Friday 15th August @ 6.30pm. The Late Shift (check signage on day for details!)
Come and enjoy a relaxing early evening wind-down in the palatial surroundings of Britain's premier pictures-of-dead-folks emporium. Totes free and everything.
Monday 23 June 2014
The Glorious Fools: Sunday 20th July
The Glorious Fools live @ The Ealing Blues Festival.
Sunday 20th July @ 4.00pm (South Stage)
Our first concert in the new 4-piece band line-up. We are on at 4.00pm, but there's music all day, and tickets are a laughably trifling £5.
Ealing Blues Festival Website
The Glorious Fools on Facebook
Sunday 20th July @ 4.00pm (South Stage)
Our first concert in the new 4-piece band line-up. We are on at 4.00pm, but there's music all day, and tickets are a laughably trifling £5.
Ealing Blues Festival Website
The Glorious Fools on Facebook
Sunday 22 June 2014
NS NXT Double Bass Review
If you have ever lusted after an NS bass, but found, as I did, that their top of the range CR & EU basses are beyond your budget, I am happy to report that this is "almost" the same bass on a third of the money and really is a stunningly good deal.
Sound Quality: As a passive instrument with piezo only pickups, there is zero noise from this thing. The "pizzicato mode" pickup sound is rich, deep, detailed, evenly responsive across the fingerboard, and sings with the lightest touch. The sustain is incredible. I timed the open A string as ringing for nearly two minutes before it was inaudible!
Bring up the treble control, and you get a more edgy, driving, electric tone. This doesn't sound quite as pretty when played unaccompanied, but as soon as you need to cut through with a more aggressive sounding band, it proves to be a very useful addition to your tonal options.
Moving the pickup switch to "arco" mode (which uses a second piezo pickup installed for detecting vibrations in a different plane to the first), I first tested it with some more finger-style playing. This produces an initially rather disappointing sound (which is not all that surprising as this not the playing style this mode is intended for). Duller, thump-heavy, and lacking in mid-range clarity. While not immediately encouraging, it does provide quite a useful approximation of an old-school, lo-fi double bass recorded tone that sits quite well in more traditional jazz, blues or folk settings, where the strong mid-range mwah of the pizzicato mode might be a little too bright and overpowering, so this can be quite useful. More crucially, in this mode playing with a bow gives a beautiful, detailed and open response, and this is of course what it was really designed for.
Even though the tone controls are seemingly simple (one volume, one passive treble, and the two-mode pickup switch), the range of useful sounds that can be obtained are really impressive. Note that, as a passive instrument, it is crucial to partner this with a good, high-impedance preamp for best sounding results. I use a "Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass DI" for extra sound-shaping flexibility, but a simpler, good acoustic bass-DI (at half the price) will also do the job just fine.
Build & Design: From the factory it is set up with a very low (for an upright bass) action, designed to make the transition for players like me, moving from bass guitar, very easy, and also with fairly low resistance from the light-grade strings. Gradually raising the bridge a little will give a fatter sound and allow you to dig in more as you gain strength and confidence. This is VERY easy to do through two little screw holes in the back plate, so you can quickly adjust it as you use it. Tuning is easy, and fairly stable, although the tuning gears are rather lightweight, and reputedly don't take the strain of higher-tension, more traditional strings so well, so replacing these might be an additional cost somewhere down the road if you are looking to get as close to the feel and tone of a traditional bass as possible.
The fingerboard is extremely well made, perfectly even and responsive on every note. It is quite possible to play cleanly voiced notes two full octaves up the fingerboard, which is impossible on some more traditional upright bass designs. The radius is perfectly judged and allows for easy bowing of all five strings with no obstructions or accidental bowing of adjacent strings.
There are discreet little note markers laid into the fingerboard with a clever graduated asymmetric layout (starting on the low string side of the board near the nut, and progressing in steps over to the high string side of the board as you progress up towards the bridge. This is very well thought out in terms of the playing positions for these different areas, and the steps between them also help as a clear and useful road-map for where you are for inexperienced upright players such as myself.
Controls are well placed, and the stand mount socket on the back of the bass is a big strong single bolt that is easily tensioned and adjusted for a range of playing positions in seconds.
Issues & Caveats: There are a few minor criticisms. Understandable for producing such a good instrument on a modest budget. Some can be overcome by spending a bit more later on, some may not matter to you, but they are worth noting.
1: The strings are lightweight modern strings that are easy to play and give a hybrid half-way double bass, half-way electric fretless tone. I like this, you might like it too. But if you want to get closest to a full double bass tone. You will need to factor in the cost of buying a good set of traditional strings (not cheap!).
2: The tuning heads are not the strongest. They work ok for the supplied strings, but if you want to put on heavy traditional strings it's reported by some users that you might end up replacing the tuners as well, this is more expense, and possibly will involve some minor wood-work to fit them. Plenty of people have done this, and reported that it is not too difficult, but again, keep this in mind if you are after the most traditional sound, or are already an experienced double-bass player expecting that feel and tone. I haven't needed to do this, and so far I am very happy with this instrument as it is.
3: The stand is lightweight. It works ok, but the first one supplied had a crack in a plastic collar from new (this was replaced by NS free of charge after I contacted them and I now re-enforce that replacement collar with a small plumbing pipe metal collar for extra strength). The stand is stable and won't easily fall over, but it wobbles and bounces a little when playing vigorously! You might find this annoying. If so, NS make a heavier stand (supplied with their top end basses) at a higher cost, or some people who are good with tools have created their own by utilising parts of PA speaker stands and cannibalising the upper part of the supplied stand. Either way, to get a really solid stand, allow some extra cost, or work, or a bit of both!
4: The padded gig bag is also lightweight. It's really well designed for light and easy carrying, but not very thickly padded. I would not risk this bass in the supplied bag, bouncing around in a van with other heavy equipment, and NEVER would I trust it in the hands of a flight baggage handler or road crew. Again, NS make a full, strong, and very heavy and costly flight-case. This adds several hundred pounds if you want one, and if you really need that much protection, then it's probably worth the expense. Fortunately, some players have discovered that there is a middle way solution. There is a model of snowboard flight case that perfectly fits the bass, inside its padded bag, and adds a hard protective heavy-duty ABS plastic shell, with adjustable internal space, trolley wheels and towing handle for around £100. About a quarter of the price, and a fraction of the weight of a full flight-case. Google "Sportube". The model you want is the "Series 2 Sportube". It is the perfect fit!
Conclusion: Overall, the sound quality, playability, build quality and clever design are stunning for the price, and speak of an instrument that has benefitted from inheriting the years of experience that NS have in making higher-end professional instruments. This is really almost as good as their top end basses (which I have played), and as such, is a steal at the price. In the two most important areas (how good does it sound, and how good does it feel to play) it is excellent. The flip side to this, is that they have saved money by supplying those lightweight strings, tuning heads, stand and gig-bag. All of these can be replaced or upgraded, at a cost or with some DIY hassles. So as long as you keep that in mind, I highly recommend this very good quality instrument.
Sound Examples:
1: Playing pizzicato style at various different pickup and tone settings.
2: Sustain on the open A-String.
Ned Steinberger Basses
Fishman Pre-Amps
Sportube Cases
 |  |  |
Sound Quality: As a passive instrument with piezo only pickups, there is zero noise from this thing. The "pizzicato mode" pickup sound is rich, deep, detailed, evenly responsive across the fingerboard, and sings with the lightest touch. The sustain is incredible. I timed the open A string as ringing for nearly two minutes before it was inaudible!
Bring up the treble control, and you get a more edgy, driving, electric tone. This doesn't sound quite as pretty when played unaccompanied, but as soon as you need to cut through with a more aggressive sounding band, it proves to be a very useful addition to your tonal options.
Moving the pickup switch to "arco" mode (which uses a second piezo pickup installed for detecting vibrations in a different plane to the first), I first tested it with some more finger-style playing. This produces an initially rather disappointing sound (which is not all that surprising as this not the playing style this mode is intended for). Duller, thump-heavy, and lacking in mid-range clarity. While not immediately encouraging, it does provide quite a useful approximation of an old-school, lo-fi double bass recorded tone that sits quite well in more traditional jazz, blues or folk settings, where the strong mid-range mwah of the pizzicato mode might be a little too bright and overpowering, so this can be quite useful. More crucially, in this mode playing with a bow gives a beautiful, detailed and open response, and this is of course what it was really designed for.
Even though the tone controls are seemingly simple (one volume, one passive treble, and the two-mode pickup switch), the range of useful sounds that can be obtained are really impressive. Note that, as a passive instrument, it is crucial to partner this with a good, high-impedance preamp for best sounding results. I use a "Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass DI" for extra sound-shaping flexibility, but a simpler, good acoustic bass-DI (at half the price) will also do the job just fine.
Build & Design: From the factory it is set up with a very low (for an upright bass) action, designed to make the transition for players like me, moving from bass guitar, very easy, and also with fairly low resistance from the light-grade strings. Gradually raising the bridge a little will give a fatter sound and allow you to dig in more as you gain strength and confidence. This is VERY easy to do through two little screw holes in the back plate, so you can quickly adjust it as you use it. Tuning is easy, and fairly stable, although the tuning gears are rather lightweight, and reputedly don't take the strain of higher-tension, more traditional strings so well, so replacing these might be an additional cost somewhere down the road if you are looking to get as close to the feel and tone of a traditional bass as possible.
The fingerboard is extremely well made, perfectly even and responsive on every note. It is quite possible to play cleanly voiced notes two full octaves up the fingerboard, which is impossible on some more traditional upright bass designs. The radius is perfectly judged and allows for easy bowing of all five strings with no obstructions or accidental bowing of adjacent strings.
There are discreet little note markers laid into the fingerboard with a clever graduated asymmetric layout (starting on the low string side of the board near the nut, and progressing in steps over to the high string side of the board as you progress up towards the bridge. This is very well thought out in terms of the playing positions for these different areas, and the steps between them also help as a clear and useful road-map for where you are for inexperienced upright players such as myself.
Controls are well placed, and the stand mount socket on the back of the bass is a big strong single bolt that is easily tensioned and adjusted for a range of playing positions in seconds.
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|
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Issues & Caveats: There are a few minor criticisms. Understandable for producing such a good instrument on a modest budget. Some can be overcome by spending a bit more later on, some may not matter to you, but they are worth noting.
1: The strings are lightweight modern strings that are easy to play and give a hybrid half-way double bass, half-way electric fretless tone. I like this, you might like it too. But if you want to get closest to a full double bass tone. You will need to factor in the cost of buying a good set of traditional strings (not cheap!).
2: The tuning heads are not the strongest. They work ok for the supplied strings, but if you want to put on heavy traditional strings it's reported by some users that you might end up replacing the tuners as well, this is more expense, and possibly will involve some minor wood-work to fit them. Plenty of people have done this, and reported that it is not too difficult, but again, keep this in mind if you are after the most traditional sound, or are already an experienced double-bass player expecting that feel and tone. I haven't needed to do this, and so far I am very happy with this instrument as it is.
3: The stand is lightweight. It works ok, but the first one supplied had a crack in a plastic collar from new (this was replaced by NS free of charge after I contacted them and I now re-enforce that replacement collar with a small plumbing pipe metal collar for extra strength). The stand is stable and won't easily fall over, but it wobbles and bounces a little when playing vigorously! You might find this annoying. If so, NS make a heavier stand (supplied with their top end basses) at a higher cost, or some people who are good with tools have created their own by utilising parts of PA speaker stands and cannibalising the upper part of the supplied stand. Either way, to get a really solid stand, allow some extra cost, or work, or a bit of both!
4: The padded gig bag is also lightweight. It's really well designed for light and easy carrying, but not very thickly padded. I would not risk this bass in the supplied bag, bouncing around in a van with other heavy equipment, and NEVER would I trust it in the hands of a flight baggage handler or road crew. Again, NS make a full, strong, and very heavy and costly flight-case. This adds several hundred pounds if you want one, and if you really need that much protection, then it's probably worth the expense. Fortunately, some players have discovered that there is a middle way solution. There is a model of snowboard flight case that perfectly fits the bass, inside its padded bag, and adds a hard protective heavy-duty ABS plastic shell, with adjustable internal space, trolley wheels and towing handle for around £100. About a quarter of the price, and a fraction of the weight of a full flight-case. Google "Sportube". The model you want is the "Series 2 Sportube". It is the perfect fit!
|
|
|
Conclusion: Overall, the sound quality, playability, build quality and clever design are stunning for the price, and speak of an instrument that has benefitted from inheriting the years of experience that NS have in making higher-end professional instruments. This is really almost as good as their top end basses (which I have played), and as such, is a steal at the price. In the two most important areas (how good does it sound, and how good does it feel to play) it is excellent. The flip side to this, is that they have saved money by supplying those lightweight strings, tuning heads, stand and gig-bag. All of these can be replaced or upgraded, at a cost or with some DIY hassles. So as long as you keep that in mind, I highly recommend this very good quality instrument.
Sound Examples:
1: Playing pizzicato style at various different pickup and tone settings.
2: Sustain on the open A-String.
Ned Steinberger Basses
Fishman Pre-Amps
Sportube Cases
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