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okay this is my first post in the bass section. I'm a guitar player. But I just had a question about bass. Why are there no electric bass sized double basses? I'm assuming it's because the electric bass size scale may not be long enough and/or the big double bass strings might rotate too much to make it feasible on a regular electric bass sized instrument? Am i accurate in my assumptions or are there other reasons? Or is it being done?
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01-06-2016 09:27 PM
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so what do you mean? are you asking if there are fretless electric bass guitars with a full hollow body?
here is something, but it's not fretless.
Welcome to Ribbecke Guitar Co!
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No, I'm asking if there are electric bass guitars, that you can play with an over the shoulder strap, that are double bass? That means tuned 1 octaves below a standard bass guitar. I know there are full hollow electric basses. Doesn't Sir Paul McCartney play one of those a lot? That's very cool but I'm actually asking about a double bass you can sling over you're shoulder like a standard electric bass. So the bass I'm inquiring about doesn't have to be hollow or stand up variety, rather just a double bass. I'm a guitar player but I figure bass players should know what I mean when I say double bass.
Originally Posted by steves3972
Last edited by Bobalou; 01-06-2016 at 11:00 PM.
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a double bass is not an octave lower than an electric bass. That would be ridiculous.
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There are piccolo basses used for soloing Ron Carter and Percy Heath both known for playing them. They basically are cellos strung like a bass.
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Okay if that's the case then cool. Like I said I'm guitar player so I don't know everything about bass. Other than I prefer the sound of double bass over electric for jazz. I have listened to countless recordings with electric and double bass and to me there's just something extra and cool about stand up bass with guitar. It just has a certain cool "character" that standard bass guitar or even hollow bass guitar can't quite duplicate. Plus I really like the fretless thing on bass, of being able to slide up and down smoothly without frets. That's such a cool sound for bass. For a more pop take on it listen to "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground.
It's a really cool thing with guitar. I've read articles where other top pro guitarist's voiced the same opinion. So I know I'm not alone in that. But me, hey even if I was alone in that, too bad. I'm a really good musician and like what I like.Last edited by Bobalou; 01-07-2016 at 12:09 AM.
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If you have time, click on electric upright basses at this link for the most comprehensive listing of what's available.
Double Bass - Upright Bass - String Bass - Bass Viol - Bass Fiddle - Electric Upright Bass - Links Page, Courtesy of Gollihur Music - Upright Bass Specialists
There are some 34" scale basses but most are scaled to normal upright spacing.
Many builders will create to specs for a price.
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Cool, I guess the other thing out there is the upright electric bass without the big body. Like this:
BSX Bass Allegro Acoustic-Electric Upright Bass Nutmeg | Musician's Friend
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Originally Posted by steves3972
Basses like that go back to Ampeg Baby Bass and Rocket Bass and there are many who make electric uprights, most have a full size neck/scale, just the body has been eliminated. They are very popular in Latin bands.
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Wow IMO more of you electric bassists should take advantage of the cool options that going fretless makes possible. Even if you have to get faux fret markers inlaid into the fretboard. If I played bass I would do that for sure. I'd At least have a fretless bass on hand as part of my bass arsenal. It's such a cool thing.
Last edited by Bobalou; 01-07-2016 at 02:29 AM.
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Originally Posted by Bobalou
I have a fretless and it's my least used bass, I treat it more like a special effect. I found playing upright easier than fretless electric bass and it definitely has it's own sound and vibe.
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I have gladly been corrected, and it's good to learn something new. Double bass and 3/4 size bass share the same 41" string scale.
Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 01-08-2016 at 04:54 AM.
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Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
I played both for awhile a 3/4 double bass scale length is 41" and a Fender bass is 34".
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An electric P-bass style bass with an additional 5-7" of string length to make it about the same as a 3/4 double bass would make it a pain to play I'd guess. I have fairly long arms and I'm holding my Squier electric right now. Originally Posted by Bobalou
There doesn't seem to be a need for an electric string length to be more than around 34 inches.
String material and thickness has a lot to do with new designs these days. String length- not so much.
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Jaco used to take the frets out of his electric neck so the feel and sound would lose its tingingness, (not really a word but I like it). Using a deep reverb or a slap echo and it may just start to emulate a double bass. Another trick is to tune down a half step and tie a sock around the first fret, (like a capo), this will increase the resonance, and dull out any more tingingness.
Damn, used the word twice in one paragraph. I want it added to a dictionary.
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The early Precision basses had small frets (I had a '64) to reduce the frettiness and some would refret them with tiny mandolin frets for more contact with the fretboard. Originally Posted by GingerMojo
Even before Jaco I remember a kid in my high school the hot musician type who could play anything he laid his hands on. Well his neighbor was a cabinet maker so together they removed the frets from an old Japanese bass and planed down the fretboard. Being a dumb rocker I thought it wouldn't work anymore, dam that was cool sounding bass.
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I'd grab a junky neck off ebay, rip out the frets and use some kind of filler(epoxy?) to experiment with a fretless. If I wanted to get fancy I'd make some ebony dust to mix with the epoxy.
Taking frets out is a lot easier than putting them in properly. If I remember correctly Jaco might have covered the neck with something after that.
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I am pretty sure Jaco just ripped the frets out and played as is. He was such a technically proficient player that he always played behind the openings so they would not muffle the sound in any way. I would really like to know for sure if I am right about this before I try anything as daring.
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Well if that's your motivation, have you looked at mini basses? Some of them sound more like uprights than electrics. Originally Posted by Bobalou
The Fender Ashbory is probably the best known. They're out of production but common on eBay. Some folks love them, others not so much, but they're dirt cheap so doesn't hurt to try. Other mini basses still in production are made by Kala and available at all the usual music retailers.
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You don't even need to coat the neck if you just want to experiment, the coatings are more about reducing wear on the now fingerboard and depending on the coating can change the tone. Originally Posted by Stevebol
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I wonder if this is the real 'bass of doom';
If not, I still like the look of the frets. Looks like filler was used but it's not color matched too much. Lighter brown against the darker rosewood.
One legend is that he coated the neck with some kind of hard marine varnish. He liked the added brightness to the sound but naturally the varnish wore off.
This kind of thing is really easy and fun to do. I'd take the frets out, carefully, I forgot the precautions you can take to reduce the small splintering. Then tape off close to the fret holes. Use the low-tack light green masking tape. It will greatly reduce the amount of sanding you have to do later. A cheap rosewood or ebony neck would be good. Avoid epoxy. No sense in making the gap material stronger than the neck wood. Let it dry and give the fretboard a light sanding.
It's done. No big deal.
What kind of glue/filler? IDK. A number of things would probably work. I'd make some dust, maybe maple, mahogony or walnut and mix it with slightly diluted carpenters wood glue. It dries fast with the dust in it so maybe do part of the neck at a time.
As for sanding maybe a quick 220 to 320, 400 to 600 to whatever.
I don't know of any filler that would be perfect to use. Everything is a trade-off.
It's not like you're putting frets in the neck and having to measure, cut holes, etc... That's a job.
regular wood filler might be best as long as it's not that stuff that comes in little cans. It dries like granite.
I'd read up on what others have done successfully before doing this but it's just not a big deal.
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I read that Jaco removed the frets and then filled the slots with some sort of catalyzed auto body putty like Bondo. Epoxy would work as well but would be overkill imo. Also epoxy is SUPER toxic. None of this stuff is non toxic but epoxy is really bad. It's called the Silent Killer because it doesn't actually smell as bad as some other products or the regular polyester putty like Bondo. I suppose if you did the work outside with a fan you'd be OK. Epoxy is stronger. I would think that he masked off the fretboard with low adhesion masking tape so that no putty got on it. And probably kept the tape on while he dressed and sanded the putty so as not to scratch the fretboard. Originally Posted by GingerMojo
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If that pic is the real bass and it's Bondo then maybe that's the way to go. I like the look even though it's secondary.
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This is the one tool you might want to have;
Geetargizmos Fret Pullers Guitar Luthier Tool Immediate SHIP in USA | eBay
They're cheap.
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