Not sure why I did this but made a low-ball bid on Reverb and now I have a bass. I didn't consider how much space this contraption takes up. Anyway, ordered a beginners bluegrass bass book and we'll see how it goes
Not sure why I did this but made a low-ball bid on Reverb and now I have a bass. I didn't consider how much space this contraption takes up. Anyway, ordered a beginners bluegrass bass book and we'll see how it goes
It’s actually very intuitive, and, if you become proficient, you’ll get gigs when the world
Re-opens. As a dabbler, it’s painfully boring to practice alone but great fun to play in a band setting. A really good bass player is like a really good drummer...they elevate your experience, without being really noticed...
Work it!
Looks nice, don't know much about uprights but wouldn't mind having one around the house
Last edited by CBFrench; Oct-07-2020 at 9:58pm. Reason: spelling
Good call DaveGinNJ! I just did the same with a Mandobird that was on Reverb and now on its way to its new home!
I know, I know... It doesn't take the same space... but impulsive (sometimes compulsive?) buys are cool anyway!
Enjoy your new musical adventure!
Isaac
Good for you. I haven't played bass seriously in many years. Sometimes still miss not being able to play it anymore. You will become very popular once you get it going. Many bands need a good bass player.
Recently talked myself out of getting another acoustic guitar. There are a number of cool new models out there. But have my eye on something else. Maybe more later.
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
https://www.facebook.com/LauluAika/
https://www.lauluaika.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Longtine-Am...14404553312723
When I told my wife I bought a new instrument she was mortified, thinking it was a banjo!
Joking aside, that was sort of my thinking. I am always the worst mandolin player at a jam but there seems to be a shortage of bass players. I think that has more to do with the cost and inconvenience of the instrument
1. Bass players always seem to be in demand.
2. Many of them claim to have taken up bass after being frustrated in learning a "lead" instrument. This, of course, doesn't apply to "lead" bassists.
3. "Impulse bought" mandolins, ukuleles, concertinas are easier to store than "impulse bought" basses, cellos, pianos, and Jet Skis. A consideration.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
I miss having an upright bass. The biggest problem I have is that most listed online are not local and shipping is prohibitive. However, if I truly wanted one, the Upton Company is within a few hours drive from me. A few friends of mine own their basses and they are quite nice and reasonably priced.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I find practicing the bass to be anything but boring. Any time I want, I can play along with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, or (my current favorite) Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.
"The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
--Leslie Daniel, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die."
Some tunes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa1...SV2qtug/videos
Good luck, Dave. You will have a blast with that. It is just a huge, fretless, backwards mandolin. Keep us posted!
Brad
Dave
Remember that once you have the open strings in tune that you can use an electronic tuner to verify the other positions... and stick your markers there.
I always suggest that you mark “frets” 2, 3, 5 and 7 and interpolate the others. And remove them one by one as your ear improves.
Brad
I will look for that. Again. Good luck. You’re gonna love it if you like making music from the back row. That’s where I am these days and it is good.
Always wanted an upright bass. Congratulations!
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
As I also wanted to explore bass but have a space-challenged office/music room/man cave, I went the u-bass route. Really fun, and it for sure informs my mandolin playing. TuneFox (NFI) has been really helpful in providing bass lessons for popular BG songs. Have a great time!
Very timely thread. I also recently purchase an upright bass recently on impulse (a Shen SB88). It has been a blast learning to play it. I am taking Missy Raines' bluegrass bass course on ArtistWorks and it is a very good resource.
Congratulations!
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
Be careful. Double bass can hurt you. A live teacher is a good idea, but there are a few online resources that can help. Katie Thiroux has a beginner course on Discover Double Bass that I expect is good.
https://courses.discoverdoublebass.c...r-to-bandstand
Quoting from the OP, Post #6:
I have known several bass players who have said they took to bass because they felt overshadowed by better players on "lead" instruments in jams, but noticed that bassists were essential to a good ensemble sound, always welcome -- and they found playing single notes at reasonable tempo, more accessible than trying to move at high speed through chords and melodic "breaks."I am always the worst mandolin player at a jam but there seems to be a shortage of bass players.
I'm at best a mediocre bass player (not saying I'm a virtuoso on the other instruments I play), but I enjoy playing in country dance ensembles, backing up fiddlers, etc. In the past two years I've been requested several times by fiddlers to join them in concert or dance situations, and my limited bass skills were adequate to the gigs. I've taken my mando-bass to rehearsals of our local mandolin ensemble, and while I would be severely taxed to sight-read the orchestral scores the lead players work from, I can figure out bass lines that support their parts.
This is not "dissing" bassists; I know players who consider bass their main instrument, and bring wonderful "chops" to their performances, jams etc. I know others who, I think do have the history I stated: they love the music, don't feel they can "compete" (and why should we compete?) with more accomplished "lead" players, and have found a comfortable and appreciated role playing bass.
YMMV, of course.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Yes, jazz bass is indeed a whole different animal than in BG or oldtime. A great jazz bassist is a wondrous thing to behold. And that is not to disparage BG or oldtime bass playing. A real pro at either is a delight to play with. And it can be argued that good bass playing is more essential to a cohesive group sound than any other instrument - a misstep by a lead player is easy to overlook if the bass is steady.
Mitch Russell
Don’t forget the bow!
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