NickA

Great engineering @staggering on. My fully carved 140yr old bass doesn't get half that much care! Goes on the front seat with the neck down the foot well 😞

Ouch!! Stainless though, so probably urine resistant! True; due to the internal ribs, though. Most basses are carved (or hot formed from ply) so that the arch obviates the need for internal bracing (leaving it all more resonant, I guess). Lad here thinks he made a whole bass out of plywood - but no arch in the top at all, so probably more a "model" of a bass ... no idea what it sounded like (he doesn't say) https://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-A-Plywood-Upright-Bass/ one of the comments has the formula for neck angle and string force.

Have to get a mirror down there. But apart from repair patches there is only the sound post supporting one side of the bridge and the bass bar under the other side of the bridge. there is no bracing of the table at all, but it's arched of course and that helps it support the load imposed by the bridge. The bass bar is a chunk of pine or spruce about 2cm wide, 40cm long and 3cm deep tapering to 1cm at each end. But a normal dB has upper and lower "bouts" and needs the bass bar to transmit vibrations to each of them ...yours has one big "bout". I'll see about photos when I'm next at home.

OK! Tiny Bridge hence the very low neck angle wrt the body. There is some double bass pedantry about neck angle and bridge height - I don't know the physics, I guess it's to do with leverage / transferal of string vibration to up and down bridge motion, but "luthiers" are always looking at basses and saying "oh you could do with angling that neck back at bit more", when a smaller bridge would seem to achieve the same thing. A lot of old Violins (Strads / Amatis / Guarneris etc) have been "modernised" by angling the neck back, fitting a taller bridge and strengthening the bass bar ... this supposedly gives a stronger tone. Still not sure what your "ribs" are doing as I guess they aren't attached to the front / table. You might still get a better sound out of it by attaching some structure to the table though; ie on a normal double bass, the side of the bridge not sitting near the sound post is over the bass-bar, which then distributes the vibration to more of the table; also stops the table collapsing under the side of the bridge that isn't supported by the sound post. Likewise an acoustic guitar has some kind of bracing under the table (there is a big "X" inside my acoustic double bass, between the bridge and the sound hole). Anyway ... great fun project & and now waiting to hear the rendition of Bottesini that is surely to come 🙂 🙂

A housemate bought this in about 1987 and I dismissed it as radio 2 stuff. But hang on, the harmonies, the playing ( all extra good session musos) .. it's really tight and the lyrics are fun too. Now a top 2 West Coast smooth rock favourite .. can't buy a thrill being the other. Kamakiriad ... not so much.

Explain please: The angle of the neck ... don't you need that angled back to fit a bridge under the strings? Or are you going more for a huge acoustic bass guitar (ovation style but with a metal back!) the cross bracing under the front bit (aka the table)... doesn't the table need to be free to move around as the strings vibrate? I mean flat backed double basses have cross bracing at the back of the bass not the front, but then the fronts are bowed, so stable under load. My flat topped acoustic bass guitar does appear to have the front (table) braced but the bracing is glued to the table so as to stiffen it up - so that matches the big metal ovation idea. BUT I can see you have fitted a sound post, which indicates a double bass bridge to come - which surely requires a bass bar on the back of the table to go with? I'm intrigued by the whole project both as a bass player and an engineer! Can't wait to see (and hear) the final thing! Fantastic; love it when he runs out of finger board and carries on up the bare string!! You'd need longer arms than mine for that kind of virtuosity. You will be playing that on the wheelbarrow I hope.

I had a bass off Turner's for a few weeks once .. it's a great service; I did have to pay their insurance cost though and they did keep mine as a "hostage". It didn't work out, I didn't think it had been well restored and they were much too shady about its real price. Could have saved haggling ( which I hate) by just paying the speculative £7000 on the price label and selling my own privately of course. At least I had the chance to consider it. Back then, Bass Chat and Musical Chairs didn't exist tho.

Nearly bought another (smaller and fancier) bass last week (my hands aren't getting any bigger but they are getting stiffer with age) ... someone else got there before I made my mind up; so, the hunt begins (again) for a smaller and better bass. Lizsop isn't the only person who might like to try that Martin ;¬) The trouble with dealers is Mark Up and VAT. A reasonable dealer's markup is "only" 15 - 20%, but then add 20% VAT on the sale and on the commission and £10,000 is only buying a £6944 bass !! Now think of the markups applied by the likes of Turners and you don't seem to get much for your money (though the big dealers will haggle and do a good trade in deal to soften the blow!) Of course what you should get from a dealer is a bass that is properly setup - usually to your custom requirements - and some come-back if something turns out to be wrong and of course if you bought a £7000 bass privately, you could then spend £3000 doing it up (maybe). What do we reckon. Are dealers worth the extra cost? PS: good story I read about the "worlds most expensive bass" (at least, it was in 1999): "a Venetian double bass by Domenico Montagnana of c.1747 which topped Sotheby’s sale when it sold to a professional musician for £140,000. Interestingly, despite the fact that this was well under the £250,000-350,000 estimate, it still set a new auction high for a double bass “The bass world is notoriously difficult to sell to”, said Sotheby’s specialist .. “most basses tend to change hands privately between players and not sell at auction which made pricing difficult to predict. Our estimate reflected that we were hoping to attract a collector or institution. However, the world of the bass player felt our price was a little ambitious”. So glad to read that :¬) hope it's still true.

Self adjusting bridges; still out there. As a minimum you just need to saw the top profile to get the right action and shape to match the curve of your fingerboard (though a bit higher action for the lower strings) https://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/products/stringed-instruments-violin/parts-and-accessories/bridges/double-bass/adjustable-bridges/aubert-double-bass-bridge-with-adjustable-feet-15041425638317/ Probably awful, but better than a bent bridge (or no bridge at all). Looking at what a top pro double bass mender would do ... it's definitely a skilled job involving not only shaping the feet and cutting the top but also re-carving lots of the bridge blank to minimise the mass ... but what the hell, most of us would never hear or feel the difference.

I've had the bridge off my bass and my cello without the sound post falling down .. but it's a risk. I used to feel the same about adjustable bridges, but everyone in the know says they are exactly like solid bridges and pretty much all jazz players use them. Fitting a bridge is usually considered a skilled job; but, I have done it on my cello ( not as well as the pro who did it next ). You have to lay glass paper ( rough side up!) On your bass, then scrub the bridge back and forth ( for hours ) until the curve of the feet matches that of the bass. Professionals will preshape the feet with a chisel and only sand the last few mm. there used to be self fitting bridges ( de Jacques) which have flexible hinged feet .. popular with schools, not great but easier to fit...not seen one for years. Of course all this effort will be wasted if your fingerboard is worn!!!! Go see a luthier, you'll get some free advice anyway.

Try taking the frets out; that usually stops fret buzz 😁. If that doesn't work ..... bridge too low or you have some fingerboard wear, ie string ruts or lateral dips where you play most often. Getting a new and adjustable bridge is best for a new string height that can be fine tuned, whereas fingerboard wear will need the board "shooting" ie planing flat. I'd have thought you'd want quite a high action for slappy rocky billy stuff .(??) though gut strings ( and softer strings in general ) need a higher action; it's usually us jazzers who are coasting the fine line between mwah and buzz .. hence adjustable bridges and high tension strings.

They're all ebony or rosewood I think. Standard for the fretted basses is rosewood. The scribble on the scotch tape inside the back cover will confirm.

Yup. Allianz expensive but reliable. Never realised that about violins tho! Double basses are great value compared to violins. Lots more wood for your money and sound nice too!

Fretless Wal owner here, also in full support. Job well done, looks great and it's going to get played. Also makes my lovely fretless even rarer 🙂

Woo classy. I could only run to a Grant Jazz bass copy into a Cobra. The bass was plywood facings over soft block wood .. as I found out when I stripped the sunburst off it to give it a natural bare wood finish. Live and learn😄

... but don't decide that your singing is your real talent, pick up a jazz bass deluxe and record a solo album 😉

Well good for you. I love a bit of slap bass and see it's demise as being due to guitar fascists who want to replace us with sine wave generators ( or people playing precisions strung with flats and using a plectrum ) so that they can play all the tunes. Come to Derby .. every pub in town seems to have a cover or tribute band playing and the flower pot has either a good tribute band or someone eeking out their end days ( read China Crisis, Dr Feelgood, Big Country) every night of the week. NB: I'll have to hear the clip through good headphones as you're being drowned out by the keyboard player on my tablet. As always ... Bass player should be louder!

On a fretless the string height changes the sound, less action = more mwah needs tweaking to personal tastes Cranking the strings up on a fretted bass doesn't seem to change the sound at all. My dolphin pro 1 arrived with an action so low it was spooky so now cranked UP to 1.5mm, to no Ill effect and the advantage I don't play notes accidentally. Too low an action on my 5-string means I clank the strings on the frets, especially when reaching across 4 strings to reach the B. Poor technique on my part, but it sounds no worse for having to be higher.

Not according to Charlie who claimed HIS Vuillaume sounded better than Patitucci's Vuillaume ... maybe true and explains why JP sold his (for $138,000). These guys have so many basses ... check out Ken Smith with his my Da Salo this and my Pollmann that .. of course he sells them on. Anyway, if they all sounded the same no one would ever change 🙂

Lady called Helen Pegram, was working at Tim Toft's in Stone. Seems very knowledgeable and comes highly recommended. I was told she'd left Toft's, and then I found a post that said she'd gone freelance. Anyone know? .. just if she IS available direct I might take my bass along. Ta.

True thing .. but I enjoyed checking out £100,000 basses and £4,000 bows! But I still think, for a really basic bass, say £1000, a £500 bow would still be overkill. In 1986 I bought a bass for £2000 and a bow for £80 .. and it did me ok for 20 years till I spent £800 on the arcus. Having said which, less than £100 / £150 might be a false economy.

Hmm .. did a bow maker tell you that? I have a really nice Arcus S4 Carbon bow that more than meets my needs and abilities, but "only" cost about 1/7 the value of my bass. For 1/2 the price (though probably not the "value") of a bass I'm thinking of buying I could have any bow that Thwaites or the Contrabasse Shoppe are currently selling (and will state a price for) or get the fanciest Arcus and enough change for a holiday! £1000 will get an excellent bow. £2000 will get a superb bow made by a first class maker to your own requirements, more than that gets antiques and collectables (and gold fittings). You could probably spend £250,000 on a double bass, but I doubt you could spend £100,000 on a bass bow ;¬)