Upright GAS...

Yup, that big 7 feet tall bass that goes Bom bom bom.


More seriously, after 2 month taking electric bass and Upright bass(read contrabass), I am gassing for an upright.

I didn't liked playing Upright when I was just playing scales, but when I started to walk and play exercises (pieces). It started to grow on me.

Now I deeply want an EUB. Even if I do know that it don't sound as ''DA REEL THING''. I don't care.

Anyway, I am just gassing hard for an NS NXT double bass.


Question: Piezo normally must have a preamp, so what preamp would I put in that EUB?

If you're short on cash, you could get one of these:
http://band-orchestra.musiciansfriend.com/product/Palatino-VE550-Electric-Upright-Bass?sku=512015[url][/url][url][/url]

Apparently, they don't sound very upright-y stock, but with a few simple mods you can get them close

I totally understand your GAS for an upright NBOB. I would also love to have one someday.

As far as your question about piezo upright pickups and preamps, how about these?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MKEBTW

http://www.gollihurmusic.com/category/1-PREAMPS_ANDAMP_PROCESSORS.html

http://www.thefind.com/query.php?query=piezo+upright+bass+pickup+with+preamp

You could probably find cheaper systems, as these are all re-sellers. But hopefully these links can give you some ideas.

On the choice of the bass, I'll probably stay my choice on the nes NXT series. Dunno why, but I have a good feeling about these.

On the preamp thing, damn, costey outboards preamp! But I think that the cost is right, probably gonna search ebay for one tough.

On the budget thing , I'll save up till I have what I really want. Yeah I have patience.

NoobOnRoad wrote:

On the budget thing , I'll save up till I have what I really want. Yeah I have patience.

Tell me about this patience thing--I haven't got all day!

Chowderboots wrote:

NoobOnRoad wrote:

On the budget thing , I'll save up till I have what I really want. Yeah I have patience.

Tell me about this patience thing--I haven't got all day!

Haha, patience is something that you need when you are my bass teacher!

Yeah, major Upright gas with a few years now, but they're so hard to transport and store, I has no room!

My mom has this Dean electric upright. I hate it. It sounds awful. And I want to take the Model One off of it and stick it on one of my basses...

It has a model one in it! Fark!

Darkstrike wrote:

It has a model one in it! Fark!

Yeah, dude! And it's got a piezo bridge. I could just take out the Model One and the 3 way toggle and wire the bridge directly to the volume knob, then put something on there to cover up the hole in the body and bashta. My mom rarely plays it and she only uses the piezo pickup anyway. The more I think about it, the more I think I want to do this. And I see the thing every day as I watch TV or am on my way to make breakfast or take a piss.



No one ever accused me of being quick...

If she's ok with it, get to hackin!

I might propose this idea. I don't know what I'd put it in, though.

Chowderboots wrote:

I might propose this idea. I don't know what I'd put it in, though.

Worry about finding a bass to put it in later!

Be cool in the Destroyer or Blitz, but I imagine thats not where you wanna go with them.


Maybe that Ibanez that you're not happy with the sound of, that you tried the X2N's in.

Darkstrike wrote:

Chowderboots wrote:

I might propose this idea. I don't know what I'd put it in, though.

Worry about finding a bass to put it in later!

Be cool in the Destroyer or Blitz, but I imagine thats not where you wanna go with them.


Maybe that Ibanez that you're not happy with the sound of, that you tried the X2N's in.

Shoot first, ask questions later?

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Both of them would have room. With my Blitz, that'd be awesome, but how do I want to wire it? With my Destroyer, I would like to put in a bridge pickup of an uncommon ilk. And that bass is so easy to do such huge bends on, I don't know if a Model One would be the best pickup for putting even closer to the neck, considering how far apart the pole pieces are. I'd be worried about having notes drop out. I'm thinking of using that bass to test out a Split P, in fact, to make sure that the pickups can track the string over its entire range of motion when I bend it.

Mmh the BTB...I might, in fact. I routed it out even more and put my Blitz's old P pickup in there. Still have to wire it up, though. That bass sounds too dark for me, even unplugged. I think it's just too thumpy a bass for me to begin wih.

Chowderboots wrote:

Darkstrike wrote:

Chowderboots wrote:

I might propose this idea. I don't know what I'd put it in, though.

Worry about finding a bass to put it in later!

Be cool in the Destroyer or Blitz, but I imagine thats not where you wanna go with them.


Maybe that Ibanez that you're not happy with the sound of, that you tried the X2N's in.

Shoot first, ask questions later?

Yeah that's what I was thinking. Both of them would have room. With my Blitz, that'd be awesome, but how do I want to wire it? With my Destroyer, I would like to put in a bridge pickup of an uncommon ilk. And that bass is so easy to do such huge bends on, I don't know if a Model One would be the best pickup for putting even closer to the neck, considering how far apart the pole pieces are. I'd be worried about having notes drop out. I'm thinking of using that bass to test out a Split P, in fact, to make sure that the pickups can track the string over its entire range of motion when I bend it.

Mmh the BTB...I might, in fact. I routed it out even more and put my Blitz's old P pickup in there. Still have to wire it up, though. That bass sounds too dark for me, even unplugged. I think it's just too thumpy a bass for me to begin wih.

Know what bodywood it is?

I was thinking before, of your unhappiness with the X2N-7, espcially since I had(IMO) good results with it, might have just not suited that particular bass.

Darkstrike wrote:

Know what bodywood it is?

I was thinking before, of your unhappiness with the X2N-7, espcially since I had(IMO) good results with it, might have just not suited that particular bass.

It's basswood/quilt maple top. 35" scale. Maple/walnut neck/rosewood. It might be the thin strips of walnut in the neck that are ruining the tone, but I think a more likely factor would be the quilt maple veneer on the headstock that's dampening the sound.








In all seriousness, I think you're probably right. Everything I've tried in this bass sounds muddy as hell. The stock pickups did and so have the X2Ns, even coil tapped. It has really high string tension. I think I must be used to slightly looser strings....or something. But I know that whatever I'm looking for, this bass hasn't got it.

To its merit, it has got a great neck. It makes you play with excellent left hand posture.

Chowderboots wrote:

Darkstrike wrote:

Know what bodywood it is?

I was thinking before, of your unhappiness with the X2N-7, espcially since I had(IMO) good results with it, might have just not suited that particular bass.

It's basswood/quilt maple top. 35" scale. Maple/walnut neck/rosewood. It might be the thin strips of walnut in the neck that are ruining the tone, but I think a more likely factor would be the quilt maple veneer on the headstock that's dampening the sound.








In all seriousness, I think you're probably right. Everything I've tried in this bass sounds muddy as hell. The stock pickups did and so have the X2Ns, even coil tapped. It has really high string tension. I think I must be used to slightly looser strings....or something. But I know that whatever I'm looking for, this bass hasn't got it.

To its merit, it has got a great neck. It makes you play with excellent left hand posture.

Oh, its not the quilt maple on the headstock itself, but now I know, its the fact that they paint it to match the body, tone killer....


Funny, the only bass of mine, that I'm never completly happy with, a Squier Jazz 5, with a basswood body, and sounds exactly as you say. Actually, now I have a single coil J pickup in the bridge position, I'm ok with it, not extatic, but ok.

I've other basswood bodied basses, that I am happy with though, like the VM, with the Mudbucker, but in that case, I think the mudbucker just powers the hell out of the other factors in the tone.

Muddy tonewood, like basswood, and big, heavily wound pickups like the X2N, not a winning combo, maybe.....

The P pickup you have now might just work, and if that dosen't, I'd say the best thing would be underwound single coils, extra cut, thinner sound, to counter the mud, and less overall output. Turn up at the amp.

As someone who purchased an electric upright (a Palatino) and bought a real upright later, I think you should seriously look into getting a real upright. Ultimately, the choice is up to you, but I was never perfectly happy with the tone I could get. When I bought a double bass a year later (for the same price as the EUB, I should add!) I was absolutely blown away with the real one and almost immediately my EUB started collecting dust in the corner. Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to play acoustically with other instruments. I found that the electric upright really wasn't that much easier to transport, and it weighed just as much as a real bass. But whatever you go with, make sure you have fun! Also remember that a lot of places have a return policy if you decide you don't like it.

Darkstrike wrote:

Oh, its not the quilt maple on the headstock itself, but now I know, its the fact that they paint it to match the body, tone killer....


Funny, the only bass of mine, that I'm never completly happy with, a Squier Jazz 5, with a basswood body, and sounds exactly as you say. Actually, now I have a single coil J pickup in the bridge position, I'm ok with it, not extatic, but ok.

I've other basswood bodied basses, that I am happy with though, like the VM, with the Mudbucker, but in that case, I think the mudbucker just powers the hell out of the other factors in the tone.

Muddy tonewood, like basswood, and big, heavily wound pickups like the X2N, not a winning combo, maybe.....

The P pickup you have now might just work, and if that dosen't, I'd say the best thing would be underwound single coils, extra cut, thinner sound, to counter the mud, and less overall output. Turn up at the amp.

Actually, I know a guy who says that the Ibanez/BTB logo decal causes negative countervibrations that run backwards down the neck and cause a dampened sound. That combined with the quilt maple top and trans black finish must be what's eating up all the tone from this axe.

Interesting. Maybe it is the basswood body. I don't know what my other guitars are made out of, but they sound better than this one ever has. The only one that I can ID the wood on is my Hamer and it's mahogany, but it's such a different construction/shape from all my other basses, I don't think I can begin to evaluate the wood's effect on the sound.

I should get a mudbucker and see if that cures my woes. There you go, stoking the fire under my pickup GAS...

That's a reasonable conclusion. Maybe I could try a Tele neck pickup or a Danaelectro lipstick pickup and see if that helps! And the closest I can get to that is a P pickup. I figured I should drop it in because I'm very familiar with its sound and it's not as bottom heavy as the Model P I replaced it with. How well it works on this bass will determine how much more time I want to invest in making it a functional electric instrument as opposed to putting the stock humbuckers back in and running their leads into an empty control cavity, just to make it feel normal to my hands and on my leg.

Using pickups with lower output/more bite and turning up the amp is what I'd normally do. However, in this case, If the P pickup doesn't sound good, I'm not going to put any more energy into making this bass sound the way I want it to. And right now, I'm not working with my ideal amps for the tone I'm after.

So, although I didn't like the way the X2Ns have sounded in this bass, I'm far from giving up on them. I'd love to see how one sounds in my Destroyer and the thought has crossed my mind to put the X2N-7 over where the J pickup is now. If I can't work with them in a bass that sounds snappier with strings that vibrate better, then I'll think again about how well suited for my purposes they are. But until then, hope springs eternal. I love the idea of a humbucker that completely overpowers just about everything else. I have to find how it will serve my interests the best.

EDIT...I forgot this was a thread about uprights. Whoops. Upright basses, high-output humbuckers....same thing!

The electric upright is a cool idea. However, from my experience with my mom's contraption, I don't like them. I don't think there's a substitute for the sound of a full blown upright bass. One thing is that it doesn't have the beautiful resonance of the acoustic instrument. It sounds like what it is--a plank of wood with strings on it. My mom's bass has Roto flats on it and even when the strings were new, it sounds dead and listless, with lots of harsh clack from the strings, even after they've broken in and lost their edge. It feels unnatural to play a bass that's locked on a tripod, even if you get the angle/height just right. The fact that the bass is supporting itself and you aren't supporting the bass which has one end resting on the ground might have an effect on how comfortable you are playing it.

And the fact that you're using electric bass strings with ball ends as opposed to those massive cables that are on upright basses will definitely change the experience you have with it.

If I had the choice between an electric upright and a an acoustic upright bass for the same price like Yvarg did, I'd choose the acoustic bass, too. I think Keith Richards said that you have to have your chops down on an acoustic before your electric playing will sound any good and I am inclined to agree with him. But, if you're into the concept and aware of the factors that make an EUB what it is, go for it, man!

I want an EUB because that here in Quebec. It's cold in winter (-25 to -50 Celcius) and hot and extremely humid in summer.

Also the problem of transporting is that I don't have a car. And, even if I had a car, it would mostly be one that can accomodate an upright+amps+BG.

Also, the Dean pace bass is a 35 inch scale upright and take electric bass string.

The NS Design EUB's can take full lenght upright strings and it's a 41,75 inch scale.

Chowderboots wrote:

The electric upright is a cool idea. However, from my experience with my mom's contraption, I don't like them. I don't think there's a substitute for the sound of a full blown upright bass. One thing is that it doesn't have the beautiful resonance of the acoustic instrument. It sounds like what it is--a plank of wood with strings on it. My mom's bass has Roto flats on it and even when the strings were new, it sounds dead and listless, with lots of harsh clack from the strings, even after they've broken in and lost their edge. It feels unnatural to play a bass that's locked on a tripod, even if you get the angle/height just right. The fact that the bass is supporting itself and you aren't supporting the bass which has one end resting on the ground might have an effect on how comfortable you are playing it.

The big thing about upright, IMO, is the big hollow resonating Mids, not the boomy bass, that everyone expect, this is why its never been recreated electroically, they allways make 'em big muddy low end, and not much else. In fact, the nearest electric to that hollow mid sound, really is the P pickup, lol.

This is why, even though they look great, basses such as the Rob Allen fall flat, piles of lows, none of the mids...

Cool--sounds like an EUB is the perfect thing for you, man!

I agree with you, Darkstrike. And that's why I don't like my mom's bass. It has a Model one and a Piezo pickup. It sounds either way too harsh or way too muddy.

I'm reviving this thread with some very good news: I may have found a company that can make an EUB that actually sounds like an upright!

http://www.lightwave-systems.com/

Apparently, they make the most transparent pickups ever, in addition to some other cool innovative technologies. I found out about these guys and my first thought after "DAMN!" and "F*** I WISH I COULD AFFORD A SPACEBASS!" Was "You know, upright players could really benefit from this." So, I emailed the company saying they should make an upright. Here's the response I got:

Hi Matt,
Thanks for the kind words. We are working on everything you mentioned, hopefully for release in 2010.
Stay tuned!
MR

Martin Roseman
LightWave Systems
Miami Beach, FL USA
Tel: 1+ 305-396-2880
Skype: macmrkt
info@macmrkt.com

So I guess I'm not the first person to think of this. I'm not surprised really. It doesn't take a genius to realize how big a market there would be for an EUB that actually sounds like an upright bass, and one that uses the worlds most transparent pickup could get pretty close if you designed the thing right.

Right on, Kugel!

Man, they make some killer looking basses!

Interesting.......

Kugelspot wrote:

I'm reviving this thread with some very good news: I may have found a company that can make an EUB that actually sounds like an upright!

http://www.lightwave-systems.com/

Apparently, they make the most transparent pickups ever, in addition to some other cool innovative technologies. I found out about these guys and my first thought after "DAMN!" and "F*** I WISH I COULD AFFORD A SPACEBASS!" Was "You know, upright players could really benefit from this." So, I emailed the company saying they should make an upright. Here's the response I got:

Hi Matt,
Thanks for the kind words. We are working on everything you mentioned, hopefully for release in 2010.
Stay tuned!
MR

Martin Roseman
LightWave Systems
Miami Beach, FL USA
Tel: 1+ 305-396-2880
Skype: macmrkt
info@macmrkt.com

So I guess I'm not the first person to think of this. I'm not surprised really. It doesn't take a genius to realize how big a market there would be for an EUB that actually sounds like an upright bass, and one that uses the worlds most transparent pickup could get pretty close if you designed the thing right.

Wow, I think I just found my next bass. I'm too poor to get that Spacebass, but I'd love to get a Saber VL. All their stuff looks awesome, and I really like the idea of the of those optoelectronic pickups.

Bumping this back up, I played a cheap EUB today, and got the shock of my life, it sounded, incredible, not exactly like an acoustic upright, but its own slamming tone, and super fun to play, it shall be my next bass....

Woah cool!

Seriously dude, it had this "sub-bass" knob, I rolled it up, it just roared, ripped and snarled.

Huh. Who's the manufacturer? That sounds awesome, but I'm all thumbs on uprights.

Uhh, it was Stagg, I think, tell ya the truth, I was all thumbs too, but seeing as I'd never played one before, I thought I was ok, heh, would love to try one with fx....

This is the one.
http://www.staggmusic.com/products/products_detail.php?langue=uk&oneid=142

Huh...that's a very different looking instrument from the Dean that I'm used to.

Odd indeed, the one I played had the arm rests taken off, so it spun quite a bit lol, but I must have jammed on it in the shop for half the morning, hahah.

Chowderboots wrote:

Huh. Who's the manufacturer? That sounds awesome, but I'm all thumbs on uprights.

Start slapping then!