# Double Bass Newbie



## RonP

My background is electric bass (and guitar before that). Somewhere around 2006 I got the idea of buying a double bass and got an Engelhardt from a shop that I knew well for its electric and band instruments. The idea was to learn jazz, but I eventually gave up on the DB and focused on electric until this year.

So here I am at age 52 and I've become disillusioned with the cover band gig. Schlepping gear in and out of bars, listening to drunks yelling stuff and bar managers trying to screw you out of money and gigs isn't my idea of having fun anymore. And I'm tired of the hassle of finding reliable band members. All the while, the Englehardt sat in in a corner of my room, waiting to be played.

I finally called it quits with the cover band crap this year and got the double bass out for some noodling. I quickly realized why I put it aside - it was a bear to play. I took into a shop to inquire about a setup and realized that I'd have to sink a ton of cash into a bass that that really wasn't worth that much. So I started looking for alternatives.

My bass instructor came to my rescue since she needed a backup bass and could do some setup work on her own. We traded lessons for the bass and I set out to find something else. After a few various attempts, I wound up with an early 20th Century Czechoslovakian bass with a good pernambuco bow and bag. It felt super comfortable and sounded the best of what I had tried in its price range.

The idea of getting the bass was to play jazz, but I also realized that I wasn't really into that style of music, but was simply looking for something else to do. Classical music is my preference nowadays, but I always thought that I was too old to learn it well enough to perform with any ensembles. Then I learned about some string workshops hosted by local orchestras for newer players. So now I'm slogging through the prerequisite Simandl and Rabbath exercises to prepare myself.

Double bass has been a challenge, but I'm enjoying it. And if that wasn't enough of a challenge, I picked up a cello as a change of pace. I'm enjoying both of them and hope I can get decent enough to eventually play out.

Here's a pic of the arsenal:


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## Praeludium

It sounds like a great project !

I think it's never too late to learn an instrument, and having been playing music before tackling double bass that is certainly a big advantage. If on the top of that you already know music notation I'm sure you'll make a lot of progress very quickly provided you find a good teacher.

Good luck !


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## RonP

I'm lucky that my instructor teaches both double bass and electric bass. It made for an easy transition.


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