Bass Guitar for an upright player

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: PoppaGator
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 06:43 PM

Greg mentioned "those electric uprights that look like a stick with an end pin." You don't see them too often, which means that the second-hand/discount-price market is probably pretty thin, but anyone who intends to continue playing the acoustic bull fiddle as his primary instrument might find that particular type of electric to be a good choice ~ you don't have to learn a whole new posture, attack, technique, etc. They're not really any bigger than guitar-style basses, and look pretty lightweight, so one of them might meet your needs.

Of course, there are many bass players who double on the acoustic upright and the electric bass guitar. Not all of them opt for the fretless models. If I were you, considering that you're interested in this new instrument as a strictly secondary option, I'd be shopping for a used instrument of the most commonly-available type, that is, a fretted Fender (or similar) electric bass.

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: jimmyt
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 06:14 PM

great stuff here!1 I appreciate all the input. I do not want to replace the upright! I feel very strongly about what an absolutely fabulous instrument it is! Whenever I go hear jazz, I am always disappointed when there is an electric bass instead of the upright.

I just want something to be able to take on an airplane to be able to play when I am out of town and somehow the upright is a bit to dificult to deal with in that situation.   My upright gets hauled around a lot to gigs and rehearsals and I think I have put it in some of the smallest cars you can imagine! I am probably going to get a new upright as a backup as I live in fear of having a neck pull away and not being able to get it fixed in time for a gig. Being LEFT HANDED complicates things a bit. I know I made a mistake by ever learning this way, I never get to try a bass or anything as I have made things difficult by having the bass strung backwards! Anyway thanks you all. any additional input would be appreciated   jimmyt

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 10:22 AM

http://www.everything-guitar.com/25/Guitars-upright-electric-bass.html


Epiphone EB-1 viola bass, fretless with a telescoping stand for upright use.

Check out the Epiphone EB-1 Fretless. It's styled like the Hofner "Beatle Bass" that Mc Cartney used to play, but it's fretless and comes with a telescoping stand, so it can be played upright. The best part is the price - It's less than $400

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: GLoux
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 09:34 AM

Actually, I'd be interested in hearing jimmyt's thoughts about what he finds when he goes out and tries different basses. I've often wondered about those electric uprights that look like a stick with an end pin. I've got an upright bass playing friend who sometimes plays a Fender Precision (P) bass with frets. My son swears by his Rickenbacker bass, and refuses to consider an upright...go figure...

-Greg

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: Mooh
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 06:51 AM

I gave up dragging the upright around years ago because of its size and amplification issues, so maybe I understand your issues. Go fretless. Godin makes a nice one if you can stand the piezo pickup quack. I test drove one last week for the local retailer and it played as well as the one I played for years, though the pickup wasn't as natural sounding as mine was for whatever reason. I prefer magnetic pickups on electric bass anyway.

The Godin fretted basses are very nice too. OLP, the Ernie Ball cheap brand, makes a nice basic 4 and 5 string bass. Mid level and higher Fenders will service you well. Many of my students have chosen Yamaha because they're readily available locally, but they don't impress me much, sound wise.

Shop second hand too, there are lots of fretted ones around, fewer fretless.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 06:34 AM

Jimmy - Assuming that you do buy an electric bass, you'll need to decide whether you want a fretted or unfretted instrument. If you want to go fretless, buying a beater or a Mexican-made Fender is probably not an option. There just aren't many cheap fretless basses out there. Most folks that are good enough to play fretless are willing to pay for a quality instrument.

Of course, you could buy an inexpensive fretted bass and have a new fretless fingerboard installed, but that modification would probably cost as much as the guitar. Or, you could go the cheapy route and just snatch the frets off (You should be able to do that yourself. It's a lot like pulling teeth.) and fill the slots with epoxy mixed with sawdust of whatever kind of wood the fretboard is made of. My friend Tim has a 30+ year-old Jazz Bass that he did the cut-rate conversion on and it works just fine. It sorta screws up the resale value, but he's never gonna sell the thing anyway.

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 04:36 AM

As one of our fellows often says - an upright is about the same size as the average mother in law, and only a little more trouble.

You just have to deal with it, to get what you love best.

John

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: mandotim
Date: 09 Mar 05 - 03:15 AM

I play with a really good upright bass player who also plays bass guitar. He has an electric upright by Ned Steinberger, and it is a really fabulous bit of kit. Link; http://www.nedsteinberger.com/

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: Mudlark
Date: 08 Mar 05 - 10:06 PM

I agree with Gypsy...please don't switch! Upright always, always better, classier, more sensitive, blends better, stands out better on solos...much richer sound. One of my favorite instruments, in any genre.

Subject: RE: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: Gypsy
Date: 08 Mar 05 - 09:59 PM

OOOOOOOOOOOoohhhhhhhhhhh, i think an upright is ALWAYS practical! lovely sound!

Subject: Bass Guitar for an upright player
From: jimmyt
Date: 08 Mar 05 - 09:44 PM

I am an upright player but am thinking I might want to get a decent bass guitar to see if I can learn to play it for those times that the upright is not practical. Anyone have any suggestions on what I should look for? should I get a "beater" bass or are there brands that will be better for my desire to stay as pure "bass" as possible?