Hey guys, I definitely have the money now for the extension. I ended up getting a $2K award from my university so I'll certainly be able to do it.
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Double Bass Extension
- Thread starter Dr_Atomic
- Start date
Congratulations! As stated in other words above, choose wisely - you will be living with your extension for a long time.
Very true.
Also, does anyone have an opinion on Robbie McIntosh's extension work? His pricing is great, but I can't seem to find any photographs of his work. I don't know how I feel about committing to his shop without ever having seen an extension he's built.
Also, does anyone have an opinion on Robbie McIntosh's extension work? His pricing is great, but I can't seem to find any photographs of his work. I don't know how I feel about committing to his shop without ever having seen an extension he's built.
Having the levered machine certainly makes playing the Lower-Than-E notes easy to play. I found the Eb lever that releases the E-latch was clacky (my MSO friend calls it the Clackmaster). The levers are in opposite order which can be confusing but you can get used to anything (1st finger - E; 2nd finger - Eb; 3rd - D; 4th - Db).
They are also quite expensive. Lemur sells them for about $1600.
I don't find them very good to look at and some people will ask why there is a piccolo attached to your scroll.
I had a Fawcett/Barnaby style extension on a former bass and I found it to be a much better machine than a Stenholm/Horst one. The steel is machined rather than tubes and bend sheet metal. There is more rubber on it so it is quiet to operate. You can adjust each finger lever to a different height so you can tell which note is which by feel.
Mine had little springs on it to return the note closing pedals to the rest position. I removed them and replaced them with the small, tough elastics found around broccoli bunches. I could also use one of these elastics wrapped around the other way to hold down the D-note if needed. I thought this machine looks nicer as well. The E-latch is controlled by a thumb lever which is silent to operate.
Also, the notes are in finger order, as if there were a fifth C-string (open - C;1st - C#; 2nd - D; 3rd - Eb; 4th - E).
People will still ask why there is a piccolo attached to your scroll though.
They are now being sold by Thomas Martin in England ( Invalid Link Removed ) and costs about $750 USD.
They are also quite expensive. Lemur sells them for about $1600.
I don't find them very good to look at and some people will ask why there is a piccolo attached to your scroll.
I had a Fawcett/Barnaby style extension on a former bass and I found it to be a much better machine than a Stenholm/Horst one. The steel is machined rather than tubes and bend sheet metal. There is more rubber on it so it is quiet to operate. You can adjust each finger lever to a different height so you can tell which note is which by feel.
Mine had little springs on it to return the note closing pedals to the rest position. I removed them and replaced them with the small, tough elastics found around broccoli bunches. I could also use one of these elastics wrapped around the other way to hold down the D-note if needed. I thought this machine looks nicer as well. The E-latch is controlled by a thumb lever which is silent to operate.
Also, the notes are in finger order, as if there were a fifth C-string (open - C;1st - C#; 2nd - D; 3rd - Eb; 4th - E).
People will still ask why there is a piccolo attached to your scroll though.
They are now being sold by Thomas Martin in England ( Invalid Link Removed ) and costs about $750 USD.
Hey guys, I am going with Arnold Schnitzer! Very close to NYC and does terrific work.
Now the question is... Are there any details about construction I should know about?
And should I do single-stop or chromatic?
Now the question is... Are there any details about construction I should know about?
And should I do single-stop or chromatic?
Leave the construction details to Arnold; he knows what to do. He can also advise you on the number of stops.
I would opt for capos(stops). You can always just use it unstopped, but the capos will be there if you need them. The objections to having capos would be aesthetic or your budget, but they sure do come in handy.
Chris
Thanks, all, for the good advice. I have now reduced my choices to Arnold or the English mechanical extension from Tom Martin. Now I have to choose... I may call David G. this week to find out how expensive it would be for the shop to install the English machine.
I used to have an old Stenholm and ended up ripping it off my old bass (well, not exactly ripped, but unscrewed). It was just too loud. It was loud opening the extension or pressing down any lever. Basically it got annoying.
Now on my new bass I got a fingered extension with only the E stop. Yes, the chromatic stops do come in handy, especially a D, but it just adds more stuff and more weight to the bass. If you aren't careful you may shift a bit too quickly and miss the extension only to have the stops "bite" your fingers. There's also the danger of forgetting which stop is open or closed and playing a wrong note.
I think stops just give you more things to distract you that you have to keep track of. Also, each stop is just another thing that can get loose and rattle or buzz at inopportune times. I like the fact that I don't depend on stops and therefore get used to reaching up and playing the extension notes.
Now on my new bass I got a fingered extension with only the E stop. Yes, the chromatic stops do come in handy, especially a D, but it just adds more stuff and more weight to the bass. If you aren't careful you may shift a bit too quickly and miss the extension only to have the stops "bite" your fingers. There's also the danger of forgetting which stop is open or closed and playing a wrong note.
I think stops just give you more things to distract you that you have to keep track of. Also, each stop is just another thing that can get loose and rattle or buzz at inopportune times. I like the fact that I don't depend on stops and therefore get used to reaching up and playing the extension notes.
Now you're thinking about a mechanical? Fingered vs
mechanical...oranges and apples. Mechanical...no vibrato, no gliss and no feel. Frequent adjustments possble. Possible buzzes and noises. Pads on stops wear down and eventually out.
Frequent trips to Grease Monkey. 
They make your bass look like crap.Again, your call.
Whale, we posted at the same time......maybe that will help. Right on.
Yeah I am just getting overwhelmed with so many conflicting opinions! Two teachers of mine were suggesting mechanical extensions. I think I'll just stick with Arnold and be done with it though.
Depending on the instrument, the added weight can be a blessing or a curse. In my case, I was lucky - it darkened up the sound, increased the sustain and a bit more volume. Of course, there are some horror stories that contrast my experience, but you never know for sure until you try - and it's an expensive experiment.
I've never had a capo "bite" me, and they don't come loose or rattle. It's easy for me to say that because I installed and maintain it myself. There is one hazard for me, now that I think of it - I sometimes get my hair caught in the E stop, but I rationalize that as a clue that it's time to go to the barber...
If you view your extension not as something "tacked on", but rather an integral part of your bass, then forgetting your capos' status can be a non-issue. It becomes part of your awareness as it relates to the overall context of the music. And Paul, as far as them making your bass look like crap, that's really in the eye of the beholder. I think they look way cool, and the fact that there are SO many different styles and options is just icing on the cake - and isn't that one of the things that's so cool about the instrument in the first place?
Chris
To amend my comment above, I do know people that absolutely love having a stop at each half step. It comes in handy quite a bit for them and doesn't get problems. I prefer to keep my bass as simple as possible, though I may add a D stop sometime in the future. Going through something like Carmina Burana was just a pain in the ass.
Now as far as machines go, I do NOT know people that have absolutely no problems with their machines. Most of them work most of the time, but usually they add rattles and other sounds for whatever reason.
Now as far as machines go, I do NOT know people that have absolutely no problems with their machines. Most of them work most of the time, but usually they add rattles and other sounds for whatever reason.
I suppose they look cool until you start getting the old....."Why do you have a flute glued to the top of that thing?" Shtick.
They look like an instrument of medieval torture to me. Of course, there are some very strange people
who get excited with that possibility. Haha - I think I would like the least invasive surgery as possible on my bass. A machine seems more invasive than a levered extension. I decided that I'm going to give Chris T-W and Arnold a call this week to find out about dates. I'd like to try and get the extension done this summer before I go back to school in late September ... I think they are both great luthiers, so I suppose I will go with whoever can fit me in this summer pre/post-Banff and pre-schoolyear.
Cool....I got a date with Arnold myownself this summer. Don't be gettin' in my way, baby, or I'll send out my Boyz
after you.Hahaha, don't worry!
By the way, would it be a problem for me to ship my bass to Chris in Iowa to work on? Do I do that by finding a shop in Chicago that can ship it for me, or do I have to pack it and ship it on my own?
By the way, would it be a problem for me to ship my bass to Chris in Iowa to work on? Do I do that by finding a shop in Chicago that can ship it for me, or do I have to pack it and ship it on my own?
IIRC, Chris usually ships directly through an airline (United maybe?).
If you're in Chicago and decide to go with him why don't you drive it over yourself. It's worth it to be there when he's selecting the different woods to be used as well as the shape you might want. Unless you're going with straight ebony,then it doesn't really matter.
On my extension, we experimented with brass frets for a while. He later changed them to brass inlays at the fret lines for me. It looks pretty sweet IMVHO.
C
If you're in Chicago and decide to go with him why don't you drive it over yourself. It's worth it to be there when he's selecting the different woods to be used as well as the shape you might want. Unless you're going with straight ebony,then it doesn't really matter.
On my extension, we experimented with brass frets for a while. He later changed them to brass inlays at the fret lines for me. It looks pretty sweet IMVHO.
C
Thanks for the help. Unfortunately, I don't have a car... so I can't drive over myself. Chris can fit me in before Banff, so I'm going to either see if he can think of an alternate way of me to get my bass to Iowa, or I'm just going to ship it to him from NYC when I get home on June 10...
