What size double bass do u use?

zscontra · #1 12-01-2010, 07:10 AM

Doing an investigation of ur size bass n why dat size

drurb · #2 12-01-2010, 07:41 AM

Welcome to TB. I have a suggestion. Please use the search function. There are more threads than you might believe on this very topic.

Briefly:

1) There are no real standards for bass "sizes." Here is a rough guide.
2) 99.999999999% of players play a so-called "3/4" bass having a string-length of about 41-42".
3) The sizes of basses called "3/4" can vary dramatically.

Actually, from your "phone-texting" style post, it's not clear what you're really asking. Are you asking for individual measurements of people's basses and why they chose those sizes? The very short answer to "why" is almost always because that's the bass that "fit" them and their style of play. "Size" really doesn't tell you much as other factors such as shoulder slope, rib depth, overstand, and a host of other parameters come into play.

Search, search, search...

By the way, your profile says that you are available to give classical instruction. True?

Steve Swan · #3 12-01-2010, 07:47 AM

Currently a 7/8 with 42 1/4" string length, 45 1/2" top length, and 27" lower bout width for a large voice on the bottom end.

drurb · #4 12-01-2010, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Swan

Currently a 7/8 with 42 1/4" string length for a large voice on the bottom end.

Which, for the sake of the OP, I'd point out is what some would call a large 3/4.

Bass · #5 12-01-2010, 08:18 AM

I play a 2006 Upton Hawkes. If I understand correctly it is a 7/8 body with a 41" scale - so some would just call it a large 3/4?

Steve Swan · #6 12-01-2010, 08:55 AM

There seems to be a strong trend based on customer demand for contemporary 7/8 size basses to feature fairly short string lengths in the 41-41 1/2" range.

drurb · #7 12-01-2010, 09:13 AM

This all begs the question, as I see it. Some (not necessarily me) would say that a 41" string-length means that the bass isn't a 7/8. That's because some see string-length as the most important determiner of the "size" (3/4, 7/8, 15/16, 1/4, 1/2, 4/4). FWIW, when someone mentions a 4/4 bass, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the expectation of an extended string length. So what makes a bass a 3/4, 7/8, 4/4? Is it string-length or body size? Well, both and neither. I think all of those scale sizes are imprecise, misleading and unnecessarily confusing. That's because they have no real standard meaning. After all, when someone says he/she has a 7/8 bass, what do you really know about the bass? I suggest that the answer is, "very little." I think it's really best to specify string length and body dimensions.

Take Bass's Hawkes for example. Having played those models, I'd call that a 3/4 with wide shoulders-- acknowledging the vagaries of saying such a thing.

Do the wide shoulders make it a 7/8? I guess, for some, they do.

Greg Clinkingbeard · #8 12-01-2010, 09:44 AM

I dunno if there's much value in questions like this. You could call Bass's instrument a 3/4 or 7/8's and it wouldn't change the instrument a bit. I DO know (having owned one of those) is that it's a snug fit in a standard Mooradian 3/4 bag which is much too big for my current bass (what most would call a 3/4).
The dimensions of bout size, ribs, string length, etc are much more valuable. Arguing 3/4 or 7/8 is much like political affiliation. Is someone: liberal, conservative, progressive, libertarian, socialist.............?

Steve Swan · #9 12-01-2010, 09:52 AM

To add more confusion, many contemporary german builders will use 4/4 designation for what used to fit squarely in the accepted modern 7/8 size range. I think that few would argue that an instrument with a lower bout width of 27" or more and a top length over 45" is still in the 3/4 size group. But, heck, good debate over things that are often loosely fit into "common knowledge" is usually interesting here when examined by many different pairs of eyes. Size designations for 3/4 into 7/8 seem to have been quite a moving target inthe last 50 years. So, in agreement with drub, I try to list top length, upper, middle, and lower bout widths, side depth, and string length when discussing sizes. Some of the current designs with greatly reduced upper bout and increased size of lower bout can be real head scratchers.

drurb · #10 12-01-2010, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clink

I dunno if there's much value in questions like this. You could call Bass's instrument a 3/4 or 7/8's and it wouldn't change the instrument a bit. I DO know (having owned one of those) is that it's a snug fit in a standard Mooradian 3/4 bag which is much too big for my current bass (what most would call a 3/4).
The dimensions of bout size, ribs, string length, etc are much more valuable. Arguing 3/4 or 7/8 is much like political affiliation. Is someone: liberal, conservative, progressive, libertarian, socialist.............?

Perfecto. Thanks for reinforcing the point.

mjt0229 · #11 12-01-2010, 10:45 AM

A bass is the size the person selling it says it is.

Steve Swan · #12 12-01-2010, 02:13 PM

Unless it's the great number of "4/4 ... full size!" cheap chinese basses on craigslist.

MIKMAN · #13 12-01-2010, 08:17 PM

My bass for arco work is clearly a 3/4 instrument, with a string length of 42 inches. My hybrid bass for ourdoor gigs under the Greek sun is also a 3/4 instrument, with a string length of 41.5 inches. Finally my magnificent PAULUS, for recordings and concert work, is a 7/8 double bass since it features a 42 1/3 inches string length with a lower bout width of 28 inches and a body length of 46.5 inches.