Upright tone....

[Steve Dude Barr]

Haha, you're showing how superficial I am!

I'll try one when I venture over to Bass Central on saturday. It's going to have to sound really amazing in order for it to compensate for those looks...

You probably won't find a Single HP fretless over there...none on their website at least. That's not a very commonly stocked combination but I'm telling ya...that will get you the closest you will find in regard to the upright tone you seek

 

[Mahlon]

Bongos are beautiful.

 

[Psycho Ward]

I can not recommend a MusicMan enough, but I do have to say this...

A very wise man (Tom) and I were talking about the upright tone somewhere a while back and he made a very good point. The only way to get the "upright tone" is to get an upright.

I've heard several attempts from many electric bass makers and I own a Rob Allen myself, but nothing I've ever heard really nailed the upright tone... except the real deal. I just recently had a chance to play around on one, a righty so I couldn't do much on it, but man what a boom!

I have a fretless Sterling and with the right eq and playing technique I can get as close as anything I've heard, you can get alot of the vibe, but to me nothing has the attack and boom of that big hollow box. Of course once you amplify an upright it becomes another animal.

Dude, that Bongo is gaw-jis, I love it!

 

[Visirale]

I can not recommend a MusicMan enough, but I do have to say this...

A very wise man (Tom) and I were talking about the upright tone somewhere a while back and he made a very good point. The only way to get the "upright tone" is to get an upright.

I've heard several attempts from many electric bass makers and I own a Rob Allen myself, but nothing I've ever heard really nailed the upright tone... except the real deal. I just recently had a chance to play around on one, a righty so I couldn't do much on it, but man what a boom!

I have a fretless Sterling and with the right eq and playing technique I can get as close as anything I've heard, you can get alot of the vibe, but to me nothing has the attack and boom of that big hollow box. Of course once you amplify an upright it becomes another animal.

Dude, that Bongo is gaw-jis, I love it!

I have an Engelhardt EM1. I dunno, it just doesn't do it for me. I mean, it may be crappily setup... but even if it was set up well, I'm not carrying that around everywhere... my college will have an upright or two that I can use if need be.

Haha, I just need to go to bass central and try some stuff out...

 

[SteveB]

Call me a guitard, but to me an upright is really LACKING in tone!

I can't imagine why any bass manufacturer would go to any trouble to replicate that sound. Thank goodness for amplification! I agree with Chuck, upright is as upright does.

..just my $0.02 USD.

 

[Psycho Ward]

I would never want to discourage you from ordering what you're picked out, and by all means try several basses, Bongo's too!

I guess what I'm saying is, this is similar to the grand piano, nothing really can reproduce the grand. I own every type of electronic reproduction of the grand piano there is and I also own a grand. The grand blows everything away. When you are sitting down at a grand and play it you hear and feel the sound coming out, it surounds you.

That said, when I was touring with the Bellamys I would almost always prefer my Kurzweil over sometimes great grand pianos. Because when the amps are amp'n and the drums are a drumming, that huge sound board picked up all of it and I don't care if you put the best mic's known to man all over it, on an outdoor gig thru a PA, my Kurzweil sounded better! It has high resoultion samples, that have been recorded under the best conditions and have been tweaked to give the best piano you can get out of a 1/4'' jack.

Of course in the studio or in a good hall with a great PA, the real grand can do its thing.

... sorry, I'm still a keyboard guy too...

 

[sir funkytown]

Speaking as a doubler ,as long as you can swing, you can get by with any good fat tone that sits with the drums.The mistake that people make when they try to make an electric sound like and upright is they forget that an upright isn't in anyway a dead sounding instrument(so forget the foam mutes and the flats) ,and they don't just go get an upright.If it's jazz you are playing remember , you are not trying to lock with the kick anymore so keep the volume down and EQ carfully.