My new bass journey ...

OilCityPickups · October 7

Well twiddling my thumbs waiting for Rotosound to send me my 4000 bass strings ... I ordered 3 as I already had the E which I've put on to stop the dreaded 'burp of indeterminate pitch' that the E Weedwhacker made. I now have an disquieting bloop bloop bloop CLANG going from G to E! But at least the clang is a note!!! I'm hoping it'll mellow in, especially when it's joined by its Rotosound mates.

I fitted my new Shadow Rockabilly Pro preamp on Sunday ... can;'t run it yet due to no bass amp at home ... ha ... loads of chicken and egg situations at the moment. Sandpapering the bridge notch for the Shadow transducer was a bit nerve wracking ... you can't put any maple you sand out - back ... so lots of trial fitting. In contrast the fingerboard slap pickup just ... er ... slaps on with no trouble at all.
Absolutely hate the 'cheap as chips' fabric battery box that you can either Velcro to the back of your tailpiece or the front of the bass.. a nice preamp let down by a shonky battery pouch and horribly cheap battery lead. Luckily I can do something about that ... but come on Shadow that's not gig worthy and will screw up if you even look at it funny.

Eventually the preamp will be joined by a wireless transmitter on the tailpiece ... cos screw leads as well as a musical wardrobe to juggle with!

OilCityPickups · October 9

And the Rotosounds arrived ... and were fitted. I did a much better job of getting the strings not overlapping in the peg box this time around, figuring that these would be pretty much my 'forever' strings :-)

Image: https://cdn.redbrain.shop/?i=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F816YH%2BOotJL.jpg&w=330

Firstly may I just say how much better 'proper' strings over Weedwhackers. They actually produce notes you can determine the pitch of on the bottom two strings ... JOY UNBOUNDED ... okay so I now know if I'm playing out of tune down the meat and two veg end... which is a double edged sword :-) but hell I'd rather know and work on my shortcomings.

Rotosound 4000s are an odd anomaly really. They have been made the same forever ... and oddly are made to fit 4/4 basses that practically nobody uses any more ... even in orchestras. Because of this they are a bit 'long' on a 3/4 but this seems to cause no issues as plenty of 3/4 players use them; you really need a string winder for the fitting job, and actually a cordless drill with a string winder is even better - yep changing double bass strings - like everything double bass is intensely physical!
My forearms are muscling up like knotted rope from the DB workout!
So props to Rotosound for making a great (if quirky) product that sounds ace from jazz to psychobilly. A lot of utter bollocks is talked about their strings, half of the time by people who havn't even tried them properly.

Oddly, my Jazz Bass ... which lives at the workshop feels somewhat 'toy like' now, and the round wound strings just HAVE to go! Strangely I have absolutely no desire to play the Jazz Bass with a pick ... which would have been my 'go to' before taking up double bass ... and to be fair I have little desire to play the electric bass full stop ... as the frets feel really 'limiting' to me now.

Amplifier should be here today ... so full steam ahead!

More on that later.

Al_Nico · October 10

Good to hear. Sounds like you get a huge variation in string products all going to sound different, so well done on getting some that work for what you're doing.

Perhaps it can be useful to understand also a lady's perspective on where to lay your hand after each slap?

OilCityPickups · October 11

Al_Nico said:

Good to hear. Sounds like you get a huge variation in string products all going to sound different, so well done on getting some that work for what you're doing.

Perhaps it can be useful to understand also a lady's perspective on where to lay your hand after each slap?

Very helpful lady Serina, we have chatted about strings and I'm on he Facebook group.

OilCityPickups · October 12

Well it's a new amp day ... well it sorta was a couple of days ago, but we have had builders in at home, and so I hadn't had time to have a play.
Enter an Ibanez P5110 Promethean ... courtesy of @ICBM of this parish.

Well under 30lbs and a cute little cube of an amp, this little brute kicks out 250w at 8 ohms or 500w at 4 ohms with an extension speaker. The amp section is detachable and the whole thing will fit in my little Rover 25 along with my double bass and pedal board! Result!
Did a bit of practise today, and the Rockabilly pro preamp into the Promethean sounds great ... tons of tone shaping ability to get that 'click' The 'phase' switch and filtering on the Rockabilly pro is great for taking out that enemy of all double bass players ... feedback!!!
So gear wise I'm gig ready ... just have to polish my chops.

ICBM · October 12

Glad it's gone to a good home! I did love the fact that it's the same weight as your bass

. (Admittedly with a non-original Celestion neodymium speaker replacing the ceramic original I blew with my fuzz pedal

.) Definitely better off with a double bass going through it

.

OilCityPickups · October 29

Soooo it looks like I'm being courted for the bass spot in two different bands. This is super encouraging and I will be redoubling my practise!!! Which band I go with will depend on the eventual set list and musical direction ... one being a good deal more 'exciting' than the other but perhaps more of a gamble.
We shall see.

Al_Nico · October 30

Ooh, you lucky thing. Perhaps go with the drummer that feels best to play with.

What excuse will you give to the band you turn down? It's not you, it's me?

OilCityPickups · October 30

Al_Nico said:

Ooh, you lucky thing. Perhaps go with the drummer that feels best to play with.

What excuse will you give to the band you turn down? It's not you, it's me?

Lol I think I shall be honest and say 'I think your set list stinks it up ... and you probably need an electric bass player (preferably lobotomised) not a thumper of the musical wardrobe of doom.

OilCityPickups · November 11

Well I'm shoulder to the grindstone and nose to the wheel in learning numbers for the band now. Lots of stuff in A and E - thank you god ... one in F sharp ... not too bad.
May have to look seriously into in ear monitoring as hearing yourself as a double bass player is an utter bastard! With a four string plank I could just turn up, but with the 'musical wardrobe' you are fighting a constant rear guard action against feedback.

If things go well and we start gigging soon I will be looking to have a small bass pedal board.
For feedback fighting I may have a graphic EQ and a volume pedal (I have a tuner in my preamp) - plus perhaps a compressor to play with.

OilCityPickups · November 27

Well just three days till I have to be in a rehearsal room as 'the double bass player' of what may turn out to be my new band.
I have had to learn ten numbers - which was a real strain as a couple of them were never arranged for slap bass - so new 'baby doghouse player' has to not only play the lines ... but arrange them too. No pressure then.

I am not normally someone who suffers from nerves about playing ... I mean I did my first paid gig on guitar at around 15 ... er ... fifty years ago ... and I've taken bass guitar spot for a few gigs - and played bass guitar a bit in the studio - but this is a whole different instrument - a whole new way of playing - and I - for once am carrying as much bulk of gear as a drummer!!!

Hey ho ... what will be will be!

jpfamps · November 28

Good luck.

I'm a double bass owner (a clear distinction from player).

As I play bass in a fairly busy band, in which double bass would fit perfectly, I thought it may a good lock down project.

However, it quickly became apparent it would not be practical solution..........

OilCityPickups · November 28

jpfamps said:

Good luck.

I'm a double bass owner (a clear distinction from player).

As I play bass in a fairly busy band, in which double bass would fit perfectly, I thought it may a good lock down project.

However, it quickly became apparent it would not be practical solution..........

Thanks Frank :-)
There's nowt about 'Bessie The Big Blonde Bass' that's in the slightest practical - I mean my car will take it, me and my little amp - not even a passenger as well! But ... I have to say - buying and learning a double bass is the most fun ting I've done musically in years!

enjo · November 28

I saw this and thought about what you were saying about it being physical...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl_vKIe6u6k

Skip to 2:50 to see what I mean if it isn't your thing.

ICBM · November 29

I keep forgetting to post this, but finally remembered! If you haven’t read this, it’s worth it…

https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/mark-kermode/how-does-it-feel/9781474608978/

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/09/mark-kermode-extract-how-does-it-feel-musical-misadventures

(Yes, that Mark Kermode…

)

OilCityPickups · November 29

enjo said:

I saw this and thought about what you were saying about it being physical...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl_vKIe6u6k

Skip to 2:50 to see what I mean if it isn't your thing.

My bass weighs over 25lbs ... so a single handed lift over my head by the end of the fingerboard (poor bass) would be pushing it :-) Twirling I do ... though why he isn't using radio I don't know - that lead is going to be mucho twisted. Playing like a guitar on my knee ... tried that in the privacy of my lounge ... not too difficult ... playing 'Ace Of Spades' while the bass is at a 45 degree angle ... yep.

ICBM said:

I keep forgetting to post this, but finally remembered! If you haven’t read this, it’s worth it…

https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/mark-kermode/how-does-it-feel/9781474608978/

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/09/mark-kermode-extract-how-does-it-feel-musical-misadventures

(Yes, that Mark Kermode… )

That's a fabulous story! Thanks @ICBM ;

OilCityPickups · November 30

Well first rehearsal as double bass player with the Cobras this morning. In fact my first time playing double bass with other musicians! Baptism of fire ... but huge fun. Take aways from this: I need to build my right hand/arm/wrist stamina ... on a couple of the longer numbers I was flagging. But we did ten or twelve numbers back to back and my arm didn't fall off! The Rotosound 4000 bass strings sounded brilliant - my Shadow Rockabilly Pro pre-amp also sounded ace ... and the built in tuner is absolutely magic! My bass - christened 'Bessie Boom Boom' by my wife sounded great (Stentor 1950 Rockabilly) and the Ibanez Promethean bass amp was excellent ... I even managed to transpose a couple of numbers on the fly as the singer didn't like the keys ... all in all a great first get together. Sure I dropped a couple of notes, and my arm aches like wassername now ... but onwards and upwards!

jpfamps · December 3

OilCityPickups said:

Well first rehearsal as double bass player with the Cobras this morning. In fact my first time playing double bass with other musicians! Baptism of fire ... but huge fun. Take aways from this: I need to build my right hand/arm/wrist stamina ... on a couple of the longer numbers I was flagging. But we did ten or twelve numbers back to back and my arm didn't fall off! The Rotosound 4000 bass strings sounded brilliant - my Shadow Rockabilly Pro pre-amp also sounded ace ... and the built in tuner is absolutely magic! My bass - christened 'Bessie Boom Boom' by my wife sounded great (Stentor 1950 Rockabilly) and the Ibanez Promethean bass amp was excellent ... I even managed to transpose a couple of numbers on the fly as the singer didn't like the keys ... all in all a great first get together. Sure I dropped a couple of notes, and my arm aches like wassername now ... but onwards and upwards!

As a guy I ocassionally play with said: "deciding to take up the double bass is not so much a musical decision, more a lifestyle decision".

Glad it went well.

OilCityPickups · December 3

jpfamps said:

OilCityPickups said:

Well first rehearsal as double bass player with the Cobras this morning. In fact my first time playing double bass with other musicians! Baptism of fire ... but huge fun. Take aways from this: I need to build my right hand/arm/wrist stamina ... on a couple of the longer numbers I was flagging. But we did ten or twelve numbers back to back and my arm didn't fall off! The Rotosound 4000 bass strings sounded brilliant - my Shadow Rockabilly Pro pre-amp also sounded ace ... and the built in tuner is absolutely magic! My bass - christened 'Bessie Boom Boom' by my wife sounded great (Stentor 1950 Rockabilly) and the Ibanez Promethean bass amp was excellent ... I even managed to transpose a couple of numbers on the fly as the singer didn't like the keys ... all in all a great first get together. Sure I dropped a couple of notes, and my arm aches like wassername now ... but onwards and upwards!

As a guy I ocassionally play with said: "deciding to take up the double bass is not so much a musical decision, more a lifestyle decision".

Glad it went well.

Thanks Frank,
yep it makes you reconsider everything from your exercise regime to your car size!!!

GoFish · December 3

Woah. Don't know how I missed the last few updates. What progress! In a band now. Well done that man.

Howdy, Stranger!

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