Double Bass Build

MGill · #1 07-30-2006, 06:23 AM

Hey, I’m going to build my own double bass, but before I order any wood/parts I’m going to consult the many experts on this forum. So for the front, back and sides I was thinking of using walnut, there are a few acoustic guitar/bass builders that have recently started using the material more often and state that it has a warm yet profound tone. Would Walnut work well on a bass? Has it been tried before? Has anyone got a walnut bass?
Thanks

.matthew e wengerd. · #2 07-30-2006, 06:46 AM

A) Definitely not walnut as a top.

B) Don't do it. At 15, you most likely don't have the resources to even afford quality materials, much less the woodworking experience to turn those into a playable bass.

I know it doesn't sound encouraging, but work on your woodworking skills and play as many DBs as possible. Additionally, buy some of the excellent luthierie books out there (others will chime in) and get to researching.

Best of luck.

**Matthew Tucker** · #3 07-30-2006, 09:04 AM

I'd say, go for it ...

But don't rush into it. If you considered walnut as a top wood, take it as a little sign you have quite a lot of reading to do.

Hang here for a while, read everything, buy books, read them through again and again, reference libraries (in the 780's I think), draw lots, collect tools and pictures of basses, look at instruments, talk to makers, research it thoroughly first. Look at the stringrepair.com website to lean about what makes a bass.

Nick Lloyd has used walnut to make bass necks. Look at his website. Walnut's not often used on bass sides and backs, though that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work.

BTW, what's a profound tone?

**Damon Rondeau** · #4 07-30-2006, 09:27 AM

I'm a fan of jumping in and getting going on something -- but you absolutely should do all the reading, thinking and researching that Matt mentions, too. Woodworking in general is one of those things in life where you must do it in order to get good at it. So don't short yourself on shop time. I've been woodworking for 30 years and I'm still chugging uphill on the learning curve. Take a look at Matt's web documentary on his bass project -- he's obviously a guy with advanced and well-honed woodworking skills and that only comes with experience and passion.

To mitigate against the risk of failure and the associated flushing of much money down the toilet (but in turn acquiring a valuable education) maybe you should consider building something smaller. Say a viola or a smaller fiddle. Lots of the same skills, tools and materials but the cost of the project in time and money is much smaller.

I had big plans for building a bass a few years ago but then my basement shop flooded and I've been putting my non-music time since then into recovering from that and improving my house (did some back-breaking foundation work last month that made me long for a sharp chisel and a quiet, clean workbench.) But as soon as that shop is back in action -- probably a year from now, once my addition is done -- I'm going to take my own advice and start with a viola. A violin just seems too damn small -- I don't know how anyone could play the little thing.

MGill · #5 07-30-2006, 11:23 AM

Right, well im all for doing somthink smaller before hand, a Viola sounds like a nice project, ill do my reserch of them. I supose i better on on to a viola forum

.matthew e wengerd. · #6 07-30-2006, 02:35 PM

M Tucker -

My bass has Walnut (might be chestnut - no clear answer) back and sides.

**Matthew Tucker** · #7 07-31-2006, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MGill

somthink smaller before hand, a Viola sounds like a nice project

Plus, you can build a viola on your kitchen table!

MGill · #8 07-31-2006, 11:26 AM

So whats the top of your bass made out of wengerd? Im going to the tonewood shop tomorrow, hopefully the parts shouldent get to pricey. Im buying the wood now so it can dry out while im doing the resech into building it. Good idea? Or not?

robobass · #9 07-31-2006, 04:08 PM

I thought basses were made out off Basswood!
Robobass

Bass Boy · #10 07-31-2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

I thought basses were made out off Basswood!
Robobass

That's like saying Germans are made out of Germs! J/K

.matthew e wengerd. · #11 07-31-2006, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MGill

So whats the top of your bass made out of wengerd? Im going to the tonewood shop tomorrow, hopefully the parts shouldent get to pricey. Im buying the wood now so it can dry out while im doing the resech into building it. Good idea? Or not?

Mine's pine. My luthier, like others before him, often salvages wood from old buildings for his basses. I believe my wood may have been. He told me the wood was felled over 100 years ago.

**Matthew Tucker** · #12 07-31-2006, 05:30 PM

spruce or pine or cedar. spruce is most common and probably the best. spruce is really just a variety of pine. there are many kinds. hardwoods are not used for tops.

have you searched the double bass forums for "tonewood" yet? If you read all the posts, I don't think you'll need to ask these very basic questions.

a tonewood shop should be able to advise you. and yes its a good idea to buy your wood now. But its also a good idea to do a weeks solid reading BEFORE buying your wood because you'll probably make an informed choice. Wood for a violin is not too expensive. Wood for a double bass IS just because you need so much of it. If you want to build a violin, you can buy a kit

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5505

which would be good start. you probably won't find a viola kit though.

also look at the links on my website and read all thw websites on violin construction you can find. The answers are all there.

I think, if you are careful, even if your woodworking is basic, you'll be OK. The biggest hurdle you'll face is actually finishing the project.

peasandhoney · #13 07-31-2006, 05:57 PM

"spruce is really just a variety of pine" is like saying that "chimpanzees are really just a variety of people"

i am in the camp that says the quality of the wood that goes into a project is reflected in the quality of the product. there are reasons things have been done nearly the same way for well over three hundred years, they work that way (and we've been conditioned that way, but thats going to be my disertation someday). my advice is the more work you put in on the front end (ie: research), the happier you will be at the end goal.

**Matthew Tucker** · #14 08-01-2006, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peasandhoney

"spruce is really just a variety of pine" is like saying that "chimpanzees are really just a variety of people"

so which is the superior species? Gaboons?

;-)

PB+J · #15 08-01-2006, 04:34 AM

I'm not a luthier, but I've done a lot of reading and built a few solid-bodies. Here's what I think i know

You generally want some kind of spruce in a top, for the same reason they used spruce to make airplanes back in the day--stiffness to weight ratio. With spruce you get relatively high stiffness for relatively low weight, which makes for a strong top that's light enough to vibrate freely. You can use other woods, like cedar, that have similar stiffness to weight ratios. You could make a top out of a hardwood like walnut, physically, but it would probably sound very dead--or so it seems. I've never heard a bass with a hardwood top

Now and then guitars show up with hardwood tops--I've seen koa-topped guitars and mahogany-topped guitars. They sounded fine