• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Double Bass Setup Video

#21
Jake deVilliers said:
No, you are correct - arco players need the curve to be such that the angle shift with the bow needed to change strings is constant across the board, whereas pizz players are more interested in a consistent feel. This often translates to arco bridges being rounder and also needing the strings spaced a little wider apart.

In the video, Ken holds up his bridge template (a photocopy of Hank Strobel's ) and you can see that he's crossed out where Strobel printed 'Jazz' and has re-labeled it 'Orchestral'... :(
Click to expand...

Interesting... it was always my understanding that arco setups typically involve greater curvature. That's been the direction they've gone as I switched from being a mostly-arco to a mostly-pizz. player. As for the video, I feel fortunate to have had the luthiers I've had throughout my playing career. For me, anyway, this was a bit like watching someone do surgery with a pocket-knife as opposed to a scalpel or laser. :)

Is it reasonable to move a soundpost that far without re-shaping the end that meets the top?
 
#23
Is it reasonable to move a soundpost that far without re-shaping the end that meets the top?

Moving it straight north where the distance between the top and back is the same is reasonable. But I must consider any change in angle of the "ceiling or floor". I noticed that I was putting the post back where it was for years because I could see the mark. That is not a guarantee it is correct but it does help.

A lot of factors go into setting and moving the post. This is just the beginning of the end of short-soundpost season here in Michigan. A lot of cellists have a summer and a winter post. In a month, it will be time for the summer post to go in.

I prefer to avoid any damage to a nice bass like Darrens.
 
#24
attachment.jpg

I wrote this a couple years ago and will link to in again for the newer players. It has the Strobel Jazz and Orchestra templates with the bowing across the strings.

I designed another fingerboard/bridge relationship based on some classical celli that I have seen and even some violins for special cases. It is a Parabolic fingerboard with a matched bridge. The reason was to make a bass from scratch that would suit a certain type of player. More of a soloistic type instrument but also plays well in orchestra settings and jazz.
attachment.jpg

Notice the greater movement of the bow with the parabolic bridge/fingerboard. However when playing up the neck, with Bach for instance, the strings are the same distance from the fingerboard on the middle two strings, making fast passages smooth for the left hand. Bowing might be too movement intensive for some though who might prefer to sacrifice this for the mismatched string height.
 
#25
Did you ever consider reverse engineering a matching FB template for the strobel bridge template? This is the route I chose, however I've since tweaked both templates a little. Thumb position feels so much nicer when the middle two strings are the appropriate height off the fingerboard.
 
#27
Ken McKay said:
Is it reasonable to move a soundpost that far without re-shaping the end that meets the top?

Moving it straight north where the distance between the top and back is the same is reasonable. But I must consider any change in angle of the "ceiling or floor".
Click to expand...

Exactly, and on a carved bass, it's my understanding that the angle can change, even if a tiny bit from a straight north/south movement. If not the angle, then certainly the length on, say, a nice carved roundback.

Finally, as many here know, and has been discussed here before, if the curvature of the bridge were to precisely follow that of the top surface of the fingerboard fingerboard, then all of the strings would be the same height off the fingerboard. Your diagrams do reflect that physical fact. I'm sure you are well-versed in all of this. I mention it here because, often, players talk about matching the two and it is decidedly undesirable in virtually all cases.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back