LDS714
Well-known member
Hi!
This question is posed to those who have experience playing a u-bass, particularly those who have gigged with them.
A little background. I've been playing and gigging on bass for over 30 years. My main gigging instruments have been an old Rickenbacker 4001, Fender P-Bass Lytes, and most recently a very old Gibson EB-3. Many years ago, I suffered an injury to my left forearm which damaged many of the nerves for the hand. As a result, I no longer have the ability to spread my fingers and some other motions do not work either. This makes it extremely difficult to play a full scale bass, and even the short scale Gibson is a challenge.
I spent some time yesterday playing a u-bass at a music store and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was easy to reach things that are now impossible for me to reach on a normal bass.
I've seen several versions of the u-bass. Solid body, hollow body, fretted and fretless. The fretless is pretty much off the table due to the limitations of my hand. I'd kind of favoring an acoustic one just for sitting around plinking, but whatever I get, it would need to be usable in live situations as well.
So after all that, my question is...
How do they do in live situations playing with guitar and drums? I mainly play in a power trio and the stage volume can get a bit aggressive at times. Do the acoustics have a tendency to feed back? Would a solid body be a better choice?
Thanks!
This question is posed to those who have experience playing a u-bass, particularly those who have gigged with them.
A little background. I've been playing and gigging on bass for over 30 years. My main gigging instruments have been an old Rickenbacker 4001, Fender P-Bass Lytes, and most recently a very old Gibson EB-3. Many years ago, I suffered an injury to my left forearm which damaged many of the nerves for the hand. As a result, I no longer have the ability to spread my fingers and some other motions do not work either. This makes it extremely difficult to play a full scale bass, and even the short scale Gibson is a challenge.
I spent some time yesterday playing a u-bass at a music store and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was easy to reach things that are now impossible for me to reach on a normal bass.
I've seen several versions of the u-bass. Solid body, hollow body, fretted and fretless. The fretless is pretty much off the table due to the limitations of my hand. I'd kind of favoring an acoustic one just for sitting around plinking, but whatever I get, it would need to be usable in live situations as well.
So after all that, my question is...
How do they do in live situations playing with guitar and drums? I mainly play in a power trio and the stage volume can get a bit aggressive at times. Do the acoustics have a tendency to feed back? Would a solid body be a better choice?
Thanks!