4 Ways To Get An Upright Sound From Your Electric Bass

►► FREE: Discover which walking bass line formulas the absolute BEST bass players in the world use (and then make them your secret weapon) → • Walking Bass Line Less...
Sometimes you just need that upright bass sound.
Maybe it’s when you’re playing some walking jazz bass lines, a bluegrass 2-feel or if you just want to feel like you’re rocking a stadium with Mumford And Sons.
It’s alright - there’s no judgement here…
However, even though an electric bass and an upright share the same function and range, in terms of the actual sound they produce, they’re night and day.
The upright is very dark, with a very ‘explosive’ sound. There’s this huge spike of sound at the very start and the sound very quickly dies.
The electric though has a much brighter sound (especially if you’re using roundwound strings) and has a longer ‘tail’ of sound. You hit a note on electric and that sucker can go for days.
Not literally, but you get the point, right?
Once you know what the difference in sound between the upright and electric, you can start taking your existing electric bass sound and slowly bring it towards sounding more like an upright.
In today’s lesson, I’ve got 4 super practical things you can do to get an upright sound on electric bass without changing your gear at all.
Use the same bass, the same strings, the same amp and get a completely different sound.
Of course, you’ll hardly ever get an electric bass to sound exactly like an upright. If someone booked me for an upright bass gig and I showed up with the electric, they’d probably be pissed, even if I did do all the things I talk about in the video.
You can get reasonably close to an upright sound though, and this video will help.
If you’re wanting to play electric with more of an upright sound, you may be wanting to play some walking bass lines, and if that’s the case, then make sure you check out my lesson all about 5 Plug-And-Play walking bass line formulas that you can use over any chord progression at all:
• Walking Bass Line Less...
These are bass line formulas that even the best bass players in the world use all the time and they’re really simple to get started with.
Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!
Cheers,
Luke
P.S. If you’re ready to take your walking bass lines to the next level, make sure you check out my video 5 Plug-And-Play Walking Bass Line Formulas → • Walking Bass Line Less...

[@kingstumble]

For years I was convinced that the reason a double bass sounded so different to an electric was the much longer scale length. But then I heard a ukulele bass which had a very short scale length---somewhere around 20 inches, and this was the closest to a double bass I had heard, so my theory was blown out of the water!

[@Duderino1978]

I recently figured out some of these techniques while trying to get that upright tone. I find that playing through the neck pickup of my jazz bass also helps achieve that sound.

[@redmusichouse]

1:19 hello doggo!

[@BecomeABassist]

Heckin good pupper!

[@TadTadd]

P-bass + flatwounds, totally rolled-off tone, playing close to the neck, and some folded up felt under the strings by the bridge. It gives me a mix of upright bass and 60's thump. To each his own--I'm sure the guys who like their high end shudder when they hear my muddy bass.

[@ammarfaiz7315]

​@punchdownkingwhat does rolled out my mid and treble mean

[@sidneybarrett8941]

Turn the tone knob down.

[@deadandburied7626]

Or nylon wound

[@ratman262]

Jbass with Fender flats achieves very similar sound. Even though I bought it for the high end growl, it's gotten fatter and fatter as the strings age and I'm finding it way more versatile.

[@TadTadd]

@@ratman262 I like your thought process. Every bassist knows that you never ever should change your strings--they only get better with age! Of course, there are those who shudder at the thought and laugh at bassists who play on strings that are old enough to vote, but I like the thump.

[@TheKINGisComing777]

I've watched many videos on how to make an electric sound like an upright. This is the best one I've seen so far as both explaining and achieving the closest sound. Thanks man!

[@kaczok1985]

It does until you want to play rockabilly slap bass. No amount of sponges will help you with that.

[@travisreed5965]

The Sponge Is Absolutely Brilliant But That Dogs Face Near The End Totally Takes The Cake Well Done Cheers

[@BecomeABassist]

He’s definitely cuter than I am! Haha!

[@ianmackenzie686]

I still changed to flats. Made a big difference in addition to foam/sponge.

[@WilDBeestMF]

Nice broken in flats, neck playing + a household sponge seems to be what does the trick.

[@kimdz515]

Great things about bass, as always, but I really like your dog! 🐕❤

[@BecomeABassist]

Me too - he’s the best!

[@imbrabrina]

@@BecomeABassist is he cocker?

[@BecomeABassist]

@imbrabrina - he’s a cavoodle!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@BecomeABassist The Electric Bass is easier to play than the Upright Bass due to its lower action. The Electric Bass is also easier to carry than the Upright Bass due to its flat body.

[@naiyalexic]

Haha RAD! I've used the foam trick just like that! Love it. Putting flatwounds on the bass helps.

[@rossmurray2744]

The Missus showed me her palm muting technique when I asked if I could cut up her last sponge.

[@Catteries]

Luke, your timing for this lesson is is spot on !!! After your '' Playing by Ear '' video which has spurned me on, I am now trying to play along to some old Billie Holiday recordings such as '' Pennies from Heaven '' and '' The very thought of you. '' Although this is enjoyable I thought my Electric Bass Guitar doesn't sound quite right with these old recordings. Well, it does now. Thank you for another brilliant video.

[@mityakiselev]

Might I add trying flatwound or even tapewound strings, they make a bit of a difference in terms of timbre, IMHO the round wire on regular strings makes it ring way more than upright does

[@joshuahenry4218]

I put some cloth near the bridge. Definitely the easiest way if you don’t want to adjust your playing. Great vid. Thanks 🙏🏼

[@truthpopup]

A different approach would be to use a MIDI bass to control a synth that plays acoustic bass sound samples.

[@jhay3966]

that cute doggo tho

[@sunglee2048]

Wow! Thanks for this info Luke!

[@EvertAlbers]

Using velcro gets you a lot closer to an acoustic sound than foam. Additionally, you can adjust the velcro’s position while playing.

[@ranjiharsa1988]

you mean velcro, velcro?? or the thing which has wool to stick it in to velcro?

[@EvertAlbers]

@@ranjiharsa1988 Both, and then sandwich the strings between them. Cheap alternative to the NordyMute, actually.

[@ranjiharsa1988]

@@EvertAlbers nice tips! thanksss

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

Omni Bass Strings should do the trick.

[@hbrookes]

Also..felt picks for that tic tac sound!

[@ebencharles3228]

You can also adjust settings on your amp

[@deadandburied7626]

Acoustic for the win!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

I've seen Bassists like Victor Bailey cause he plays around Fret 15. This technique was used when Upright Bass players switched to Electric Bass. The Electric Bass is easier to play than an Upright Bass because it has a Lower Action, thinner strings, frets to find the notes more easily, and a flat body so it's also easier to carry.

[@PorchBass]

Try using two fingers to pluck like an upright player

[@rafenord2]

I use an almost short scale Kent/ Hagström with horrible sustain and moderately thick and pretty old flatwounds..then I play like he does over the fretboard (using a traditional double bass stroke using the entire finger) then I use a cheap Impulse Response of an Upright Bass form 3Sigma loaded in my daw or my Kemper(there are pedals for this as well) which makes it sound very woody and thumpy. It goes a long way. I may buy another old Kent and make it fretless as well..

[@RussellCatchpole]

Decent advice, but even with all that and a fretless it’s still way off. I think one reason is the massive space between the strings on a contra bass, so the player can really dig into each of the strings with two or even three fingers, which is impossible with a bass guitar. Second, it’s all the clatter and string buzz that’s lost in an electric bass guitar, and even electric standup. I would dearly love a double bass, but I can’t afford a decent one and I don’t have a spare house to put it in 😂

[@RaeDuncan]

Love the video!!!!!!!

[@kaczok1985]

Cool. Now play some rockabilly slap bass on that electric 😈

[@BecomeABassist]

No thanks - there are a lot of people far more qualified to do rockabilly slap than me.

[@nippa999]

Thanks

[@BecomeABassist]

Thanks so much @nippa999 - I really appreciate the support

[@danielf9473]

Excellent

[@jpmj]

Like for the tips. And a big like for the dog ;)

[@glennlilley8608]

Didn't 4001 Rickys have a damper built in?

[@blogidaho36]

lol 'cut off the scary part of the sponge'

[@BecomeABassist]

It’s all scratchy - lol

[@karlangelomedico7637]

I dream become a basist but i dont have bass 😣so can you give?si im become a basist😣

[@paulblackman8159]

Just that much closer to achieving full Athol Guy.

[@flipflopmcgurt3403]

You're awesome

[@DanielLizzama]

You are n expert!!

[@acrock21]

i shove a sock between my bridge and pick up and dump my treble knob all the way... and if i want a little more bite ill go about half way...i wonder what would happen if you used an acoustic simulation boss pedal

[@sdushdiu]

First, dump the jazz bridge pickup....

[@eliseoborrerobass]

sorry to disagree. if you want to sound like an upright, get an upright acoustic bass. of course you can use all those techniques on an electric bass, I do, but it sounds electric, believe me I have been playing for 50 years, and I play both. my eternal search has been, how to amplify an upright bass so that it sounds acoustic and I haven’t found a pickup that sounds real yet. thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@probype]

Fully agree with you. An elect4ic bass will always be an alectric....the closest to a double bass i found was tto get a Takamine tb10 acoustic bass....with thick 0.125 flats of course.... now I have double bass sound with something more portable, actually nicer too.....🙂

Hmm, wonder how the sponge-muting would sound on a fretless. I know: it might sound a little more like an upright, but it still wouldn't be it.

[@ChaseThePinballWizard]

6:09 dogg

[@biencj]

This is way more helpful than Adam Neely’s lol

[@Zepla]

Tape wounds if u have an extra $40 lying around

[@paulanderson7796]

Your G string on the electric is flat at 1:04

[@calvinnapier9977]

Sorry not buying what your trying to sell! Just buy a simple bass string mute and put it under the strings near the bridge, it works and sounds great..

[@BecomeABassist]

No need to apologize @Calvin Napier!

[@robertbox7666]

Or try an acoustic electric bass.

[@39bigmarks]

it took him 6 minutes to tell us to put a sponge in-between the strings and the pickups.

[@BecomeABassist]

You won't always have easy access to a kitchen sponge @joshsarms - it makes sense to be able to get that kind of sound *_without_* it.

[@AYTAZED]

Buy a double bass. That way, you won't sound like you're playing a shoebox with 4 elastic bands stretched over it.

[@BecomeABassist]

Because *_everyone_* has a spare couple of grand just lying around, right? Not to mention the hours and hours of extra practice and lessons you'd need to build up the technique to play it safely. lol

@@BecomeABassist One more: space. Both where you live and when you have to carry the upright somewhere, anywhere.

[@BecomeABassist]

Another excellent point @JurgenErhard.

[@servant2thegroove]

The whole question the video is answering.

[@_richardleon]

C'MON ALL YOU LEARN DOUBLE BASS!!! db>eb

[@sherlock4791]

look how sad it is to play upright

[@BecomeABassist]

I don't know about that - it makes *_me_* pretty happy...