JoeEvans

I'm struggling here, playing double bass in two bands so I've got that and a fretless that's been literally my only bass for thirty years. But suddenly I've got a massive urge to buy a Status type headless, bodyless bass like a Hohner B2 or a Yamaha BX1. I can barely imagine a scenario in which it would have any practical use in my life. Where does that come from?

The double bass player here was 80 when this was recorded, touring internationally with a hot young fiddle player and gigging regularly at home (Hungary). He makes what he's doing look easy but there are very few people who could deliver that drive, power and rhythmic energy. So don't start thinking you're old at fifty, you're only just warming up!

The only thing you have to watch out for with drone work is that major thirds sound 'right' when they're a bit flat of standard tuning. So when you play with other people later you might have practiced in a slightly different intonation to the one you need...

I worry about this too, my concern is more about ongoing, cumulative minor scrapes, dents and scratches... I have wondered about buying a cheaper, laminated bass for gigging but then I wouldn't get the pleasure of playing my nice bass, and anyway where would I put the damn thing?

If you're looking for a bass at that price range and you're open to second hand, the Double Bass Room is really worth a visit. I spent a very happy couple of hours there trying a huge variety of different basses before settling on my current instrument. Must be the best selection of sub £5k basses in the country. Very friendly guy as well.

Blue Monday?

Another one bites the dust? Funky President? And loads of other James Brown tunes too...

Happy Jack - it's just four loops of cord, each going round the tail pin, with a bronze washer on each to take the strings.

Just made an experimental tailpiece using 2mm dyneema cord. It's definitely improved the sound a bit - slightly brighter and more resonant with better balanced tone and volume across the strings. The cloth is to mute the resonance in the cords.

For a country band I guess you want a fairly meaty, electric tone rather than a delicate, natural acoustic tone, so I guess a small, modern bass amp would do fine - Trace Elliot ELF? Just got one and it sounds great for that type of tone.

Sold an amp to Jimmy, a pleasure to do business with him, good communication, no payment problems, all went smoothly. Joe

SM57 would be good for this I think.

@NickA yes, bridge set-up is complicated, as you say there's the fingerboard shape to take into account. Also a higher arch for bowing raises the action on the A and D and could lower it on the E... Ideally you'd plane the fingerboard to match any major change to bridge crown. I've tweaked my own bridge a bit and ended up accepting a slightly flatter crown across the A string than I would have liked, to keep the action down on that string.

It's basically just the shape of the top, flatter for jazz, steeper arch for orchestral for easier bowing. Possibly orchestral bridges have a slightly narrower string spacing too.

There are two sides to it - firstly putting the strings in the right place (action and spacing) and secondly shaping the bridge right - feet sitting exactly flat on the body, bridge at 90 degrees to body, bridge tapered towards the top, slots right depth and curved over nicely etc. How does the action feel now for your playing style?

There's quite a lot to shaping a bridge but it's definitely doable DIY if you're ok with accurate woodworking. Can I ask, why are you changing the existing bridge?

I use two fingers for a strong note, more of a push down and pull across then release than a pluck, if that makes sense; two fingers with a plucking action for a softer tone; one finger for a delicate note or first and second fingers alternating for fast runs. The most important thing for left hand is to curl the fingers over so that you're playing on the tips as much as possible, and relax the thumb so you're not squeezing the neck. And while you're playing on one string, keep the first finger down while you play notes on the other fingers, if that makes sense, to reduce the strain on the weaker fingers.

Anything by the Tomasz Stanko quartet is worth listening too. This is delicious. https://youtu.be/Hkh3O54ZB7k

Following on from another discussion, I thought I'd ask the question: apart from changing strings, what alteration or adjustment to your bass made the biggest difference to the sound? For me it was the change to a wooden end pin. I'd be interested to hear yours..