Off Topic Upright Fretless Help For My Daughter

[LawDaddy]

Calling on this awesome community for some help.

My daughter is now playing bass in her high school jazz band. I'm very proud that my little girl is holding down the law for the band!

Due to competition rules, she must play a traditional upright fretless in band. My wife and I bought her a cheap Jaco-inspired electric fretless from that *other* company, and she is not having any issues with the missing frets and is taking to it very well. Cool so far.

Problem is, she IS on the little side - all of 5' 1/2". She is having issues with her lack of wing span. It is difficult for her to keep her right hand near the lower fingerboard end to sound a note and fret a note near the nut with her left hand.

Question is, short of investing in an (expensive) upright, is there anything she can do at home to help with the physical challenges and practice through it?

For example, should she play her electric fretless bass in a vertical, upright position to get the feel and muscle memory down? Would a budget EUB help? Or is the only answer to find a used upright?

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

BP: The little girl turns 15 this weekend and covets a Bongo for her B-Day. Just sayin'...

 

[Caca de Kick]

Find a used upright. The left hand technique is so very different from an electric skinny neck bass.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I was going to say the same about the left hand position, although bear in mind that you can get a 3/4 (as in 3 quarters) size basses as well, not concert sound but once amplified are good enough. I started on one of those at the tender age of 16 and I haven't really grown a lot in height size then but my current full size double bass doesnt have a end pin on it and that was replaced with a small end cap type of heel. I still struggle the 1st position but c'est la vie.

 

[Manfloozy]

MS Designs has a full size EUB called the WAV which is reasonable, but they also make a Bass/Cello which is 34" scale and can be worn vertically... This probably doesn't help with the problem, just a thought. The 3/4 scale is very common and a good idea too (I actually had a really hard time finding a full 4/4 size upright when I was playing).

 

[stingray96191]

For someone the size of your daughter, you probobly want to find her a used 1/2 size upright.. Set up correctly that is going to have a scale length of around 38" where a standard 3/4 scale is around 41-42" Almost no one outside of orchestral applications plays 4/4...

Trying to play a bass guitar veritically isn;t really going to be a help for technique.. they are two completly different beasts...

Hope this helps

Erin

 

[five7]

stingray96191,
+1

 

[shakinbacon]

for someone the size of your daughter, you probobly want to find her a used 1/2 size upright.. Set up correctly that is going to have a scale length of around 38" where a standard 3/4 scale is around 41-42" almost no one outside of orchestral applications plays 4/4...

Trying to play a bass guitar veritically isn;t really going to be a help for technique.. They are two completly different beasts...

Hope this helps

erin

+1

 

[LawDaddy]

Thanks everyone. Sounds like a used one is the way to go.

 

[phat5]

An Azola (original) Bug Bass would be managable......if you could find one. The Middle School jazz band I help out with, has a Kydd short scale eub. They have some small students, who are able to wrangle that instrument. And it does sound somewhat upright.

 

[Eggman]

I was going to suggest the Kydd short scale as well. The WAV is full scale and will be hard to manage with her size. Could look at Barker as well. Maybe Jesse Blu at Ergo could make you an EUB short scale. His prices are good and quality is excellent.

Make sure you buy her the Bongo for her birthday!

 

[SharonG]

I am 5' 6" and played a 3/4 for a brief while in high school. I think a 1/2 size should work for you. Hopefully one of your local places will have one either for rent or to buy. Good luck!

 

[Ken Baker]

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Find her a real upright bass, as that is probably what the school is after anyway. A fretted bass fits in jazz as well, but it would be for the more modern charts.

For upright, 3/4 is the jazz & orchestral standard and would likely work well for her as she grows. If it's too big now there are 1/2 basses, but she might grow out of it quickly and you've have a tough time selling it. I've seen some petite ladies playing 3/4 basses, so do check it out.

As an aside, my son plays a 7/8 orchestral bass. It's got the scale of a 3/4, but the body is huge. It isn't something that a smaller person would want to deal with. But it sounds fantastic.

There are some decent import Chinese uprights on the market that can be had fairly inexpensively. Check a local dealer or call Lemur Music.

Hope this helps.

Ken...

 

[LawDaddy]

Thanks again everyone. We have a lead on a place near home that does a rent-to-own program for uprights, we're going to check it out.