Removable neck stories?

[bribass]

Anyone have experience w/ a removable neck DB? Looking for any info about how you like traveling w/ it. Oversize or overweight airline charges or problems (damage) w/ that kind of case? Sound post or assembly problems? Any info would be helpful.

Thank you, Bri

[AMJBASS]

Check out the Folding bass/Japan thread. Lots of great info in there regarding this type of thing!

[Ed Fuqua]

E-mail John Goldsby, he just got an Auray with a removable neck.

[Peck_Time]

My removable neck bass is a New Standard Cleveland converted by Matthew Tucker.

There's a porthole in my bass so I can adjust the soundpost.

The neck with strings attached, bridge, tailpiece and endpin go in one aluminium case, with the body of the bass going in another case.

Having two cases keeps the weight and size down. In New Zealand, airlines won't let you check in bags that weigh more than 25 kilos.

When I get to where i'm going, the bass is assembled in 5 minutes, and most of that time is spent lining up the bridge. And then it's a real double bass!

I like the look of the Christopher removable neck bass, but the single case weighs too much, and the soft case is too soft to fly with.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by Peck_Time

My removable neck bass is a New Standard Cleveland converted by Matthew Tucker.

There's a porthole in my bass so I can adjust the soundpost.

The neck with strings attached, bridge, tailpiece and endpin go in one aluminium case, with the body of the bass going in another case.

Having two cases keeps the weight and size down. In New Zealand, airlines won't let you check in bags that weigh more than 25 kilos.

When I get to where i'm going, the bass is assembled in 5 minutes, and most of that time is spent lining up the bridge. And then it's a real double bass!

I like the look of the Christopher removable neck bass, but the single case weighs too much, and the soft case is too soft to fly with.

Do you check both cases or do you carry on the neck case?

THNX, Brian

[Peck_Time]

Originally Posted by bribass

Do you check both cases or do you carry on the neck case?

THNX, Brian

I check both on. The neck case is 120cm long, the body case is 125cm. They fit into vans, station wagons, hatchbacks and sedans where you can lay the back seats down and load through the boot.

The cases were expensive, but are the key to the whole problem. The cases have to be light and strong and fit your bass.

I know there's a guy in europe making a removable neck bass with a carbon-fibre case.

Before I had my removable neck bass, I used to fly with a polystyrene flight-case that was much lighter (under 20kg for the whole bass!). But it was impossible to move without a trailer. I used to have to order a van and trailer to get to the airport from my house. And then I had to carry the monstrous thing around on tour.

[Mike Arnopol]

Patrick Charton makes a stunning removable neck bass with a case that weighs 22.5 kilos. Pricey, but if I had the dough I'd consider one. His basses sound outstanding.

[Feral Feline]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

E-mail John Goldsby, he just got an Auray with a removable neck.

Originally Posted by Peck_Time

I know there's a guy in europe making a removable neck bass with a carbon-fibre case.

That guy may be the same guy that made J Goldsby's new bass, and perhaps he bought the
case, too.

[Paul Warburton]

If Arnold woud ever do one, I'd buy it now. Sight unseen. Un-heard and all that. Until then, I wait.

[MIKMAN]

The Upton friends can make each one of their models with a removable neck, with an additional cost of about $1000.

[james condino]

I dig the removable neck and have used it more than expected!

j.

[Treyzer]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

If Arnold woud ever do one, I'd buy it now. Sight unseen. Un-heard and all that. Until then, I wait.

Hopefully Arnold will work on this one!

[Jeremy Allen]

Originally Posted by Feral Feline

That guy may be the same guy that made J Goldsby's new bass, and perhaps he bought the
case, too.

I played this bass at ISB last summer. It's a good instrument, very loud and full sounding (although it didn't have a lot of what Uncle Toad calls "ass.") I confess to being surprised at how expensive it was...but I also didn't realize until just now that it had a removable neck/fancy case. Makes sense now.

[chop_1992]

The bass from Jean Auray is a fantastic instrument. I did the new Nachbar Trio recording with it recently, and I've been using it with the WDR Big Band. We just did a project where I played with no amp & big band--the bass cut through very well, with a lot of ummpph.

The thing I love about the Auray bass is the even quality of the sound up and down the instrument. It has a Ray-Brownish punch on the A string, really sings in thumb position, and it bows like a dream.

Jean made the bass to my specs. The upper bout on my side is smaller and thinner (for ease of playing) and actually the same size as my old bass. The outer bout is wider and deeper for more volume. He uses a special kind of back brace that is very small, slightly bowed (not a flat-back, not a round-back), and slides into the back of the bass with a dovetail construction.

The bass assembles and disassembles in a couple of minutes. THe soundpost is held in a small carved-out indentation so it does not fall. In the Nanoo case, packed in a Mooridian soft case, the whole thing weighs in at about 28 kilos. It is about the size of the body of the bass. The neck is packed separately in a case that clamps onto the main case. The whole thing would be considered ovesized, but not overweight by the airline industry.

[chop_1992]

. . . and you can hear the Auray bass here from last week's project at the WDR with the King's Singers. It was a Bach-meets-jazz program. I did not use an amp. At 5:00 on the video, you can here the bass pretty good behind the clarinet solo.

[Jeremy Allen]

That sounds great, John. Sounds like the bass has really opened up! (Of course, it was brand new when I played it, so I should have expected as much.)