i'm getting a double bass on the weekend
 

it's acoustic, i'm planning on buying some pickups and putting them on it to save mic-ing it up all the time.

is there a specific type that i'd need to buy?

and are they normally easy to install?

The easiest pickup to install is the Fishman BP-100. It's also one of the lower-end pickups, but it'll do the job. Theres one called the Underwood as well, but I've never tried it. From what I've heard it's better than the BP-100. Then theres the fancier pickups like the Gage Realist (I've got one) and the Fishman Full Circle, but those are much harder to install, and you probably shouldn't go putting a FC on a rental bass anyways, haha.

Theres only a few upright players on here as far as I know though, me being one of them, and my knowledge is pretty limited. You should head over to the Talkbass double bass forum, you'll get loads of answers there.

Oh, also find out if you can rent a bass with a pickup already on it from wherever you're renting from. Thats what I did for a while until I bought my own bass.

i forgot to mention it's not a rental bass. a guy near my dads place is selling one and he's buying it today for my birthday and i'm picking it up on the weekend from him

What kind of bass is it and how was it constructed?

David Gage Realist is #1, but I use Fishman simply because of the price difference.

The Gage Realist, however, is not a great pickup if your playing at very loud volumes (though most piezo pickups feedback at high volumes anyway). It will fuzz and feedback like crazy.

Telling us how its made will help a lot. (plywood or carved?) You may have to try out a few different pickups, as different basses respond to different pickups. How much are you looking to spend?

Good double bass pickups can all be found for under $275.. preamps though (i dismiss as useless unless you want a blast of volume and "percussive" crackle) start at about $150.

I've played some horrible plywood basses, but I've also played some horrible plywoods with the Realist installed that sounded amazing. The Realist amplifies the pure sound that the bass body produces inside of it, not the output. Fishmans and other common piezos just amplify what you hear, meaning a plywood with a fishman=unpleasent tone, whereas a plywood with a Realist=wonderful warm tone without the signature plywood crisp/crunch when you pluck the strings.

Carved and solid basses sound terrific without amplification and terrific with amplification (using just about any pickup).

And just stay away from magnetic pickups.

i'm not sure what make and if it's plywood or carved, i don't think it was a good choice just letting him buy it without me checking it out first.

and i'm willing to spend $500 at max.

If your not one of those "rockabilly musicians" or a bluegrass guy then get the David Gage Realist. It'll make pretty much any bass sound great.

[QUOTE=Dez_Axer;16150716]If your not one of those "rockabilly musicians" or a bluegrass guy then get the David Gage Realist. It'll make pretty much any bass sound great.[/QUOTE]

i play bass in a country backing band every wednesday, so i'll mainly be using it for that....but no, i'm not a rockabilly musician or bluegrass guy.

Double bass = a sick instrument. Classical music is actually pretty bitchin'. As is Bob Dylan/Iron & Wine type stuff.

Strings make a huge difference on an upright. You might think about getting a set of good strings for it. When I bought a budget upright ($850 or thereabouts) the strings that came on it were total junk. I put on a set of Super-Sensitive Red Labels and it sounded great :)

Double bass isn't just for classical music.. and classical music isnt just anything involving violins. It's a time period. Classical=early orchestral music

The realist is by far the most natural sounding pickup around. When I first heard one coming through an small amp at a medium volume I couldn't tell that it was amplified at all - they're incredible at reproducing the natural sound of the instrument. You might not want that sound though, some people like John Pattitucci like the more electrified sound that comes with pickups like the Fishman or the Underwood. I personally don't like it (upright bass is supposed to thump, its not supposed to sound like an electric, imho) but a lot of people do.

[QUOTE=Dez_Axer;16151862]Double bass isn't just for classical music.. and classical music isnt just anything involving violins. It's a time period. Classical=early orchestral music[/QUOTE]

That's not really right at all.

Classical with a capital "C" is indeed a time period - but it came after the Baroque period, and therefore really can't be called early orchestral music. Also, classical with a lowercase "c" is a layman's term for orchestral music, or other similar sounding solo music.

Sorry i forgot to capitalize a C.

I just bugs the hell out of me when people assume that anything involving bowed stringed instruments is Classical (CCCCCCCCCCCCC). Personally i perfer Romantic music over Baroque or Classical..

Actually, good point SoM. Forgot about strings. Chances are you might need a new set. As well, If you have that much to spend, get a Realist.

I started composing a classical/romantic style double bass duet piece a few days ago. Once it's done I'd like to record it, maybe It'll be my first recording posted here.

[QUOTE=Son of Magni;16151846]Strings make a huge difference on an upright. You might think about getting a set of good strings for it. When I bought a budget upright ($850 or thereabouts) the strings that came on it were total junk. I put on a set of Super-Sensitive Red Labels and it sounded great :)[/QUOTE]

Aren't upright strings really expensive? Like $100?

^^^^^^
NO..
Good ones start at around $300 a set

[QUOTE=PrimalConcreteSledge;16154977]Aren't upright strings really expensive? Like $100?[/QUOTE]

Red Labels are like $80, they're pretty good strings. Thomastic Dominants are probably more like $200 but they're chrome wrapped. I think my Dominants for my cello are over $100.

Red Labels are not good.. they're like spare tires.

Dominants are better, but they're no holy grail..

La Bellas and Piastro Evah Pirazzi strings are where its at

Spirocores are a good, all-around string as well. About 180 a set here in Canada. My spiro E is super growly, I love it.

Dez what do you use? I bought my 'new' bass used recently, came with a Spiro E, Velvet A & D, and a Dominant G. The velvets are about $600 a set, they're amazing, especially for arco. I might replace them eventually though, since I'm a jazz player.

By the way it is common for upright players to mix and match strings, for anyone who was wondering.

I play a flatback carved Christopher gamba model for jazz (upgrade from an old plywood Kay). The strings i use are Pirazzis and Thomastiks. I'm in the market for a 5 string double bass for my college symphony and the one one I'm looking at is nearly $6000.. Big instruments are a pain in the wallet!

pain in the wallet for sure! I paid $3000 for my used roundback Eastman carved. I also had to get it set up, bought a new bag, a Realist... probably at least $3600 total. Why don't you get an extension for your bass? MUCH cheaper than a whole new bass (obviously), and just about as much range.

And the sad thing is that since I paid $5000 for my cello and it's really just entry level pro quality, that would mean a pro quality c-bass must be like 10k+

At Heinl's in Toronto I played jazz bassist Roberto Occhipinti's bass, it was an $18,000 Pollmann. Across the room they had an old, Italian made orchestral bass for $60,000.

Yeah.

Classical string instruments cost so much.

My problem with extensions is that I'm very short. I've played a few extended basses and it just sucks for me. I can hardly press down the low C, plus my wrist is at a weird angle. 5 strings have sort of solved that problem for me (though most quality 5 strings are 7/8)

Even the extensions that have the levers to finger the lower notes? Like this:

[url]http://www.thomasmartin.co.uk/photos/low-C-1.jpg[/url]

That's the ugliest thing I have seen in my life.

What the hell does that even do?