TheRev

Somewhere on the interweb I came across a retailer selling recommended mixed sets - something like E & A Spirocores with obligatos for the D & G. I'll dig around in my history and see if I can find a link.

[i]Edit[/i]
Found it:

[url="http://www.uptonbass.com/double-bass-upright-bass-blended-string-set/"]http://www.uptonbass.com/double-bass-uprig...ded-string-set/[/url]

They're in the US but even if you don't buy from them, their combined sets idea seems pretty well informed.

Dave

Form the chatter on Talkbass it seems that the Azola is vastly superior to the Eminence - your only problems are the £2K+ price tag and shipping it over here fron the USA.

I've been drooling over the Azola Acoustic BugBass for a year or so but I'll never be able to afford one so I'll probably go with an Eminence when the time comes to trade up.

In addition to the god-like Danny Thompson, you should check out Ali Friend for a more modern take on folk double bass. You'll find him on Beth Orton's Trailer Park and Central Reservation albums and also with a band called Clayhill.

Otherwise, the 'less notes, more space' approach has always worked for me - folkies love that sort of thing.

I've been using the D'addario Helicore hybrids on my Aria EUB and I'm quite happy with them though next time I might go for the orchestral srtings for a bit less sustain. Anyway, they're about £90 a set and will definitley be a step in the right direction.

How much do you want to spend?

If you're looking to dabble, then the Stagg is a good choice as it's not a huge outlay but as others have pointed out, it'll probably sound a lot like your fretless. There's also the Palatino/Harley Benton EUB from Thomann which look nice but apparently need a lot of work to get them sounding good (see the Palatino megathread on Talkbass)

Spend a bit more and you can have a NS Wav or an Aria, which sound pretty good with a decent set of strings or you could look st the Bassix New Tech bass which looks well cool and has got good reviews.

Spend £1500 and you're in Yamaha SLB200 or Eminence territory - both sound great with the Eminence having the edge in sounding like a proper DB but the Yamaha being a bit more playable (IMO).

If you have the money, then the Yam or the Eminence are the ones to go for but it's also worth checking ot the Bassix bass if you're anywhere near Kent.

[quote name='Russ' post='434611' date='Mar 14 2009, 02:19 PM']What would someone have to do to "downgrade" their Stingray, to reproduce that 70's, pre-EB tone?[/quote]


Bung in one of those lovely Nordstrand pickups.....

I bought a Sterling 10 years ago and I still love the thing to bits but I can see where the OP is coming from.

I've found that if I set the EQ to get a good sound from the bass on its own, it all disappears when the band kicks in. However, If I tweak the sound while the band is playing then I can easily get a really nice bassy, growly that cuts through - but it'll sound horrible on it's own!
I also use the bass' bass EQ full up with a touch of mid cut and a touch of treble boost to give the sound some fatness and i always, always use nickel strings - it sounds bloody awful with stainless steel strings.

Dave

[quote name='bassace' post='424926' date='Mar 4 2009, 11:49 AM']From the few clips that I've seen here his playing is sparing but every note counts.[/quote]


Couldn't agree more! If I hadn't got into Danny's 'less is more' style I'd never have started playing double bass. Walking modal bass lines? Too many notes man....

Having said that, there's a couple of tracks on his Myspace page that are your more regular jazz style bass playing.

[quote name='hubrad' post='425152' date='Mar 4 2009, 03:10 PM']I had an informal lesson with DT a couple of years ago, and got a go on Victoria!!!!!![/quote]


I hate you.

I make no aplogies for posting [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohmSPv-rtSQ"]this[/url] for the umpteenth time.... This is the track that turned me on to Danny Thompson and got me playing double bass. Beautiful phrasing and expression and a truly tasteful solo. Lovely.

Check out Danny's bass face at 4:13......

Ooh, the EUB looks very tasty.....

There's some lovely, understated playing by Danny on Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden'.
He was pretty much the session DB player of choice for serious pop/rock bands during the 80s (Talk Talk, Everything but the girl, Kate Bush etc. etc. ) so almost any track with double bass by a major artist at that time probably had Danny Thompson playing.

Full discography [url="http://www.therealdannythompson.co.uk/Discography.html"]here.[/url]

I was lucky enough to meet Danny and have a wee chat with him at last years' Green Man festival - he was really friendly and open, despite the fact that I was completly awestruck and was probably gibbering like a moron.

Yeah, I saw those last week while I was drooling over a Yamaha SLB200.

How did you rate the Palatino sound? There's a lot of Palatino users over on Talkbass but they seem to have to modify the arse off them before they become useable.

Looks like the bass one to me.

I bought one of these to go with my EUB and they really are the whippets' wedding tackle. Makes my fretless sound amazing as well.

[quote name='ped' post='410641' date='Feb 15 2009, 11:55 PM']Had exactly the same issue with mine mate, I ended up having to sell in the end anyway but the buyer agreed it was a dry solder joint and fixed it himself eventually. Great amplifiers when they work!

Cheers
ped[/quote]


That was me!

By way of an update though, the problem hasn't completely gone away....

Initially, my repair bloke believed the problem lay with the FX wet/dry mix knob on the back. he replaced it and the issue was indeed solved for a while. After a year or so later I was back to thumping the bloody thing to get it going. I still think the problem is dry joints but in the speaker out jack sockets - giving them a wiggle seemed to produce more output and less crackling. I moved to a Markbass head (I went lightweight) soon after so I never got round to replacing the speaker sockets to see if they were indeed the problem.

Hi Nik.

I can do the pick up etc. no problem. Just give me a shout when the acution ends.

Dave

The hybrid Slinkys (nickel ones..) do seem to be the strings to get the Musicman sound. I once tried my Sterling with a set of Rotosounds but took them off after a day as it just sounded all wrong.

Having said that, I've had a set of DR Sunbeams on for about 6 months now and they're really rather nice - not as agressive as Slinkys but they still have a bit of growl in them - just a bit more mellow.

Judging by the the audio clips on the website they have a pretty good DB sound, have to admit I'm pretty tempted.

I did exactly the same thing when I went to see Pendulum in Newport. The sign saying that the car park closed at 8:30 was about 6 inches high, dark blue, covered in grime and half hidden behind a lampost in the shadows. We ended up having to sleep in the car until the carpark opened again at 6am. And it was bloody freezing.

Welcome to the club mate! You'll never look back plus you'll be inundated with offers of gigs.

There is something that is just so satisfying about playing upright bass - I can't quite put my finger on it. It's just so much more involved - all your effort and concentration goes into making each note sound just right.

The Fender BG32 has a 30" scale length and isabout the same size as yer average acoustic guitar.

Rufus Reids' book 'The evolving Bassist' is also very good. However I would recommend you book a lesson with a bass teacher to explain some of the techniques properly as it's more effective to be shown how to do something properly by an expert rather than trying to work it out from a book.

I was in pretty much the same place as you when I started playing DB a few years ago. I got Rufus' book and started working through the exercises but I didn't really 'get' how he explained thing like proper stance and plucking techinque. As a result, I started to get pains in my right shoulder, forearm and little and ring fingers - not good...

I ended up booking a one hour lesson with a proper bass teacher - he corrected my stance, my plucking technique and my fingering and gave me about 3 years worth of practice material - all for £25. Now, about a year later, I'm still working through the practice material and the pain has gone. it was probably the best £25 I've ever spent.

Good luck!

Dave

Chris Larkin will do a fretted version of his Blen EUB

[url="http://www.chrislarkinguitars.com/blen.htm"]http://www.chrislarkinguitars.com/blen.htm[/url]

Or Alter-Ego have a 'well tempered' option on their EUBs

[url="http://www.alterego-instruments.com/well-tempered.html"]http://www.alterego-instruments.com/well-tempered.html[/url]

Free to good home:




A pair of passive 12" wedge monitors. They look homemade and are loaded with Celestion drivers (IIRC). They're a bit tatty looking but they work fine.

They sound OK, more suited for vocal monitoring than full band, they were used in our rehearsal room for years (we inherited them from the previous band) but have spent the last 18 months taking up space in my flat.

Collection from Bristol.

Cheers
Dave

I'm playing tonight in my local - no money but I get free beer so technically I'm £50 up on a normal New year's eve. I'm really looking forward to it, all I have to do is stay sober enough to make it to the end of the gig!