Todd’s Bass Blog

A lot of the string instruments, and associated accessories coming over from China have a bad reputation. But, does it deserve this stigma? Some of it does, I have seen some poorly made gear, but there are also a few great bargains to be had. I purchased a couple of German Double Bass bows off of eBay; one was a great deal, but the other was a disappointment.

With the cost of a nice bow often exceeding that of an entry level instrument, it is tempting to try and save some money on your bow. What a lot of bassists don’t realize though is that the bow emanates sound just like your bass and is a key part of the sound texture that you produce. A cheap bow can make your bass sound dull, and muted. If a bow is too heavy, or too light it will affect how you hold it and how much pressure you are required to produce outside of the bow’s weight–potentially leading to bad technique, or even worse repetitive motion damage. I find 135 grams to feel just-right (for a German bow, that would be unwieldy on a French!) but from my decidedly non-scientific poll of a handful of other bassists, I think most bassists like lighter bows. Whatever you do, don’t buy a fiberglass bow (such as the Glasser Standard Fiberglass.) The grips are uncomfortable, the bows sound awful, they are inconsistently balanced and will negatively affect your right hand technique.

The bows I bought were both from the same eBay seller–”yitamusic”. The first I bought was their #D35 German Style Carbon Fiber bow. The quality is quite stunning. The carbon fiber is gorgeous, a very nicely laid checkerboard pattern. They sell cheaper graphite bows that lack the pattern at the same eBay store, but I feel that the visual effect is worth the extra money. The hair that came with the bow was acceptable, but not as grippy as I prefer. It is a mongolian white horse hair, and ranges on the fine and smooth side. I dropped the bow off at Eggen’s Violin Shop in Denver (the best place in town for a re-hair) and got some of their standard “grey” hair–which is actually slightly red in color. The hole through the shaft of the bow had to be enlarged for the re-hair, but that only added $20 or so to the cost (I honestly can’t remember the exact amount it has been almost a year ago.) After putting the new hair on the bow it sounds wonderful. I paid about $180 after shipping etc. The seller is based in China, and because of the international fraud rate being higher Paypal took an extra week for processing, after that the shipping took about a week–I believe the main delay was customs. So ordering one of these takes a few weeks–I have recomended these bows to a lot of people and a few have had even longer delays.

Here is an eBay link to yitamusic’s carbon fiber double bass bows:

The second bow I bought was so that I could leave my Carbon bow in the case when I bought an electric upright for nighttime practice. I was afraid that if I was using the bow on two basses that I would arrive at a performance and not have a bow! I know that most people consider Pernambucco to be the optimal bow material, so I bought a second bow from the same seller. I presume that it isn’t the same manufacturer for the wood bows they sell, because this bow was a let down. The wrapping is loose, and if bumped will slide down the shaft, the finish isn’t as smooth or as intricately shaped as the CF bow I bought from them. The sound is not as lively as the CF bow either–I haven’t re-haired this bow yet, I don’t use it very often, but I don’t expect the hair to make it much better.

In summary, there are some good deals out there, but it is best to ask around on forums to find out if someone has dealt with a certain seller before and what to expect of their products.

I have been out of the game for a while. I guess it was about a decade ago that I stopped playing–that is the topic for another day, but in the meantime I find it amazing how much technology has changed! I recently picked up a new amplifier and speaker combo for playing my upright in Jazz combo situations. Just as a frame of reference I still have from my early-90’s-heavy-metal-days a Trace Elliot full stack (4×10 cab plus 1×15 cab) and a Gallien Krueger RB800 amplifier (slightly modified for more power!) all of which weighs roughly a ton (well at least a couple hundred pounds.) I can’t believe I used to take this stuff everywhere I was playing. Well, I am older now and have neither the patience or desire to carry heavy gear with me everywhere I go (ya, I know–you are thinking, but you play upright bass: probably the least portable instrument ever invented, and maybe there is some truth in that, but I digress.) Anyways–I wanted lightweight. Turns out that isn’t so hard anymore.

My new mantra: one trip from the car. I looked at the various choices available out there and there are a few nice ones these days. The top three were Euphonic Audio (EA,) Acoustic Image, and Phil Jones Bass (PJB.) I looked over the various offerings from each–my basic requirements were portability, direct out ability, sound clarity, portability, and finally portability (seeing a trend here?)

The PJB looked the coolest–they have a couple of small offerings–a briefcase sized amp and a suitcase sized amp, named aptly after their respective size factors. I looked around for a demo amp to try, but to no avail–the only local dealer was back ordered, and remained that way for months.

The Acoustic Image amps have a great reputation, and duly so–but the combo amps that fit the portability requirements I had all had downward facing cones. This has the added benefit of making the low end sound more pronounced for a small woofer, but my lessons in the past have taught me the first thing you do to make an amp sound cleaner is decouple it from the floor (the above mentioned tower of ear-splitting amperage almost always had a weight lifiting pad placed underneath to isolate it from the floor.) It’s just my opinion, but the design goes against what little bit I know about amplifiers.

So i finally ended up choosing the EA Wizzy 10 and their Class D amplifier, which finally brings me to the topic of this post. When I was playing 10 years ago a 300 watt amplifier weighed on average (not scientific here, just what my feeble memory can recall) about 10-15lbs. My new 300 watt amplifier is roughly three. Three pounds, wow! Wikipedia has a good article on the technical details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_D_amplifier but the basics are, that by using pulse modulation, and proper switching they can eliminate giant heat sinks and energy wasting transformers. Kickass.

So, how does it sound? I like it! It is clear, punchy, and it doesn’t have the muddy nature that larger amps do (and with an upright that makes a big difference,) the 10″ wizzy wouldn’t hold its own on any rock gigs–but that’s exactly why I wanted a direct out. Let the sound guy deal with it, I just _play_ the bass And the backpack case that EA sells for it allows me to practice my mantra (not just repeat it) I only make one trip from the car.

The other night (okay maybe a few months ago now . . .) I was riding to rehearsal and listening to my satellite radio. A super groovy mutli-bass piece came on–it had two double bassists trading back and forth, and was really slamming. By the time I made it to rehearsal the song wasn’t over, so I sat in my ride just listening. You know, as much as I love music I don’t get enough of those magical moments where the music you listen to consumes you and you just really feel it. It happens only a few times a year to me, unfortunately. The DJ didn’t announce the artist so I had to wait until I got home and looked it up online–since it made me late to rehearsal I knew roughly what time the song was on the air

Ironically it turns out that it was Ron Carter doing an old Oscar Pettiford song. I think maybe a lot of us discount Ron Carter, but this was such a wonderful song that I had to share it with you. You should be able to listen to a sample on this site:

It is pretty common as I am putting in my end pin that someone will notice that it is completely different than anything they have seen before and ask about it. Most double bassists know who Francois Rabbath is, and have heard about his method, but that is where most people’s familiarity ends. There are several upsides to using the Rabbath-style end pin (more appropriately called a Laborie end pin after the luthier that designed it with Rabbath.) The major upside is that it distributes weight differently–I can’t say how much exactly because each bass will be different, but on my bass the reduction in effort was roughly 50%. The second noticeable difference is in sound output–my theory is that a traditional end pin being made of steel doesn’t vibrate as freely as the carbon-fiber end pin I use, it results in (at least for my bass) a noticeable increase in both volume and texture (which I don’t know how to accurately describe, but you hear more of the bow’s rasp I guess.) The last real benefit is that you have a nice rubber ball that seldom slips–this is a nice change from the traditional crutch-end rubber piece, or even worse getting in trouble for sticking a sharpened point in the floor.

Here is a link to George Vance’s site–the only place I know that sells it:

http://www.slavapub.net/Accessories-Endpins.html

The major downside is that you have to put a giant hole in your bass to use it! This wasn’t such a difficult decision for me since I am playing a vintage 2006 carved bass that did not cost as much as an average German rear-engine sports car, but for a more professional player it may be a bit of a conundrum if you want to try it out. Before I made the plunge I bought an additional stainless steel end pin and bent it it roughly the correct position (Salavpub will do this for you if you aren’t as adventurous.) To pull this of you will need a few items and a lot of patience! The hardest part of course was getting the bend correct. I used a propane torch (the type you can get at your local hardware store for plumbing,) a workshop mounted vise, and a rubber mallet to get the bend in place. The pin needs to get really hot, slightly glowing, before it will bend easily. Once you have achieved the required angle, drop it in a bucket of cold water and leave it for a while–you don’t want to get burned and stainless steel will hold heat for a long time. After it is cool, you will need to put it back in the vise and use an angle grinder or something similar (don’t bother with the dremel–it will take years) to flatten the side that your tightening screw will connect on–otherwise your end pin will twist around while you are playing and will likely cause you to slam into your stand partner! Amusing, perhaps, but certainly not fun. Finally use some steel wool to clean up the discoloration on the pin.

George Vance’s books go along with the Rabbath method and are a good starting point:

Sometimes I am really good about being disciplined enough to practice, sometimes not. Lately I have been taking a bit of a break before the next orchestral season starts up. I have been playing in a couple of ensembles–really just classes I have been taking, and have hit a bit of a bump in the road. I am not a great bassist by any means, so I can’t really afford to not practice! How do you deal with it? Give me some ideas or suggestions!

I think it isn’t necessarily that I am having problems with motivation, but de-motivation. I have been playing in a class with other beginner level students focused on Jazz, and sometimes it is really great, but not always, actually, now that I think about it–not most of the time. The problem is we have too many rhythm instruments–sometimes two pianists, or two guitarist. The drummer has transitioned over from rock (nothing wrong there–he just tends to play really loud.) And it seems that the muddier and less defined the music becomes, that I have a harder time hearing changes (or more importantly feeling them.) I realize that I am too hard on myself, but despite that, it is all a little demoralizing. I recently made the decision that I am done with this group–at first I was learning a lot (and I probably still am,) but if I am going to pay to be a part of an ensemble, the experience should be enjoyable. I don’t want to disparage any of the folks in the class, everyone is putting their whole heart into what they are doing and that is great (in fact most of the musicians are more talented and competent than I am,) the instructor is top notch and the idea is right. I just think that having an ensemble with two pianists, or guitarists, and no horns requires experienced musicians to make it sound right. Anyways all this has been adding to my anxiety and resulted in a bit of disillusionment. Just a few more weeks and I will be playing in the symphony again, that will be a nice change, hopefully I will find more motivation to get my chops back in shape.

Cool Music: Crooked Still

I don’t listen to much bluegrass, but occasionally I will find a group that is fun to listen to. Crooked Still has a slightly different bent than most bluegrass groups–they have a double bass, cello, banjo and vocalist. The combination gives them a very nice growling bottom end–great for bass-clef junkies. The music itself doesn’t break any new ground, but is a a great choice for a lazy afternoon.