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(More customer reviews)Hi readers,
I was in the market for a starter string bass for 2-3 months in the spring of 2006, but wasn't serious enough to try to locate a shop that had any that I could try out.
I really lucked out by finding this Chinese crafted string bass on Craigslist; at a small music store in Vancouver, Washington, a short drive from my home in Portland, Oregon.
As I recall, it was a very hot day (6/24/06) when I went to locate the as advertised: New 3/4 Cremona SB-2 with padded gigbag with 1 yr warranty, for six benjamins.
This was an interesting, but strange shopping experience - let me explain. I spent half an hour ear-tuning the bass against the bass guitars hanging up on display - taking a while since I was not familiar with the tension and gear ratio of string bass tuning machines. Once I got this SB-2 roughly in tune, I realized I didn't know how to play it. Even though I played fretted and fretless Fender P and J- basses, the 3/4 double bass is very different, with the much longer scale length, the much fatter neck, and the much higher action.
So I zipped it up, purchased it, and brought it home in the back of my '95 Mercury Sable wagon.
Since that time, I've taught myself (by ear) some mainly open string fingerings of bass guitar riffs to some of my favorite songs that I play and sing to - from the following genres: folkrock, blues, bluegrass, and country. Even though I consider myself to have a good ear, it was a challenge to learn how to play my string bass in tune. You really have to stretch to finger a full step between notes on the 42-inch scale length of the string bass (no frets, no lines, no side dots). After I learned to play my SB-2 in tune (this worked for me: I would play my string bass at night with the lights turned off). I'll even venture to say that, because of improved ear training from playing my string bass, I found it easier to play my '78 Fender P-Bass fretless without looking at the side dots.
When I'm in the mood for the challenge, playing my string bass is a rewarding experience, mainly from the rich full-bodied bass acoustic vibrations you hear and feel, an experience not closely duplicated by my electric basses.
For playing in electric settings, I installed a Fishman BP-100 Acoustic Bass Pickup, and plug into my Gallien Krueger MB150S combo amp. I've played my SB-2 at open mics at bars, at my Catholic Church folk mass (I'm the bass player there, playing my Fender electric basses most of the time), at a neighborhood block party with another acoustic guitarist, and most recently, "unplugged" in my back yard this past Fourth of July, with my son's friends on acoustic guitar, ukelele, and bucket drums.
With a 3/4 string bass, zipping it up in the "sleeping bag" (gigbag), hauling it out of the house without knocking the somewhat fragile bridge against narrow door jambs, getting it safely into my car or pickup truck (noting the bridge must be on top), getting it into the venue, tuning it up, setting it down where no one's going to trip on it, amplifying it without feedback, and finally playing it, hopefully in tune - these are all done with planning and intention. Overall this makes me much more appreciative that Leo Fender invented in the year I was born (1951) - the solid body electric "Precision" bass.
Yes, the Cremona is heavy, but it is sturdy. I'm careful when I transport it, and it's proven to be trouble free. It stays in tune. The strings that came on it are still on it. To my ears and fingers, they are really nice sounding strings, and oh so smooth. The matt finish is easy to take care of - fingerprints don't show. Even dust doesn't show unless you start looking more closely. I bought it new, for a great price!
Lastly, it's a really empowering feeling when I walk into an acoustic guitar store that sometimes has a really fine old string bass on display in a stand, and sidle up to it, release the neck from its grip, close my eyes, and gently play something on it - in tune, filling the store's space with resonating bass notes!
Thanks for reading!
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