Double Bass Fingerboard "Fall Away"?

[Axtman]

What do you call it when the fingerboard slopes straight at the E string and does not follow the curved radius like the rest of the fingerboard? What upright basses have this feature? Is there an advantage over a radiused fingerboard?

 

[Steven Ayres]

What do you call it when the fingerboard slopes straight at the E string and does not follow the curved radius like the rest of the fingerboard? What upright basses have this feature? Is there an advantage over a radiused fingerboard?

It's usually called a Romberg bevel, and its purpose is to provide additional relief in the fingerboard to stay out of the way of the heavy E string. The larger and lower the string, the more widely it travels after the attack, potentially colliding with the fingerboard at the apex of its vibration.

This is a setup decision, and thinner modern strings make it less critical in many situations, but it was typically done as a standard feature on older basses. I'm pretty sure all Kay basses shipped originally with the bevel, for example, and it was part of the standard MENC specs for music educators for decades.

 

[210superair]

What do you call it when the fingerboard slopes straight at the E string and does not follow the curved radius like the rest of the fingerboard? What upright basses have this feature? Is there an advantage over a radiused fingerboard?

I have an Eastman without and a Kay with the rbevel. I hated it at first, but have grown used to it, but I still personally prefer a normal radiused fb. I'm sure Kay purists will tell me I'm nuts, but I'm seriously considering replacing the fb on my Kay c1 with a normal radiused ebony fb...

Opinions will vary greatly on the subject I assume. My Kay cello has it as well, and it doesn't bother me on that. The bevel makes slapping a little more strenuous imho. Arco playing it seems to make easier... Again, imho.