Double Bass carbon fibre neck stiffening rods (DB forum thread)

[JohnDavisNYC]

David Gage. i'll report back tomorrow.

John

 

[Bigbassguy]

I had CF rods, a thick ebony FB and a 3/32" maple shim installed on my Kay (plus block reconstruction and angle reset,[new bridge,endpin, etc.], natch) done on my 50's C-1 by a Boston guy... whole different experience than a stock Kay. I ain't talkin' ballpark, I'm talkin' league. It's kind of shocking how much vibrational string energy the stock Kay neck/block absorbs, and how much of that translates to wasted effort on the part of the player...

 

[Bigbassguy]

I had CF rods, a thick ebony FB and a 3/32" maple shim installed on my Kay (plus block reconstruction and angle reset,[new bridge,endpin, etc.], natch) done on my 50's C-1 by a Boston guy... whole different experience than a stock Kay. I ain't talkin' ballpark, I'm talkin' league. It's kind of shocking how much vibrational string energy the stock Kay neck/block absorbs, and how much of that translates to wasted effort on the part of the player...

I know this is an old post, but I want to ask how the cr and work on the kay turned out. Was it really worth it? Approx cost? My kay has the this neck profile and a nice ebony board. A shim would be nice
With thiness of the neck but I the ebony offers a lot of strength.
Thoughts?

 

[JohnDavisNYC]

Well, just spent some time playing my bass in the shop and it's like night and day, in terms of perceived tension. 1/2 and 1st position was brutal on the A and E strings particularly and it was very innefficient in terms of energy to sound/tone. Unless playing with a lot of meat on the LH, there was little in the way of sustain and growl.

Granted, I've also switched strings, fromZyex to Evahs... I don't believe the actual tension difference is that great, tho. Regardless, the mechanics of the bass are vastly improved and the feeling of stiffness is gone. Now I just gotta get my hands back in shape. 2 weeks no bass and I got some soft fingers already!

I'm in a car with it right now but I'll upload some pictures when I get back to the studio

John

 

[Bigbassguy]

Thanks John. Sounds like it really worked out.
Your hands will come back!

Jc

 

[JohnDavisNYC]

Here are a few shots trying to show the straightness of the board and neck. Also a nice repair to a crack in the neck from a previous repair that they cleaned up.