6 string Double Bass; does it exist?

[The_Orlonater]

I am talking about an Acoustic bass. Call me crazy, but I think it might be a great idea. The high C string could be very useful for some passages , and the low C/B is needed for most playing and genres of music. I understand it'll be bigger then your average double bass, but still.

Oh yeah, first post on the DB side, lol.
I should hang out here more often.

P.S. Or if you have a picture, you can show a 5 string with a high C and an extension.

Thanks.

[salcott]

I'm pretty sure Ratzo Harris has a 6 string Merchant Vertical Bass or two and may have a 6 string uprite as well. Also, there was a guy in Rochester in the 70s named Frank Pullara who had a 6 string upright. If I remember correctly, he had the fingerboard extended about a half inch on either side of the neck to accomodate the extra strings and very low action.

[The_Orlonater]

Originally Posted by salcott

I'm pretty sure Ratzo Harris has a 6 string Merchant Vertical Bass or two and may have a 6 string uprite as well. Also, there was a guy in Rochester in the 70s named Frank Pullara who had a 6 string upright. If I remember correctly, he had the fingerboard extended about a half inch on either side of the neck to accomodate the extra strings and very low action.

Oh, wow. This great, can you find pics by any chance?

[ghiadub]

I checked out hot buttered rum recently and the bassist there did not have a 6er but a 5 with extension on the E to drop it down to a C and the high F on the other side.

Who needs 6 when you have a bass like that? I think it was an eminence.
And no, sorry, I do not have a pic.

[DavidMP]

René Gosselin from Quartango has a similar bass. It has a low B extension on the 5th string, a C extension on the 3rd and he tunes the first as a D for soloing (I saw Quartango live in 2005 and asked him about his bass after the concert, that's what he told me)
It was made by Mario Lamarre in Montréal and here are some pictures

[damonsmith]

Paul Rogers has a 7 string acoustic bass:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/116/2...55d931.jpg?v=0
I love my 7 string EUB, and it does really come in handy for a lot of things.

[The_Orlonater]

Originally Posted by damonsmith

Paul Rogers has a 7 string acoustic bass:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/116/2...55d931.jpg?v=0
I love my 7 string EUB, and it does really come in handy for a lot of things.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

ERB's can be for upright's too. I wish I can show up to orchestra with that.

Oh and beautiful bass to the post above.

[hdiddy]

Looks kinda like a viola da gamba.

[mheintz]

Not really double basses, but here goes:

http://www.violworks.com/pages/gb/in...tail/id/8.html


http://www.krattenmacher.com/publications/p_klotz.html


http://www.orpheon.org/OldSite/Seite...gb_maggini.htm


There's also a picture of a 6-string double bass at: http://www.chrisandrew.net/violin_ga...selection.html

[The_Orlonater]

Originally Posted by mheintz

Not really double basses, but here goes:

http://www.violworks.com/pages/gb/in...tail/id/8.html


http://www.krattenmacher.com/publications/p_klotz.html


http://www.orpheon.org/OldSite/Seite...gb_maggini.htm


There's also a picture of a 6-string double bass at: http://www.chrisandrew.net/violin_ga...selection.html

AWESOME!

I know what I need to order in the future. Kick ass Violone, by the way. I want to learn how to play one, maybe in the future.

[KSB - Ken Smith]

6-string Bass instruments go back about 500 years and maybe more. The 'Tarisio' Gasparo d'Salo (c.1580) which is now fitted as a 4-string Double Bass was actually made as a 6-string Violone. It is a regular sized Double Bass. I have the dimensions/measurements in a book (Elgar's first book, 'Introduction to the Double Bass') at the office. I will post them if anyone is interested.

I don't know what you would do with 6-string in an Orchestra other than annoy everyone around you but it might be 'entertaining' in other forms of music.

Can you imagine showing up at a job with a 6-string DB? You think you will be called again anytime soon?

[The_Orlonater]

Originally Posted by KSB - Ken Smith

6-string Bass instruments go back about 500 years and maybe more. The 'Tarisio' Gasparo d'Salo (c.1580) which is now fitted as a 4-string Double Bass was actually made as a 6-string Violone. It is a regular sized Double Bass. I have the dimensions/measurements in a book (Elgar's first book, 'Introduction to the Double Bass') at the office. I will post them if anyone is interested.

I don't know what you would do with 6-string in an Orchestra other than annoy everyone around you but it might be 'entertaining' in other forms of music.

Can you imagine showing up at a job with a 6-string DB? You think you will be called again anytime soon?

There's Double Bass players with a high C string, and the extension is a must have in any major orchestra, so why not make a 6?

Anyway, I'm interested in the pictures.

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by The_Orlonater

There's Double Bass players with a high C string, and the extension is a must have in any major orchestra, so why not make a 6?

Anyway, I'm interested in the pictures.

Did you ever try bowing a 5-string DB? Have you ever played in an Orchestra or Orchestra music? Do you know the Radius of a playable/bowable 5-string Fingerboard? After all that, try to imagine the Radius and Fingerboard width of a Bass with one string more than a 5-string that most of the time is hard to play with a Bow unless set-up perfectly.

Playing or rather making a 6-string DB that is playable is twice the work of a 4 if not more.

Go out an get yourself a 6-string DB. Let me know when you are playing it as fluently as the guys around you on 4-string, with or without a C-extension. I have plenty of those as well. Try playing the Storm 16ths in the 6th on the Extension, every note!

[Phil Rowan]

Originally Posted by salcott

I'm pretty sure Ratzo Harris has a 6 string Merchant Vertical Bass or two and may have a 6 string uprite as well. Also, there was a guy in Rochester in the 70s named Frank Pullara who had a 6 string upright. If I remember correctly, he had the fingerboard extended about a half inch on either side of the neck to accomodate the extra strings and very low action.

A few years back I stopped by Bill's to have my Kay looked at, and indeed, there was Ratzo playing his 6 stringer (upright). I was a bit taken aback by it... very gnarly indeed.

[Don Carrigan]

Originally Posted by The_Orlonater

I am talking about an Acoustic bass. Call me crazy, but I think it might be a great idea. The high C string could be very useful for some passages , and the low C/B is needed for most playing and genres of music. I understand it'll be bigger then your average double bass, but still.P.S. Or if you have a picture, you can show a 5 string with a high C and an extension. Thanks.

ATTACHMENTS: Here's a bassist "Dalton Dillingham" playing his 6 string double bass, and a picture of my 5 string 1820 Prescott on loan to the Boston Handel & Haydn Society (Nick Pap, Bassist and Restorer Volker Nahrmann, backstage and Boston Sym. Hall.

[The_Orlonater]

Originally Posted by KSB - Ken Smith

Did you ever try bowing a 5-string DB? Have you ever played in an Orchestra or Orchestra music? Do you know the Radius of a playable/bowable 5-string Fingerboard? After all that, try to imagine the Radius and Fingerboard width of a Bass with one string more than a 5-string that most of the time is hard to play with a Bow unless set-up perfectly.

Playing or rather making a 6-string DB that is playable is twice the work of a 4 if not more.

Go out an get yourself a 6-string DB. Let me know when you are playing it as fluently as the guys around you on 4-string, with or without a C-extension. I have plenty of those as well. Try playing the Storm 16ths in the 6th on the Extension, every note!

I've heard there are. My teacher told me he knew of guys with high C's. The high C string can be very useful in some passages. No denying that, yes bowing a 6 might be harder then a 4, but it's something to work on. Just like everything else, apparently there's 6 string players. Maybe you're right, and yes I'm playing in an orchestra now.

[bkbirge]

You guys are all whimps, you need this :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryton
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdiction...b/Baryton.html

[bassteban]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/4...fb07d6.jpg?v=0

[Will Yager]

Originally Posted by bassteban

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/4...fb07d6.jpg?v=0

That looks amazing.

[bassteban]

Sorry for the tangent/derail/highjack. On topic, aren't even 5 string DBs less responsive due to the increased pressure on the top plate? If so, I'd think a 6 would only suffer a bit more in this regard.