Beer of the Bass

I was struggling to find one when I had a Bassix EUB. I never did buy one, but I did find ski/snowboard bags in about the right size online, which might be your best bet.

If you're feeling really DIY inclined, the original 2-band stingray preamp circuit shouldn't be too difficult to build. There's a guy over on Talkbass who had a load of PCBs made up and was selling them cheaply.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='922452' date='Aug 12 2010, 10:48 AM']I have tried more than a few I personally won't buy an instrument with multiple string courses that aren't tuned in unison unless the intonation on each string is individually adjustable. After the 5th fret the tuning difference between the strings is unusable. Any manufacturer that tries to tell you otherwise is obviously staffed by people who are all tone-deaf.[/quote] I reckon that on a project bass with a limited budget like this one, it's got to be worth starting with the option that doesn't cost anything, at least until it's evident that the bass is going to be viable as an 8-string. You can always fork out for the Schaller later if the bass works out but you're not happy with the intonation. It's also a personal preference as to how much pitch variation between the bass and octave strings you can live with. I think I have a reasonable ear for pitch (since I've payed double bass and fretless electric for a good few years and people generally ask me back), but on my rough and ready 4-saddle 8 string, I hear the pitch difference as a chorus-y modulation which just adds a bit of flavour, until about the 12th fret on the bottom strings. Higher than that it becomes too much for me. But then I also enjoy listening to Cedell Davis, so maybe I'm just weird about this stuff. Some kinds of music sound a bit insipid if they're perfectly in tune, in my opinion.

You may be surprised how low you can get with big strings on a regular guitar scale length. My brother has Danelectro baritone strings on his strat and tunes down to A (with lots of tape echo and chorus for that underwater sound!).

The neck is still as straight as when I strung it up yesterday, so I think this experiment has worked. It's kind of crude compared to some conversions I've seen on the the net, but I didn't want to throw lots of time and resources at a £30 bass! My photography is crap, though I'm sure you get the idea. I opted to go with the rickenbacker stye reverse stringing as I felt like it would suit my right hand style. The 4-saddle bridge is surprisingly not too bad for intonation. The E and the A pairs sound out of tune beyond the 12th fret, but I can live with that. The next things I'll do are to get a better pickup and give it some sort of cosmetic makeover, as the white on white is a bit nondescript...

I liked the idea of an 8-string to fill out the sound of a 3 piece band I play in, but am perma-skint at the moment, so buying one wasn't happening. I decided to pick up a cheapy 4 string precision copy and convert it as cheaply as possible. I ended up with one of the "Johnny Brook" basses, secondhand for £30, which ought to be crap, but played nicely and sounded good unplugged. With a pickup upgrade, it'll sound fine. I've added four guitar tuners on the headstock, keeping the original tuners but plugging two holes and making a somewhat unconventional 5+3 layout. I've also kept the bent-bit-of-tin bridge, and filed new notches in the saddles. I made a new nut from some plastic scrap I had lying around. I strung it up today, and amazingly enough it seems to work! The neck appears to be standing up to the tension (with the truss rod tightened a bit) and my hacked bridge seems workable. Tomorrow I'll tweak the nut slots a bit (they need lowering) and take some photos. Fingers crossed the neck won't go banana shaped overnight...

Those are the 35" scale EUBs, right? I'm not sure that most double bass strings will fit, since they'll be made for 40-42" scale length. If you're limited to using bass guitar strings, i'd say Thomastik jazz flats would be worth a go.

I had one of these in the mid 90's when I was a teen. From what I can remember, the neck was lovely but the pickups were awful (mainly due to being microphonic)! So possibly a worthy candidate for an upgrade.

I've got an EA wizzy 10, and they're really nice little cabs, and much bigger sounding than I'd have expected, though it has limits. Unfortunately it's another expensive option. I ordered mine from the states a while back when the dollar:pound ratio was a lot more favourable than it is now.

I'd agree with the Ken McDonald recommendation. He's done some work on my bass which I'm very happy with. Personally I'd shy away from buying a bridge and taking it to someone to get it fitted unless you're really clued up about these things, as choosing the correct width to line up with the bass bar is apparently fairly critical.

Hi Andy, how's the 8-string P going? I'm about to embark on an almost identical project, and i'm curious...

Not to mention Pike and Tuna Turner! Sorry...

I'm having a bit of a clearout and have some things in the for sale section. Here's a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=95468"]link[/url] in case anyone's interested.

I'd guess German and late 19th/early 20th century. It looks similar to mine - there seem to be lots of these old German flatbacks around and most of them have no makers name. Unfortunately the long crack running up towards the bridge looks like it follows the line of the bass bar. Unless it has already been repaired, it will be an expensive job, as the top has to be removed. It should be a nice bass when everything's fettled though...

Though in terms of amplification needs, it's not that useful a way of looking at it. I've found that an amp which runs out of steam in a 150 capacity basement (with vocal PA only) is fine at a 1000 capacity club (with decent FOH and monitors). I'm not very rock though, so I've never gone for huge stage volumes.

Those heights are pretty typical for an acoustic double bass, so should be a good starting point. I have my strings set at 7mm (G) to 10mm (E) at the end of the board. What kind of right-hand technique are you using? In my opinion, that's the biggest factor in getting a convincing double bass sound from an EUB.

You need a fingerboard which can be easily planed by a luthier if the relief isn't quite right or there are any uneven parts. Obviously ebony is preferable as it is very hard and doesn't require a finish. Sometimes the very cheapest grade of ebony can be crazily grained and unstable too, but I've only seen this on one bass - unfortunately one that I owned! Some ebonised fingerboards (such as on the Stentor 1950s, IIRC) are a rosewood-ish hardwood with a bit of black stain and should be workable enough, but others are soft, light coloured wood with a thick black painted surface which will never really do a decent job. I'm sure OTPJ could tell you which kind the G4M basses have.

I've read that the "Made in Europe" Thomann basses are made by Strunal. I've seen one or two Strunal basses in the flesh - they're good for the money and would be preferable to the Antoni. They start at £625 though...

I played an Antoni for a few months several years ago, when skint and otherwise double bassless. Unless they've got much better since then, I'd avoid them if at all possible. Mine was a bright orange plywood box, with a crap painted softwood fingerboard which was really uneven and bumpy. For £500 I'd look out for an older German or Eastern European laminated bass (maybe even hybrid or solid if you're lucky). They come up fairly often and would be much more servicable and could be re-sold for what you paid if you upgrade.

Out of curiosity, what did you think of them when you had them on?