ficelles Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Living in a flat it's hard to play arco on the acoustic without the neighbours throwing their shoes at the wall and their dawgs howling along in sympathy so I have taken to using the WAV for bowing practice... anyone actually finding a WAV good for bowing? Bridge radius way too shallow imho... has anyone put a replacement bridge on theirs that's better for arco? ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDH Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I spent a couple of weeks practising bowing on my NXT, which is same design as the WAV, when I was between DBs. The feel is very different but the bow works fine even with the very low action. I found it useful to work on specific issues but was glad to get back to the DB. I used it very gently amplified and I have full DB strings [Obligatos] on the NXT. I have bowed the NXT for just one number at a gig, when we were supporting a choir! I had lots of comments on the rich sound and how well it supported the voices. I will certainly try it again. Hope his helps a bit. Nigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 I did this for quite a bit a couple of years ago. In my experience the bow radius was good for bowing, although I did set the string height quite high - at one point I had the strings as high as they could go. I also used proper double bass strings. I was also well chuffed with the sound from the Wav. The main problem I had with the Wav was getting it steady enough so the neck wouldn't move about when playing. Nothing I tried could really stop this, which made intonation more difficult than it is on a proper double bass. Needless to say, making intonation even more difficult is not something you want, especially when playing arco. That, and the lack of a neck heel, is the reason my Wav is now sadly neglected in its case. Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 [quote name='NDH' post='1170221' date='Mar 20 2011, 11:25 PM']...I have full DB strings [Obligatos] on the NXT.[/quote] Interested in this, are you wrapping the Obligatos round the end of the NXT and anchoring in the backplate? I've considered this (as the WAV also has the alternate full-length anchoring) but am worried about damage to the finish at the wraparound point and stress on those lightweight machine heads... ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 [quote name='endorka' post='1170235' date='Mar 21 2011, 12:02 AM']In my experience the bow radius was good for bowing, although I did set the string height quite high - at one point I had the strings as high as they could go. I also used proper double bass strings. I was also well chuffed with the sound from the Wav. The main problem I had with the Wav was getting it steady enough so the neck wouldn't move about when playing. Nothing I tried could really stop this, which made intonation more difficult than it is on a proper double bass. Needless to say, making intonation even more difficult is not something you want, especially when playing arco.[/quote] I have the bridge at max height but still find it a little low, albeit still using the short scale NS strings at the moment. I have endpin and boomerang strap in addition to the tripod stand - the endpin is great as you can set the WAV nice and steady but still shift around to get the best position for the moment, just like a real upright. The tripod I find very restricting although I use it at home. The boomerang strap is a different thing altogether - I have tried bowing with it (there may even be video evidence on YouTube from Detroit last year with Sarana Verlin) and it kind of works but it's a bit like bowing a bass guitar. Spinal Tap would have done it... ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDH Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 [quote name='ficelles' post='1170241' date='Mar 21 2011, 12:16 AM']Interested in this, are you wrapping the Obligatos round the end of the NXT and anchoring in the backplate? I've considered this (as the WAV also has the alternate full-length anchoring) but am worried about damage to the finish at the wraparound point and stress on those lightweight machine heads... ficelles[/quote] Yes, I wrap the strings around the bottom of the bass [see pic]. I cut the strings so that they fit neatly into the head. This means you couldn't reuse them for a DB, but makes fitting on the NXT alot easier. [attachment=75345:nxtback.jpg][attachment=75346:nxttop.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 [quote name='ficelles' post='1170241' date='Mar 21 2011, 01:16 AM']Interested in this, are you wrapping the Obligatos round the end of the NXT and anchoring in the backplate? I've considered this (as the WAV also has the alternate full-length anchoring) but am worried about damage to the finish at the wraparound point and stress on those lightweight machine heads...[/quote] To reduce the chance of damage to the bottom of the WAV4, get a short length of plastic extrusion as sold for speaker cabinet edging and put that between strings and instrument - eg. [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/small-plastic-corner-4-pack-and-matching-extrusion-33236"]this from Maplin[/url] (it's available cheaper elsewhere). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 [quote name='tauzero' post='1208502' date='Apr 22 2011, 05:45 PM']To reduce the chance of damage to the bottom of the WAV4, get a short length of plastic extrusion as sold for speaker cabinet edging and put that between strings and instrument - eg. [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/small-plastic-corner-4-pack-and-matching-extrusion-33236"]this from Maplin[/url] (it's available cheaper elsewhere).[/quote] DB strings should fit through the string holes at the foot of the bass. I have my CR4M strung with Flexocors and they fit through fine, as did the Belcantos before them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 [quote name='BassBus' post='1208939' date='Apr 23 2011, 09:21 AM']DB strings should fit through the string holes at the foot of the bass. I have my CR4M strung with Flexocors and they fit through fine, as did the Belcantos before them.[/quote] Yes, they fit through those holes, and then they bear against the body on the back as they turn the corner to go up to the back plate. This protects the body rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 I have a cheap set of DB strings to try this out with, think I will go with the plastic protection idea though... Btw I think I am going to let my endpin go if anyone is interested, see for sale section. ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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