Double Bass Figured scrolls, pinnacle of class or gaudy?

[JBarz]

I got into a recent discussion with my bride (non-musician) in regard to my passion for figured scrolls: lions, mermaids, dragons, what-have-you. I’ve always adored them and fantasized about having a figure head up there.

59 Double Bass Heads

Double bass heads: here you will find the most beautiful carved heads. There are not that many of them. I found about 60 images.

www.baumgarten.nl

Surprisingly, she took the opposite stance. I showed her a ton of cool pictures but her reaction was the same -“ why? “

She likens it to a “hat on a hat”, “gilding the lily”, or “shag carpet on the ceiling” … she even went so far as saying that they hit her as gaudy displays of wealth.

I disagree, but I certainly get where she’s coming from to a certain point: There’s a lot of beauty in a traditional scroll.

Naturally I thought this would be an interesting discussion for us here, though, and I invite you to share your thoughts.

 

[Gopherbassist]

Art is good. More art!

 

[BobKay]

I agree with your wife. But take heart, I always agree with my wife, too. Much easier.

 

[NocoLaw]

I chose indifferent, because it’s not my style, but they don’t bother me on someone else’s bass - navy blazer vs a tailcoat and top hat. Traditional, understated elegance vs fun and hollering for attention, to me.

 

[bass player 53]

If it was carved by a chainsaw, I’m all in.

 

[ardgedee]

It's the heads with five tuners plus fingerboard extension that made me ... The carving was just a bonus.

Some of y'all out there like your subsonics.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Whatever helps inspire you. Frankly, if I were going to get a "forever" instrument, I'd like something unique.

 

[Don Hergert]

I've read that the very best of art is found in simplicity.

That said, more within my own area of instrument familiarity, I've always admired the wild painted lady banjos of the late 1920s and early 1930s. For practicality, I can't see myself owning one, but I admire them.

 

[atquinn]

This is the first I've heard of this. They look tacky to me, but I'm not sure why anyone would care about my thoughts on the manner

 

[GrooveCaptain]

I checked out all the ones shown in that link, and it's polarizing. I fall into both categories. Some, particularly the dragon and elephant, both holding the 'extra frets' I thought looked extremely cool and beautiful, while most of the others I felt were weird or looked out of place. The swan Head/neck looked fitting too.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

They are certainly artistic. If I were a double bass player, I don't think I would want one. That being said, the dragon one is really cool!

 

[klyph]

showed her a ton of cool pictures but her reaction was the same -“ why? “

There have been a few EUBs made with minimal/no scroll at all. Did you show her any of those? What would she (or you, or I, or anybody) think of an acoustic bass with that sort of design? Why not that? Why anything?
I have a rabbit puppet I’ve had since childhood. I used to slip it over the scroll. Given my long term financial outlook, that’s probably as close as I’m gonna get.

 

[Low End Scum]

I got into a recent discussion with my bride (non-musician) in regard to my passion for figured scrolls: lions, mermaids, dragons, what-have-you. I’ve always adored them and fantasized about having a figure head up there.

59 Double Bass Heads

Double bass heads: here you will find the most beautiful carved heads. There are not that many of them. I found about 60 images.

www.baumgarten.nl

Surprisingly, she took the opposite stance. I showed her a ton of cool pictures but her reaction was the same -“ why? “

She likens it to a “hat on a hat”, “gilding the lily”, or “shag carpet on the ceiling” … she even went so far as saying that they hit her as gaudy displays of wealth.

I disagree, but I certainly get where she’s coming from to a certain point: There’s a lot of beauty in a traditional scroll.

Naturally I thought this would be an interesting discussion for us here, though, and I invite you to share your thoughts.

Personally, I love tacky so hard for me to say one way or the other. I would, in fact, love a shag carpet hanging from my ceiling

 

[JazznFunk]

I don't care for them myself. Aesthetics matter to me in terms of an instrument's appearance and how I feel about being seen with it on stage. Some people feel really comfortable in super extravagant, flashy clothing, while some people struggle to pull it off. The headstock on an electric bass can make or break how I feel about the instrument in a lot of respects, regardless of the sound, so I hate to say it but I'd probably feel the same way about a double bass with some insane gargoyle staring down at me from the scroll. It falls into the category of things that I'd probably think were cool if I saw someone else with it, but I wouldn't care for it myself.

 

[Pings Bass]

I always liked Glen Moore's Lion head. They look cool, but I'd never seek one out.

 

[Low Main]

I once shared an apartment with a violinmaker. He had a lot of pictures of scrolls on the wall.

For one legendary maker (I think it was Guadagnini), he showed me a series of scrolls in chronological order.

Early in his career, the maker cared about scroll carving and detailed them nicely, but later on, he cared less and less about lavishing time on them and they got progressively simpler and less refined.

The word was that his later violins were the best sounding. To me, that meant that he decided to prioritize what he knew was most important.

I bought into that concept right away and have believed in it ever since.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

There used to be a cat in Nashville, played with a band I used to see at Robert's Western Wear and other joints on Broadway... his name escapes me this moment. His upright had a cobra head in place of a scroll, forked tongue, fangs and all. Gaudy, yes; but situation appropriate.

 

[bassmanbrent]

While I appreciate the skill and artistry involved, they are not my thing. That said, I’ve seen one or two lion heads that didn’t look out of place to me.

 

[Federighi]

There needs to be a carrots option. Carved heads are not really for me, but it does hold a special place in historical instrument making.

 

[JazznFunk]

There used to be a cat in Nashville, played with a band I used to see at Robert's Western Wear and other joints on Broadway... his name escapes me this moment. His upright had a cobra head in place of a scroll, forked tongue, fangs and all. Gaudy, yes; but situation appropriate.

That would actually be perfectly suited for that gig!