Ed Friedland Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 The electric upright bass has been around a long time. Rickenbacher had a production model available in the late 1930's! They have come a long way since then, there are many types available in string lengths ranging from a petit 32" to full a length upright scale of 41". Magnetic pickups, piezo pickups, optical pickups, 4, 5, 6 string models, solid body, hollow body, detachable necks, fixed necks... A lot of choices. Anyone own one of these beasts? Any favorites? Is the EUB suitable as an acoustic bass substitute? Is it just for electric bass wannabes so they can put "upright bass" on their business card? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootyquake Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 I think that electric upright bass constitutes its own instrument. It is really neither a bass guitar nor a double bass. I feel that part of the biggest challenge of the upright bass is the mastery of a classical technique that is well-proven for that instrument. EUBs, especially those with shorter scale lengths, tend to blend into the category of electric instruments, and the technique is noticeably different. I don't think that EUBs are any less "legitimate," I just think that upright is really about pushing air, and EUB is about moving an amp. For those of you who haven't experimented with the "dog house," I recommend it. When you play jazz or swing, there's no sound like it anywhere. I would still own one if I had a bigger vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 7, 2001 Author Share Posted March 7, 2001 I've noticed a trend in builders to make their EUBs available in a semi-acoustic model. BSX, Clevinger, Azola and Eminence are all making semi-acoustic EUBs, Clevinger even puts a bass neck on a plywood cello body! Do you think it makes a big difference over the solid body? How much resonance can you get from a little body? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Addicott Posted March 7, 2001 Share Posted March 7, 2001 I had a Carruthers (42" scale semi-hollow) EUB for a couple of years as my main upright axe. People generally liked it (except for this one lady I didn't particularly care to work for, anyway). It didn't have the tonal complexity of a bona-fide doghouse, nor did it have the simple focus of a solid body. It worked best in more mellow situations where an acoustic instrument would be appropriate. It had a nice "growl" that I kind of miss, sometimes. Even so, ance I got back on a "real" upright ('50s Kay with a Realist piezo and Biesele magnetic p/u's), there was no looking back. IMO, the Kay sounds so much fuller and richer, there really wasn't any point in keeping this other thing around. In the future, I might be interested in trying out another EUB, especially if I'm headed out on the road! The models by Alembic and Ned Steinberger look particularly intriguing. In my opinion, magnetic pickups are a very good idea on an EUB. As long as you're never going to match the acoustic character of a full-sized instrument, you might as well give it some of that magnetic punch. That way it can go places AUBs don't go, sonically as well as physically. I suppose a well-designed piezo system (a la Rick Turner Electroline) could maybe do the trick. (I might have kept the Carruthers if it could have held it's own against loud guitars. As it is, the Kay rig with the Realist and the Biesele outperformed the Carruthers on BOTH ends of the spectrum!) Jeff Addicott http://www.jeffnet.org/~addicott/bass.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornadobass Posted March 8, 2001 Share Posted March 8, 2001 I've recently picked up a basic original BugBass. It's gone to one blues gig so far and held its own. I was especially looking for the solid body model, so that volume/feedback wouldn't be a concern. All in all, it probably provides a better upright sound in louder/noisier settings than trying to push my upright with an Underwood pickup that seems to end up on the brink of out-of-control. But maybe there's something to the URB look with the mag pickup, too. I'd like to hear one some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 9, 2001 Author Share Posted March 9, 2001 I've played on a friend's upright with the Pierre String Charger, it's a magnetic pickup for upright. You can push the volume, but don't let go of the strings for a second, because it will roar like a Hippo in heat! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif (nice visual Ed!) Personally I don't care for the sound of these pickups, but Neils Henning Orsted Pederson used one for years and I like him alot. Now on a solid body EUB a magnetic is cool. I used to have a Banchetti years ago. It was a solid body EUB and the best thing about it was it had an Alembic P-bass pickup built into a sliding box that could be moved anywhere from the neck to the bridge. I kept it all the way down by the bridge and it sounded like Jaco on steroids! I may have a recording with that axe somewhere. If I can dig it up, I'll put up a snip on my website and tell you all. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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