Double Bass BANG!! Scary sound.

[Monte]

That was the sickening sound my old former Juzek made last night.

I bought a used set of Kolstein Heritage strings off this forum for my friend who bought my bass. We went over to my teachers' house to change them, as he has a chuck for a drill.

When almost up to pitch, my teacher was tuning up by hand when the thing just exploded. All 3 of us forgot to watch the bridge, which had been creeping up slowly. The bridge feet flew 10' across the room, and unfortunately, the bridge cracked.

My teacher felt horrible, but it was really no one's fault. I have always tuned up to 1/2 step below, and then resettled the bridge.

Monte

 

[Adrian Cho]

Well at least nobody got a bridge foot in the face! Hope there weren't any scratches to the top.

 

[Monte]

Well at least nobody got a bridge foot in the face! Hope there weren't any scratches to the top.

Not really, just the places where the bridge feet are anyway.

I took it to the shop for Earl today.

I feel bad because I was just trying to help him sell it, and the 3 year old Eudoxas were not helping matters, but he really didn't need a new bridge.

Could be worse though. The bridge was a bit of a Frankenstein looking thing. Scott Reed saw it. My luthier added wood below the adjusters and cut and reglued part of the top to accomadate the much thicker fingerboard that was put on it. Looked ugly, but the repairs are not where it broke. My luthier Rocky said "my repairs will always be stronger than the wood.

So now at least the bridge will look right, and it is only $100. Luthiers here are cheap.

Monte

 

[Wil Davis]

…<snip>
We went over to my teachers' house to change them, as he has a chuck for a drill.
<snip>…

Er, um - I'm afraid to ask, but drill ??

Use a 2B pencil on the string-grooves on the bridge will help to prevent them sticking, and pulling the bridge over when you bring them up to pitch - that is , assuming that the strings aren't too wide, in which case you might need to tweak the grooves…

Hope this helps -
- Wil

BTW - Rocky doesn't using resin glue… …does he

 

[Monte]

Er, um - I'm afraid to ask, but drill ??

Use a 2B pencil on the string-grooves on the bridge will help to prevent them sticking, and pulling the bridge over when you bring them up to pitch - that is , assuming that the strings aren't too wide, in which case you might need to tweak the grooves…

Hope this helps -
- Wil

BTW - Rocky doesn't using resin glue… …does he

Yeah, we do alla that.

Have you never seen string winders that attach to a drill? If you get good at it, you can change strings in about 5 minutes. It is also a lot easier to get the string to wrap correctly on the peg.

David Gage makes one.

At any rate, the strings were being hand tightened when the bridge snapped. I only use the drill to put enough tension on the strings to hold the bridge up, which is usually about a 4th or 5th flat.

Monte

 

[Monte]

Er, um - I'm afraid to ask, but drill ??


BTW - Rocky doesn't using resin glue… …does he

Hide glue only, AFAIK. He is very much a traditionalist.

We are lucky to have Rocky if you have the time to wait on him. He has won more violin making competitions than he has room for trophies.

Even better, he is awesome on basses. My teacher Don Munday fell on the ice and shattered his Pollman. After Rocky fixed it the sound was better than it was before.

Monte

 

[John Sprague]

If you're talking Rocky Werning, then yes I'll agree, a great old-school luthier.

 

[Monte]

If you're talking Rocky Werning, then yes I'll agree, a great old-school luthier.

That's him. He does superb work at a more than fair price. Unfortunately, he does such good work that it gets harder and harder to get your bass in to him. He has a small workshop, and he is reluctant to have more than 3 or 4 basses in at the same time.

Monte