Double Bass Bass made with Cedar top???

[DBone76]

I was wondering what your thoughts were about basses made with cedar tops. The rest of the bass is made from American maple (back, sides and neck). Should I be concerned with the top cracking? Are there any other concerns related to this wood choice?
I'm considering a purchase but have concerns. The tone is complex, articulate, and rich. It also projects well in all registers.
I'm very curious to hear what you guys have to say and any advice you can share with me. Thanks in advance.

 

[LouisF]

Both Seth Kimmel and Wayne Holmes have made basses with cedar tops. Other than that, I don't know any of the answers to your questions. Do you have specifics about the bass? Who made it, when etc? Thanks
Louis

 

[doghousebob]

Hiya,
I have a cedar top. Built in Canada 64 years ago, the maker made only two that I know of and have seen.
It is a far better sounding instrument than it has any right to be. The top has been remarkably stable for all these years, a couple of very small edge cracks as one would expect on almost any instrument, nothing major. Being such a soft wood, it does have a tendency to mark up if you aren't careful. A thickly padded case has helped immensely.
The only issue that I did have, solved many years ago was shrinkage in overall length. Where the top meets the lower bouts, every couple of years the joint would open up. I had the lower bouts opened up at the end pin, and a slice taken out which permanently resolved the problem. The bass was almost 40 years old when this problem cropped up. I think this problem was created by a very inexperienced maker.
Incredible warmth of tone, very articulate, speaks easily. The tonal warmth of a much older instrument is the first thing that hits the listener.
I wouldn't hesitate to get another cedar top, especially if it was built by a well established experienced builder.

 

[james condino]

Western red cedar can produce an instrument that is very responsive and has a very mature sound at an early age. I've yet to build a bass out of it, but I have built dozens of smaller instruments out of it successfully. For the smaller instruments they have tremendous projection with a soft touch but they run out of headroom when pushed too much and will actually choke the sound if overdriven; you can get only about 60% of the power that you can with red spruce, but it has a beatiful sweetness of voice. It can be much softer than the spruces so it is fragile on the workbench and occasionally presents its own finishing issues. The trees grow to a tremendous size- when they are cut sometimes they can bounce 30 feet or more off the ground, so fractures can result. My personal favorite thing for both western red cedars and redwoods are to take a long nap under one on a quiet afternoon while they are still standing.....

j.
www.condino.com
www.kaybassrepair.com