String question

[dennis duvall]

I've just finished my first build project,(Chandler's Panormo plan) $2000.00 in chioce wood & and parts & approx.300 hrs. labor. As I am an accoustic freak I spent extra time modally tuning the various components as I carved, then applied them. When it came to the set up, well its 8 weeks later & I'm still tweaking things. Question, I strung it with Kolstein Heritage strings, E is deep and resonant, A is unbelieveable,doesn't sound like its emiting from the bass, but from the walls of the room, D is present but a little dull, G is thin almost tin-ny, the heritage has a thin scale on the D & G and I wonder if this is too thin for this 7/8 scale instrument. Any suggestions, please thanks Denny

[Darren Molnar]

I'm dyin' to see some pictures, denis. As to you're challenge, you might be over tweaking too soon.Has the tone settled yet?

[dennis duvall]

Darren, I finished the bass around mid-October, right now its just standing in a temp.& humidity environment. Played last night and took romanian in the blizzard. Plucked it a little today,no change. will post some pics soon . I thought about trying the D & G helicores off the romanian ( their thicker) any suggestions? thanks for the response Denny

[Don Harris]

I'd love to see pics too. Maybe you've already been down this road, but here's an article on soundpost adjustment that might be helpful. http://www.davidgage.com/z_david_archive3.htm I've got no experience with the Heritage strings, sorry.

[dennis duvall]

Thanks Don, I checked out the article and knew about too long of a sound post killing the A string, but did not know that moving the post to the inside would increase the higher strings volume, will try that today.Ordered Evah Pirazzi D&Gs from Bob G. and he's out of stock for now. Will post some pics once I figure out how (guess I should start with a camera) Thanks for the input,Denny

[dennis duvall]

pics

[dennis duvall]

pics

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Dennis, first off thats a beautiful looking Bass there.

How tall is that Bridge in the center? I would ask that you give me the string height at the end of the fingerboard at the G and E to better judge the Neck position for the Bridge. With a Bass that big with tons of air space you want the bridge at least 6.25" - 6.5" tall minimum.

Also, I would suggest you try a main manufactured brand of steel strings like Spiro reds for Pizz or Flexocors for bowing. After you know what the Bass can do, then try some other types if you want to experiment.

[dennis duvall]

Ken; bridge is 6 1/2" at center, E string height @ fingerboard end is 1/4", G is 3/16". Just today I strung D & G with used dominants purchased on ebay (as i'm still waiting for new ones from B.Goll.) anyway wooow! I also moved the sound post a little towards center. The difference was night & day the 2 upper strings now have almost the same presence and acoustical volume as that killer A,and these dominants are supposed to be a year old. I just can't tell you what a thrill it was to tune it up as it sounded and sprang to life. I'm afraid I will be contacting Kolstein about this, First i'll try the heritages on my carved 3/4 Romanian and see if they can compare with the Helicores. Do the above measurements sound okay? Denny

[Don Harris]

Looks great Dennis. Thanks for posting the pics. I'm glad you got what you were looking for with the string and soundpost change. I can't tell for sure looking at the pics, but it looks like the bridge is awfully thick near the top. Maybe there should be a longer taper from the top of the legs to the bearing edge. I would imagine that might have a significant impact on the tone, but I don't have a lot of experience here.

Your string heights would probably be considered normal for a low jazz setup, maybe a bit low for orchestral work. The bridge height is good I think (between 6-1/4 to 7").

[dennis duvall]

Thanks, guess I'll strop my razor & do some shaving on that bridge. Incidently the Heritage D & G sound much better on the 3/4 Romanian. Thanks ,Dennis