Do the necks of the upright double basses have fret markers like dots or anythnig or do you just learn the bass and then figure out where the notes are?
I've never played one but just wondered. Thanks
Dumb Upright Doublebass questions
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- Rated: 40 ↑
Mar 9, 2008 4:22 p.m. Diggey:
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Mar 9, 2008 4:30 p.m. fws6:
no they (usually) dont but many starting bassist just paint little dots on the side off the bass to get started
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- Rated: 114 ↑
Mar 9, 2008 4:33 p.m. wenzel:
You just play by feel. I do it on my Japanese shamisen and the guitarron mariachi bass and both are fretless. You'd be surprised at how quickly you figure out how far to move. You sort of have to imagine that it has frets. How far would you normally move to grab a note etc... Don't fear the reaper! Buy one!
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- Rated: 10 ↑
Mar 9, 2008 4:52 p.m. reddog:
When I was learng to play my teacher put tape strips on my bass to help me learn my sweet spots. you can do this with a tuner (provided it has a mic) 3rd 5th and 9th(on the low e g,a,d) Good luck
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Mar 9, 2008 5:00 p.m. Diggey:
cool thats what I thought but wasn't sure. I have no idea where to go here in Pittsburgh to even try one.
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- Rated: 114 ↑
Mar 9, 2008 5:05 p.m. wenzel:
Just order a king doublebass from MusiciansFriend.com and if you don't like it, send it back within 45 days! Diggey, if you need some help, pittsburgh isn't that far away from me!!! I am willing to help you out for free, as in lessons!
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Mar 9, 2008 5:24 p.m. Diggey:
I'd love to get a KIng, I need to sell that Tele........
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Mar 9, 2008 6:42 p.m. Mark Synchro:
Sending a doublebass back is hardly a trivial matter. They come in a box the size of a coffin.
Diggey: Find a store that caters to orchestra musicians, they'll have a DB. You can probably rent a student model for a very reasonable price to give it a try.
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Mar 9, 2008 6:56 p.m. jukebox:
I sure like my Palitino solidbody upright.It's alot easier hauling to gigs.
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Mar 9, 2008 7:05 p.m. Diggey:
Jukebox, hows the tones? Slappy like? HA HA ,seriously, can you get some pounding out of it?
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Mar 9, 2008 9:58 p.m. jukebox:
Yes ,you can It has a fisherman pu with preamp .The bridge sits on the pickup,and it's very sensative.Then I run it through an EQ,then into my Bose system.Which also has diffrent bass affect or diffrent bass type sounds.My bass player has had it sounding more like a drum and as sweet as a organ.
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Mar 9, 2008 11:17 p.m. Adam:
If you don't want to do tape or anything too obtrusive you can just mark a few positions with a pencil on the side of the neck. Only you can see it, and you'll soon get a feel for where to go. Once you can, erase them and you are good to go.
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- Rated: 43 ↑
Mar 13, 2008 6:32 a.m. Jeff O(h, The Places You'll Go):
Don't use tape, the sticky residue will mess with the strings and finger board.
Use nothing - and learn to play with more open strings. That way when you hit the open string and the run sounds a bit off, it's time to look at your hands and make sure you're in the right position.
AS A CHEAT - all fingerboards and necks have slight imperfections. Mine has one very near what would be the fifth position. Stage lights reflect at an angle. I use this cheat maybe once a gig.
