Hi everyone! I'm looking at a Shen 150 7/8 size and a Shen willow 200 7/8 size. I mainly play Bluegrass and wanting a nice loud punchy tone. I have a backup Shen laminate as well. Just wanting a low tension strings while having loud unamplified volume. So should I lean toward the hybrid, or fully carved willow bass?
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Double Bass Carved or hybrid bass for bluegrass
- Thread starter Logan Duys
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- carved bass
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
PIck the bass whose sound you like best.
Contrary to myth, bluegrass does not benefit from a bass with a muddy indistinct thumpy sound; a clear solid tone is an asset in every forum of music.
In my case I ended up with a fully carved bass that I use for everything - jazz, folk, bluegrass, even a bit of classical.
Pick the bass whose sound you like best.
Contrary to myth, bluegrass does not benefit from a bass with a muddy indistinct thumpy sound; a clear solid tone is an asset in every forum of music.
In my case I ended up with a fully carved bass that I use for everything - jazz, folk, bluegrass, even a bit of classical.
Pick the bass whose sound you like best.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Completely agree but in my experience , a ply or hybrid will generally have a clearer attack than a carved bass when played pizz. There are also the issues of cost, playing conditions and future maintenance.
Why do you want a hybrid or carved? What do you want that your ply does not do for you? And why the 7/8? Why does your ply not give you a loud, punchy tone with loud unamplified volume? I bet your ply is capable of sounding pretty great as well with the right setup. (If you want to play arco for practice or performance, that may be a different matter. But you don't mention any of that.)
I'll repeat what I've said many a time here - like you, I play(ed) mostly bluegrass and oldtime. I wanted to replace my ply 3/4 with what I thought would be a BG cannon - a 7/8 hybrid. And I figured once I got the hybrid, I'd get rid of the ply because who needs 2 basses, right?
While waiting for the hybrid, I put guts on my ply, and I LOVE everything about it for pizz. I regularly get compliments on the tone and comments on the volume (playing outside, people tell me how far away they could hear it.)
So I kept the ply and when I got my hybrid, I set it up for arco and use it almost exclusively for classical, and most of the time in my home. Some day I probably should swap the strings, just to hear how th ehybrid sounds under guts. But for the past couple of years I've been digging having 2 basses set up quite differently.
Other considerations (which we've discussed many a time), the hybrid or carved will be a tad heavier than your ply, and the 7/8 will be a bit larger to haul around. There also is the debate as to whether you would worry about dinging up your pretty new bass, or just accept the marks of wear as part of the territory.
Personally, given your situation, I don't think fully carved will give you anything over the hybrid. And I'm sure the 7/8 hybrid w/ guts would sound amazing. FYI:
Travis Book with the Fabulous Stringdusters plays an Upton 7/8 hybrid with removable neck.
turf3 has it exactly right - get the bass that sounds and feels the best to you, and that is going to make you want to play it more and more!
. My personal opinion, I've NEVER seen a Shen Willow that I didn't think was GORGEOUS. But I've never played/heard one.
I'll repeat what I've said many a time here - like you, I play(ed) mostly bluegrass and oldtime. I wanted to replace my ply 3/4 with what I thought would be a BG cannon - a 7/8 hybrid. And I figured once I got the hybrid, I'd get rid of the ply because who needs 2 basses, right?
While waiting for the hybrid, I put guts on my ply, and I LOVE everything about it for pizz. I regularly get compliments on the tone and comments on the volume (playing outside, people tell me how far away they could hear it.)
So I kept the ply and when I got my hybrid, I set it up for arco and use it almost exclusively for classical, and most of the time in my home. Some day I probably should swap the strings, just to hear how th ehybrid sounds under guts. But for the past couple of years I've been digging having 2 basses set up quite differently.
Other considerations (which we've discussed many a time), the hybrid or carved will be a tad heavier than your ply, and the 7/8 will be a bit larger to haul around. There also is the debate as to whether you would worry about dinging up your pretty new bass, or just accept the marks of wear as part of the territory.
Personally, given your situation, I don't think fully carved will give you anything over the hybrid. And I'm sure the 7/8 hybrid w/ guts would sound amazing. FYI:
Travis Book with the Fabulous Stringdusters plays an Upton 7/8 hybrid with removable neck.
turf3 has it exactly right - get the bass that sounds and feels the best to you, and that is going to make you want to play it more and more!
. My personal opinion, I've NEVER seen a Shen Willow that I didn't think was GORGEOUS. But I've never played/heard one.
I own a Shen 190 hybrid, great basses. As others have said, its probably more about the setup and strings than anything when it comes to volume. The 190 has a great sound but with Perpetual strings, its not a loud cannon.
I play a carved 7/8-ish bass mostly all acoustic and mostly outdoors during the summer. I`ve had it set up with guts and high action, Evah weichs and higher medium action, but have now settled to Spiro reds and medium action with G at 6-ish mm`s. I play in a three piece americana / folk band with reso gtr, violin / alto or bari sax + voices. All different setups have been at least loud enough for what we do from the audience standpoint, but the latest with Spiro reds has the clarity I and my wife on violin needs to hear ourselves and each other, be that arco or pizz, in any kind of circumstances. I`d go with the carved Shen and Spirocores of chosen gauge, and yes the 7/8 size.
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San Marzano or Roma for sauce?
Idaho or Russet for fries?
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Ive got an upton plywood and a Karl Meisel shop plywood. Both crush for bluegrass.
I used to play a Shen SB200 fully carved and was always too worried about it. Ever-changing temperatures at summer festivals.
I will say both of my current basses are setup perfectly for bluegrass and I love the neck on both basses. I agree with above - play a bass that is comfortable to play. Just got done playing a 2-hour set of 120 bpm fiddle tunes during a square dance at a wedding gig. you better be comfortable with your bass to take that on.
I used to play a Shen SB200 fully carved and was always too worried about it. Ever-changing temperatures at summer festivals.
I will say both of my current basses are setup perfectly for bluegrass and I love the neck on both basses. I agree with above - play a bass that is comfortable to play. Just got done playing a 2-hour set of 120 bpm fiddle tunes during a square dance at a wedding gig. you better be comfortable with your bass to take that on.
If I lived in your town, I’m sure I’d have more than one