Upright Bass questions
Posted by: bfallis <bfallis@...>
5 years long, of playing upright bass. I fell in love with the instrument as
a jazz reviewer but had so much $$ tied up in my electrics that I couldn't
get one, but my wife's church has one and needed someone to play it for
their occasional orchestra performances, so, I brought it home and have been
practicing until my fingers fall off! It's great.
However, the bass needs this and that... it's a Knilling (Bucharest) 1302T
they bought at the MARS going out of biz sale.
Problems:
A seam is split between the face (lower left) and the side, about 1 1/2
feet. I was told it's about a $30-$50 repair
Action is super high! While that's not too big a deal on the G and D string,
the E string is really really tough to play. Obviously it won't be as low as
my Ken Smith fretless, but it should be low enough to play efficiently.
However the bridge is not adjustable... any suggestions? Buy an adjustable
bridge do you think? I plan to play jazz with it when possible and some
contemporary Christian, and the church orchestra bit is just a trade off so
I can get a chance to learn the instrument better.
The bow is a german bow and is a good one I think but the dark rosin is as
hard as a rock. Anyway recommendations?
Then I'm going to want a pickup. I was looking at the Fishaman full circle
http://www.urbbob.com/fullcircle.html or the K&K double big twin
http://www.urbbob.com/dbt.html
however, I worry about spending too much... I think there's an entry level
K&K as well. I saw one on ebay. I'm told that this bass I have (the
Knilling) is not a great one, expecially in classical circles, but that jazz
players seem to like it. I personally think it has a nice tone.
Suggestions welcome 🙂 Monte are you out there? 🙂
Blaine Fallis
Managing Director - FriendlyWeb.net
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