Staggering on

Yes. I have bought three double basses in 4 years and two of them were blondes because I love the look. The third one that I bought in January of this year is the one I should have bought in the first place and it is not a blonde. Right now I have my new non-blonde that will be my forever bass and I still have one of the blondes but it will have to go. Multiple EB's don't take up too much room but a couple of DB's take up a lot of space in my very small house and are more sensitive to temp and humidity so require more care. I should have known, the worst relationship I have been in was with a blonde...🙄

Just discovered this thread and although I mostly play DB and EUB I am also a banjo fan.

Anyone on here who plays tenor banjo? I have been playing tenor since the early '70's(I'm old) and have played in many trad/Dixie bands over the years and am currently playing in a seven piece band that is just coming out of a two year Covid shutdown and we hope to get rehearsing and gigging sometime soon. It's funny how most folks dismiss this "old fashioned" music but it always goes over well. Tenor banjo was big from the 20's to '40's in small and big bands as a rhythm instrument but there were and are some virtuoso players that are amazing. Tenors are tuned CGDA for band work, not Irish tuning.

I have a Baldwin Ode that I bought new in the '70's and it is still going strong today.

BTW there are banjo mutes that go on the bridge like a violin or DB mute and if you get a heavy steel one it makes the banjo very quiet. Easy on and off and can be used when tuning any banjo.

When I came over in 2018 to attend the BC double bass bash at Bicester I was very glad that I found out that it was not "Bye-sester" before I actually got there, we colonials have to be careful when we get back to the homeland.😊

4 hours ago, mikel said:

Its one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. You dont have to be a musical genius, but playing music with other musicians, in a band, and making it work on stage, feeling the band lock into a groove. Its mesmerising, like magic.

And to add to the above...

We are so lucky to be able to play music in a band and if we can play for other people who are enjoying it then that is the best, I still get all pumped up before gigs.

After about 60 years of playing gigs I'm now in two bands and can't wait until we can get back to real gigs over here in the colonies, at least we can rehearse now and a few venues are opening up for bands.

Most importantly have fun, that's the best part, if it's not fun find another band. 

But...there are bands that are all female and don't want male musicians and would not hire one. Is that the same thing?🤔

I always say "hello beautiful" to my DB when I walk by, but I'm also the person who says the same thing to my 1951 Ferguson TEA20 every time I pass the tractor shed.😊

47 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

Love your Blues Brothers poster in the background. One of my favourite films & I liked the Sequel B.B. 2000. Most of the band in the 2nd film toured a show which I got to see at the Festival Hall in London featuring of course the late lamented Duck on bass. 

Lucky you, I would have loved to have seen that show.

There is a DVD of the first movie that includes extras including bits showing how some of the crazier scenes(the mall car chase for example) were filmed, no computer images, just loads of extras, cars and stunt drivers. 👍

Over the years a few crazy times including the drummer forgetting his stick bag and another time his drum pedal, not bringing the stand for the keyboard(plastic crates solved that one). Everything set up and no sound from keyboard, quick trip to get another and delayed start of gig so singer and I did a couple of double bass and vocals to kill time, I don't think we'll try that again but the audience was polite if not enthusiastic.

As a part volunteer part military 7 piece combo we all wore Canadian Forces Air Force uniforms for most gigs and about 30 years ago we had our biggest gig which included a trip to New York City to play at a wedding reception for two military personnel on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid. It was a two day drive from our homes in Ontario to get there and at the end of the first day one band member realized his uniform was still at home. We managed to contact another Air Force member and borrowed a uniform for the gig but it was tense for a while and the borrowed uniform did not not fit our tall player very well and would never have passed inspection. After hours of playing we found out that the fabulous catered meal we had been promised wasn't going to happen so we went back to our hotel very late and very hungry. When we finally got home we found that we had to pay for a crack in the windshield of the van we rented. Interesting gig though and the BL(military) never realized that the drummer had forgotten his music at home so we all gave him some extra charts and he had them on his stand and it looked like he was reading them.

Then there was the time when two members of the four piece band went to one venue and the other two went to a different one due to a communications mix up. This was pre cell phone days and since the city of 50,000 only had a few venues big enough for this event we eventually got together and played the gig but started late of course. Yes, one of the confused ones was the drummer.

Back in the 70's in a packed(400+) nightclub in Toronto the buxom female star singer who fronted the band got a bit too enthusiastic  and came out of her strapless gown, could have been a real show stopper but she and the band managed to hold it together and finish the song. 

It's been interesting.

56 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

That looks like a really lovely bass. Will you be playing any doubling gigs with that combo?

 

Not with EB but with my Yamaha SLB 200 EUB where space is limited and at rehearsals. 

One week ago I made a round trip of almost 600km in a snowstorm and came home with this. It's my third DB in 4 years and it's what I should have bought the first time right after I got home from the 2018 BC Double Bass Bash. This is a Shen SB100 laminate bass AND an Acoustic Image Coda combo with the Clarus Series 4 Plus amp, both are about 10 years old and in mint condition. I am loving this combination and the Spirocores and I'm getting used to the set up on the bass and having fun learning about the amp. I would highly recommend both of these.

It is a bit of a silly purchase because we are in another lockdown since Christmas in Ontario and both of my bands have stopped rehearsing and we have no gigs on the horizon, basically all venues are shut down but I figured that at 75 I might as well get what I wanted and hope that when things finally start up again I will be ready to go with really good equipment. I play every day and am very pleased with this bass and amp...look out world! 👍😄

Not a cool bass, or is it? It's listed on a buy and sell site in Nova Scotia.

A friend says it is a good bass for me, it would be appropriate for my playing.🙄

4 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Good job nobody mentioned the Canadians.

Ahem...careful now, we're a sensitive lot...😊🇨🇦

Love it, it might be a Canadian bass, it's -17C outside my house right now.😊🇨🇦

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

I used the BOSS WL20, really easy to use, just a little bug in your bass and one in the amp, no leads or packs. They automatically search the best frequency to use in the venue so no settings or anything. Test of anything technical is can I use it, if so it has to be easy & simple to do.

Me too.

11 hours ago, Jakester said:

I just stuck with (sorry) the adhesive dots in the right places. 

 

They're great if you come unmoored but as mentioned above you start to develop a muscle memory and your ear to tell if you're in the right place or not fairly quickly. I'm absolutely no great shakes but it's worked for me. 

Yup, dots. You can use White Out or some other correction fluid and you can make them any size you want, that's what I use on my EUB. On my DB I use the stick on dots and lines from Gollihur, easy to remove and available in two colours. When the dots on my EUB start to come off I will use the Gollihur ones on it too.

First gig since February 2020 for the jazz standards quartet! Things are slowly opening up here but numbers are still limited at venues so very few club gigs.

Yesterday we played some "wallpaper music" at a Christmas lunch for about 200 military personnel at the base in North Bay. We have been together for 8 or 9 years now and have been rehearsing for a couple of months and this was an easy no pressure way to get out playing again. We played one long set and did some of our usual stuff and also some seasonal songs and it went over well and we got some nice compliments at the end of the gig. Due to the military "hurry up and wait" system we were there and set up over two hours before we actually played the gig so we had a nice rehearsal and were well warmed up and ready to go when the room opened up for the actual lunch. It also gave us a good chance to do a decent sound check and tweak our Bose PA.

This was the first time I have gigged the "70's Czech bass that I got a few months ago and it was a joy to play, I liked my Engelhardt but this bass is much more comfortable and easier to play and the Obligatos sounded great on it.

All in all a good gig and we also had a lovely Christmas dinner after we played. We will be doing another one of these affairs in a week or so but doing it as a trio with vibes, bass and sax/clarinet and we haven't played any gigs with this combination before so it should be an interesting day.

Great to finally be back out and playing in public, we are hoping that things will get busier in 2022 but the live music scene is still pretty dead over here.

It wasn't a very fancy set up, we were in the corner of a very large dining room but the sound was good and we could be heard by everyone.😊

39 minutes ago, adriansmith247 said:

 

I am certainly interested in having something higher up. Has anyone every tried playing through one of those Bose arrays? The ones that have a bass cab and a long stick of speakers about 5 ft high

We use one for our jazz quartet and also for a 7 piece swing band and put everything through it and it is great. The drums aren't mic'd but horns, vocals(2), keyboard and my bass(usually DB but also EUB and BG at times) use it and it is easy to set up and if done properly we don't even need monitors. We had to get a bigger mixer but we use the small woofer and it sounds great. There are a lot of reviews and videos of the system in use, some bands use a separate unit for each instrument but we don't need that. Easy to set up and transport and doesn't take up much space on stage. They are expensive but for us it has been worth it.

Finally! Looks good, you will have fun with that.👍 

edit....well, it looks like you're already having fun.

Next it will be a DB, even more fun.😃

Love it! Watched it at 0545 with my first cup of coffee and it set me up for a good day.🤣

2 minutes ago, TheRev said:

There's a Talkbass thread about it.

 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/adjustable-soundpost-–-anima-nova.1198813/#post-18233085

 

I haven't read it in detail but looks like the price is €600.

That's what I was looking at.

I found a post from 2016 on TB and the price they worked out was about $650 USD, not sure how accurate that was/is.

Apparently that is not the only adjustable sound post that has been tried over the years for members of the violin family.

3 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I used the BOSS WL20 for similar reasons as @Nail Soup

I use it for EB, EUB and DB and have never had a problem at home or at gigs.  Easy to charge, small, simple to use, charge lasts a long time.👍

3 hours ago, NoRhino said:

I bought something like this and use it while playing.  Keeps the wrist and carpal tunnel area well supported.  I had a CT release operation several years ago and am in a queue for another one but have never had to consider not gigging. 

 

Breathable Universal Carpal Tunnel Wrist Support Brace Wrap Splint - For RSI Arthritis Sprain Strain - Fully Adjustable Easy To Fit Ideal for protection and recovery - Unisex - Fits Right & Left Hand https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075RCJS11/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_N2VT13AF2RTTW2HNQ7R7

I used one of these and it definitely helped my left hand/wrist when I was playing my DB and EUB, not so much with EB. I have recovered enough that I don't use it now.

11 hours ago, EdLib-3 said:

 

 

@MoJo buy yourself a copy of Sharon J. Butler's book 'Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome'

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Conquering-Carpal-Syndrome-Repetitive-Injuries/dp/1572240393

 

The exercises and stretches in this book for fingers, wrist and forearms helped me a lot with my Carpal Tunnel problems. I was made aware of it on this very forum would you believe?! The exercises aren't fun to do, but doing them regularly really sorted me (and quite a few others on here) out.

 Definitely not fun to do but it helped in my case.👍

36 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

 

After playing regular basses for 30+ years, I'm going to be new to EUBs shortly (iI have an NXT5s, it's here but remaining in the box until my birthday in 6 weeks); curious about clipping a tuner to the bridge.

 

I have a few clip-on tuners and tend to favour Snark units over anything else; as you're not going to be busy down the bridge end, would you actually have enough meat on the bridge to clip the tuner and perhaps have it poking up through the strings?  Would attaching a tuner to the bridge have any detrimental effect on the piezo?

 

The Yamaha SLB 200 has a bridge that is similar in shape to a regular DB bridge but a bit smaller so it is large enough to find a spot for the tuner. I have also used it on the upper end of the rather odd reverse tailpiece and it works well there too. I don't think it would affect the piezo, it is under the bridge on the Yamaha.

In the case of your EUB it might be tricky to find a large enough spot on the bridge to attach it to, I haven't actually seen an NXT in person so it's hard to tell if it would fit and then stay on. There is no tailpiece on your bass so that isn't an option. Some people put them on the headstock of a DB (I do on my EB) but I have had more success with it on the bridge. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

On a personal note, you have a lot more will power or strength of character than I do, I could not leave a new bass in a box for 6 weeks, make sure you give us a review of it when you start playing.👍😊