Double Bass Crossing Over...

Eighthnoterock

Eighthnoterock

May 25, 2018
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Lynden Washington
#1
Good morning all. I'm typing from beautiful smoke filled NW Washington!

This is my first post at the double bass side of TB. This part of my bass playing journey is just beginning. A bit of background and a few questions...

As I've gotten older I pulled my playing back to home and church. I'm basically a self taught 62 year old rock guy. Been playing and or around music since I was 10. I've got some theory. Need more. That's coming.
As my screen name suggests, I do love to dig in and drive...

For the last year or so I had periodically been playing with a wonderful drummer and violinist at church. In March they approached me saying that they had a Bluegrass band and wondered if I would be interested? The drummer plays guitar and sings as well.

When my wife heard, she threw her head back and laughed. "You? Bluegrass?" Another laugh...

I said sure. Why not. Bought a Warwick AB and sat down to learn 30 songs for a 3 hour set in two weeks... Did the show and fell in love. Have played several shows on the AB.

Now, during this time I was being gently encouraged to get a DB. "Just sell one of your electrics." This I did. Our strings player has (had) a DB. He let me barrow it and he is getting reacquainted with electric with my Music Man... It's now mine. Don't know much about it. Looked solid. Felt ok for a non DB guy. Plywood made in Germany. No label inside. I will be taking it into a gal here in Bellingham that I understand is amazing with double bass'.

I've played two shows now with it. Let me rephrase that. I wrestled through two shows with it. And I am even more in love.

I will be taking lessons. I have some fairly bad habits on electric that I have, do, can overcome. But I really want to do this better...

Now, a few questions.

What strings do people prefer? Not what is best. What do you prefer?

Pickup brand, type, placement?

I really appreciate you alls time. Have a great weekend.

Dave
 
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#2
You’ll get a lot of different answers to this, but here’s mine:

Strings: Thomastic Spirocore Mittels (medium gauge) S42 set. Nice clear tone, last forever.

Pick-ups: Fishman Full Circle ($250) - takes the place of the bass side bridge adjuster (so you have to have an adjustable bridge). Others on this forum really like the Yamahiko, which I haven’t tried but may be better. For a low-priced alternative there’s the Vic’s Model B ($45). Fits under the bridge wing, sounds decent, and usually requires no modification to the existing bridge.

Have fun!
 
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#3
statsc said:
You’ll get a lot of different answers to this, but here’s mine:

Strings: Thomastic Spirocore Mittels (medium gauge) S42 set. Nice clear tone, last forever.

Pick-ups: Fishman Full Circle ($250) - takes the place of the bass side bridge adjuster (so you have to have an adjustable bridge). Others on this forum really like the Yamahiko, which I haven’t tried but may be better. For a low-priced alternative there’s the Vic’s Model B ($45). Fits under the bridge wing, sounds decent, and usually requires no modification to the existing bridge.

Have fun!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Been a blast already.
 
#4
The last strings thread we had, Spiros came out as a commanding leader. I vote, instead, for guts. The 2 are quite different. Might be cheapest to buy a used set of spiros. If you fall inlove, you're set. If unconvinced, you could spring for guts - or try Dirty Guts (very inexpensive).

Enjoy. And your conversion ain't unique. I remember back in college saying I liked every kind of music - except opera or country. Now, I can't get me enough of the twang! (Still can't appreciate opera, tho!)
 
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#5
Ed S said:
The last strings thread we had, Spiros came out as a commanding leader. I vote, instead, for guts. The 2 are quite different. Might be cheapest to buy a used set of spiros. If you fall inlove, you're set. If unconvinced, you could spring for guts - or try Dirty Guts (very inexpensive).

Enjoy. And your conversion ain't unique. I remember back in college saying I liked every kind of music - except opera or country. Now, I can't get me enough of the twang! (Still can't appreciate opera, tho!)
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Thanks! My mom was classically trained in voice. I grew up with everything as far as music was concerned.
So I do have an appreciation across the board. I threw a set of Supernils on it. It needed something. Old ones were not just dead but gross.. I like the E and A. Right now the lower tension is nice.
 
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#6
I’m playing Aquila Sugar Slaps on my Kay (very slap-friendly, easy pizz-playing strings) with a Vic’s Model C; and Pirastro Flexocore Deluxe strings (good arco decent pizz string — too high of tension for slap) on my carved bass with a Vic’s Model B pickup. I’m using both through a K&K Rockabilly Preamp into an Acoustic Image Clarus Amp and DoubleShot Cabinet right now; but I’m intrigued by the Red Eye Preamps. There are so many options out there. You should definitely take some time to read through all the DB newbie threads on the forums on here and do a deep dive into any topic you’d like regarding upright bass on Talkbass as there is a treasure trove of great info from experienced players all over this database/website. You’re getting a teacher too, so that’s ideal as you can really hurt yourself on DB with just the toolset of an electric bassist. I corrected 25 years of bad self taught DB right and left hand technique in two freebie/friendly lessons with a teacher.

Welcome to the Dark Side!
 
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#8
Keith Rawlings said:
I’m playing Aquila Sugar Slaps on my Kay (very slap-friendly, easy pizz-playing strings) with a Vic’s Model C; and Pirastro Flexocore Deluxe strings (good arco decent pizz string — too high of tension for slap) on my carved bass with a Vic’s Model B pickup. I’m using both through a K&K Rockabilly Preamp into an Acoustic Image Clarus Amp and DoubleShot Cabinet right now; but I’m intrigued by the Red Eye Preamps. There are so many options out there. You should definitely take some time to read through all the DB newbie threads on the forums on here and do a deep dive into any topic you’d like regarding upright bass on Talkbass as there is a treasure trove of great info from experienced players all over this database/website. You’re getting a teacher too, so that’s ideal as you can really hurt yourself on DB with just the toolset of an electric bassist. I corrected 25 years of bad self taught DB right and left hand technique in two freebie/friendly lessons with a teacher.

Welcome to the Dark Side!
Click to expand...
Yes, with just a bit of digging and some lesson samples, I picked up a couple of things that have been very helpful.

Aside from an $80 pickup and some strings I won't be doing anything for/to the bass until the luthier I am going to does an evaluation and I have a plan.

As well as do just what you said and beat the forums. Have a great weekend.
Dave
 
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#9
Welcome!

I like the Superior Bassworks Deluxe Dirty Guts (around $60). I see Supernils on basses often around here, and they sound good.

I don't have a pickup but inspired by old TB threads I've been experimenting with an old Radio Shack tie clip condenser microphone (model 33-3013) in the F-holes. I've also done the SM57 in the tailpiece before.
 
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#10
Welcome to the DB side of Talkbass! I play in two local bluegrass bands near you (but on the north side of the border). I also use one of the same luthiers as @TroyK here on TB and he’s someone who you should try to get to know since he has done A LOT string experimentation and will be familiar with the luthiers in your hood.

I have 3885 (3/4 size) Spirocore Weichs on a fully carved German shop bass with a Realist Lifeline that works great for live bluegrass through a PA and for gigs with an acoustic rock cover band.

I also have a 1949 Kay with Pirastro Pepetuals E and A and Red-o-Ray guts that I use for outdoor stuff like farmers markets (all seasons), festival jamming etc.

The Spiros made a huge difference when they replaced they D’addario Preludes (a student string) on my first bass (an Eastman hybrid—solid top/ply back and sides). They were lower tension and got way more tone and volume out of that bass. I kept the same set when I got the German bass and started adding bowing to my practice routine.

I have played the Perpetuals as a set on the Eastman and Kay basses and they sounded great too. A little bit “woodier,” especially on the G string, than Spiros. I played them with Dirty Gut D and G and with Artone gut D and G on the Eastman as well. It was a success—Perpetuals worked with of them and I have settled on Perpetuals E-A w/the Red-o-Rays D-G on the Kay.

Gut D’s can sound a bit weaker when bowed alongside metal E and A strings but that is a small part of what I do with that bass so it’s no big deal for me.

One caveat with the Perpetuals is they don’t appear to last as long as Spiros (and if you haven’t noticed…upright strings are expensive!).

I agree with @Ed S that a set of used Spiros (I’d make sure they are 3885 Weich) would be a good baseline set and if you’d like to put a toe in the gut waters, then SBW Dirty Gut Deluxe’s will give you a pretty good idea if you want more of that sound and feel. I have kept mine as backups for my gut strings in case of breakage.

For pickups, the Realist Lifeline has been great but @james condino, @Keith Rawlings and others have given good reviews of Vic’s pickups (they are more than fairly priced too) so I will probably try one myself when it’s time to get a pickup for my Kay.

Good luck with your new quest—double bass and bluegrass can be really fun!
 
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#15
Eighthnoterock said:
Not at all!!! So appreciate the info. Having played electric so long I am as much as I can, starting at square one. With everything. The more info the better! Thanks, Dave
Click to expand...
Some good advice in these replies. Until recently, I played in a pretty high-energy NewGrass band. Most of the time I used an Eminence Electric Upright Bass, as I could control the feedback problems better on a big stage than I could with my 3/4 size upright. The scale, strings, and pickup were the same so it was easy to switch between the two.

I will say that for playing long, high-intensity sets I really preferred the feel of lower-tension strings.

As far as strings go, what I learned is that with proper technique, you can make just about anything work. Most of the time I used either Spiro Weichs or Perpetuals - later on with the Eminence I used Perpetual Solos, since strings on that bass tended to be higher tension, because of the short tail length.

Most recently, I switched to a set of Evan Pirazzi Golds, which are essentlally strings designed to be similar to guts in tension and sound, but with a synthetic core and metal wraps. Low tension which is nice. They'd be perfect for bluegrass as they are a pretty low sustain, thumpy string. Unfortunately, they're not as well suited for what I'm playing now music-wise so I'm going to change them out again (as soon as I can figure out what to use).

Since you're headed to the luthier for a check-over and setup, I think its probably best to wait and see what they have to say. You can go down the string rabbit-hole pretty deep, so my advice is to take it slow, as long as what you have now is ok for the time being.
 
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#17
At 62yoa, you may be concerned about your hands. At 68 I definitely am concerned, so one of the requirements I have is low tension and comfortable playing.

While low tension is available in Spriocores and other steel core/steel wrap strings, thin strings may not meet the the comfortable part of this requirement. Also, while Spiros are great for volume, they may sound a little too metallic for some bluegrass people, and additionally, they are very thin compared to gut or synthetic strings.

Anyway, you may want to look at fatter and fatter sounding low tension synthetic strings or gut strings. It's important to note that if your double bass is currently using thin steel strings, fatter strings would very likely require some setup changes.

There are literally hundreds of string choices for double bass... Do you want a real education??? The very best thing I can do is point you to sellers who carry and specialize in these strings, and the one I'm most familiar with is Gollihur Music (NFI). Just navigate to their double bass string section, sit down with your favorite snack or beverage, and read through their very educational descriptions of these strings.

(BTW, Gollihur's also has a great section of pickups, and just about everything else double bass.)

Best of luck with this!
 
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#18
As you already see, TB is a breeding ground for irrelevant subjective opinions. You really need to do your own research -- both info-gathering and hands-on -- based on what you want to sound like. Asking a bunch of fellow "seekers" like us will get you nowhere. Find out what the BG pros use and try to figure out why. And just be aware that when it's all said and done, it will always come down to your bass/pickup/setup/string/amp combination, no one else's.
 
#20
BobDeRosa said:
As you already see, TB is a breeding ground for irrelevant subjective opinions. You really need to do your own research -- both info-gathering and hands-on -- based on what you want to sound like. Asking a bunch of fellow "seekers" like us will get you nowhere. Find out what the BG pros use and try to figure out why. And just be aware that when it's all said and done, it will always come down to your bass/pickup/setup/string/amp combination, no one else's.
Click to expand...
As with the others. I appreciate your input/opinion.
 
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