my pub-gigging work horse for the last four years, and it's never let me down. Good quality and hard wearing components. Hopefully, your new one will be well set up and ready to go!

That's a great recording & sound from your bass. Are you using the stock Gut-a-likes that I think come as standard on Dukes? I've been looking at the Swingmasters, though I play pizz rather than slap. Whatever they are, they sound like the real deal.

I'm liking the sound of these: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs66nZh6qc8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs66nZh6qc8[/url] and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stOnPG2JHQo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stOnPG2JHQo[/url]

When I started out, I did briefly order and try out a Stagg, a Palatino/Harley Benton, and an Aria SWB Lite, and found that they all moved around a lot when playing standing up. I won't comment on the sound because I haven't tried an EUB with decent strings and a good amp. Then I picked up a used/seasoned acoustic Stentor 1950 for under £400, put some good strings on, and have used that as my pub gig mainstay for over three years. For me, whatever DB you can afford, learning to coax out that amazing acoustic sound from a DB is what it's all about...