Silvio Dalla Torre's Bassetto

[Blazemourne]

Does Silvio use a smaller double bass size such as 1/2 for his bassetto? I don't know if its just me, but the picture of him playing his bass seems smaller than a 3/4 size.

http://www.silviodallatorre.com/subr...ntent=publish#

[kontrabass]

Check out this link. Silvio uses a historic "Halbbass," which means half-bass in German. I think that its string length is around 94cm or (thanks to google) 37 inches. The body is obviously smaller than a normal bass'. There is a picture of Silvio standing with his double bass with one hand and his bassetto in the other somewhere on the website.

[Blazemourne]

So is the wooden instrument the normal double bass while the black one is a half-sized bass used as a bassetto or is it the halbbass? Is it recommended to use a half-sized bass for a bassetto?

[kontrabass]

A Halbbass is what Silvio uses for his bassetto. So yes, it is the black one, but still made of wood. I'm sure he wanted a historical instrument, if only to suggest that the bassetto has an actual history.

The term Bassetto really only applies to the tuning, so, if you really wanted to, I'm sure that you could tune your own bass like the bassetto (as Silvio did at first). Though good luck replacing the nut, finding strings, and finding people to play with.

[Blazemourne]

But why does he use a smaller scale? Wouldn't the larger size be better for resonance? Or does the smaller scale not really affect the resonace and allows easier playing?

[kontrabass]

Jeez, it seems that we always surf the net at the same time...

The bassetto is historically a smaller instrument. I surmise that is why Silvio uses a smaller instrument. Plus, using the open-hand technique he advocates would be much easier on an instrument with a smaller string length.

[Blazemourne]

I see. But wouldn't the smaller body not resonate as well?