what ,exactly, is a mando bass ?

[Mandomonte]

Last time, I had my 'cello in the shop , for some work, a guy saw me playing it,called if it was a mando bass ?

[RichM]

Scarce as hen's teeth anymore, but they do exist:

[Mandomonte]

Where they all shaped like this one ?

[JEStanek]

The Gibsons were. There certainly were others. While I've never seen or played on, reports here are they weren't particularly powerful instruments. They are rare and more for collectors than players.

Jamie

[Mandomonte]

Do you know if they were tuned same as double bass , or in some mando family derivative?

[fiddleboat]

Hilary James plays mandobass -

http://www.mandolin.co.uk/duo.html
http://www.bassgear.co.uk/basslines/...-hilary-james/

[journeybear]

I thought it was a sport fish, rarely seen or landed but not quite yet endangered.

BTW, Katzenjammer use a balalaika bass, of about the same size.

[sunburst]

They were normally tuned like a double bass, and I assume that is one of the reasons they never really caught on. They didn't sound as good as a "normal" bass, there were plenty of basses around, why bother to get a mando-bass?

Interestingly, we will sometimes hear a cello referred to as a bass and a bass referred to as a double bass. If that terminology is transferred to the mando-family, then we could call a mandocello a mandobass. They are often used to play bass notes and bass lines.
I have seen and played maybe two of the Gibson mandobasses, and I agree with whoever reported to Jamie that, at least the examples I've seen, weren't very powerful. They were susceptible to damage, as are solid wood basses in general, so they weren't very practical to travel with. Interesting pieces of history and fascination to observe, but not great as a useable instrument.

[Mickey King]

Banjobass! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[NotMelloCello]

Banjobass! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Wrong again!

[multidon]

I saw the Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra perform earlier this month and they had one. Two regular double basses and one mandol-bass.

[ombudsman]

I have a berde, which is basically an eastern European mandobass. It was originally made for three strings but was converted to four at some point. The fingerboard is flat and it was intended to be tuned to an open chord and played with a big leather triangular pick, often all the strings at once, as part of a tamburitza orchestra.

I've played Gibson and Regal mandobasses which are about the same volume.

They aren't good for much acoustically. But I'm not sure how much that matters anymore, for an acoustic bass instrument ? They sound good on recordings (where you don't need volume) and there aren't that many gigs where an unamplified upright bass would cut it, either.

They're big and expensive, but if that doesn't stop you in our culture of conspicuous consumption and conversation pieces, it seems to me that they are a fun thing to have around for a songwriter and home recording artist who doesn't want to go to the trouble to develop good intonation on an upright bass.

I played upright bass first and use those more often, but the frets of the berde as well as the considerably longer scale length give it a different sound. I have used it for some recordings.

[JeffD]

While a mando-bass on its own is not real impressive, the few times I have heard one in a mandolin ensemble they sure added to the magic.

[Beanzy]

They were designed to be played with a plectrum, but normally tanned leather were used so not sure if that's any different to a bassist finger or not. Modern plastics may yield more interesting results though. Do any of our bass owners experiment? Obviously the playing position on those original ones is different so may not find favour with bass viol players.

[RichM]

And Katzenjammer, of course, uses a bass balalaika.

[mrmando]

As do the Red Elvises...

[ombudsman]

They were designed to be played with a plectrum, but normally tanned leather were used so not sure if that's any different to a bassist finger or not. Modern plastics may yield more interesting results though. Do any of our bass owners experiment? Obviously the playing position on those original ones is different so may not find favour with bass viol players.

I have tried that. On mine the design is such that it's hard to get a strong pluck on a single string with a modern pick because of the flat fingerboard and low bridge (and string clearance) over the flat top.

A thumbpick might work better, if the force doesn't spin it around your thumb.

The Gibson design looks like it would work a lot better for using a plastic pick. I do that sometimes on upright bass for a different sound in the upper range.

[allenhopkins]

Gibson bass banjo at Bernunzio's -- may be a "one-of," John wanted $24K for it, and it's gone, so somebody bought it:



Gibson mando-bass playing All the Rage with the Vintage Mandolin Trio:



Note the Gibson "Century of Progress" mandolin as well. Not a lot of "oomph" from the mando-bass (was the Gibson model designation "J-1"? I think so…)

[JEStanek]

I think Allen's second video really makes a case for what I reported on earliet. That Mandocello has more presence. A great little Gibson ensemble but the beast Style O guitar and Mandobass are the weak links, for me at least. If I had to pick one to have for sheer beauty, I would have that guitar!

Jamie

[foldedpath]

Ugh, that banjo bass (Allen's first video)... still gives me nightmares.

A guy showed up with one at our Scottish/Cape Breton/Irish session a few times earlier this year. I don't know if it was homemade or store-bought, but it was made from a small (but deep) bass drum shell, and that sucker was loud. Didn't help that the guy had played a little OldTime and nothing else, and had no clue at all about how to play this music. Not that a bass is a usual component anyway, unless you're Trevor Hutchinson in Lúnasa. He kept playing walking bass lines, 1-5 riffs on the off-beat, and only vaguely aware of the key (mode) the tunes were in. It was just horrible. When he was totally lost on a tune, he brought out a long wooden sort-of tipper thing to bang on the head, as an improvised Bodhran.

We tried to give him some clues but he just didn't get it. He thought every gathering of people with fiddles and a guitar was an acoustic jam, and all jams were alike. He hasn't shown up the last few times; got the hints, I guess. This is normally a very open, welcoming session, and I think it's the first time we ever had to just tell someone that what they're doing isn't working, and it's distracting people. I heard he wrecked and got dis-invited from another Irish session in the area. I hope he's having fun in an OldTime jam somewhere.

[Bernie Daniel]

Ugh, that banjo bass (Allen's first video)... still gives me nightmares.

A guy showed up with one at our Scottish/Cape Breton/Irish session a few times earlier this year. I don't know if it was homemade or store-bought, but it was made from a small (but deep) bass drum shell, and that sucker was loud. Didn't help that the guy had played a little OldTime and nothing else, and had no clue at all about how to play this music. Not that a bass is a usual component anyway, unless you're Trevor Hutchinson in Lúnasa. He kept playing walking bass lines, 1-5 riffs on the off-beat, and only vaguely aware of the key (mode) the tunes were in. It was just horrible. When he was totally lost on a tune, he brought out a long wooden sort-of tipper thing to bang on the head, as an improvised Bodhran.

We tried to give him some clues but he just didn't get it. He thought every gathering of people with fiddles and a guitar was an acoustic jam, and all jams were alike. He hasn't shown up the last few times; got the hints, I guess. This is normally a very open, welcoming session, and I think it's the first time we ever had to just tell someone that what they're doing isn't working, and it's distracting people. I heard he wrecked and got dis-invited from another Irish session in the area. I hope he's having fun in an OldTime jam somewhere.

Yeah never see much bass in ITM? In Cape Breton music the piano is often used with a kind of barrel house accompaniment often in the bass range.

[Lord of the Badgers]

I rather like the banjobass. better if it were fretless... lol

[Lord of the Badgers]

so i posted the vids on facebook & got a pic from a friend showing the Fairports using a banjobass - bowed - on top of the pops (famous UK tv folks, but you knew it right...).

didn't know about that.

Here's a subtle instrument...

[foldedpath]

Yeah never see much bass in ITM? In Cape Breton music the piano is often used with a kind of barrel house accompaniment often in the bass range.

Cape Breton piano backup is awesome. Took me a little while to get my ears into it, because it can be very busy, but that pounding rhythm is great.

I rather like the banjobass. better if it were fretless... lol

The one I ran into was fretless, and in that particular case, fretless made it twice as horrible.

[journeybear]

This is not a mando bass, or even a banjo bass - though it looks like one. It's a washtub bass. He stretched a drum head across the tub and put something like a regular bass bridge on it. Also, he carved the neck out of a tree that had fallen on his property. A different approach, to be sure, but the guy can really wail on it. This is one of the better recent shots of yours truly, BTW.