Opinions please, on acoustic fretless basses

[jdogric12]

Thinking of getting one. I played my Carlo Robelli acoustic (fretted) bass at a rock club last night, ran it DI, and shook the foundation with the low end it produced!!! So would a fretless sound kinda like an upright?

[jimk]

At the risk of sounding like a wiseacre, just find yourself an old Kay upright bass and call it good.
JimK

[woodyng]

Jason-i had a fretted Tacoma thunderchief ABG for a view years,strung with Ti acousticore strings,and it was a pretty good approximation of an URB,a fretless would probably really nail it. I think it was the strings,which are standard issue on Turner acoustic basses as well. The 1 or 2 times i was able to check out a Urb,i found it very difficult to get on with,nostly i imagine because of the different scale from a bass guitar. (conversely,i don't like short scale basses,either!)

[FretlessOnly]

Double basses really aren't all that huge in the low-end department. Sure, with modern amplification you can make them sound that way, but that's not their pure sound. So, it begs the question whether you are trying to approximate the modern sound of a double bass through an amplifier or the more traditional sound of the double bass, which, while having some nice round low end, is much more focused in the mids and with some clear highs.

That aside, I've found that Roto TruBass 88s (smooth nylon tapewound) do a pretty good job of approximating the DB sound; at least the Ray Brown version of that sound: Big and round but not too growly. If you want a more Niels-Henning Orsted-Pedersen or Christian McBride type of sound, you'll need a string with more snap and growl, like the Fender nylon tapewounds (these windings are more like a roundwound string than many tapes).

I'm not sure how nylon tapes would work with an acoustic guitar style bass; I suppose it would depend on the pickup system, which are usually piezos (I would think). These tend to be very bright, so some experimentation might be in order. The TruBass 88s might sound much brighter in this scenario.

[jdogric12]

Hmmm... lots to think about.

Jim, too funny. I do need to get a pickup for the old Kay. But it would be nice not to have to lug that thing onto the Metro. I'm playing more in downtown DC now so driving and parking is not much of an option. Last night I took the acoustic, Metroed in and got a ride home from someone in the band.

I am going for an upright sound. I think. I really liked the low end, so I dont' think I know what I want!

[teb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNPx6RS8PiM

I really didn't have much trouble adapting to the 20" scale, though my three other fretless basses all have different scale lengths, so I'm kind of used to it. It does take a while to get used to how soft and flexible the strings are, but with some amp tweaking, the sound is pretty darned good. Total weight in the generously padded case is a hair over five pounds.

[jps]

I am going for an upright sound.

How about this for an upright sound?

[FretlessOnly]

Or this?

[iiipopes]

If you want an upright sound, do what I did: get an upright.

[jdogric12]

Got one, a '40 Kay M-1 that I love, but taking it on the Metro is not an appealing idea. I think I'd probably even have to lift it over the turnstile-like devices you walk through.

[jps]

You'll need a Metro pass for it, too.

[jdogric12]

I'm really liking the idea of an electric upright.

[woodyng]

I was looking into Barker basses recently,which are pretty pricey (starting at $2500). It is a chambered upright bass guitar on a stand,that breaks down into what looks like a pretty compact and easily portable gig bag. They are supposed to sound phenomonal,with lots of deep end and sustain. (barkerbass.com) i found a used (fretted) one for a great price,but ran into problems with the seller and i getting together.

[jps]

I'm really liking the idea of an electric upright.

NS Design.

[weemac]

You could try an Ashbory, small cheap and big sounding!

emac.