Quote:
Originally posted by chuck1155
One sidenote: I am only 5ft 6 inches tall and wonder about physically playing that beast. |
If you're going to stand while playing, the nut should probably be somewhere between your eyebrow and your hairline (assuming that your hairline hasn't receded to the back of your head).
A 3/4 bass with the endpin all the way in puts the nut
about 63 inches up from the floor.
That means that someone who is
about 5'4" should be able to put the nut into what most people consider about right height.
"right height", measured at the forehead, is a subjective thing, anyway, a rough guideline.
Having the nut too high or too low can create extra fatigue in your left arm/shoulder. If your left side is cramping or getting too tired, even after you should have had time to adjust, improper height is a factor to consider adjusting.
How high you have to reach to play an "F" on the "E" string is a factor, and if you use a bow, then how low you have to reach to get the bow perpendicular to the strings while at the proper distance above the bridge is a important factor in height-adjustment.
Women often opt for half-size basses, but I think that has more to do with carrying it around than with playing. A half-size bass is generally not as loud as an equivalent larger one, and they sound pretty much the same, otherwise.
I met a lady two months ago who was about 5'6", and about 65 yrs old to boot. She plays a 3/4, and took several turns on mine during the night, no problems. She made the comment that she doesn't play much outside of her house any more, because she's not as able to load/unload/carry a bass as she used to be.
I know a woman, about your height, who plays a 1/2 carved bass, and two other women who use 3/4 plywoods.
One of the plywood players is about your size, playing an old Kay in a Bluegrass group.
The other teaches music at a local college, and uses an Engelhardt EM-1. She, is, however, a larger lady, probably closer to 5'10 and solidly-built.
You have the best idea, if it's practical, with renting a bass. You might even decide you like your bass and be able to do a rent-to-own deal on it.
Some places not only offer a rent-to-own contract, but will apply most of your rents to a DIFFERENT bass at the end of the rental period, if you want to upgrade in the process of purchasing. These are usually places that specialize in rentals to high-school & college students. If you can find a school that has an orchestra (rather than a marching band), they can probably tell you where they get their stringed instruments, get them repaired, and/or send their students.
Start with a 3/4 and if seems too large, start working your way down.
You'll probably find a 3/4 to be just fine. If you're not used to an upright, you WILL get fatigue in your left arm & shoulder some at first, so don't make a decision based on THAT.
Basses are made all the way down to 1/8 size, though I
think the sound DOES begin to change when you go to a 1/4 size. I've never heard anything smaller than a half-size.
At
www.urbbob.com, you can get a fully-carved bass from Bulgaria, all the way down to 1/8-size, if you should decide to later on, for around $2200.
Strunal also makes plywoods down to 1/8.
http://www.cutting-edgemusic.com/cut...Inventory=2759
Other than that, the first impression that a bass guitarist gets when they first walk up and grab an upright is "This is like dancing with a cow". That will pass too.
