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Thats what is usually referred to as Dragonetti Bow. As far as i know, contemporary bass bows from Dragonettis lifetime usually had clip frogs with open trenches. So your bow with ferrule and screw might be a bit younger.

They bow fine. If you can bow gut strings. Shifting feels pleasant, because the surface is very smooth. Be careful with white bow hairs though, the colour bleeds a bit. For me, a downside is, that they are only available as D and G. I prefer plain gut A. Lets see, if Aquila answers my request...

I tried orchestra-pitched Spirocore Solo E (F#) and A (B) under plain gut D & G. I can't find a soundpost placement that allows the E & A to speak quick enough (esp. spiccato) without D & G sounding too harsh. Pizzicato was just fine, but arco wasn't.

Carlson or Nyman?

Update: I tried Spirocore Solo 4/4 E (F#) & A (B), Evah Pirazzi Slap E & A. Also Flexocor Deluxe Solo E (F#) & A (B). With the Spiros and Flexocor, I can't find a soundpost placement that allows E & A to speak quick enough without D & G sounding too harsh. On the EP-S it worked. On a side note...

A little afterthought: i sporadically check the marked for Musima instruments in Germany. Since reading this thread, i payed a bit more attention to that particular model. It shows up from time to time. So far, i spotted three of those basses. They all had collapsed tops. Something i otherwise...

My hands develop severe skin rash whenever i look at one of those things ;)

The fingerboard of N°1 is Walnut, N°2 is Maple (acer pseudoplatanus, which is softer than "rock maple"). No gut frets. The coating gives the wood some mechanical protection. But more important, it protects the wood from acidulous finger residues. It makes it also easier to remove those residues...

A few more thoughts: Simandl is just one proponent of a large family tree of double bass pedagogy stemming from the prague conservatory. They all have the 1-2-4 system in common. As far as i know, the french traditional school uses 1-2-4 as well. Italian school uses 1-3-4. Although our ancestors...

I wonder if the larger part of forest depletion occured even before pernambucco became the wood of choice for bowmakers. It was exploited for dye production, so the logs did not just come as ballast on ships. Anyway, predatory exploitation, ruthless robber loggers, smugglers, sketchy craftsmen -...

Since it says "Germany" + GmbH and not "GDR" + VEB, the bass was made after 1990. After years of struggle, Musima went finaly out of Bussines in 2003. I am no expert on this, but i could imagine, Musima raised its quality standards slightly after the transition from socialist planned economy to...

Those tuners are interesting. Though i never payed much attention to Bass Guitar tuners, i did not expect that on an Instrument from that time and place. They aren't as crude as they might look on first sight. The worm gear is globoid (sorry, i'm no native english speaker, hope i expressed it...

Me and my wife were sick at home for a while and she couldn't stand the sound of gut strings anymore, so i put on Flexocor Deluxe Solo strings (tuned to orch. pitch). They suit me and my bass well, since the bass has a long scale of 110cm/43.3inch. They pull 106.3 kp, which is considerably less...

Beautiful examples. Personally, I am all for diversity in scrolls and heads. Although scrolls are beautiful, I think its a shame the smaller members of the string family are so rigorously restricted to the "classic" scroll design. To me, violin makers obsession with scrolls is a little bit...

https://schlaggitarren.de/archtop/simeto-signal-mess-und-tongeraete/ A German source on SIMETO-Pickups. Maybe you can translate it AI-aided. As far as i understand, the developer aimed for equal output on every string. Instead of incorporating a single magnet and adjustable pole pieces (P-90...

In western countries, especially Germany, it is seldom to find a Musima in original condition. Many swapped out the gears, electronics and pickups, often the pick guard is missing. I received formal training as an organ builder in Germany and worked there for a while. We did a lot of...

Hello I suppose the top was plywood? Did it have a large "eye" on the top of the lower f-hole? Its a pity the top did not survive. Those SIMETO pickups are high esteemed by collectors in Germany. There was a patent on them

Absolutely correct. I did not aim on "easiest strings to the fingerboard" with my question. I play what i like and when the fingerboard is worn, i will take care of it. Thanks a lot for the shared thoughts & experiences! :thumbsup: I made my fingerboards myself from the plank and while i'd...

Hello dear bassists, from several comments on the forum i've learned that gut strings are generally viewed as more abrasive to fingerboards than steel strings. Does anybody have first hand experience, whether this applies to both wound and plain gut strings? Which of the two is more abrasive...

Maybe we can make a sticky post or an entry into the wiki?

Hello I thought I'd add it, might belong here. Theodor Albin Findeisen suggests the following string gauges and setup in his double bass method book from 1930: G (plain) 2,1 mm, D (plain) 2,7 mm, A (wound) 2,5 mm, A (plain) 3,5 mm, E (wound) 3,2 mm. String height at the end of the fingerboard...

Fredrik, what scale length does your bass have? Do you notice a significant difference in response in the upper registers switching between 415 and 440? I'm asking, because i was reluctant to exceed the string gauge recommendations of T.A. Findeisen, since my new bass has a long scale. I found...

So now number 2 is finished. Yew stick. Frog and button Hornbeam. Weight is 129 g, hair length 58,5 cm (~ 23"), overall length is 77,2 cm (~30,4"). It jumps well, but isn't as nervous as the Cherry bow. The sound is brighter, though not as bright as my Pernambucco bow. All three bows draw a good...

Hello Can't comment on harps gut, but since 10 months i have the Aquila reds on my 6 string tenor gamba (G/C/F/A/d/g). Before that, I had Kürschner gut strings. Coming from double bass and knowing how far away gut alternatives are from gut, no matter how gut like they are advertised, i have to...

In Germany larch is famously known as the only conifer that drops its needles in winter. The wood is harder and more durable than European fir or pine, but not as hard as yew. I suspect that yew was barely used in the old days because the huge demand for yew wood by the English war trade pushed...

I read about that Osage orange. Might be difficult to get hands on it in Europe. The bow is "finished" with little boiled linseed oil. I am not sure what bow makers use, but i think that way i can rework the camber more easily. From heavy concave over perfectly straight to convex everything is...

Hello Dear Bassists, I recently finished my first bow. I wanted to know whether i could do without tropical wood on my bow as well as on my bass. The stick is cherry, screw and frog hornbeam. Aiming for a similar flexibility/bending resistance as my lower middle-class pernambuco bow, the stick...

Hello Florian Kofler (the person behind Wildgut) participated in a very interesting research project. https://www.hkb-interpretation.ch/publikationen/saitenherstellung-in-markneukirchen-und-im-vogtland Unfortunately the publication seems to be available in German only. If you are interested...

Given the fact, beef gut strings are made of a different type of tissue (serosa) than sheep gut strings (submucosa), they behave and sound surprisingly similar. At least on double bass. The strings i tried are made by related makers (see above), but only they do know how similar or different the...

I've tried now Strings from Wildgut. Before that, I had Efrano-Strings. Both on my bass with 110 cm Scale (~ 43.3) and 440 Hz, no sound post readjustment. Gauges on both: plain G 2,1 mm (.082), plain D 2,6 mm (.102), plain A 3,6 mm (.141). The Efrano-Strings are Beef gut, Wildgut strings are...

You would have to be around, the moment the animal dies. The guts have to be removed and cleaned in a matter of minutes after death. Autolysis sets in immediately and damages the tissue.

Good Point Ric. I played Bel Canto before i made the switch to gut. I would not mix "modern" string-sets (like Spiro E below Bel Canto). A factory matched string set gives you a consistent feeling and response (start and decay of notes), witch is more important to me than "oomph". Gut strings...

Thanks to everybody for the kind replies. Considering some details (especially regarding the evaluation of flat-back issues), TalkBass has been a good help for me. A few details i forgot to mention about the instrument. The neck attachment is sliding, that way the string action can be adjusted...

Thanks for the comment. I always read over the fact Pirastro Chordas are made of sheep gut. Other manufacturers i know are Aquila (Italy) and Wildgut (Switzerland/Austria). Aquila manufactures in the old Italian style with unsplit gut. Wildgut manufactures in the tradition of Markneukirchen...

@GretschWretch I guess you mean the elongated sound holes could help a fractional bass design obtaining carrying power. It could help, but nobody can cheat on physics. As far as i understand, the perimeter has to be stiff (to illustrate this: the rosette of a lute sound hole has nearly no...

Hello dear bassists, First of all: English is not my natural language. Please excuse peculiarities in my writing. This is the second double bass i built. The first has some „flaws“. Mostly inherent to the design rather than due to poor execution, i believe. It doesn’t carry well played arco...

Thanks a lot for the replies! I will meditate over it. I like the suggestion with the wound gut A between steel and plain gut. Did not think about that possibility. I was thinking about Tempera too, but my bass has a very special tailpiece that will probably not work with the Genssler/Tempera...

Hello dear bassists, i found an interesting source on gut strings: https://www.hkb-interpretation.ch/publikationen/saitenherstellung-in-markneukirchen-und-im-vogtland I think the work is invaluable, it comes at the eleventh hour. The old, handed down way of making gut strings is about to...

Hello dear bassists, i am looking for advice on wound strings (especially E & A) that require little bow pressure. I play a 110 cm scale Bass with plain gut A/D/G and Corelli 370M E-String. 370 Series (tungsten wound) is marketed as "requiring less bow pressure than traditional steel strings"...