Electric bass players -- if you started on electric bass, did you ever try to play the upright bass? If so, how did it go?
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Did you ever attempt to play Upright Bass -- how did it go?
- Thread starter PauFerro
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I've tried a couple of times in a store but just couldn't get a feel for it.
I started upright in 1998, after playing electric for a long time. I rented one at first and basically did not try too hard. Then I got an opportunity to play upright in a bluegrass band. I hit the woodshed hard and two months later did my first live gig with the upright.
I found it hard to switch back and forth at first so I made the decision to put the electric in the closet for about 6 months playing upright exclusively during that time. Now I play both.
I found it hard to switch back and forth at first so I made the decision to put the electric in the closet for about 6 months playing upright exclusively during that time. Now I play both.
Four years of string/chamber orchestra in high school. I really enjoyed those classes. There were times while discovering the greatness of Vivaldi, Hohvaness and Haydn that just really captured my attention. That class was constantly evolving and I miss the experience.
Zero experience performing/gigging outside of that. I'm closing in on ten years post-grad and I probably couldn't gig a double bass if my life depended on it.
Zero experience performing/gigging outside of that. I'm closing in on ten years post-grad and I probably couldn't gig a double bass if my life depended on it.
A friend lent me his upright a year-and-a-half ago. Upright is obviously a very different animal from electric but I got hooked. I bought my own upright a year ago and have been studying with a teacher ever since. It's one of the best things I've done for my bass playing as a whole. As for the poll, I would gig with it regularly but the opportunities are just not there for me at the moment. I have done a handful of cocktail gigs on upright and look forward to doing more.
I picked it up around 2008. I took a few lessons to get my posture and technique right. Played regularly until last year, when age and arthritis started getting in the way. My hands couldn't take a three hour gig anymore. I sold it a few months ago, and still have regrets. I miss the visceral response of the upright. So now I use either my Tacoma Thunderchief or my Guild B-50 ABGs for those projects. Fortunately, the other band members don't seem to mind.
I am just beginning my journey now! Purchased a ply upright (Shen SB88) and am practicing at home currently. I rented one a couple years back and took a few lessons at that time to ensure posture and position were in the ballpark, so feel pretty good about that. As others have said, it's an entirely different beast but I'm really loving it. I play in several different bands/gigs, including both a roots/country and an acoustic trio, so there is ample opportunity to gig with it once I'm ready.
That is what I'm finding. There have been times when I've had too much gear to bring to a gig and couldn't fit my upright into my car as a result. So I took my fretless bass, and no one cared. I am finding the importance of certain aspects of upright bass are really something that matters more to bass players than to the musicians they play with, even the pros I have been playing with lately.
How much people care really depends. A lot of serious jazz players will want to hear upright, and I can understand why. However, I'm convinced that for most people it's more about image than anything else. For quiet cocktail sets, where the bass is barely audible to anyone not on stage (by "on stage" I mean tucked away in a corner of the room), the sound doesn't really come into it. But a lot of people seem to like the sight of an upright being played. Again, I get it. Image counts for most people, and I don't have a problem with that (up to a point). I will say that, as a bassist, I now much prefer playing jazz sets on an upright as opposed to an electric. But hauling an upright around is a pain. I have a gig tonight and I would gladly play upright for the first set (the mellow set), but bringing the DB would mean a taxi for my passengers and the stress of trying to find a place to put the upright when I'm not playing it. So I'll bring my fretless Rob Allen instead.
Edit: on second thought, to hell with my passengers. I'm taking the upright for that first set.
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I made an attempt, rented a DB, got a teacher. After a couple months, I felt like I was making progress.
Then my day job evolved into something that required travel up to three weeks per month.
At that point, I couldn’t keep up with my practice, and the physicality was just too much to overcome without more dedication.
I just stopped because I wasn’t gaining the strength I needed to play well or safely, but I do miss it.
Then my day job evolved into something that required travel up to three weeks per month.
At that point, I couldn’t keep up with my practice, and the physicality was just too much to overcome without more dedication.
I just stopped because I wasn’t gaining the strength I needed to play well or safely, but I do miss it.
Edit: on second thought, to hell with my passengers. I'm taking the upright for that first set.
Good choice! I also think the visual aspect of the bass is critically important. The upright, along with the saxophone seem to epitomize jazz...so having that image makes you look like a true jazz band. However, I have also heard that the average person often confuses the upright with a cello!!! One pro I have been following indicated in her bio that she spends most of her time convincing people she doesn't play the cello.
I have had one for years that mostly saw occasional use for singer-songwriter type gigs or when the roots band would play a wine bar... did some duo work for a while where the bass fit well. One of my current gigs is playing "Old Time" fiddle based music, so the upright is getting more time. Been having a few back issue (among everything else) and on those days the U-Bass covers admirably.
-robert
-robert
I adore double bass. Desperately want one currently. My buddy had one here at Purdue last year but he took it back to his home over summer and didn't bring it back. I'm heartbroken honestly. Bowing is difficult but I got the hang of it pretty well otherwise. Their bow was also in pretty sad condition and highly probably actually just a violin bow.
I bought an Ampeg Baby Bass anaged to practice with it enough that I gigged with it, close as I got to an upright. Owned it for over 30 years, kinda cool in an Ampeg way.
I’ve played electric bass since ‘92 and upright bass since ‘99. When I decided to major in music in 1999, every teacher told me it would have to be on upright bass. Glad I followed their advice. Took 5-6 years of lessons from 3 different teachers throughout college, and after 18 years of working at it I’m seeing some improvements.
Edit: playing upright has opened many musical doors and gotten me many jobs I wouldn’t have gotten as a strictly electric player.
Edit: playing upright has opened many musical doors and gotten me many jobs I wouldn’t have gotten as a strictly electric player.
My senior year in high school (this would have been 1977) the school orchestra director discovered that I played electric bass, and so wrangled me into joining the orchestra since they only had one bassist at the time and he was kind of a flake.
He also happened to be a really good bassist -- made the All-State squad for 3 years in a row -- so it was pretty intimidating for me. But the school had a bunch of upright basses available, so I dove right in. Day One, they stick a bow in my hand and plop the part to one of Bach's Brandenberg Concertos on the the stand in front of me...talk about panic!
Eventually I got pretty comfortable on the instrument, enough so that by the summer of '78 I joined the pit orchestra for a theater production of the musical "Of Thee I Sing" and was feeling pretty darn solid on the upright.
It then occurred to me that as soon as I moved away from home to go to college I would lose access to the high school's instruments. At that time I figured "eh, who cares?" So that was it. I played upright for exactly one year, liked it, but didn't like it enough to pursue it
...because when you're 17 years old you are an idiot. In hindsight, oh how I wish I had stuck with it!
In my early 30s when I was playing a lot of jazz and chamber music I briefly entertained the idea of picking up a cheap [sic] upright and resuming, but at that time A) I lived in a basement apartment with an entry door that was less than 6' tall, and B) my car was a Honda Civic. Neither seemed ideal for lugging a doghouse around. So I didn't pursue it.
Some day...
He also happened to be a really good bassist -- made the All-State squad for 3 years in a row -- so it was pretty intimidating for me. But the school had a bunch of upright basses available, so I dove right in. Day One, they stick a bow in my hand and plop the part to one of Bach's Brandenberg Concertos on the the stand in front of me...talk about panic!
Eventually I got pretty comfortable on the instrument, enough so that by the summer of '78 I joined the pit orchestra for a theater production of the musical "Of Thee I Sing" and was feeling pretty darn solid on the upright.
It then occurred to me that as soon as I moved away from home to go to college I would lose access to the high school's instruments. At that time I figured "eh, who cares?" So that was it. I played upright for exactly one year, liked it, but didn't like it enough to pursue it
...because when you're 17 years old you are an idiot. In hindsight, oh how I wish I had stuck with it!
In my early 30s when I was playing a lot of jazz and chamber music I briefly entertained the idea of picking up a cheap [sic] upright and resuming, but at that time A) I lived in a basement apartment with an entry door that was less than 6' tall, and B) my car was a Honda Civic. Neither seemed ideal for lugging a doghouse around. So I didn't pursue it.
Some day...
The high school I went to school had two DBs in the music room. The jazz ensemble teacher let us use them regularly. At the time I wanted to be the next Larry Carlton, so the guitar was what I played. I did start playing electric bass around that time, too, so the DB wasn't exactly an unknown entity. I never got good enough at it with the limited time invested to warrant owning one (as if the cost and physical space needed weren't reasons enough). The most important lessons from it were how frets limit the bass. The fretless seemed normal and less frightening because of that early experience. I've toyed with the idea of getting one lately.
My total playing experience is probably less than 20 minutes, from a few times after jam sessions when people have let me play around on their uprights. It seems like it would be really fun! But the combination of the price, space, and time requirements have kept me from it so far. Maybe when I retire....
How so? I'm curious.
How so? I'm curious.
I tried upright last spring. I loved it. It is the coolest instrument around and people who heard it loved it. I played it in church for a bluegrass/gospel style service and everyone went wild over it. Unfortunately, I had to give it up due to chronic tendonitis plus some arthritis in my fingers. Fortunately I can still play electric bass and acoustic bass guitar as long as I don't play too aggressively. I do miss the upright and would love to try again someday.
I started gigging on electric bass in '73. In the early '80s I played a borrowed upright for a bit in a country project. It wasn't set up right, and it tore me up. Winding forward to '01, and I picked up my first Englehardt to play shows and jazz. Now I play more upright than not.