Bloopdad1

Umm... Not quite the same. Make sure you're using proper bass rosin (Pops, Nymans, Leatherwood etc etc.) apply the rosin in one rapid continuous "swipe" from frog to tip., the friction will cause the rosin to melt and adhere to the hair. (don't do that upper strings/cello thing where they rapidly move a couple of inches up their bow at a time scraping their hard rosin over the hair!) When done properly you can easily see the molten sticky rosin on the hair - apply too much and you'll have a sticky mess that'll rip your strings off the bridge!! (well not quite 😂 but you know what I mean) 😜 Remember never to touch the hair if you can help it... Don't tension the bow too tight (difficult to describe in words! Sorry). If you're seeing a puff of rosin you're using a hard violin/cello style rosin. You can certainly bow Dadarios <green ends are the hybrids, blue ends are the pure arco> Do not move the bow too fast, do not use all the bow at first. Add wrist pressure, relax your bow arm, relax your fingers and make sure the bow is 90° to the string and bow 2 to 3" from the bridge. Use the passive weight from your upper arm to apply weight onto the string through the bow... Breath out... Relax... Gradually draw the bow slowly across the string. If you're getting a whistling high harmonic you're either moving too fast, not gripping the string, not enough weight, wrong rosin/not enough or even using poor quality/worn out bow hair. Although not a pure double bass I could get quite a convincing sound from my NS CR4T and my Yam SLB100 (to about 85% of the sound of my 2 concert basses). Plucking is about 10% of what a bass can truly do... Arco is where its at! Unleash the bow, unleash a lifelong passion! Ex principal bass LSO... A perfect example of what a bass can do. BTW - Let me know where you can get a set of strings for £130! - they're all around +£200 these days (don't look at Eudoxa - they're £600 a set!!!) Remember, Best option is to get a teacher for a couple of lessons just to set you on the straight and narrow.

Such a shame. I ran an original Iamp600 back in the late '90s for over a decade. Superb amp, very warm and great for both BG and DB. Coupled with a pair of their legendary CxL1x10 cabs (3 way crossover, genuine studio quality sound). But boy was it heavy! EA will be missed (and of course SWR!)

Hi all. For info - Martin Penning in Frome (superb bass Luthier) has them and can fit and "tune" them up. I've recently played a gorgeous Lott model bass in Birmingham with one of these vernier scale adjustable posts. I was totally blown away by the sound that the bass that the owner attributed to this post (he's principal bassist of a prominent UK pro orchestra). The "tuning" is critical by spinning the extending/retracting wheel. Martin did this when the player was playing it so he could feel and hear the difference. Once the optimum pressure on the table is found then the telescopic post is locked off and adjustment wheel removed. It's very useful if the top pressure changes due to atmospherics, different gage/tension strings or changes in humidity/seasons. The bass is regularly played in the CBSO. I'm strongly considering getting one for my main orchestral bass as is my missus for her violin. (bit pricey though). Beware - One caveat is that as it opens up and increases the volume and projection of an instrument IF you have a wolf note (most basses do) then as well as the desirable tones it'll also "amplify" the wolf note!

Hi. Still looking? I might be willing to part with my Yamaha SLB100 (in your budget and not the£4000+ new price tag!) As you probably already know the SLB100 is the king of Eub's. Perfect geometry and is perfect for arco. I went for the 100 rather than the 200 as the longer body makes it more stable when standing and really digging in. It also has a Full Circle PUP fitted for a superb double bass sound in addition to the Yamaha electronics. Message me if you want want more info.

Ha! It was a great "thing"...really did make a huge sound and always made me smile. I suppose I could always weld up another one. 😁 Thanks for the comments.

Yep, agreed. Although it depends on how much arco you'd be doing. My yamaha SLB is set up as closely to my main double basses as possible so it "feels" as much like the real things when I switch between them. But I do play a lot of arco...so all mine are set to "standard" orchestral height. My 5st double bass has 12mm under the B string and when I'm really laying into it for something like Shostakovich or Wagner in a fff section I can sometimes grind it out (can't let the brass section have all the fun...! 😂).

"Standard" double bass string height (end of the fingerboard to the bottom of the string) is 9mm under the G through to 11mm under the E. But ultimately there's not much standard about a DB! I wouldn't go much lower than that.

My basses range from 200yrs old to a modern massive German 5 stringer from the '80's. I've dampits in all of them that are usually dried out (I always forget to wet them!) The main thing I do to keep the room humidified is I have uncovered bowls of water under all 4 basses in the corners of the room. Also I have the room radiator bearly on (drives my missus nuts) but it helps her 2 violins stay humidified as well. You'll be surprised how quickly the bowls empty especially in cold frosty months when the air is at its most driest (unless the cat is thirsty and helping himself!) An old pro showed me the water bowl trick and even went further by hooking a damp sponge from its bridge! But he did have a lovely Ceruti Italian bass that needed extra care. I keep my 2 bass guitars in that room as well and it doesn't seem to affect them either.

If you're seriously interested, to save you a trip, if it's still up for sale after lockdown I'll pop over to give it a once over if you want. I'm about 20mins away from Neath. (That's if the seller doesn't mind?) I know most of the bassists around here but I don't recognise his ebay name, I don't think the seller is a bassist?? (if I haven't already got 4 double basses and 1 EUB then I might have a punt on that bass myself! - but the missus would go nuts!) 🤣

I know these basses quite well. They're typical "school basses" most of the local authorities bought loads of these back in the early '80s. Most schools here in S Wales had at least a couple of these knocking around. A local residential education centre kept 8 of them. They're all consistent and strong. Decent sturdy student basses that actually sound half decent considering... Not bad at all for orchestral playing and in my opinion much much better that the new Chinese stuff, gear 4 you etc, and hold their own with instruments 4x the price. This one will be well played in, resonant and if it was going to crack, split or the neck fall of it would have done so by now! It'll have a strong bass bar, the sound post will be correct and you won't need to fart about with the nut. New bridge £110, strings £200, tail wire 50p and your good to go... Its not shiny, it's not pretty, they have thick gloopy varnish and no-frills machine heads but if it can survive 40 odd yrs knocking around the valleys it'll be ok... 😁 If you do go see it double check the neck joint is stable. Ignore the bridge, tailpiece, tail gut and strings you will be replacing those anyway.

I think it's great that we're all different, it's what makes bassists a fab varied bunch of people. I simply can't stand a light bass... I had a 75 jazz that was so light it felt like a toy! The heavier the better, I feel it give the notes weight and added thump (plus when you dig in, the bass is completely stable). But then again it's not surprising as I'm primarily a double bassist - my main orchestral bass is a HUGE 5/4 size German 5st that needs a forklift to move the bloody thing.... But what a sound! 😎😁 (totally agree with you about Fretless markers though...or any markers come to think of it!) 😂🤣😅

Thanks for the info Agedhorse. I'm glad it's nothing to worry about. I have been using the tube preamp section a lot lately, I just couldn't remember such a delay after switch-on...? Best amp I've ever owned. So good in fact that I've not looked at an alternative these past years. Hopefully it'll keep going for another 9yrs!

Hi all Hoping for some advice. I've a Genz-benz Shuttle Max 9.2 that I've gigged about 4 times a week for the last 8yrs. Recently when turning it on its silent for about 10 (heart stopping) seconds then it quickly ramps up to normal operation. I'm thinking worn out capacitors? Whatcha think? If I keep using it like this will it damage it or simply just get worse? (Its my favourite ever amp that has unbelievable headroom, it does super clean for double bass, warm full and wet for my '70's P bass with flats, mega punchy for my 5st jazz and makes my EUB growl for ever! - I've played lots of other amps and for me it's just superb). Hoping for advice. Cheers

Light basses... Anything under 10lb - they feel like toys. There, I've said it! (everybody is different after all)!

Hi all Just bought a proper funk machine from Anth (77/78 sunburst P bass). I'm absolutely delighted... can't put the bloody thing down! Anth is a lovely fella. Perfect communication and quickly answered all my questions, sent me additional photos etc. Pleasure to deal with. Buy with confidence, he's a top bloke.