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bea

bea

AmBASSador of the F Clef
Country flag
Well, last afternoon i bought a new AGB. I feel the need of a fretless ABG, and i want to play it in an acoustic Klezmer trio (my new 2nd band).

Found a cheap Harley Benton HB30 nearby in some classifieds and bought it blindly (well, for 75€ it just needs to be technically ok). This one:


DSC_4743.JPG

A few years old, in really good shape, battery empty. It has a scale of 815mm. But i am used to the 800mm (plus compensation) of my fretless V. So the scale must be shortened. The fingerboard and even more the bridge were a bit "raw" - a tribute to the small price of the new instrument (150€). Ok, no problem, as the bass is to be modded anyway.

Here it goes:

remove the saddle (well, bone! in such a cheap bass!!) and cut the fingerboard shorter:

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saddle to high - cut it shorter - bone requires a saw. And glue it in. Reinsert the broken piece of the binding.

DSC_4747.JPG


The bridge was raw with pretty sharp edges. Smooth the surface a bit and round all edges with a scraper and then sand it. The fingerboard needed to be smoothed with the scraper as well. Round the sharp edges of the binding with sanding paper and apply a bit of olive oil to the fingerboard and the bridge.


DSC_4748.JPG


As i did not have my nice wood at hand i just used some rests of Paulownia from the velomobile project to fill the gap behind the saddle, and then grabbed appropriate strings. Here Pyramid Black Nylon Tapewounds. These strings hav ea warm woody sound and a fast decay fitting well to the expectation of a double bass played pizzicato.
The scale length has been altered by only 12 mm - but thats makes a huge difference for the playability.

DSC_4753.JPG
 
And what can i do with rests of plywood?

Yes, try to make a few picks. All 4mm thick, two from beech and one from poplar. Thae shape has been taken from my preferred pick, the JD Jazz 1 (where i always round the tip before i start using them). The motivation behind that was my desire to have a pick with a similar tone like playing with the fingers. The one of poplar comes closer - and it is a lot faster to make it. Smoothly rounded edges have the usual positive effect on a mellow tone wthout the aggressive attack typical of using a pick especially on bass strings. Finally i have a backup when mny fingers hurt too much from playing ...

DSC_4752.JPG


BTW: the following text snippet has been translated by DeepL - can You understand it?
"It may be that I should try out linden or alder - but poplar probably mumps the bassiest ..."

(German original: Es mag sein, dass ich mal Linde oder Erle austesten solle - aber Pappel mumpft wahrscheinlich am bässten ... (where am bässten is intentionally orthographically wrong, correct would be am besten))
 
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bea said:
The motivation behind that was my desire to have a pick with a similar tone like playing with the fingers. The one of poplar comes closer - and it is a lot faster to make it. Smoothly rounded edges have the usual positive effect on a mellow tone wthout the aggressive attack typical of using a pick especially on bass strings.
Click to expand...

Interesting!!!

For years I have played - quite incorrectly - with the rounded edge of the pick instead of the point and I prefer the smoother attack of this method.

All my life, I've played Fender Medium or Heavy picks. Recently, a music friend gave me a bunch of 1.5mm Ernie Ball Prodigy picks.

These are similar in size to a regular Fender Medium, but have radically tapered edges.

Using my unorthodox method of holding the pick 'wrong,' the feel and accuracy of these picks is truly on another level.

I can play fast-picked passages much more cleanly and much faster. String to string transitions are much cleaner too....
 
Here the bass in action. Open air, fully unplugged:


It was sufficient to keep the band together, but there is some desire to be louder. Measurs: improvin the picking technique: closer to the bridge, immediately behing the soundhole, it plays louder. An then i can recuce the damping of the byck by my belly with spacers - which makes the bass louder gives it a fuller sound. Here my initial testing version:

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The preliminary final version: a rest of beech plywood, 4mm. Three stiffening rods underneath. And glued with white glue to the XPS which itself it is still fixed with double sided tape to the guitar. Survived today's rehearsal and works nicely. The guitar still fits into the gig bag!


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Very enjoyable pieces!
I like the way the horn fills the lyric space as well as melodic riffage.

I couldn't hear you well, except in places the horn was pretty quiet, at around the 2:10 mark for example.
(Desktop computer speakers, and I cant crank it up here at work).

The idea and implementation of the volume increase by isolating the guitar body from your body is just.... I'm amazed.
I am always impressed with your clever build techniques and the level of craftsmanship.
 
I did not like the electronics: the preamp "eats" batteries even if it is "off" (which obviously is not the case...), and the tone is pretty massive, in the low end almost like a magnetic pickup. Something i do not want in an acoustic band. (The piezo on my fretted ABG sounds better)

Alternative? Microphone? I started to try out a lavalier microphone. In this case a Shure SM-11 - the only dynamic Lavalier i could find. All the others are tiny electrets with strange operating volages and strange plugs as well. Designed for wireless. First tests though headphones and mixing console revealed a nice warm acoustic sound, which does depend on the exact position surpisingly strong. Tests through the speaker have yet to be done. In an unamplified acoustic band i do not need much volume, and the bass itself is pretty loud. sSo i home that will suffice.

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Just checkt it through the speakers: mic into the mixing console and them into my home stereo. Yes, i have to care about feedback. A lot. But even in that small room i can play louder than i need to be. And the sound represents the acoustic sound pretty well (with those strings it comes indeed pretty close to an upright bass).
 
And tonight a 1st gig using the mic on an open stage. In the Frankfurt Art Bar
open_stage_frankfurt_art_bar.jpg


My bandmates were pleased that my bass sound was mostly the same as when i play unamplified. Which means that the mic does exactly what i hoped to achieve.
And the moderator the the open stage appeared to be pleased that that bass guitar sounded pretty much like a double bass, which of course was intended, too.

(But unfortunately he does not like at all Verena and me in our electric duo... and that is really frustrating, because that location would have been one of the rare opoortunities to get the necessary experience playin in front of the public...)
 
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an excellent thread! Danke schoen!
much better to carry this bass and a small amp than to carry the double bass about.
 
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bea said:
And tonight a 1st gig using the mic on an open stage. In the Frankfurt Art Bar
open_stage_frankfurt_art_bar.jpg


My bandmates were pleased that my bass sound was mostly the same as when i play unamplified. Which means that the mic does exactly what i hoped to achieve.
And the moderator the the open stage appeared to be pleased that that bass guitar sounded pretty much like a double bass, which of course was intended, too.

(But unfortunately he does not like at all Verena and me in our electric duo... and that is really frustrating, because that location would have been one of the rare opoortunities to get the necessary experience playin in front of the public...)
Click to expand...
Bea, I am sorry about the guy not liking the electric duo part. Good thing he isn't here or i'd straighten him out and tell him to let my friends play and do well by any venue such as his. You are a class act, Bea. Good luck.
 
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