NJE

I dont know if this will be any help, but I was in the same position a while ago. I am a bass player and really loved the sound and idea of getting an upright but didnt have the space for one. I looked around at all the normal cheaper models like Harley Bentons and the Staggs and I was quite impressed by the Stagg for the money but there were just too many quality issues and I was not prepared to do the modifications that most people do to them to get them to a good playing standard. I never actually tried a Harley Benton but have heard mixed reviews. Instead I jumped straight in and bought a secondhand NS NXT upright as all reviews were positive and in my eyes I dont think I will ever out grow it, its a high quality instrument. I can honestly say it is probably the most beautiful instrument I have ever owned. It has a lovely sound, not quite like a real acoustic upright but good enough for my needs. The build and finish is sublime and It's rock solid as well and I have no fear of slinging it in the gig bag and travelling with it. Its also very compact and fits very easily in my Polo. I have seen NS WAV uprights on here for as low as £350 in the past, the NXT's are a little more normally but well worth it and I am sure you would be able to sell it on very easily if you didnt like it. Well worth the extra money over a Stagg in my opinion but......go and try as many as you can. A few shops have the Staggs and I knwo Bass Direct have NS uprights you can try.

Some really great suggestions everyone, I have taken note and I will be listening through and making myself a playlist of my favourites to play along to. I am also playing along to 'normal' bass parts as well but I like to hear the double bass on the record as well. I am trying to learn the fretboard at the moment and I am finding that figuring songs out on the upright helps rather than go to my musicman first to figure something out. I amjust trying to immerse myself in the upright, the same approach that finally got me playing 5 strings.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1338895500' post='1680643'] It also depends on your definition of pop. Does it go as far back as Johnny Cash and 'Fulsom Prison Blues' etc? I assume probably not. I know this is not a chart-topping band, but my previous band Rattlin Bone got me into DB playing and the lines are very easy and quite poppy. They are generally blues progressions - here's a free link [url="http://rattlinbone.com/2011/the-life-and-death-of/"]http://rattlinbone.c...e-and-death-of/[/url] [/quote] Will have a listen, Johnny Cash is pretty much contemporary. I have seen Rattlin Bone stuff before, will check it out agin now I have upright though. [quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1338897398' post='1680703'] Eliza Dolittle , her bass player uses upright almost exclusively. [/quote] Good Stuff, youtube-ing now!

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1338894178' post='1680587'] Guillemots? Skip to 1:10... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EaAYi64Rpo[/media] [/quote] LOVE THAT!! heard the band name before but never heard them, Love her too!!

Hello, I have recently picked up a EUB and I have started looking around for song to play along with and learn, to get myself into the instrument. I am not a massive Jazz fan so I have been looking for 'Pop' music with double bass parts or songs that could be played on double bass quite easily. Now by 'Pop' I mean fairly contemporary, commercial music. To give an example, I am a big fan of Seth Lakeman so I have been listening to his bass player a lot, I have also been listening Christian McBride's playing on the Live DVD Sting did in Tuscany. I know other bands like Mumford and Sons have a double bass player and whilst they are not pop in the same vein as say Kylie, they are a 'Popular' band and are played on Radio 1 etc. So can anyone maybe suggest some bands or songs to check out?

I know the feeling, I picked up a EUB on Tuesday and was bouncing around the house like a kid on Christmas eve. My better half thought I was losing my mind. Believe me, two days later and I am still giddy with excitement every time I look at it, its a great feeling!

BRILLIANT! Thank you so much, I thought the dots marked the fretting position but the NS site made me question myself. My tuner is at the studio so had to use a friends iphone app to tune it so I wasnt sure how accurate myit was. When I fretted on the dots it was in tune with my precision but as it wasnt an accurate tune i couldnt be sure. Its a wonderful instrument and I am sure I will be posting a lot more in thsi thread now, I have officially caught the bug.

I just got my hands on a stunning NXT 4 upright and have to say it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever owned. Great build and just a joy to play and I cant stop staring at it its so pretty. Problem is, I have no I dea where I should be putting my fingers. Do I put my fingers between the dots or on them to get the correct note? Are the dots marking where a metal fret would theoretically be, or are they like the dots markers on a electric bass? I am so embarassed I have to ask this question...

[quote name='Cybergimp109' timestamp='1327761950' post='1516392'] am downloading that art of the bow dvd. [/quote] Hi, where did you find the download for this? would you PM me?

Did a stormer of a gig at the 21 club in Cheltenham last night. Weather stayed pretty good so we were on a tiny piece of decking outsid. The drummer brought his full big kit and frame so took up most of the floor space so I ended up balanced on a 6" wide piece of stepped decking for the whole gig. Apart from that, brilliant crowd and we played pretty well, few fumbles and the guitarist managed to not stomp on his gain during sweet child o mine so played teh whole thing with a slight blues drive, but it was a good night and a free bar.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1335634248' post='1634100'] Yes, all hail the Gorgonites... oh hang on... doesn't matter. [/quote] I thought of the exact same thing when I found it, quite liked that film.....

I picked up my Stingray last week in the cold light of day (usually only comes out at night) and realised the frets were looking a bit sad and green around the edges and the rosewood board had accumulated a bit of gunk. I had a look around on the internet to see the best way of cleaning frets, and was getting my head around taping the board off and using wire wool. Then I found a post about Gorgomyte so I went on the website and had a read. It all sounded a bit too good to be true but, some youtube videos helped convince me it was worth a try. So I placed the order 5 days ago and it arrived all the way from the US of A this morning and I immediately set about stripping the strings off the stingray. Long story story short this stuff is incredibly good, just a small piece of the impregnated cloth needed and a quick wipe all along the neck then some harder rubbing on the frets. What came off was amazing, and when I buffed the frets and board with a bit of old t-shirt the whole neck was gleaming but no funny residue, no funny smells, just shiny new frets and healthy looking rosewood. I highly recommend everyone getting some and just giving your neck a good clean when you next change your strings. Its made it feel lovely under hand when playing and given the bass a new lease of life, definately worth doing if the bass hasnt had a Best bit is, its cheap! I bought 3 packs for £27 including delivery. What I didnt realise was you only need a tiny square to do one neck and one sheet will do the bass about 20 times. I probably have enough to cover all 4 of my guitars for the next 10 years, may even offer to do some friends guitars I have so much. Go get some....

I have had my Reidmar a few weeks now and I am really loving it. Last night my Drummer even commented how much more alive my bass and cab sounded with the Reidmar compared to my old Markbass. I hate to say it because it was a genuinely solid and good amp but my old Markbass LM2 just doesnt even compare to the EBS. One thing I would like to see from EBS though.....a proper case or bag for it! every other amp company makes a case for their small heads.

I play in a typical covers band playing a mix of material like Katy Perry, Kings of Leon, Sister Sledge etc, you know the kind of stuff, nothing out of the norm. And there in lies the problem..... There are now so many bands trying to do the wedding/function band thing playing all the same kind of songs, and I am starting to wonder if there is a way to make it fresh and make a break from the typical. Have any of you out there done the covers or the function work but put an usual twist on it, like mix up arrangemnets of songs or play with an unusual band lineup? Does it work? Anything that distances your band from the "Disco/funk party bands" and the "lets all wear black shirts and white ties" lot? Interested to hear your thoughts... Yours faithfully 'dissolutioned', Cheltenham.