Upright bass for touring?

[Geoff Sprung]

Hey all, 

While we’re chatting, I’m planning on bringing an upright bass out on the road next year. 

I’ve got a lovely Romanian fully carved that will be staying home, so now I need to find a more durable (and potentially more portable) option for touring. 

Does anyone have experience touring with an upright? Is there a “go to” brand or system for doing this? I’m intrigued by the folding models but if they’re problematic, I can make room for a standard bass. 

-Geoff 

[Steve Manes]

Your most portable option would of course be an EUB (electric upright bass) like an NS Design or Stagg. Collapsed, it can be stuck in a shoulder bag and may even fit in an airline cabin overhead bin (I haven't tried). Granted, EUBs aren't the same as playing an acoustic bass but, as you know, the latter can be very fragile for traveling. I had a 125 year-old Czech flat back that would split seams even when cold weather came and the humidity dropped. After a while I was scared to take it out of the house.

Another not quite as durable option would be a plywood bass. Not all plywood basses are low quality. I have an Eastman VB95 which is laminated except for a carved spruce top. It sounds/plays great and has proved really stable. But if you're going to consign the instrument to luggage gorillas you'd need to invest in a hard shell travel case for it and there's the rub. They're both expensive and very heavy. A Tuff-Lite case will weigh on the north side of 50 pounds by itself. Golihur sells a more lightweight case (~30 pounds) but mentions on its web site that it's probably less than ideal for air travel. It appears to be constructed something like a motorcycle helmet: one hard hit and its not going to take a second one. The orchestra dudes swear by Kolstein trunks but they cost more than my Eastman.

[Toby Gray]

Chadwick Folding Bass is excellent with case. Out of production but I did see one on Reverb. 

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "The Bottom Line" group.
To post to this group, send email to the-bot...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
the-bottom-li...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/the-bottom-line?hl=en?hl=en

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Bottom Line" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to the-bottom-li...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-bottom-line/CAB_%3DO0jpL0BvKx2X1zhRVTxEoviJTSps9WjEJeZh%3DcircOTbOA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Wayne Renardson]

YO~~~~~~~~~~~~Geoff:

TG> Chadwick Folding Bass is excellent with case. Out of production

but I did see one on Reverb.

The advantage is Charlie Chadwick lives in Nashville so you can check
it locally. I heard he has gotten out of the "business" after 10
years of bass making but he's easy to reach.

Wayne

[Geoff Sprung]

Thanks all, 

To clarify, this will not be flying and will ride in a truck. I’m between something Chadwick style or a plywood in a case. I’m excited to have a reason to reach out. I’ll keep y’all posted on the results. 

-Geoff 

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "The Bottom Line" group.
To post to this group, send email to the-bot...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
the-bottom-li...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/the-bottom-line?hl=en?hl=en

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Bottom Line" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to the-bottom-li...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-bottom-line/637D0125.20638.95F9F19%40wayne.renardson.comcast.net.

[Geoff Sprung]

Just an update for the group. 

I ended up finding a Chadwick in Nashville and will be bringing it into Charlie to have it looked over and serviced. Thanks for all of the feedback folks!