Folding double bass

[Basvarken]

Cool invention by Charlie Chadwick.
Don't know if it sounds any good acoustically with the back panel and all. But I bet it sounds good (enough) with a Fishman piezo at the bridge.




http://foldingbass.com

[uwe]

In moments like these, even I thank Leo Fender for the invention of the electric bass.  There are few instruments that combine more disadvantages than an upright acoustic bass.

[Pilgrim]

Very clever, and nicely executed. Probably not a great orchestral bass, but it should be plenty good for dance, rock and country pizzacato music.

[4stringer77]

The inflatable bass looks like more fun to put together.

[uwe]

And it would have been extremely helpful to have had that on the Titanic too! That wooden counterpart with the holes in it probably didn't stay on the surface for all that long.

[ilan]

Cool idea. But you get an Asian-made plywood bass for the price of a fully carved or hybrid (carved top) bass.

One of the downsides of removable neck uprights is that the bass will go out of tune very quickly because the strings aren't tight around the posts, like when installing new strings on an upright, it takes a couple of days for it to stay in tune. To solve this I'd try to mod a capo so that it can be attached at the "first fret" and keep the string ends neatly wrapped and relatively tight around the pegs even when the neck is removed.

[patman]

Every once in a while, I get gas to buy an upright again...I was a double bass player in college years ago...but they are so impractical for non-orchestral music, and one-nighters in bars and outdoor venues...

But Leo did it right...a P bass is practical, and with the right set up, can sound surprisingly "organic"...

Lately I have been toying with tape-wounds and high-ish action.

P bass is BEAD
Dano is EADG

It actually sounds really good...best sound I've gotten in years, and boy does it punch.  Too often, I think electric players play the amp, rather than the bass, and don't concentrate on getting a really good sound from the bass alone.

[Pilgrim]

Every once in a while, I get gas to buy an upright again...I was a double bass player in college years ago...but they are so impractical for non-orchestral music, and one-nighters in bars and outdoor venues...

But Leo did it right...a P bass is practical, and with the right set up, can sound surprisingly "organic"...

I still have regrets that in 1997 I didn't find a way to hang onto my King white bass.  It looked a lot like this one, except more beat up.  It had a German neck but although it wasn't an orchestral quality bass, it was a really good "dance" bass.  Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to ask one of my friends to hold onto it for me when my parents made the move from the big house to the small house.  I still play with the idea of getting another upright, or one of the electronic upright imitators.

[patman]

I had an Englehardt...same blonde color...

I kind of enjoyed the weird looks I got from the die-hard orchestral guys...not an orchestral quality instrument, but I gigged it a lot, and made money with it