Bloopdad1

I have Baker style machines on my new Penning 5st. The Healey tuners are without compromise and the best in the business (obviously reflected in the price).

Yes, just using the Tourte between the G&D strings does work quite well, but subtle - stand in front of your section with a "standard fit" mute then get them to switch to the top 2 strings and listen to the difference... It's not massive but it does make a bit of a difference. IMO Muting only really works well on seriously good very old English / Italian basses (£££££££). For us mere mortals stick it between the top 2 strings and give it a go. (after being told off for not being muted enough, those of us in the section with 5 stringers borrowed a second Tourte and used 2 - muting the G&D and the B&E strings at the same time ('cos we're badass 😎) .... It got us through a boring slog of Vaughan Williams with wry smiles on our faces!)

Get a Tourte mute from a reputable company, there are loads of Chinese copies out there. Often the copies are smaller and made of plastic that's just too hard. You could use one of those MAHOOSIVE ebony comb mutes but they are a proper pita!! (Oh, and remember that a mute is used to change the sound of an instrument and not necessarily to make it quieter.) Attach it between the G and D string as muting the bigger strings doesn't have that much of an effect. Practice mutes on the other hand are a completely different thing!

Top tip. We do a "bow run". We wait until all of us needs a rehair (about once every 12-18mths) then one of the section members takes all the bows in one trip (plus a few cellos if they ask us VERY nicely). The orchestra sounds a bit ropey for a week as we're all using our spare bows. 😂 Saves the risk of posting off an £8k bow in a plastic tube! Alessi Reis did our lot last time - reccomended.

From your original post you mentioned that you'd seen similar German basses from the 1880's with dramatically differing prices... It's all about the sound, feel and projection. They're priced differently because they sound / play differently. Firstly (and most importantly) It's all about the sound and playability. Secondary the condition. Third, it's about the pedigree / provenance (resale value) Fourth, the construction / woods. Fith, can you convince the missus you're buying another bass....? A '70's P bass - you kinda know what you're getting as it's a factory made instrument... Luthier made instruments differ massively from one to the other. I know of a 250yr old Italian Ceruti bass that was sold recently for $250,000 in NY, it did the rounds in the UK in the '80's and' 90's before it went across the pond, I played it once (as did loads of others when they were trying to sell it) - It just didn't make a sound - a complete dog! I've played plywood instruments that sounded much better! But because it's a Ceruti, people (well, Americans, ha, ha) forked out for it. As advised, try as many basses as you can. You'll soon discover what price mark you need to be looking at. Also, only go to trusted dealers or better still, talk to players in your local pro orchestra. Many will know of a decent bass for sale. One tip - steer clear of a pristine condition old bass. It obviously hasn't been played as often, they just don't seem work so players park them up and avoid them (like the Ceruti mentioned above) - better to go for a battered, scratched, chipped one.... It's been played every week all of its life for the last +100yrs because it just works - "it's a good 'un". Good luck hunting for your instrument.

I get 2yrs max out of a set of Evahs (playing around 4x a week 80% arco). I think they're still ok after 2yrs but when I put a new set on its immediately obvious that the last set were completely dead! Solid core steel strings last for decades, synthetics not so. I've switched to Temperas as I've been promised they'll last at least double the service life of Evahs. We shall see...

Hi, me again. It's important to remember the ages and original resources available to luthiers making orchestral basses. Bass sizing is only a recent thing (as is players quoting "D" necks or "Eb" necks. Up to about 1920 you never heard of a 3/4 or 4/4 size.... They were just "big" or small, or chamber bass or baroque or parlour or solo basses. Also basses made in the 1600's were small as the developing chamber music was much quieter. Weras basses made in the 1850's facing Brahms, Bartok, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn had to be huge orchestral tone cannons. (then William Tarr, Panormo, Kennedy, Lott, JTL, Rubner and the big Germans were even bigger for Shostakovic, Bruckner, Walton, Wagner, R Strauss etc!) They were built for a purpose not for a set size - there weren't any set sizes. If for example in 1835 a Luthier like James Lott Snr received a commission from a tall gentleman he would make him a big bass and for a smaller chap would make a small bass to fit him. They were literally made to measure. There were no set sizes back then (there were for violins though). Additionally if a Luthier was making stock (like Kennedy did often) if he had a small lump of wood then he'd make a small bass, and vice versa. I've seen and played huge basses with short string lengths and one small English chamber bass with a almost unplayable 45" scale!! 😳 *hands like shovels.. Yes, it was all the rage around the turn of last century to cut down the top bouts and ribs but now luthiers can adapt a bass to be more acceptable and playable using less evasive techniques. The basses in pro orchestras are regarded as "full size" because they're just big original 150 to 350 year old basses. Modern orchestral instruments (from 1920) are made 4/4 so that they simply fit in the section with the original ancient beasts. Although my 1840 James Cole bass is tiny - these days I suppose it would be classed as a small 3/4, although the top ribs don't fit into a 3/4 size case! 😂 More than the sizes it's the sound. Just by listening I can tell the difference between an old big German, a French and an old gorgeous English bass (although there's also a massive difference between London built mid C1900 bass to a similar aged Northern English basses (Tarr, Howarth, Cole, Gilkes, Forster etc) superb sound but about 25% cheaper! Master Italian basses are harder to spot as they're so different and, well, just a bit weird... There you go, that's my two peneth. Orchestral basses are usually 4/4...... because that's what they've always been!

Err... The majority of professional classical double bassists. If one bass out of the section of 8 was a 3/4 size laminate bass for example it would stick out (sonically and visually) like a sore thumb. 99% of bass sections in symphonic, ballet and operatic playing have 4/4 sized instruments.

Hi. I'm a past user of EA iamp600 (serial number 27!) into a pair of EA VL110 cabs. Sold them and went to a Genz-Benz amp and Bergantino/Vanderkley cabs. Then about 7yrs ago stumbled upon barefaced 12" cabs and the very next day sold all of my Bergs and a Vanderkley (they're that good!) For all my double bass pit work, jazz, big band and sessions I use my Clarus 2 (600w @ 4ohm) into a Super Midget (1x12" +T) and for when we're on stage I use a BB2 (1x12" +T) and the Clarus (or Genz-Benz with a HPF) The cabs are super clean and both pizz and arco sound superb. Ultra light and ultra strong. The Clarus and Super Midget does over 150 gigs a year, then the BB2 and 900w Genz-Benz does the rest on bass guitar. Superb amps and the ultimate cabs for my 200yr old double bass. I highly recommend Barefaced. Oh, and if I want STUPID LOUD I pair both cabs together.... But they're literally ridiculous!

There's a few more as well... The "wrap-around the scroll" and the now more popular "double pulley method" (much better as the scroll isn't damaged and the C string doesn't bite and jam as can sometimes happen on the wrap-around method). Don't forget the 2 types of machine extension either...

Haven't had a blister for over 30yrs.. . But then again I also don't have any fingerprints anymore! 😂 🤣

£700 is cheap.... I'd be cautious of that one. Mike Hart has retired now (Norfolk) , not sure of anyone else in your area. Martin Penning is the best but is in Somerset and has a HUGE waiting list. Try Malcom Healey in Sutton. (I presume you're looking for a plain / gated extension and not a machine extension) Good luck and check out the luthiers work (plus previous extensions) before you hand your bass over. I've seen some dreadful and damaging butcher jobs in the past.

Hi all. Does anyone have any experience using Tempera Strings? Orchestral use. Looking specifically of how well they blend into a professional section? Ta

My go to double bass solution is a Acoustic Image Clarus II coupled to a Barefaced Super Midget (1x12). The built-in HPF on the Clarus is superb (plus no need for a preamp) Loads of headroom, great arco sound too. (using either a Realist or a twin sensor Yamahiko on my old English bass). Great stuff.