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Double Bass Kay Jazz Cello?

#4
He played on my senior recital.....BAAAAAADD! I don't think he brings it out much anymore but he had one just like this
 

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#6
I have one. Got it off evilBay about 2 yrs ago. It's ply but pretty well made with mini bass tuners instead of friction pegs.

I bought cello strings in fifths so I didn't have my head explode. It sounds real nice. Good for arco practice.

With these strings anyway it's too thin a sound for pizz. IMO
 
#9
PaulChambersFan said:
Cool!
I think they are supposed to be tuned in fourths (I assume that's what you mean). Should be more like a mini bass than a cello.
Internet says that there are only 50 made. So you pnchad have one and Pat O'Leary has two. Should be 47 left out there
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...and I bought one today (it will be shipped from the Southern U.S. in the morning). 46 left out there...
 

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#10
pnchad said:
Yes, my mistake - D'Adario Helicore has a cello set - not sure who else

So, the range is a little lower than standard cello but the upper range is more limited due to the shorter interval between strings
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I imagine you tune it up an octave from DB so have a piccolo-tuning baby bass. That preserves fourths EADG tuning but limits the overall range vs standard CGDA fifths tuning on cello. I wonder if standard cello strings might not like those tuning tensions, except for the D. What do Kay cello players use?
 
#13
I had the opportunity to play one when I was younger. As I recall, it's got a bit bigger body than a standard cello. Oscar Pettiford was the

one who really championed the instrument. He plays it on his "Big Band" recordings, and there is an air check where he plays on it.


Ric
 
#14
This week I had the opportunity to hear several cuts from Ray Brown's 1960 album "Jazz Cello," which features him playing his Kay 200. I was particularly looking for clues on his tuning, and I didn't hear any note below the E at the bottom of the standard guitar range.
 
#15
Ric Vice said:
I had the opportunity to play one when I was younger. As I recall, it's got a bit bigger body than a standard cello. Oscar Pettiford was the

one who really championed the instrument. He plays it on his "Big Band" recordings, and there is an air check where he plays on it.


Ric
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I had one in the 60s for a short time. I was into Ray Brown, of course. I stupidly left it leaning on a chair and tripped over the thin metal end pin. It broke off at the bottom of the neck at the heel. I thought at the time that the neck was pretty chintzy and brittle wood. It wasn't that bad of a fall, and it hit on a shag rug over a creaky wood floor. That was it for me. I gave it away or sold it. I don't remember the brand name but the strings were tuned in 4ths, EADG. It played fine as I recall, but I had a hell of a time playing in tune. Recognizing my limitations, I decided to concentrate on bass alone. . .Then came the Fender
 

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