Detailed Review of Travel Bass
From October to December in 2019, I did a 7 week tour with Postmodern Jukebox in Europe and the Middle East. For a majority of the tour, I got to play the TravelBass. I set it up and broke it down for over 30 shows, it traveled with us in the gear trailer for thousands of miles (including 4 ferry crossings between Europe, the UK, and Ireland), and survived a flight back to the US from Greece as checked luggage. I feel like I’ve gotten to know the instrument quite intimately. Here’s a detailed review of my experience.
Setup/Breakdown:
I got a lot of practice setting up and breaking down the TravelBass. In the beginning, the setup took me about 8 minutes. By the end of tour, I could do it in under 5. The strings do need some time to settle into pitch, so it would be ideal to set the instrument up a while before you actually have to play. One crucial detail that made a huge difference was leaving the bridge setting tool on the bridge for the show. It keeps the bridge in place while you tune the strings up, and it saved me a lot of time from having to readjust the bridge each time I tuned the strings up. Once I figured out that hack, setup was a breeze, and the instrument was stable throughout the show. Breaking down the bass was even easier. I think I was able to do it in about 4 minutes by the end of tour. So it never felt like a major hassle to have to set it up and break it down daily.
Stage Sound:
The gigs on this tour were either standing room rock clubs (800-1500 capacity) or concert halls (up to 4500 capacity), and it was pretty loud. In those contexts, there is virtually zero acoustic sound from the bass that makes it off of the stage. The tone was from the pickup (Fishman Full Circle), going into the PA. For the first half of tour, I had an amp on stage as well, but it broke half way through the run. We ended up just using the monitor that day, and it actually sounded better that way, so we didn’t use an amp for the rest of tour. I was perfectly comfortable with that. The front of house and monitor engineers said there were fewer issues with feedback compared to a full sized upright bass (probably because there’s less body to cause unwanted resonances), for which they were grateful.
One unexpected positive thing was that I didn’t need my monitor levels to be very high to hear myself. Since the body actually vibrates, I could feel the notes I was playing, like a full sized upright bass. It was remarkable how much louder I needed my electric bass to hear myself. This hasn’t been the case with the other “stick basses” I’ve used; the only way I would know if I was playing in tune was by having the amp cranked. Being able to maintain a softer stage volume was great for my ears, and gave the front of house engineer more control over the house sound. This is a feature that might be overlooked, but I found it to be crucial to my comfort on stage.
Given the context of louder shows in big spaces, the TravelBass functions just as well as a full sized upright bass. And considering how feedback resistant it is, one could argue that it’s even better suited for these louder gigs.
Acoustic Tone:
Considering it’s size, the TravelBass has a remarkably clear acoustic tone. Although it doesn’t have much low end, it has some clean mids and highs, so it projects well. I made a few videos jamming with a couple of my bandmates (just voice and bass), and it was clearly and pleasantly audible. Since there isn’t much low end, I don’t think it would work playing with a drummer or actually doing a gig without amplification. But for intimate jams or just practicing on my own, it was perfect.
Feel:
The dimensions of the TravelBass are such that it feel very close to playing a full sized upright bass. It has the same bridge as a full sized bass with adjusters, so I was able to modify the action exactly the way I liked. There are three settings for the slope of the shoulders, so I could set it in a way that felt most natural for me, which was a nice feature. The shoulders have the right width and shape to make the bass feel much like a big bass.
The only major difference from a full sized bass is the weight. The TravelBass is significantly lighter, so it felt less grounded than a big bass. The balance was different than what I was used to, so I had to figure out how to move with the bass to accommodate my bow when I was playing on the E string. But once I figured out how to do that, it wasn’t an issue.
Size:
The instrument fits into a case that is incredibly small for an upright bass. The case was shorter than my electric bass case, and not much heavier. At the airport, I believe it weighed in at around 11kg (around 24lb), and there was no overweight/oversize charge. On tour, I didn’t personally deal with the loading of the gear trailer, but the crew said it was much easier than other options they had in the past because you could put it practically anywhere. As far as I’m aware, this bass packs the smallest and is the lightest out of any bass that has an acoustic chamber.
Conclusion:
For me, the most important (and intangible) feature of the TravelBass is that it’s satisfying to play. I think this is something that is overlooked when discussing travel options, but is an incredibly important issue as a musician. I’ve practiced more on this tour than any other tour, because my instrument was fun to play. Coming off of tour, I didn’t feel like I had “tour chops” (when you’re really good at the one thing you’ve been doing for the past 7 weeks, but feel incompetent doing anything else). I felt in shape all tour. I was able to comfortably go back into a gig playing on a normal sized upright bass with gut strings, unamplified, two days after I got home.
The TravelBass doesn’t replace a traditional upright bass, but it’s the best alternative I have tried. It’s an instrument I’d be happy to have as an option for any gigs/tours that involve flying, driving in small cars, or long train rides. You don’t have to deal with a rental bass, you know exactly what you’re getting, and the basic tone is good and shapable to fit your needs. You won’t be responsible for oversize/overweight charges on flights. The case is smaller than your average suitcase. Promoters/bandleaders will love you because you’ll cost them less money. Bring this and a decent preamp, and you should be in business under most circumstances. Even for local gigs or rehearsals, I could see it as an option when portability is a priority. Also, for anyone who needs a practice instrument that won’t bother the neighbors, I would recommend this over anything I’ve tried in the market right now, since the feel is so close to a traditional upright bass.