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

[Doug Pomeroy]

We've been on this thread for a long time now and all
I can add, speaking as a recording engineer, is that the
acoustic energy produced by the string bass is a fraction
of that by brass bass, and this is the main reason records
used the latter as frequently as they did, all other things 
being equal.  I realize others have pointed this out.
As multi-miking became more common, 
starting in the late 20's (listen closely to the Red Hot 
Peppers' "Doctor Jazz"), the way to get the string bass 
loud enough was still was to put it on a riser near the 
main microphone (there is a photo taken at an Ellington
session which shows this - and just listen to his "Hot And
Bothered" on Okeh from 1928, in which the bass is the
loudest and most "present" thing on the whole record!)
but very soon thereafter it was normal to give the string 
bass a separate mic at his normal place in the rhythm section.

I think Ellington wanted the string bass because it sounded
more "modern" than brass bass at that time, and electrical 
recording made it possible for the first time to really hear it.
I think this was a "selling point" for early electrical recordings;
even Gennett got on the bandwagon with its "Walkin' The 
Dog" by Carmichael's Collegians in 1928.

I cannot resist mentioning a reissue I recently acquired
(on Retrieval label) which includes some really fine
brass bass playing by Henry Edwards, including some 
perfectly executed sixteenth notes, with Noble Sissle's
Orch on HMV B 5731, "Kansas City Kitty" from 1929.
Anyone who wants to hear it, let me know and I'll send
you an mp3.  It's a gasser and it gets hotter (and louder)
as the performance progresses.

Doug Pomeroy
Audio Restoration & Mastering Services
audiofixer at verizon.net
========================================
> Message: 7
> Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 12:11:09 +0000
> From: David Lewis <uncledavelewis at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [78-L]  Use of double bass in dance bands
> To: 78-l <78-l at 78online.com>
> Message-ID: <BAY156-W12994ED64DB8D79C419CB9CC7C0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> 
> Belated response to this thread, and apologies for that. My experience has been, and that comes from merely from listening to lots and lots of dance records from 1918-34, is that while the brass bass dominates before 1928 both brass bass and string bass are used interchangeably inthis whole period. There are very early dance records from around 1920 that use bass clarinet or bassoon in that role as well. And the brassbass doesn't necessarily disappear from the scene after 1928; witness this Fletcher Henderson recording from 1931: https://www.box.com/s/f6hiw1l0crf83tm60jv7 It seems most bass players in jazz/dance bands in that period were capable of playing both, much as a saxophone player in the 1920s wasexpected to know clarinet too, and several kinds of saxophones and if needed, other reeds such as oboe. If there was a conscious transitionfrom brass bass to string bass, and I'm not sure that it was "conscious" per se, before that it was up to the player or arranger to deter
> minewhich option sounded better within a given piece. Vince Giordano is the bassist in the Nighthawks and he crams into his little spot on the'stage at the Edison Hotel a bass sax, tuba and a metal string bass. You do see similar configurations in old photos of dance bands; I reallythink it was up to the discretion of the player. Possibly the pluckier sound of the string bass "won" by 1935 simply because it fit better with the tempo of swing music, but note that in theHenderson file the brass bass has no trouble swinging this chart. I play the electric bass regularly and I can attest, yes, if you are a bassplayer it is easy to detect mistakes in the bass line. But the upside of that is that you can better appreciate really outstanding bass playingwhen it happens.  
> 
> Uncle Dave Lewis
> uncledavelewis at hotmail.com