Greydad

In my 8 weeks so far of playing double bass my right index (plucking finger) has become noticeably larger than my left index finger Is this normal for a double bass player? Or is something going horribly wrong? Callouses I expected: physical enlargement of my limbs and extremities as a consequence of the move from electric bass has never been mentioned here. What else can I expect? Will my right arm lengthen until my knuckle scrape along the ground? Do I have to switch to playing lefty for a while to even things up? Neil

Agreed they are nice and grippy, although I've had to lose one to realise you need to take it off every time you move the bass, which seems to defeat the purpose. I'd rather have something a tad more permanent to be honest.

I have a Stentor Elysia and plan to have it set up soon - I was expecting to pay £200 +/-£50 for a decent set up so your figures don't look surprising. I know the bridge position and string height needs sorting out and the fingerboard may need planing a touch to get it nice although it's playable at the moment. Biggest improvement to the sound will be changing the strings on a Stentor, as new they come with the cheapest steels. Put some decent strings on and it makes a world of difference - do that and play it a bit, recover from the financial shock of the strings and then get the set up done. Sorry can't help you with luthiers in the west midlands, although you could try Paul Bryant he's near Kidderminster. Cheers Neil

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='825162' date='May 1 2010, 09:20 PM']Also available [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/wolf_super_endpin.htm"]here[/url] I've got one, it falls off occasionally, might be worth ordering 2 or 3 in case you loose one in transit![/quote] Yep, that's the one I had (note past tense) - fell off after a gig about 3 weeks after I bought, outside unfortunately so never found it... and they're about 18 quid. I liked it but cost of ownership looks high at that rate. Interested in cheap and cheerful alternatives - the doorstop idea is good I'll look into that.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='820850' date='Apr 27 2010, 04:57 PM']... I think I need more gear. [/quote] You probably don't. I've gone the other way - ditched the amp and just playing acoustically as much as I can until I get my sound right and finger strength up. Prefer the sound to be honest - when I did amp I just used a DI into a powered PA speaker and that sounded cleanest to me. Recently discovered Edgar Meyer playing on Skip Hop & Wobble though and now desperately want to learn how to bow... the solo on Squeezy Pig, just amazing

Yes, another thumbs up for Ms Gardot, good singer and her bass player is cool to listen to. They did a very good set on Jules Holland a while ago, been a fan since. Didn't know she was in the UK at the moment.

Bought a Gibson EB4L long scale bass in Montreal in 1977 when I was a teenager (my family had emigrated there) for $160 off a guy who wanted a pair of skis instead. It was a 1973 model which had been in the shop for a while until he bought it in '75 I think. Anyway that was about £70 at the time and he'd hardly played it. Couldn't afford an amp but got one a year or so later, a Canadian make I can't remember the name with valves (tubes), heavy as sin. Thought there was something wrong with it when I turned it up 'cos it went all horrible and distorted (ignorant noob ) but in retrospect it could be overdriven really nicely - could have done with that a decade or two later. Lost the amp at some point ages ago after I returned to the UK but I still have the Gibby. Never play it but can't bear to sell it. Was told it was worth a £grand or so a few years ago, dunno.

Well? Well? Are we there yet? bumpity bump bump went the Zon Porn thread

[quote name='Duarte' post='771153' date='Mar 11 2010, 12:24 AM']The almighty Bongos! [/quote] This one looks strangely familiar to me....

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='772599' date='Mar 12 2010, 11:31 AM']The uptons look great, as do the new standards and wan bernadels but I really want to try before I buy. I know there are loads of great reviews of all these basses but it's too much of a gamble for me.[/quote] Bassace has an Upton Professor, although he's near Oxford I believe so a bit of a trek from Manc-ie. You might want to have a chat with him. I hope to meet up with him one day and take a look at it myself. I'm also keen to see what you find and what you end up with, will watch with interest

[quote name='Steve Amadeo' post='764325' date='Mar 4 2010, 07:09 PM']I suppose the best it could mean is that a potential buyer could save a large shipping bill.[/quote] Shipping a double bass from the US to the UK cost in the order of $900 when I checked recently so yes it's a big saving.

[quote name='TPJ' post='764237' date='Mar 4 2010, 06:01 PM']If you purchased his bass, it's a used item so I wouldn't think there would be any VAT or duty to pay. Could be wrong though.[/quote] Yes it's a used item but one on which no UK VAT or import duty has been paid so it is subject to those taxes at the first point of sale coming into this country. I'm not a tax expert but this is my personal understanding having lived overseas and had to sort this sort of thing out a few times. At least with it being used you could negotiate off the vat and import duty so you pay the US equivalent price. It would affect what he put on his customs declaration forms when he comes into the country too.

[quote name='Steve Amadeo' post='763972' date='Mar 4 2010, 02:23 PM']He's going to look into it from a customs point of view.[/quote] AFIK if he sold in the UK it would be subject to VAT and import duty, about another 20% say. I'm not aware of any other issue.

[quote name='27 frets' post='762055' date='Mar 2 2010, 06:10 PM']Nicely carved 4/4 size bass, nice wood - I can post pics if anyone is interested.[/quote] Yes please, please post pics. I looked at all of these but was unwilling to take a chance on buying one sight unseen. All of this is useful input for possible future purchases when upgrades become a possibility...

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='759545' date='Feb 28 2010, 12:52 AM']I said I might fly over to collect it when it's ready, ...and Joe said he'd see if he could arrange a meeting with Mr Manring! Oooof I dunno if it'll happen, but that'd be a monumental day to remember for me.[/quote] I've never met him but Michael Manring seems like a really pleasant chap (as well as very talented on bass of course). I've emailed him a couple of times and he's always responded promptly and courteously. Would love to catch him as/when he makes it to the UK at some point.

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='758520' date='Feb 26 2010, 07:12 PM']Well the wait is *KILLING ME* but my Zon Hyperbass is due to be completed around 30/5/2010. It was ordered way back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth on 10/9/09 I will post pictures of it during the build process (as I've been promised them) as I get them.... If you're interested that is.... Andy[/quote] OK, Hyperbass, you win! Yes, cool, pics please when you can

[quote name='Grambo' post='759007' date='Feb 27 2010, 12:09 PM']Oh, that's ok - I'm near Yeovil - so we won't be competing! [/quote] If you're gigging or have a myspace page PM me and let's try and meet up - promise I won't heckle I've met up with a few double bassists in the area now, all great people.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='758950' date='Feb 27 2010, 11:01 AM']Awesome. You're brave! I was due to use it for a practice this Sunday with my regular band but they've cancelled. Wouldn't dare gig it yet though, kudos to you. [/quote] No, probably just stupid. Honestly, I reckon you just have to go for it - on the job training and all that. Small local gigs with reasonably sympathetic people and build experience and confidence as you go. It's supposed to be fun after all not just hours of Simandl... probably makes me a busker

[quote name='Grambo' post='758890' date='Feb 27 2010, 09:47 AM']Bl****y Hell Greydad - competition! I hope you are North Somerset! It's bad enough already without having some young upstart nicking all my gigs...... I shall have to put my [i]other[/i] bass up for sale as well.....[/quote] [thread hijack] Mid-somerset, near Burnham Where's youz? This double bass thing is a lark isn't it?! Can't believe how much attention it gets from people in the audience, they just seem to love it no matter how inept you are, people seem to have a lot of affection for the instrument. Had another (surprise) gig last night in Burnham, 3 hours doing old time and bluegrass, never played any of it (or played with the other musicians) before. Now they want me regularly, so that's 4 acoustic projects I'm in in 3 weeks so far [/thread hijack] [quote]I've tried that but I don't know if it's my bass or my strings (hybrids) but it sounds well boomy when I play like that. So yeah I'm playing with my fingertips and tugging quite hard I think judging by the blisters I'm getting on my index finger. At least I can switch to the side of my fingers when it starts to hurt.[/quote] I ripped the end of my index finger tip to bits like that in about a day just after I started playing. The good thing about it is that if you still want to keep playing you have to avoid the mega-blister (which is there to remind you you're not doing it right) so that forces you to lay your index finger alongside the string and that seems to be the way to do it - I slightly hook it from about the first knuckle joint and it seems to sound nice and you can play for a long time like that without wear and tear. Jake can jump in and correct me if that's not quite correct but it feels comfortable to me and the tone is a lot better than scrabbling with your finger tips.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='758574' date='Feb 26 2010, 07:59 PM']OK well I'm still trying to concentrate on good technique habits, and things are coming along gradually so I'm pleased with that. Stamina is improving quickly now that I'm making sure I get an hour each day on the bass. Having a right-hand issue though: I've found I'm anchoring my ring finger on the E string whenever I play any of the higher strings. I've tried to stop doing it but I end up with a bad sound when plucking the A because my finger comes to a stop quite hard against the E and makes a loud thump that interferes with the attack of the note. Is anchoring my ring finger like this a bad thing to do - should I strive to not do it? I think I do it on bass guitar too, I think that's where it's come from and why I'm having trouble not doing it. It's hard not to do it without curling my third and fourth fingers into my palm (which of course makes moving the other two quite difficult).[/quote] Ring finger? I anchor my thumb on the E but play with the index finger only. I noticed I wasn't getting good tone or volume on the A and E and it was down to my thumb being on the E so I've become more conscious of keeping it on the edge of the fingerboard and reaching over more. Once you do it you find it's actually easier than anchoring on the E string, well at least it feels better anyway. I played my first short live gig with the db at a local acoustic club last night and found myself doing this and changed my thumb position part way through, felt much better. A friend took some video of it so I can see all the other mistakes I'm making too: left hand not curled enough so playing with the pads of my fingers not the tips, some missed notes (normal for me), bad intonation a few times (although I could hear that at the time I played it), needs more feel and expression, etc. 3 weeks is clearly not long enough but I enjoyed it immensely, had a lot of comments about it afterwards and two more offers to play with other people - they must all be deaf too

I have Velvet Animas (a bit pricey though about £230 a set) and they feel great to me as they are lower tension than normal steel strings and feel really nice to play. I'm also a beginner and mostly doing pizz and they are great for that. I've had a go bowing with them and I can get a nice open string sound but my technique is rubbish at the moment so can't offer much experience or opinion in that area. I am led to believe they are a sort of compromise between steel and gut and pizz/arco so are a compromise string which is nice to pizz but will still bow adequately. All I can say is compared to the stock factory strings they are fantastic and worth every penny - I would certainly buy another set if I needed to replace them. Not a slap string though I don't think. BTW congrats on the new bass oldslapper, look forward to seeing and hearing it

[quote name='oldslapper' post='754704' date='Feb 23 2010, 09:07 AM']Great stuff! I've no problem keeping things simple....suits my brains' capacity! Noticed your location BTW. Trying to arrange a "bash" south west-ish, so if you can get over we can compare notes...(errr no pun intended there). John[/quote] Let me know. There's a lot of guys in/around Bristol, don't know how far south west you are

[quote name='oldslapper' post='754665' date='Feb 23 2010, 08:13 AM']I'm new to gigging the DB/EUB and find it exhausting, but exhilarating. I thought, as a an e-bass player of some 30 years, that I'd be "match fit" to go out with an upright. But I was wrong. Jazz quartet plays mix of Gypsie/20's/30's type dance stuff, which is 2 to the bar I, V stuff, but I'm knackered after.[/quote] I'm similar, 34 years playing bass guitar and now doing double bass and all those effortless runs and fills suddenly become impossible I never thought I'd be satisfied playing root-fifth stuff to bluegrass type music but it's a real achievement at the moment. I think unless you're doing super-duper jazz it forces you to simplify what you do and I don't think that's a bad thing.

OK, I bought my first double bass just under 3 weeks ago now. First observations from an electric bassist: - It's a big b*gger - my limp-wristed left hand couldn't handle more than 10-15 minutes playing at a time - I blistered up my right index finger in no time - it's a completely involving instrument to play I went to Greg Cordez for a taster lesson before I bought the bass and then a refresher once I'd bought it. He stressed the following: - Posture - get it right and he showed me how to do this - Don't forget to breathe! - Correct left hand position - like gripping a beer can and open those fingers (see Jakes pics) - keep your left arm up and your wrists in as straight a line as possible, no hooking around the neck - Work on getting a nice tone out from the right hand (after a while this becomes a bit of a fixation) No fancy playing, just start with simple chromatic walks at the top of the neck to get used to the spacing and feel of the instrument, check your intonation with a tuner, thank you, off you go Neil. So that's what I've been doing for the last 2 and a half weeks. Started off with short bursts of 10-15 minutes at a time, but every day, a bit in the morning before work, and again when I came home. Aches and pains did come and go - Greg pointed out this would be a signal that something was wrong so when they start pay attention and correct the problem. Gradually it's got easier and playing the thing has become completely absorbing. Slowly building up strength in the left hand, so now I can play for an hour or so and now I find it's my right hand/index finger that gives up first, especially if I'm playing along with my friend unamplified and I'm trying to make myself heard. Bassace suggests using an amp to practice when you're starting and I know understand why, but I'm going to persevere as I am. I can now do some basic songs I know and some walking bass lines and slides and a few other bits and pieces. I'm doing some new basslines for a friend of mine who pays acoustic guitar and writes his own music. It's different on a double bass, much more use of open strings and the physicality of it suggests a different approach to an electric. I'm no genius or super talent, I get tired and slow down and miss notes and my intonation is not always right but at least I can hear my mistakes and have got over the first hurdles and am now feeling comfortable playing, in fact enjoying playing it. OK, obsessed with playing, I haven't touched my electrics since. I couldn't have done that in this space of time without Greg, so I will say the same boring thing everyone else has, go get a teacher as soon as you can. I have an incentive to practice, though, because I have my first short gig on Thursday - 3 weeks after buying it! Hope this helps Neil