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Double Bass Advice on upright bass stand

K

Ken McAllister

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Jul 12, 2015
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#1
Greetings all. Apologies for the incursion into neighboring territory--I'm an accursed banjo player--but I have a question that I'm sure one or more of you good folks will be able to clear up.

As a gift, I'm building a bass stand for a buddy of mine using this as a general design. I have all the necessary measurements of his 3/4 bass, but there's one thing I don't quite understand: when using a stand like this, does the bass still rest on its pin (which projects through a hole in the bottom of this stand), or does the lower bout actually rest on the cushion at the bottom of the box?

I'm guessing that the bass rests on its pin and kind of leans into the back of the box--that would explain how the legs of the stand in the link can be so short--but I'm not sure and don't want to screw up the design.

Relatedly, how snug should the fit be? Should the bass touch all the cushions, or is it advisable to an inch or so of breathing room on each side?

Many thanks in advance.

ken.
 
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#2
As you can see at the shadow of the picture the is a hole at the bottom where the endpin goes through.
Depending on the endpin length when playing you might put the endpin in again to drop it in the stand.
Best make it as high, that the endpin has no contact with the floor when it is completely in, so the endpin could be put out a bit if the endpin should have contact with the floor. Then it's up to the player how to use the box.
You may need to pad the bottom of the box as well as the sides.

There are other kind of boxes where the sides are more diagonal. Depending on the width of the bout it sits in there more or less deep until the contact with the wall is made. I think the endpin is put out then until the contact with the floor is made.
Look around for more pictures of boxes like that and you will see what I mean.
 
#3
Nice gift! Just my 2c's, but;
1 - Make it tall enough to accommodate the height of the pin when extended for play, so it does not need to be retracted to be stored.
2 - Widen the slot on the front face substantially to make it easier to move the bass in and out (on and off), and
3 - Add some padding to the top-sides where the bass edges rest.
 
#6
Just made a new picture, sorry could not get it any better..

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I'll take some measurements later. The bass on the right is a "standard" 3/4 size with an extended endpin. On the left the 1/16th bass of my daughter.

Below some earlier pictures of (various versions of) these stands. The first one was too low to be used with the pin extracted. So I reworked that stand to one my daughter could use for her bass. The pictures below are of this stand. The "ears" at the bottom have gone in the process...

The version after that was too high.. I just could not get the bass in with the relatively low ceiling in my living room. After some adjusting and fine tuning I now have a version that works just fine with my endpin length and ceiling height. I use no padding, the bass rests directly on the rounded top of the sides. So far, after 1,5 year of use there are still no markings on the bass. The wood used is relatively soft.

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EDIT
Measurements (of the stand on the right in the top picture):
  • overall width: 66 cm
  • with at bottom: 53 cm
  • inside depth: 28 cm
  • distance between the sides at the top (heart to heart: 49,5 cm)
  • endpin length (incl. the plug: 25 cm)
This stand actually provides some storage space too as I keep the bag for my amp, my Kolstein cleaning kit and the box of my metronome in it :)
 
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#7
Very helpful responses, all. So I hear that in its resting state, the bass should be resting on the bout, not the pin.

I also understand that the front slot needs to be deeper to ease access.

Something else I think I hear in the responses is that the bass needs to be able to be is played while it is in the box--is that true?

Absolutely, I will post the drawings when I've got something nailed down.

Many thanks and cheers!

ken.
 
#9
ErikvanD said:
Why would you want to play a double bass while it is in the stand?? IMO a stand is for safely putting the bass aside when you are not playing...
Click to expand...
Ha! My wife loves to play her bass in the stand. She can just walk up to it and find something on the bass that's in her head without fooling with the endpin or anything; its just grab and go. :thumbsup:
 
#10
Jake deVilliers said:
Ha! My wife loves to play her bass in the stand. She can just walk up to it and find something on the bass that's in her head without fooling with the endpin or anything; its just grab and go. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Mmm, I see your point. I must say I sometimes do that with my Stagg EUB, but mostly only for a few notes. When I made my stand I definitely wanted one in which the bass could stand with the endpin at the correct length. That way I can simply pick it up and play.

Nowadays I'm a 99% sitting player myself... I just cannot picture myself playing my bass in the stand while sitting... :D Making a stand that would make that possible, now that would be a challenge :laugh:
 
#11
Thanks for the replies one and all. I'll be happy to post the design when it's done.

I get the impression that no one thinks that it's a problem if the bass rests on the lower bout.

To my (admittedly ignorant) way of thinking, there would less stress on the instrument if it rests on the bout rather than the pin--and this seems like a good thing.

That said, if it's resting on the bout and is in the stand pretty snuggly, playing it while in the stand is going to yield a pretty muffled sound.

But if it's almost always played outside of the stand--for example, when really practicing--then who cares if the sound is muffled when it's in the stand? In that case, you'd probably just be noodling around on it while waiting for the mail or the rain to let up (I'm in Tucson, AZ, so the rain usually lets up after about 90 seconds).

And letting it rest on the bout definitely seems more stable than having it rest on the pin while it leans against one of the sides.

Okay, I think I've made up my mind: it should rest on the bout and be high enough that the pin needn't be retracted in order to set it in the stand.

And that means I have to think about the height of the ceiling.

Thanks for helping me think this through everyone. I'll try to post the design this weekend.

ken.

PS: if anyone has a great argument for not going this direction, please holler.
 
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#13
Chris Fitzgerald said:
I like this design. How about adding some of those Invalid Link Removed to the places where the bass touches? That should even further reduce the risk of any damage.
Click to expand...

Or you could use solation tubing that you can touch up a bit.

(Pic is from the music academy were I take lessons, we use winecrates with isolation tubing to make a 'bass stand')

ldeboos2.jpg
 
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#15
ErikvanD said:
Mmm, I see your point. I must say I sometimes do that with my Stagg EUB, but mostly only for a few notes. When I made my stand I definitely wanted one in which the bass could stand with the endpin at the correct length. That way I can simply pick it up and play.

Nowadays I'm a 99% sitting player myself... I just cannot picture myself playing my bass in the stand while sitting... :D Making a stand that would make that possible, now that would be a challenge :laugh:
Click to expand...
Sometimes when I come home her stool is right beside the bass in its stand - it works for her! :thumbsup:
 

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