TheRev

I ordered a bunch of goodies (£180 worth) from Thomann just before Christmas, all timed to ensure that I'd be home when the delivery was due on the 27/28th. Stayed in all day on the 28th but nothing appeared. Never mind I thought, give it another day. Still nothing. This morning, I checked the tracking number and DHL say that the package was delivered to me on the 28th December at 09:55. If that's the case,how come I'm not enjoying my nice new stand and pickup? Eh? There's no missed delivery note in my post box or under my door. No parcel, nothing. I've dropped DHL and Thomann an email but haven't heard anything yet. Has anyone else had problems with couriers claiming to have delivered stuff when they clearly haven't? Did the issue get resolved? Cheers Angry of Bristol.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1325204177' post='1481046'] Just a quick question from me to the double bass experts. Is it worth learning on an electric double bass, for example an NS WAV or is it worth going for an acoustic double bass? I did have one of those Stagg EUB a few years back which seemed ok but I have no experience to compare against an acoustic double bass. Due to other commitments, I could not really put the time in. Now I do have the time (kind of) and want to dabble again, I am not sure to go acoustic or electric this time. Any advice? [/quote] If you want to play double bass, then get a double bass and get on with it. An EUB is more likely to help you develop bad playing habits rather than setting you up for a good DB technique. However, if you want to play double bass, but have limited space at home/on stage/on your moped, then an electric upright will be a good compromise. I initially chose the EUB route due to stage space limitations - I play some really tiny jazz and cider bars so my Eminence is my main gigging instrument. However, my DB is always played at home (and she comes out for bigger gigs & festivals) and the sound and feel is markedly different, good though the Eminence is. Ultimatley, I have an EUB for practical reasons but if all else were equal it would be DB all the way.

I think the overall sound of the band is more important than the 'acoustic' label. In one of my past acoustic duos, I would use an acoustic bass, an electric fretless, a two string fretless played with a bottleneck slide, an electric fretted (through multi fx) or an electric upright, depending on the song. I suggest you start with your usual bass. If you find it needs more depth, try a set of flatwounds.

I don't have a knob

Have you tried the Squire CV jazz? Lovely basses that are almost as good as the American Standard jazzes but less than half the price. That'll leave you almost £900 for a lightweight rig - like a second hand Markbass LMII and a Barefaced compact cab.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1318319878' post='1400340'] ......cymbals transported as if they're made of glass with just the minimum finger contact at the edge. [/quote] Why FFS? He's going to spend the next hour twatting them with lumps of wood! They're percussion and therefore designed to be hit - I don't think a fingerprint will break them....

Like the boys said, a decent preamp like the Fishman platinum pro will go a long way to sorting out your sound. Transducer pickups like a much higher impedance than most amp head inputs provide, so a dedicated double bass preamp is pretty essential to buffer the signal.

Welcome aboard!

The Stentor Student 2 and the Thomann 22 bass are both decent instruments for the money. Both are hybrids - solid tops with laminate back and sides.

That's the spirit! I have a set of Thomastic Superflexibles which came with my laminate DB, so I've no idea how old they are. They look in good nick though, and the bloke I bought the bass from ahd stopped playing due to RSI, so they're probably only just broken in. These strings are a bit too stiff for piz for my liking but great for arco. I though my arco technique was total pants until I had a go with these strings. Now I realise it's still pants, but helped by the right strings... Also have a set of Helicore Hybrids with an orch. G. This is the standard set issued with the Eminence EUB, the orch. G helps to tame some of the nasal tones you can get on the G string with EUBs. Used for about 8 months. I'd like to try pretty much anything but am particulalry interested in Innovation Honeys or Super Silvers or Spiro weichs/mittels.

Hi all. There's been a lot more activity on the double bass forum recentlyly , a lot of it about different types & brands of DB strings. Trying out new DB strings is an expensive passtime, so I'm wondering if there would be any support for a string exchange sticky? I'm not talking about a 'strings for sale' thread, more a 'swap my Spiros for your Honeys' sort of thing. I have a couple of string sets just hanging around and rather than try to sell them for £40 and then find another £80 to buy a new set, I'd rather swap them for a pre-played set of something a bit different to try out. Any takers? Dave

[quote name='hairyhaw' timestamp='1322736558' post='1454984'] Do many of you guys and girls do BV’s? If so, how do you memorise your words? I've thought about cheat sheets with prompts taped to the back of the PA but I'm maybe a bit old fashioned in thinking it'd be a good idea to actually try and memorise them. Any thoughts? [/quote] I've found that writing (handwriting, not typing) the lyrics down helps me to memorise them. Once they're in your head, singing along to the track while driving etc, keeps them fixed.

The Bassmax is as good a place to start as any. You could also try the Schatten RB-1.

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1322601981' post='1453482'] Sounds like you are better off out of it My acoustic duo have split up. I only know this because I went to a gig on Sunday and found out the other chap was playing.......... We haven't spoken for around 4 months and he didn't return my calls or emails. I don't know what has happened so I am trying to start an electric band instead [/quote] He clearly didn't want to play with you any more but didn't have the bottle to say so. I've come across quite a few acoustic singer/songwriter types like this. They decide thay want a bass player (or a band), get some people together, realise that they can barely organise themselves to get to a rehearsal or a gig, never mind 2 or 3 other individuals and insetad of saying anything, they bury their head and the sand and hope that everyone will go away.

For strings, I'd suggest a set of Innovation Honeys or, if you're feeling flush, a set of Velvet Garbos. Personally, I love the Garbos and they're perfect for the soul (think 'Georgia') and bluegrass/country stuff that I play. They are rather expensive but I've had the same set going on two years and they're still going strong.

My main band normally got out for £250-350, depending on venue. We're playing two of our regular venues on Christmas eve eve eve (i.e 22nd) for £550 and NYE for £700 (plus all the booze we can drink, plus rooms). We're a guaranteed draw at both places so it wasn't hard to bump the fee up.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1321970476' post='1444913'] Hah, that is great. Amazing music, who says bass & drums on their own aren`t interesting? [/quote] Needs more cowbell.

[quote name='marvin spangles' timestamp='1321917600' post='1444506'] good to hear ....Does the new tailpiece make a difference? [/quote] Difficult to say as I replaced the existing Thomastik Superflexibles (lovely for arco, hard work for pizz) with a set of Velvet Blues at the same time. The bass is noticeably louder and more open sounding, though again, that could be due to the much lower tension Velvets allowing the table to vibrate more. The old tailwire looked like a oversized bit of coathanger wire and was pretty rigid, so replacing it with something that allows a bit more resonance can only be a good thing. Right? This is a new bass to me, so I'm still experimenting with the sound. The Velvet blues are a bit zingy at the moment, but are a lot closer to the sound I'm looking for than the superflexibles. I'll need to find someone to do a proper set up at some point as there's a couple of dips in the fingerboard, (one right under the D on the A string ) that will need sorting out.

Cheers chaps. Did the change today with no soundpost related disasters.

Velvet Animas? Low tension silk core with a copper wrap.

[quote name='marvin spangles' timestamp='1321785582' post='1442913'] Not sure "look way cool" is the best motivation for taking the plunge. [/quote] It's as good a reason as any other, and probably why most of us started playing bass in the first place.... Hiring is a good idea, it worked for me. If you're aiming at making up your mind in two months, make sure you put in some proper practice every day as it'll probably take two months to get to the point where you can comfortably play a set's worth of songs in tune and without hurting yourself.

[quote name='marvin spangles' timestamp='1321556128' post='1440664'] Yes +1 put the bass on its back on a bed or soft furnishing. You could place a few heavy books or get someone to apply some light pressure. The odds are that the post will stay in place anyway . I've done it a few times for various reasons. It'll only take a few seconds to put on the tailpiece. Good luck [/quote] Cheers - that's pretty much what I was hoping. I use a laptop bag to carry my LMII, cables etc, hopefully that shoud be heavy enough. I think it's going to take more than a few seconds to replace the tailwire, the existing one is a 4mm diameter solid wire that looks like I'll need to hacksaw apart to get it off the tailpiece.