Double Bass Anyone familiar with Arnold Schnitzer's new book?

[GretschWretch]

Offered as a prize by the ISB.

The Handy Double Bassist: Maintenance, Adjustments and Minor Repairs for the Non-Luthier.

We have had Traegar's book for over a decade. It will be interesting to see what Arnold does different.

 

[BassFalcon]

It’s a very good book. I got my copy a couple weeks ago. I haven’t read Traeger’s book to compare, but Arnold’s book is aimed at non-luthiers to be able to do routine maintenance, light repairs, and sound adjustments by yourself, and to that end it is excellent, well thought out, simple and empowering.

 

[Lee Moses]

You might want to check this thread: "The Handy Double Bassist", by Arnold Schnitzer

 

[Bruce Calin]

I got it from the ISB a couple of weeks ago. It has some very useful player-focused repair and maintenance info along with very necessary info about what a non-luthier should and should not do. The Traeger books, which I also have and have found useful, seem to me to have more subjective or philosophical topics along with standard repair info that some people may find questionable or controversial.

 

[neddyrow]

I saw another thread about it and order one. Just came in the mail last week. I haven't fully dove into it but looks good so far. I plan to read it this week before doing some winter adjustments.

 

[Up and Away]

I tried to order a copy from ISB today and the site says they are not available, I hope they get some more copies soon. I am not a member of ISB, I wonder if that makes a difference.

 

[BassFalcon]

I tried to order a copy from ISB today and the site says they are not available, I hope they get some more copies soon. I am not a member of ISB, I wonder if that makes a difference.

It does not make a difference. They may be sold out. That happened to me. It was unavailable when I initially tried to order. A week or so later, no problem at all.

 

[Inky13]

Just received mine from Metropolitan. Glad I have it.

 

[GretschWretch]

Was gifted one for Christmas by my oldest niece and her husband. They said it came from ISB.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

A boxful is on its way to Gollihur Music, we'll have them available soon!

 

[Nisse Palm]

I tried to order a copy from ISB today and the site says they are not available, I hope they get some more copies soon. I am not a member of ISB, I wonder if that makes a difference.

If you live in Europe you can order it here: The Handy Double Bassist

 

[GretschWretch]

If you live in Europe you can order it here: The Handy Double Bassist

I don't, but I was gifted one for Christmas.

 

[marcox]

Back in stock at Gollihur, btw,

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Back in stock at Gollihur, btw,

Yes, and please note that the price increase from $30 to $35 is a manufacturer's increase; Arnold begrudgingly had to make a modest increase in the price of the book because he was barely breaking even at the $30 cover price.

 

[jmlee]

Got mine by pre-ordering from Gollihurs. Production aesthetics reminded me of something printed at home with a Mac in the 80’s. Content is quite brief with lots of white space. That said it’s worth a read through for anyone doing some at-home work on their upright bass. I got a couple of new ideas that were worth the modest cost of the book. Then used them doing a bit of work on a bass I got from Arnold!

 

[GretschWretch]

Great, I'm just lucky! This book is the second find for my studies this week. First, I found a summary on the site https://freebooksummary.com/category/a-clockwork-orange and with its help I'll be able to prepare my literature homework. Although I think I should read a clockwork orange in its entirety, because it's a famous dystopian novel. But more importantly, I found here 'The handy double bassist'. Thanks to your recommendations, I now finally know exactly what I need to better understand adjustments and repair my instrument. I will definitely buy my copy. Thank you for this.

I looked at the link you provided, and it struck me as being sort of a digital Cliff's Notes. That might be adequate for a high-school literature assignment, but for college -- certainly anything beyond freshman comp -- you will need more.

Do get Mr. Schnitzler's book, though. I was gifted one for Christmas and find it extremely useful (and I also have Traegar's book). The two books may have a somewhat common audience but distinctly different purposes. Traegar's much more in-depth work is targeted towards pro luthiers, while Mr. Schniztler's primary audience is bass owners who have some rudimentary repair skills, sort of the bass luthierie equivalent of a shade-tree mechanic.

 

[GretschWretch]

Got mine by pre-ordering from Gollihurs. Production aesthetics reminded me of something printed at home with a Mac in the 80’s. Content is quite brief with lots of white space. That said it’s worth a read through for anyone doing some at-home work on their upright bass. I got a couple of new ideas that were worth the modest cost of the book. Then used them doing a bit of work on a bass I got from Arnold!

Well, like far too many other things in my life I am caught in media res: I have not finished the book and therefore cannot write my intended review of it. But three things I liked right off the bat.

1) The book is large-print (which helps account for the white space), which is a blessing to aging eyes.

2) The binding is spiral notebook rather than traditional book binding, which means it will lie flat on the page you are turned to. You do not have to weigh down the book to hold your place.

3) After each section is a blank page for notes, which enables each owner to "personalize"" the book to codify certain techniques which may be unique to them. (And I acknowledge that I am wording this badly.)

If I had to do a quick summation, I would say the book's approach is that of a "recipe"book: Mr. Schnitzler presents the task to be performed, identifies the tools and materials needed, and then walks us through the process -- warning us of caveats along the way. I find especially valuable the "whys," because without these one cannot make any inductive leaps on how to approach different, but similar, projects.

I do wish Mr. Schnitzler had provided a chapter on how to remove and replace fingerboards.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Well, like far too many other things in my life I am caught in media res: I have not finished the book and therefore cannot write my intended review of it. But three things I liked right off the bat.

1) The book is large-print (which helps account for the white space), which is a blessing to aging eyes.

2) The binding is spiral notebook rather than traditional book binding, which means it will lie flat on the page you are turned to. You do not have to weigh down the book to hold your place.

3) After each section is a blank page for notes, which enables each owner to "personalize"" the book to codify certain techniques which may be unique to them. (And I acknowledge that I am wording this badly.)

If I had to do a quick summation, I would say the book's approach is that of a "recipe"book: Mr. Schnitzler presents the task to be performed, identifies the tools and materials needed, and then walks us through the process -- warning us of caveats along the way. I find especially valuable the "whys," because without these one cannot makce any inductive leaps on how to approach different, but similar, projects.
berI do wish Mr. Schnitzler had provided a chapter on how to remove and replace fingerboards.

Both books have their uses. Mr. Schnitzer's definitely has the better layout and binding. The Traegers started coming apart years ago and have a number of printing errors that could be a problem for people who don't have the corrections. I don't know enough about the ins and outs of luthiery to make a meaningful comment, but I believe that some of Mr. Traeger's repair, construction, and setup philosophy is not universally accepted by other luthiers. It would be interesting if more informed people would comment on some of these ideas, pro or con.

 

[JBarz]

I do wish Mr. Schnitzler had provided a chapter on how to remove and replace fingerboards.

I also wish this was covered, but I suspect the scope was intended to be more in the vein of a “care and feeding of your New Standard bass” for the player than a more lengthy volume aimed at the aspiring luthier or builder. I sincerely hope such an undertaking is in consideration, though.

 

[the_Ryan]

I also wish this was covered, but I suspect the scope was intended to be more in the vein of a “care and feeding of your New Standard bass” for the player than a more lengthy volume aimed at the aspiring luthier or builder. I sincerely hope such an undertaking is in consideration, though.

Replacing a fingerboard probably is too much work for the non-luthier (which this book is aimed at) because you’re not just taking a fingerboard off and putting a new one on: the fingerboard’s scoop and curvature need to be adjusted to the player’s preferences and I would much rather take my bass to a luthier as opposed to attempting that myself.