petebassist

I think it depends on what type of gigs you do as to whether you might damage an upright. I always take a fret less bass as backup just in case the bridge collapses or there’s a sound issue or a drunk knocks it over - load in n out for pub & bar gigs gets a few knocks anyway. If you’re worried get a beater bass that will probably sound good enough unless you’re playing somewhere that needs the classic upright tone, I’d say you need a mic pickup anyway for that.

If it's a TM or TT you're after, let me know.

The bridge seems to be set at an odd angle, maybe it's been knocked or something in transit. As it seems to be an unnamed manufacturer you'd have to try it out yourself. Somewhere like BassBags where you can try a range of different basses might be worth a look also. I got a great bass from there with a rock-solid setup (I've no affiliation with BB BTW).

Great song, still got the single though lost the cover with the bloke with a noose round his neck standing on a big ice cube in front of a three bar electric fire

Brilliant, thanks for the heads-up, evening sorted...

Sometimes you have to forge your own path mate, if you're gonna double on EB and EUB/DB, an NS would have many advantages. Biggest pain for me is having to drive a DB to a gig with usual parking/load in & out issues being the worst. I once played a gig walking distance from my house and wheeled the DB round on a sack-trolley, but usually it's a car job.

Hugh Bradley showing how it's done - just the odd tap here & there works really well, especially when it's just the two of them. I think the double bass sound has to be a feature of the performance, otherwise I don't think it's worth draggin it along - if I'm gonna get drowned out with drums and other instruments, I'll play electric bass, cuts through much better.

That's a great video - thanks! Never played like that but would be a great technique to have.

Was doing a long drive over the weekend and listened to the Iggy Pop show, which was great - it gets me to listen to a whole load of stuff that I wouldn't otherwise hear - like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard !!! Also, was listening to Prof Hannah Fry on Lauren Lavern show today, blew my mind !

What was your old band?

Usually two on the lower strings when playing swing jazz, though for higher strings and fast little licks I use index and second finger. I also use my ring finger and little finger together for 'fretting' strings rather than just the little finger, though only because I don't play upright exclusively so my hand strength is never 100%.

Yes take it easy and enjoy! you can find most stuff on YouTube, difficult to find tutors. To kick off, find out how to hold the bass so that your ‘fretting hand’ is not supporting the bass, so you can use your arm weight to hold down the strings rather than straining your fingers and wrist, and likewise how to pluck strings using the weight of your other arm rather than your fingers. This should minimise the stress on your hands and wrists. I learnt this from the Ed Friedland CD lessons on how to play jazz on upright.

If you ever need a backup at a gig, you probably won't care what it is, as long as when you plug it in it makes a bass noise. If the backup is passive, that's one less point of additional failure. At a gig last year, my active fretless didn't work through the PA & didn't have time to test the battery, so plugged in my passive J and bingo, 20 seconds later we were playing the opening tune... was mightily glad 😅

I've not played a KK but the ones I've seen didn't have extensions to mimic the upper bouts of a double bass (maybe not as much of an issue with the biggest model but still), so like you said it's awkward for the LH to take the strain of stablizing the KK and trying to move up and down at the same time to hold the different positions. Hope you get more enjoyment out of using the stand.

Another thing to check - that the feet of the bridge are flat against the body, there's usually a 90 degree angle between the underside of the bridge (which is flat, rather than sloped on the top) and the bass body. And the bridge is placed in the 'normal' position, i.e. a horizontal line going through the middle of the bridge lines up with the two little nicks in the middle of the F hole.

Where's the dead note? Sounds OK to me. Also, do you also hear it if you record it acoustically from a few feet away or other end of the room? Like just on a phone or something.

Brilliant, I'm gonna give it a try 🙂

Agreed that the Ibanez srh500F is a great bass - I use mine to rehearse instead of the acoustic double bass. With the action raised to tame the fretless mwah, it does the job nicely. The Marcustico is at another level I think, sounds great, though it only sounds good in the vids when played more like a DB with more flesh on the string, not that good when plucked like an electric bass from what I've seen.

People keep giving me CDs but I don't have a CD player. Technology's made it easier than ever to record and publish music, at least at the amateur end where I am - prof artists though are getting v slim pickings from streaming services compared to the olden days, but I doubt many people will be going back to tapes & CDs.

I'm sure punters scoffed when musicians starting bringing precisions along instead of double-basses - I guess any instrument that looks different to what people expect is gonna get attention, good or bad. I know even some bluegrass and Nu-grass bands in the US use NS Design uprights, & they're notoriously traditional, so maybe things are slowly changing.

This guy gets the best NS upright tone that I've heard, albeit on a CR5 that has the magnetic pickups as well, he doesn't say what his settings are. But I'd bet you can get a good tone with a passive WAV with the right strings, maxed-out action, preamp, and pizz technique.

@over Well done! These videos are epic mate - as are Karn's musical ideas and playing.

Welcome mate from fellow NE ex-pat.

Godins A4 & A5 also come with Midi output.

Anyone using the single coil much on a TM instead of the humbucker? Just read that the "humbucker is also on a split coil circuit, meaning it can be utilised as a second single coil pickup at the flick of a switch" (I've only had the bass over two years 🙂). Daft question, but does this give you the same or similar two single coil tone that you get in the TT? I usually just play on the neck pickup, but sometimes I need the humbucker/single coil to cut through in a band setting.