[Dixielandjazz] Electric Bass

[Patrick Cooke]

Dear Rebecca....
         If you can always HEAR the difference between an acoustic and an
electric bass, you have exceptional ears.  If you listen to your CDs on a
cheap little boom box, you will be lucky to hear the bass at all, much less
tell what kind of bass it is.   With the exception of symphonic players,
almost all "acoustic" basses are amplified these days, so for the sake of
discussion, we'll assume that they all are amplified.
         I have known musicians with years of experience incorrectly
identify an electric as an acoustic, and vice-versa.  There are a few times
when I have to listen closely for some passage or nuance which reveals the
identity of the bass.
         If an electric is using round-wound steel strings, it is
unmistakable.  These are the strings that the rockers and the countrywestern
players prefer.  They have a twang that is immediately identifiable.  The
sound is more like a bass banjo....especially in the upper register.  The
higher the note, the more twang.  This is the sound that most jazz people
dislike.  I DON'T LIKE IT either!
        If you change the strings to flatwound, the sound is entirely
different.  You can change to nylon wound strings and get still another
sound.  I could write a few hundred words on the anatomy of strings, but
suffice to say that different types of strings produce different
sounds....markedly different....more than the difference between acoustic
and eldctric.  Can you hear what kind of strings a bass player is using?
Your eyes won't help you here. I can hear the difference between flatwound
and roundwound strings.  With flatwound strings on a Fender, I can get a
sound not unlike a tuba.
       Most of the acoustic basses you will hear a jazz or dance player use
will be plywood.  Plywood basses are cheaper by an order of magnitude, are
rugged and dependable; but they just don't sound anything like the carved
wood basses that most symphonic players use.  The plywood bass will have a
resonant point usually somewhere around Bb or C on the G string.  The sound
is usually strongest at this point and diminishes to rather muddy on the
bottom string.  This can be corrected to some degree by the use of
electronic equalization.  A carved wood bass made by a violin maker who
knows what he is doing will hve a more equal amplitude over the whole
instrument.
       Pickups can completely destroy your sound.  I've thrown away about a
half dozen of them.  Some pickups will sound good on one bass, terrible on
another.  I have never got a sound I liked from any pickup that mounts on
the bridge.  I'm partial to the magnetic type, but I'm still not ecstatic
about it.  Can you tell the difference?
       Stand-up acoustic basses are most readily identifiable by bad
intonation.  There are a very few acoustic players who are consistently in
tune.  I have heard a number of top name jazz players play acoustics out of
tune, even on recordings which could have and should have been re-done.
This is not to say they aren't great players....but some days, some times,
on some passages the intonation is going to be off.  Unless you have good
ears, you may not notice it.  It especially will show up when the bass is
playing a unison figure with another instrument.  I know...the guy in your
group has impeccable intonation ALL the time.....yeah, right.
        There are also different types of strings used on the standup
bass....and they all have a different sound.  Most players use flat-wound
steel strings.  They are available for about $100 a set, and they last a
long, long time.  There is also a company that makes round wound strings for
acoustics which are twangier, and chew up your fingers and your fingerboard.
There are also gut strings, which for years were the only strings available.
Gut strings cost about twice as much as steels, go dead, break, and need
constant tuning.  But there are a few guys think the sound of gut is worth
the aggravation.  When I hear most of the guys (even musicians) make blanket
statements like "I prefer the sound of a standup to an electric",  I know
gut strings are not worth the aggravation, plus they don't work with a
magnetic pickup.
         Are you still with me???  Unless you listen to classical music a
lot, any acoustic bass you hear is probably amplified.  Amplification means
you need a pickup or a microphone, and some kind of amplification system.
Do you prefer the sound of an acoustic or a magnetic pickup?  You like a
microphone, you say?  Do you prefer the sound of a condenser mike, dynamic,
or some other kind?  Can you hear the difference?
        Then we come to the sound tech, who will put a microphone in front
of your amp, and run it through his sound equipment.  After all your
considerations about strings, pickups, amp settings, etc, the sound tech can
make your bass sound like someone hitting the s..t house door with a wet
mop.
          No flaming meant here.....just trying for a little objectivity and
understanding.
         Pat Cooke
----- Original Message -----
From: "thompson" <res0a3qw@verizon.net>
To: "Patrick Cooke" <patcooke@cox.net>; <barbonestreet@earthlink.net>;
"Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 17, 2002 3:45 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Electric Bass


> Sorry, Pat, but I prefer the SOUND of a stand up bass over the electric
for
> trad music.  AND I CAN hear the difference.  And I am one of the weirdoes
> that happens to like rock and roll and alternative music. (with the
electric
> bass)  LOVE U2!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> Rebecca Thompson
> Flower Mound, TX
>
>
>
>
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