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WHAT'S IN A NAME? "String Bass," "Upright Bass," "Acoustic Bass," "Double Bass," "Bass Violin," "Stand-Up
Bass," "Contrabass," "Bass Fiddle," "Bull Fiddle," "Dog House," etc..... Although they all refer to the same instrument,
what I play is technicaly neither a "contrabass," a "violin," nor a "fiddle" for that matter. Its a unique and
noble instrument whose ancestry dates to the Viola de Gamba six-string chamber instrument that first appeared in
Spain toward the end of the 14th century...
Regardless of what people call it, THIS instrument is the preferred bass voice for jazz
due to its natural woody sound, its rhythmic elasticity and its deep, resonating percussive pulse. This elasticity and
pulse-- in combination with the steady, wide-open 4/4 beat of the percussionist and/or the 4/4 chord "chop" of the
guitarist-- are what create tension and release in a jazz performance, resulting in a tight, fluid rhythmic pattern...
The early New Orleans jazz pioneers had always used the string bass for concerts and dances back
home, and they only used the brass bass, or tuba, in their marching street bands where the string bass was obviously impractical.
By 1915, as some of these originators began to move north to Chicago and New York to make recordings and spred their gospel
to the rest of the world, they had the good sense to leave their tubas and brass bands behind. The tuba
continued in use primarily in northern jazz imitator bands and with commercial dance bands until the end of the 1920s,
but it became an anachronism there too when 2-beat dance rhythms went out of style in favor of faster tempos. That
is when the string bass emerged as the universal bass instrument in jazz...
The electric bass guitar, which first came on the scene in the early 1950s, is at
best just a convenient easy-to-carry alternative to the string bass-- but not a substitute. While it provides
a dependable, even, artificially created tone, it lacks the elasticity, the resonance and sustain of the string
bass and it restricts the wide-open fluidity of the 4/4 rhythmic pulse established by the jazz percussionist's
ride cymbal. It thus tends to clash with the tight rhythm pattern. That is why ninety percent of
mainstream jazz professionals prefer the string bass over the electric, or "slab" bass. While the slab is
great for funk, fusion and other modern "hybrid" music styles, it is simply inferior to string bass in the pure, classical
jazz setting...
I've owned quite a few of these noble instruments as well as various pick-up/amp combinations over
the years. Presently, I'm fortunate to perform on three superb instruments, each with unique tonal
and volume characteristics:
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| 1933 Herrold Jaegar 3/4 size Czech roundback with a huge sound! |
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| ca.1860 Bohemian 3/4 size flatback bass...dark, rich sound...I acquired it in 1974 |
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| Vintage '47-'52 King 7/8 size roundback....punchy and clear...perfect for traditional jazz gigs |
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| MY SET-UP |
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STRINGS: I endorse La Bella's 7710-Series rope-core, black tape-wound "Deep Talkin'
Bass" strings and use them on all my instruments. I find that they provide a very genuine, traditional
"gut" sound but they have the quick response of modern metal strings.
BOW: I use a common student-grade German-style bow that nevertheless has a feel and
balance that I like. I use the coarser (unbleached) horsehair since it's larger scales grab the string better,
offering firmer bow control. I prefer Carlson's Swedish Bass Rosin, since it remains consistently soft and pliable
winter or summer.
PICKUP/AMPLIFIER: When amplification is required, I use a David Gage-Ned Steinberger "Realist"
transducer through an Ampeg Porta-Bass head either directly through the house audio system or in tandem with an Ampeg
2x10 cabinet to deliver a totally spot-on woody and acoustic sound. This Ampeg gear is also one of the most lightweight
combinations around, which is also an important factor to me.
END PIN: Since 2002 I have used French luthier Christian Laborie's carbon-fibre endpin,
which tilts the bass from a more or less vertical position backward at a 44 degree angle. This creates a vastly
superior playing posture by significantly altering the center of gravity and forcing the instrument backward into the
player's body for support, thus freeing both hands to concentrate on technique and intonation. The improved
posture of this angle significantly eases playing facility in the thumb position and I find that it also enables
me to hear the instrument much more clearly during performance. Designed by double bass virtuoso Francois
Rabbath, the Laborie endpin provides the most comfortable posture possible for both arco and pizzicato playing, thus
eliminating lower back strain, a common plague of the double bassist. Although it takes a bit of getting used to at
first, I totally love the freedom afforded by this innovation and would never consider returning to an old-fashioned straight
end pin.
| Improved posture afforded by the Laborie End Pin |
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| ...making thumb position more comfortable |
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