fatback

Been watching some right hands lately myself and notice that Ray Brown seems to try and play as many of his notes as possible with his index finger, presumably for fat tone. Mingus is crazy that way; I don't know how he plays one-fingered so fast. But it must be worth the effort. I wonder whether part of the 'end of fingerboard' thing isn't about keeping that finger vertical.

I can never hear enough of Oscar Peterson. I keep imagining what inside that massive brain of his might look like if you could see all the signals whizzing about. If Jeeves ate fish, so his head bulged out at the back; what did OP eat?

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1416691517' post='2612753'] anyone of the age that they remember the computer game Duke Nukem? remember the wait for the 3D version? Everytime I see this thread I think of that.... [/quote] Lost months of my life to that thing. Agree about the thread. I want to hear what that cab sounds like with upright. Could be amazing.

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1415891702' post='2604902'] I had a look through the first few pages of the violin making forum on maestronet and found this thread which contains a different and IMHO elegant solution to the same problem [url="http://www.maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/331364-homemade-sound-post-insertion-tool/"]http://www.maestrone...insertion-tool/[/url] The wire tool could be scaled up for double bass and made from a wire coathanger quite succesfully, although the design might require a little modification to make it stiff enough due to the increased size. [/quote] The method in that link looks do-able too for someone without much of a workshop. Haven't had the problem yet, but my day will come. Did a double-take when I saw the post was signed 'jesus.' Obviously it's the poster's name, but I read it first as a heartfelt comment on the pain involved in anything to do with soundposts.

[quote name='bassfunk' timestamp='1415885991' post='2604826'] Or a hat-wearer for that matter [/quote] Oh yes it does. Give it time. Great that you're enjoying it, Highfox. You'll come to think it's the best thing you ever did. Dunno about you, but I've hardly touched the electric since I started.

Now that was impressive! Great you're finally able to work on those blisters.

[quote name='Stroopy121' timestamp='1414217386' post='2587134'] Thanks for the info - it's much appreciated! I'll have a read into it - now that I know what's used then I might be able to find what I need. My problem is that I don't want to contribute to the demand for animal products, so I'll need to find out a bit more about it all, but it's good to have an idea of what I'm up against. Buying second hand wouldn't be a breach of my ethics as I wouldn't be putting money to anyone responsible for the harvesting of animal products, so I'll probably go down that route to start with. [/quote] I think that mostly horse hair for Chinese bows doesn't involve killing animals but is harvested from living ones. There is also the question of glue etc though. Lots of discussion of pros and cons here. [url="http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=18228"]http://www.violinist...se.cfm?ID=18228[/url]

I know what you mean about the Midget being a bit middy. Must say, though, I have no probs pulling back the mids with a little EQ.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1415098703' post='2596571'] I can certainly hear the difference between my 1x10 and my 4x5 cabs - the smaller speakers react quicker so notes retain separation and can be heard much more clearly. With my 1x10, anything involving 8th notes on the E string would be sonic mush - not so with the 5" drivers. If you're happy with your 1x12, then there's no need to change, but I believe that the general consensus is that lots of small drivers are better than one big driver (of equivalent surface area) for responding to the big fundamental you can get with double bass. At least, that's how I understand it - I expect that someone who actually knows something about bass cabs will be along to correct me... [/quote] I'm wondering about the new Barefaced retro 2X10. Might be too coloured for db, but interesting. Heavier than my Midget though. And so as not to stray too far OT, I can't fault my EA Doubler. Clean and light.

Any strong feelings about why 1X8 should be better than 1X12? I've heard people mention speed of response etc, but can you hear the difference? I use a Barefaced 1X12, superlight and mega loud, with plenty bottom, but wondering whether I'm missing anything that an 8 could give.

I had to make a vow to stop swearing. Really. My frustration levels used to get so high I used to lose my mind and rant at myself. Can you picture Basil Fawlty trying to learn the double bass? Now, of all people, I should have known better. Too much stress is well known to interfere with learning. There's an optimal level of arousal; too much or too little and learning suffers. My solution was to make a rule that said: when the swearing starts, take it as a signal to lower the tempo of the piece. First obscenity, down the tempo goes. Works a treat.

DB, you know you want to

[quote name='andyonbass' timestamp='1414336595' post='2588358'] You could try Presto Ultralites if its a mag friendly thump you are after.... not too great for arco though [/quote] And given that I'm not too great for arco either, I'd probably better stick with the weichs

The option to use a mag pickup was a biggie for me. That really left only the weichs as low tension options. They might be a bit electric sounding for some tastes, but I like the singing quality they have. Others might prefer a thumpier, old school sound. I don't know what metal, low tension strings there are other than weichs. Would be interested to know.

You might find it useful to know of the Rabbath alternative / adjunct to the horrid Simandl method. Frankly, it saved me from quitting at an early stage. The problem I had with transferring from bass guitar was that my mental image of the board was built around a one finger per fret approach. Simandl totally interferes with that by that confining you to span of a tone. Rabbath allows you to 'see' the board as one-finger-per-fret, even though you don't actually use your fingers that way. The idea is you use your thumb as a pivot and cover an extra note by swivelling. Instead of having umpteen positions, you have only three (or four in my case, i modified a bit). Thiose positions are essentially thumb anchors around which you do your pivoting. Works wonderfully, speeds the transition from BG and makes correct intonation vastly easier because you're not moving your arm so much as you do with Simandl. Unfortunately, the available teaching materials are rubbish imo, but this is a good place to start if you're interested. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54pMdTCmo8g"]https://www.youtube....h?v=54pMdTCmo8g[/url]

These lovely basses are making me even more attached to my poor, battered old czech workhorse. Like you love a scruffy old mongrel, 'cos it's scruffy and old. A pleasure to see these though. Works of art, really.

Hey, Santa came early. Brilliant. You'll have a blast!

I do think everything depends on the band line-up and sound. The piezzo seems most valuable where the band sound has a lot of space in it for the woody character to come through. In a loud, busy sound the piezzo effect is lost anyhow imo.

Ye lucky devil!

[quote name='alexpea' timestamp='1412616915' post='2570449'] I'm currently using my old Ashdown Evo 500 watt head (not ideal of DB I know) through a Bergantino EX112 350 watts 8 ohm cabinet. The setup works for me and I can usually get enough volume even playing with a drummer. I'd like to find a smaller/lighter amp tho so considering changing the Ashdown for a Mark Bass Little Mark 800. Can anyone tell me if this would work with the Bergantino? My worry is that the Mark Bass produces 500 watts at 8 ohms and therefore might damage my Bergantino cab. Is that even possible? P.s. I'm not too worried about getting a perfect transparent tone for my double bass. I tend to DI from my preamp to front of house and then use my amp just as a monitor [/quote] I'm no engineer, but I can't imagine you could blow up the speaker if you don't crank it up too much. You'd hear it complain, I imagine.

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1412496374' post='2569247'] I have a Doubler through a Mesa walkabout cab. Although it sounds good with the ebass I am disappointed with the DB sound. I am only dep bassing at moment....the bassist in the band has a Peavey 1x15 combo and I just like 15 inch speakers. I am not a Peavey fan but are there any 1x15 cabs that anyone would recommend that would suit both ebass and DB. I don t think EA do a 15 do they? [/quote] I use a Barefaced Midget 1X12 with the Doubler and it sounds great. Someone on here (sorry, I forget who) uses a Barefaced Compact 1X15, I think, and liked it. Some people aren't too happy with the EA Doubler for bass guitar, accusing it of having too little oomph. IMO that's because it's so clean, not because it's quiet. Try the guitar through a touch of valve pedal to dirty it a little and you'll hear a huge apparent improvement. For pub gigs I found the Doubler + Midget plenty loud.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1412337178' post='2567936'] Yes!!!! [/quote] Saw Taste too. A properly bad influence on a spotty schoolboy.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1412332807' post='2567879'] I don't like special edition box sets as a rule. But I really want that one now. [/quote] +1000 Will I make you sick if I tell you I was at the Dublin gig? What a hero, although don't let anyone tell you hewas from Cork. They stole him from Donegal.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1412005743' post='2564762'] Cheers - my GAS has now been reignited.... [/quote] Gaah! Same here

Wow, that's smart! How can things get better than 'plays good, looks good?'