[78-L] Use of double bass in dance bands

[David Weiner]

A major reason for the shift to string bass in the 1920s was the
transition from two to four beat phrasing - it was difficult if not
impossible to consistently blow four beats to the bar on a tuba!

Dave Weiner

On 10/25/12 6:10 AM, "Don Cox" <doncox at enterprise.net> wrote:

>Hello DAVID
>
>On 25/10/2012, DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
>> In my experience with live dance bands, I've always found an
>> un-amplified double bass provides a very rich foundation for the
>> group. It is difficult today to find a jazz or dance band with a bass
>> with no amplifier and I feel the sound suffers. The reason for this
>> may well be that inspite of the fact that a 16 piece band can put out
>> a lot of sound power, they insist now on having mikes for every
>> instrument, and the mikes are turned up loud enough to over-power the
>> acoustic sound, making the whole business sound like a bad recording.
>> A few years ago I was recording a Glenn Miller style band in Parry
>> Sound. They had sent a tech list requesting mikes for every stand. I
>> asked the crew to hide all of their mikes and tell the band that Parry
>> Sound is a small town and they didn't have elaborate sound systems. So
>> the band played the concert acoustically, (except for the vocalists),
>> and afterwards they were thrilled with the sound and said they wished
>> they had the courage to play that way more often, (the beginning of
>> the concert was pretty wimpy because the players were used to just
>> playing into a mike rather than projecting into the hall but once they
>> overcame that, the sound was very exciting).
>> 
>A plucked bass is more audible and recordable than a bowed bass.
>
>I think part of the changeover from brass to string bass came from
>development of the jazz plucked-bass technique, including slapping.
>
>Regards
>-- 
>Don Cox
>doncox at enterprise.net
>
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