Recent content by Mark_T

I've never played an original, but I've tried a few Hawkes that floated through nearby shops. They were a bit big for me but they looked and sounded gorgeous.

I'm eagerly awaiting a cake of Bassment Summer. I got to try a bit of the Winter a few weeks ago and really liked it.

Both are great, but there is definitely a difference :)

Enjoy: Rosin Invaders

In the world of ukuleles there are occasionally instruments made entirely of one wood, including the top back and sides. I'm not sure this would work for a bass. I think Aaron Keim has made ukuleles out of all softwoods before, and there's certainly precedent for making them entirely out of Koa...

I have a bow made of Bloodwood. In one of the Discover Double Bass courses, David Allen Moore describes bloodwood as a "super-pernambuco". My bloodwood bow is not as nice as some of the better pernambuco bows I've tried in the past, but it's a perfectly reasonable bow that could easily be used...

Same

I am a moderately advanced amateur, and I get a lot out of playing with an orchestra, but there are some caveats, too. Some things to think about Basses don't get to play a lot of chamber music, so this is your best chance to play with others You'll stretch your repertoire You'll learn (or...

I am fascinated to know how global warming has anything to do with dovetail joints, however. It seems about as relevant as the theory of relativity is to busetto corners. I don't think I'll be phoning anyone about it, though.

And I just had a lesson where I attempted to attract my teacher's attention to my intonation and instead we mostly worked on using my bow to make a more focused sound in some key areas (and highlighting certain note changes so the pitches came out more clearly). We made a few changes to...

Regarding temperment and drone tuning, a teacher I work with sometimes gave me a really interesting perspective on practicing with drones that he distilled from this (admittedly hard-to-follow) ISB presentation by Scott Dixon: I like the approach but it has limitations - it's not what I'd use...

I can't imagine a bass with a glued on volute was carved, but it's hard to see through that finish and lining.

In my approach my hand is extremely relaxed. It's actually that looseness that got me to switch over from French bow. I have years of experience with both and am a pretty decent French player, but I never was able to achieve the sort of loose, relaxed hand playing French that I can playing German.

To elaborate slightly, I like DAM's idea of the transfer of weight to the stick focused through the first finger but supported by the thumb (especially on the lower strings). My first and second finger aren't long enough to be in the position he suggests past the frog, so they end up being along...

I tried a couple of swipes of Isaac Trapkus's winter rosin the other day and quite liked it. The person who had it said he uses it as a base and adds a different rosin on top, I had been thinking a Petz/Winter combination might be great. That said, I just got a cake of Pop's and it's better than...