Fran Diaz

The NBD thread is already up

The woods are the classic maple for the back, sides and neck, spruce for the top and ebony for the fingerboard. The wheel adjusters are also ebony.

Hi all, After a very nice trip through France and Germany I came home with my new Michael Bornhak double bass ([URL]http://www.bornhak.de/[/URL]). Michael is a very talented luthier who worked for Andreas Wilfer until he set his shop in Waldkirch, a beautiful town in the south of Germany, in the middle of The Black Forest. I was looking for a bass with pizzicato playing in mind but that could also work well under the bow and this one does it, even with Spirocore Mittels. I love everything on this bass: woods, tone, volume, playability, fit, finish, attention to detail,... When I visited Michael to see and try the bass he was very friendly and he even went home and left me alone in his shop with the bass so I could play it for as long as I wanted without distractions. I love an old bass as much as the next guy around here but provided the quality of the instruments compared being equal, buying from a living, working luthier was a plus for me as a way to support such an art, so this was my choice: my 2014 Michael Bornhak double bass: go to this link for the full gallery slide show: [URL]http://s97.photobucket.com/user/frandiaz/embed/slideshow/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass[/URL] Some selected shots: that's the bass changing hands: [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakampFran02_zps81146bf8.jpg[/IMG] full shot: [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakDB_full_zps5b26be41.jpg[/IMG] the beautiful scroll: [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakDB_headstock03_zps7569f725.jpg[/IMG] the French inspired neck botton: [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakDB_neckjoint03_zps4ae4bbe7.jpg[/IMG] Michael even carved the bridge and adjusters from scratch: [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakDB_bridge_wheeldetail1_zps8f7874a9.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l240/frandiaz/Gear/Michael%20Bornhak%20double%20bass/MichaelBornhakDB_bridge_wheeldetail2_zps74194cdd.jpg[/IMG] You can hear some sound samplers that Michael recorded here: [URL='https://soundcloud.com/bornhakbass/sets/gamba-doublebass-soundsample[/MEDIA]'][MEDIA=soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/bornhakbass/sets/gamba-doublebass-soundsample[/MEDIA][/URL]

I'm back home. In the end I only did the first two stops, both Michael and Tobias treated me very well in all aspects. they helped me a lot with hotel bookings, tourist info and also gave me a great service regarding their instruments. What happened in the end?...that belongs to another thread coming soon to a forum near you . Let just say that I'm very happy.

Hi there, I'm going on a trip to the south of Germany in search of a new or new 'old' double bass. The bassic specs in my head are: • 4 strings. • Gamba shaped (no violin or busseto corners) • D neck • 104-106 string length. • ¾ or 7/8 size as long as the string length is under 106 cm. • Soundwise, I am looking for an instrument with jazz and pizzicato playing in mind but that can also get a decent bow sound, good volumen (the louder the better) and fat tone, I want that every note from the low E to at least the octave G has 'weight'. I have plans to do three stops: [list=1] [*]Michael Bornhak ([url="http://www.bornhak.de/"]http://www.bornhak.de/[/url]) I am going to try this bass: You can hear some sound samplers here: [url="https://soundcloud.com/bornhakbass/sets/gamba-doublebass-soundsample%5B/MEDIA%5D"][url]https://soundcloud.com/bornhakbass/sets/gamba-doublebass-soundsample[/url][/url] and you can see some more photos on his website or his Facebook page. [*]Tobias Festl's World of Basses ([url="http://worldofbasses.de/"]http://worldofbasses.de/[/url]) This shop has a lot of basses and, according to Tobias, a few that might be of interest and within my price range. The following photo of the show room gives an idea of what to find there: [*]Emanuel Wilfer ([url="http://contrabass.de/"]http://contrabass.de/[/url]): Since Wilfer's atelier is quite far from the area where I'm going to be on holidays I'm still waiting confirmation of available basses in stock that can comply with my specs to make sure that I take the ride. [/list] Once I do the last visit, I will hopefully have found 'my' bass and I will pick it up on the way back home. I'll post back telling my experience and as many photos as I can take (we all love photos, don't we :thumbsup:). In the meantime, all your comments, advices, experiences and opinions are very welcome to this thread.

Cool! And is the bottom of the ramp flat or shaped to follow the pickguard?

Beautiful pair too! Where did you get the ramp? I'd like to try one for my PJ4.

And a sweet pair indeed! Congrats!

IME, the only way to completely free your thumb is playing seated.

Thanks for the video. Great trio.

Great job! I can't believe you guys got such a great sound out of the little Zoom recorder. Regarding the bass, great walking lines and a superb tone. Once again, my congratulations.

Great bassists on this thread: I would like to add my favorite double bassist to this list: Avishai Cohen. I was front row at one of his concerts three days ago and I'm still in a complete state of bliss: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU-zKp7Rjb0[/media]

[quote name='geoffbassist' timestamp='1379798362' post='2216952'] Does anyone have a price list for the Emanuel Wilfer basses? They look really good and have a solid rep as a top european maker. [/quote] Geoff, if you're still interested I can email you a current Price list in Euros for the E. Wilfer basses. I also have a lot of GAS for one of his instruments.

Great thread. Thanks for posting this Geoff. So I still have another 50 years of bass playing in me.

Hello, I am thinking about having my DB strung with Pirastro Flexocor Deluxe strings and I'm interested in hearing other player's experiences with these. I'll use them mostly for arco (orchestra and solo rep) but also for some jazz/pizz playing. I'd also like where I can order them online anywhere in Europe (The cheaper the better ;^)) Many thanks in advance. Cheers.

[quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1358346217' post='1937394'] I emailed thomann about that one an it doesn't come with wheels, they just haven't changed the picture. Anyone have experience with this case. [url="http://www.tomandwill.com/productdetail.asp?productid=47BS34-465"]http://www.tomandwil...ctid=47BS34-465[/url] [/quote] That's the Traveller model. The one I posted is the Superior. Maybe that's why one has wheels and the other one doesn't.

[quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1358289380' post='1936653'] I was just about to ask the same question, all the straps managed to break on my way back from my orchestra rehearsal, luckily the bass was ok. Not to hijack the thread but is there a similarly priced bag but also with wheels? [/quote] This Tom&Will has wheels, offers good protection and lots of handles that come handy (pun intended) to move the bass around in tight spaces. I have an old one with a broken zipper (after five years of use) but according to their website, the newer ones come with higher quality YKK zippers. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/tom_and_will_superior_double_bass_gig_bag_3.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/tom_and_will_superior_double_bass_gig_bag_3.htm[/url]