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Double Bass Build your own upright bass feasibility?

#21
Yes, we are going off on a tangent but, hey, it's TB! I gotta agree with John. It seems odd to argue that those who fulfill a market niche are somehow doing harm. Now, if it's accomplished illegally or immorally (e.g., slave labor) that's a different story entirely. That's not the case here. The truth is that the market is the driving force. There's a reason that those Chinese luthiers who purportedly could sell their instruments for more are doing what they do. Beyond market forces, I think John insightfully points out a secondary benefit that accrues from the availability of less expensive stringed instruments. Specifically, more players!

We now return you to our regularly scheduled program (maybe :)).
 
#22
I live in nebraska...where as far as I can tell we have absolutely zero luthiers! It kind of stinks because even if I wanted to buy a bass...I'm not sure anyone around here would know how to do a good setup on it. This is partially why I'm going the DIY route...no one is around to do it for me :-(
 
#23
nicfargo said:
I live in nebraska...where as far as I can tell we have absolutely zero luthiers! It kind of stinks because even if I wanted to buy a bass...I'm not sure anyone around here would know how to do a good setup on it. This is partially why I'm going the DIY route...no one is around to do it for me :-(
Click to expand...

...except that there are fine dealers who can ship you a bass with a fine setup. That doesn't require buying sight-unseen and sound-unheard as you certainly can visit them first. This is not to discourage your DIY effort but only to point out that the lack of a local luthier sure doesn't leave DIY as the only viable alternative. Certainly the DIY route is not the one typically chosen by folks with no local expertise.

Perhaps you can do both. That is, buy a decent DB, learn to play it, become familiar with it, and then build your own. After you are successful, you can likely sell the one you bought with little to no effective loss. Just a thought...
 
#24
I'm not %100 sure I need to buy one to become familiar with a Bass. I've been around stringed instruments pretty much all my life and have played cello for over 10 years. What I need to become familiar with is the ribs and other insides of a bass or other similar stringed instruments, basically the stuff you don't see. I understand the scroll, end-pin, general shape, tuning mechanism, tail, etc...it's the stuff on the inside that I'm still needing to research pretty heavily (Bass bar, ribs, etc).
 
#25
my luthier once told me, "instruments are like us, it's what on the inside that counts". He trying to express that what's on the inside and it's construction is what is important, not how it looks on the outside.
I think the inside is going to be the biggest things to learn. The "scroll, end-pin, general shape, tuning mechanism, tail, etc" are the 'simple' things in relation to all the inner workings of an instrument.
I'm sure there are plenty of books out there on bass making, or instrument making in general.
 
#26
Mike,
I would have thought the same thing about there being a lot of material on bass making and instrument making...I've pretty much found one book and a ton of websites with a crappy card board bass. The book I've seen is called "so....you want to build an upright bass?". It's about an $80 book, so not something I'm going to jump on unless it's heavily recommended to me or I see it in a shop and can browse it first to get an idea of it's value. If you know of other books or other online sources, I'm open to any sort of suggestion.
Thanks,
Nic
 
#27
This strikes me as a "pipe-dream". I have no confidence whatsoever that your plan to build a bass will come to fruition.

I respectfully suggest that if you want to play upright, buy a bass.

If you want a lengthy, costly and frustrating woodworking project that is likely to fail, start looking for books and on-line resources.
 
#28
calling it a pipe dream? my whole career was a pipe dream, give me a break, you make it sound like its building the great wall or something, my philosphy on life is if he or she can do it, so can i, sure he is going to screw up some stuff, but you find me one luthier whos first bass doesnt have its flaws.
 
#30
Bass,
Thanks for the kind words. Pipe dreams are all I know. Becoming a carpenter and a photographer were pipe dreams...but I make decent money doing both. I'm definately not looking to doing this as a job by any means...although if I find that I really like doing this, I may pursue it...heck there would be me and one other guy in the city, probably a good potion of the state who works on upright basses. The other guy I think works mainly on violins, but I think he sets up a bass from time to time.
 
#31
nicfargo said:
I'm not %100 sure I need to buy one to become familiar with a Bass. I've been around stringed instruments pretty much all my life and have played cello for over 10 years. What I need to become familiar with is the ribs and other insides of a bass or other similar stringed instruments, basically the stuff you don't see. I understand the scroll, end-pin, general shape, tuning mechanism, tail, etc...it's the stuff on the inside that I'm still needing to research pretty heavily (Bass bar, ribs, etc).
Click to expand...

I agree that you don't "need" to buy one to become familiar but it wouldn't be a bad idea. There's more to "familiar" than you state. There are subtleties like neck profile, overstand, pitch, and on and on. If you are building one, you might as well understand how your preferences relate to these parameters.
 
#32
jimmyduded said:
calling it a pipe dream? my whole career was a pipe dream, give me a break, you make it sound like its building the great wall or something, my philosphy on life is if he or she can do it, so can i, sure he is going to screw up some stuff, but you find me one luthier whos first bass doesnt have its flaws.
Click to expand...

Right! Tomorrow, I am starting work on my own Saturn Five rocket. If Wernher von Braun did it, so can I! Okay, I'm being facetious but there is some truth in my jest. I think it does take a special aptitude and talent to build a DB on one's own. I know that I, for one, do not have what is required. I don't mean to discourage the OP at all. If he wants to go for it, he should give it a whirl. IMHO, however, he would be better served by buying a bass and learning to play while beginning his project. That is, playing should not wait until he manages to build his first worthy instrument. The decision is his. Just my $0.02.

As for pipe dreams, those usually refer to an aspiration that involves so much idealism as opposed to realism that it is wildly impractical and/or improbable. I suspect your career, however unlikely at the outset, was not a pipe dream.
 
#33
No, it wasn't a pipe dream, and I don't think this is either. I think with my background in working with wood, possessing what either Matt or Jimmy said was about 50% of the skills already needed, that this is a realistic goal. I may rent a bass instead of buying one in order to get a feel for it...that seems like a better deal then putting 1k into a bass that will have very little resale value (lets be honest, they don't have resale until you hit the 2.5k + range).
 
#35
Nic, you might want to check into the Musical Instrument Makers Forum (mimf.com).... after a free registration, you'll meet a whole bunch of people who've built a wide variety of stringed instruments of every type imaginable. They are very supportive and generous with their knowledge. They range from seasoned professional luthiers to newbies, but they all have one thing in common; they all have had to tackle that first instrument at some point.

No doubt they've had people telling them that they couldn't do it. I had the same thing happen when I was starting out as a pro bassist in my teens. Well, I'm still doing it almost four decades later. No reason that building a bass can't be the same thing for you. You've already proved that in your other endeavors.
 
#37
bass should probably get (insert word here) of the year award, ill leave it up to you to insert the word, by the way bass wheres the pictures of your making attempts or successes, or repairing abilities , or any ability that give you the obvious experience you have to be critisizing others for their efforts
 
#39
Bass you kind of crack me up. If you revive it in a year be sure to PM me, I'll still be around. It'll just depend on if I see it or not.

Thanks Marcus for the reference, I'll give mimf.com a looksy.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a spruce top with a wide grain for the fuller bass sound. And for the back...I know rosewood on a guitar helps with the low end...but what about on an upright bass. Anyone have experience using a dense rosewood for the back?
 
#40
I have also toyed w/the idea of making a BD and I am a professional wood worker/furniture maker. I have worked w/carpenters who could make anything out of wood - boats, houses, furniture, models, guitars - since they often have to build many different kinds of things (usually under pressure) they are quick at figuring things out. Craftsmen enjoy challenging themselves - I say go for it and enjoy the process. To a craftsmen the process of building is just as important as the finished object. My advice would be to find a broken beater bass that you can pick up real cheap/free then restore it. You will get some usable parts, and learn how to repair (essential for building).
 

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