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Electric Bass in Gypsy Jazz??

jonpowljonpowl Hercules, CA✭✭✭ Dupont MD-100, Altamira M01F
edited November 2013 in Bass Posts: 705
I know this might be sacrilege, but I'm wondering how working GJ performers think about electric bass instead of stand-up bass. It sure would be easier to lug around a Fender P-bass than a double bass, even with a small amp. Plus, since I play bass, I might get to jam with better players sooner than I would on guitar. I'm betting that if Jaco Pastorius asked to sit in with the Rosenbergs with his Jazz bass, they would probably have loved it.
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Comments

  • swing68swing68 Poznan, Poland✭✭✭ Manouche Modele Orchestre, JWC Catania Swing
    Posts: 121
    Yeah, the Rosenbergs probably would - that horrible funk thing they play (see splash video at the rosenbergacademy.com welome page) shows that even the greatest can't always escape the dreaded lure of dad-rock & its subgenres.

    Having said that, our bass-player has already made that jump - not to a Fender Precision, but to an electric upright. Thanks to its minimal body size, it's easy to lug about and has a retractable stand so you can rehearse sitting down if that's more comfortable.

    Tone wise I can't see straight electric bass working here. Part of what you want in the bass sound in this genre is a thump that's felt as much as heard - electric basses have way too much sustain to get this (though there's always sticking some foam under the strings at the bridge as a compromise).
    The war on Am7 and Cmaj7 begins here ...
  • wimwim ChicagoModerator Barault #503 replica
    Posts: 1,454
    No. Just no. It sounds bad and wrong. If I booked a bassist for a Django style gig and the guy showed up with an electric I would never book that guy again, I'd delete his number from my phone and then I'd burn my phone and flush the ash down the toilet.
  • jimvencejimvence Austin, TX✭✭
    Posts: 73
    swing68 wrote:
    Yeah, the Rosenbergs probably would - that horrible funk thing they play (see splash video at the rosenbergacademy.com welome page) shows that even the greatest can't always escape the dreaded lure of dad-rock & its subgenres.

    Having said that, our bass-player has already made that jump - not to a Fender Precision, but to an electric upright. Thanks to its minimal body size, it's easy to lug about and has a retractable stand so you can rehearse sitting down if that's more comfortable.

    Tone wise I can't see straight electric bass working here. Part of what you want in the bass sound in this genre is a thump that's felt as much as heard - electric basses have way too much sustain to get this (though there's always sticking some foam under the strings at the bridge as a compromise).

    I assume this post is about playing on solid or semi-solid electric bass guitars. I've heard fairly convincing tones from those upright sticks, even some acoustic bass guitars amplified.

    I would think the big decision here is first, the style and training of the bass player, and second, whether it a fretless bass. I've heard great woody tones from certain fretless electrics. But, yeah, a slap funk style on a Fender fretted may not work.
  • MatteoMatteo Sweden✭✭✭✭ JWC Modele Jazz, Lottonen "Selmer-Maccaferri"
    Posts: 393
    Didn't Louis Vola use an electric hollowbody bass guitar with a Stimer pick up in his later years? :D
  • Isn't that Bireli on that tune?
  • AndyWAndyW Glasgow Scotland UK✭✭✭ Clarinets & Saxes- Selmer, Conn, Buescher, Leblanc et.al. // Guitars: Gerome, Caponnetto, Napoli, Musicalia, Bucolo, Sanchez et. al.
    Posts: 599
    I'm not a bassist , but I'd like to hear how close to a double-bass you can get with [say] an acoustic fretless bass guitar .-
    also, I know Alan / crookedpinkie was talking about an "acoustic bass simulator" Fx pedal - not sure what that would do to help get the D.B. sound
    -A-
  • jimvencejimvence Austin, TX✭✭
    Posts: 73
    Here is an example of a U Bass. A discerning ear can hear a slight difference over a true acoustic bass, but I'd have no issue with this instrument in the hands of a good bassist.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ge6k5S_PBE
  • Ashbory bass....closest thingt here is to ana coustic bass...IMO in the right hands sounds better than some acoustic basses when they are amplified :shock:
    The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
  • Posts: 20
    Just came across this and had to think about the topic.:)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCB0zUnlVFg
  • MatteoMatteo Sweden✭✭✭✭ JWC Modele Jazz, Lottonen "Selmer-Maccaferri"
    Posts: 393
    What about electric bass guitar, street dancers, bossa rhythm and graffiti painting? Everything is possible if you do it well: http://youtu.be/vsz55WbWK6c
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