That thing looks like it was designed by ChatGPT.
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Double Bass Carbon Fiber Double Bass?
- Thread starter hensonbass
- Start date
Thanks for the post. I find this topic, and the 2 vids you posted, to be fascinating. I will be watching this thread for sure...
There is literally nothing you can do to a wooden bass that cannot be repaired.
Repairing CF? Good luck.
Repairing CF? Good luck.
It would seem to follow that if carbon fiber instruments were really great you would see them all over the place. When I got backline a CF bass in France I played it for two minutes and immediately asked if there was anything I could do to borrow someone else’s wood instrument. Of course it made sound, had strings etc but it was nowhere near the sound or feel of a decent wood instrument. It’s a novelty. Perhaps if I had a big house and a collection of instruments there may be a time when I could use one but I would more likely own an aluminum bass first.
I'm thinking the tone would be different and may not blend so well with other traditional string instruments.
From my experience with an L&C cello I agree with your guess if a player does not put in some work with a CF instrument. My L&C cello - with a darker French-style bridge swapping out the original, by the book proper set up (it is a bit unorthodox, the bridge is off center a few mm), and my best bow that pulls darker tones - has a focused and rich sound. It was worth the time and work to get it right. I wanted a fiddle that would handle indoor/outdoor conditions and fill and cut through a room and it now delivers. The top end sings nicely.
Recently I brought it to orchestra rehearsal and the principal and conductor said it blended in fine. Prin and asst prin tried it out in sectional and commented on well it played and sounded. Classical-only players are skeptics, get weirded out some, and I kind of get it. It feels quite physically different, smaller and much lighter. It was easy to adapt to, though, and I can move quickly back and forth from wood to L&C just fine.
All that said, it took the tweaks mentioned to address the overly-present high-mids resonance in the out of the box sound. “Nasally” some have commented and I agree, it had to be fixed. I do prefer my wood one for ensemble playing, it has a bit fuller bottom end. For solo and duo settings I use the L&C, it projects and cuts thru busy rooms quite well. It would be fine, though, in an orchestra accepting of a different-looking cello.
Mine holds its own against well-set up wood cellos in the same price range, about $8k, perhaps even $10k quality, my luthier and I agree. Is a similar journey worth it on a CF bass I do not know. Maybe really nice wood basses are available at a better price point than the CF models?
Uh, nope; hate to think how many pieces and bits you'd have, after somehow it sustained serious blunt force trauma. No surprise here, after learning of the Titan submersible's carbon fiber constitution.
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Uh, nope; hate to think how many pieces and bits you'd have, after somehow it sustained serious blunt force trauma. No surprise here, after learning of the Titan submersible's carbon fiber constitution.
Some bike builders prefer steel, aluminum, or titanium to "carpet fiber", as a structural material, for this reason.
Yes, and I'm only just another rider; that was my first (and last) 'plastic' bicycle shown in the attached image files...
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Esteemed colleagues,
Rather than comparing apples to oranges, or basses to submersibles and bicycles, may I remind the distinguished assembled of our own (myself included)
historic luddism in the face of carbon fiber bows. For example:
Somebody knows this bow?? Any opinions?
Coda Revelation Bow?
Again, I haven't tried any of these basses and they may indeed (to put it mildly) suck, but I'm not sure if we should be dismissing them out of hand.
IMO etc etc and all subsequent disclaimers.
Rather than comparing apples to oranges, or basses to submersibles and bicycles, may I remind the distinguished assembled of our own (myself included)
historic luddism in the face of carbon fiber bows. For example:
Somebody knows this bow?? Any opinions?
Coda Revelation Bow?
Again, I haven't tried any of these basses and they may indeed (to put it mildly) suck, but I'm not sure if we should be dismissing them out of hand.
IMO etc etc and all subsequent disclaimers.
The promo says it's on the "bleeding edge" of instrument design. I'm not sure I want to know what that means.
After all the serious repairs that my Alcoa, previous to my ownership, has required in order to remain playable, if I were buying a carbon fiber instrument today, mostly because of how expensive they are, I'd be asking about who can repair it in the future when inevitably it needs repair.
If nothing else, we're talking about routine repairs like fingerboard replacements, but accidents also do happen -- what if I break the scroll, or the end pin plug cracks, the top begins to sink, or I break the neck or develop a body crack? Will the carbon fiber instrument manufacturer still be around in the future? Will easy to reach people in my area know how to repair these instruments?
Double basses are big and in the way, and as such they are super prone to accidents. The way things look, wood and glue double basses will still be available in the foreseeable future, and I have little doubt that wood and glue oriented luthiers will also still be locally available.
If nothing else, we're talking about routine repairs like fingerboard replacements, but accidents also do happen -- what if I break the scroll, or the end pin plug cracks, the top begins to sink, or I break the neck or develop a body crack? Will the carbon fiber instrument manufacturer still be around in the future? Will easy to reach people in my area know how to repair these instruments?
Double basses are big and in the way, and as such they are super prone to accidents. The way things look, wood and glue double basses will still be available in the foreseeable future, and I have little doubt that wood and glue oriented luthiers will also still be locally available.
Particle Charton’s Shop apparently still builds a hybrid wood top carbon fiber sides and back. It’s quite expensive but
I think the concept is quite sound.
I think the concept is quite sound.
