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Double Bass Interesting scroll
- Thread starter weary gill
- Start date
His name is, or at least was, Eugene. His head came on that bass when purchased from Hammond-Ashley about 11 or 12 years ago, but the bust was simple, armless, and mounted with a bolt to an old three-layer oak chair arm which some repairman had used to replace the original scroll. The oak was rather punky, tended to fall apart whenever lightly encountering door frames... and when after several visits for re-gluing the poor thing (and on one such visit some re-carving of the chair arm being done to extend the bust into a bit of a body, removing much of the very crude structure above Eugene) the thing was just too badly broken to fix again, I made a new maple scroll and grafted it into the neck. That was in '98 if memory serves. Did the roughing out, then took the scroll on a weekend trip to Hornby Island where I'd been planning a visit - this was an emergency repair before the owner at that time had some important gigs - starting a couple of days after my trip.
I spent many enjoyable hours carving that scroll in the sun, or in the shade of a honeysuckle arbour, sitting on various log benches at the market there. Still carving on the ferry trip back to Vancouver up to about half an hour after sunset (it was high summer) the scroll was almost done, nearly ready for final fitting. Two days later the new lignum vitae pegs were fitted to the old Bohemian tuners, some French polishing put on the wood to give it a fast layer of protection, a new nut fitted, and finally a boxwood beer glass made and screwed into the hands from behind.
The beer glass (modeled on a Hammerton Porter glass, one of my favourites for beer) was intended as a temporary measure; something for Eugene to hold while awaiting time and cash for a C-extension. The owner soon after traveled to Texas for the bass program at the university there, and before carrying on to New York for further studies he decided to part with Eugene for a sum which made both old owner and new content. A shame, as too few basses are so generous with their pizz response as that one... but I'm not the bassist, just the mechanic. Eugene was fun to carve.
As in his prior, short-lived body he had garnered some embarrassing comments about 'her' rear end from the player's fans, I made sure to trim his new posterior to slenderer proportions and gave him abs perhaps a bit overly developed just to be perfectly clear about the gender. The hairstyle seems always to me Polynesian, but there's something of Elvis in him too. I'm a bit surprised his arms have survived, though I did take an unusual precaution in carefully letting in two long, thin finishing screws to give them 'bones.' The marriage of metal to wood is seldom a happy one, but perhaps it's working out well here. I didn't have a digital camera then, so here's a rather weak scan of a quick snapshot taken just before he left the shop. Weird, stumbling across Eugene in this video, in a thread I clicked so late at night out of mild curiosity... thinking it might be some old Italian with an extra turn, or perhaps a carved lion.
I spent many enjoyable hours carving that scroll in the sun, or in the shade of a honeysuckle arbour, sitting on various log benches at the market there. Still carving on the ferry trip back to Vancouver up to about half an hour after sunset (it was high summer) the scroll was almost done, nearly ready for final fitting. Two days later the new lignum vitae pegs were fitted to the old Bohemian tuners, some French polishing put on the wood to give it a fast layer of protection, a new nut fitted, and finally a boxwood beer glass made and screwed into the hands from behind.
The beer glass (modeled on a Hammerton Porter glass, one of my favourites for beer) was intended as a temporary measure; something for Eugene to hold while awaiting time and cash for a C-extension. The owner soon after traveled to Texas for the bass program at the university there, and before carrying on to New York for further studies he decided to part with Eugene for a sum which made both old owner and new content. A shame, as too few basses are so generous with their pizz response as that one... but I'm not the bassist, just the mechanic. Eugene was fun to carve.
As in his prior, short-lived body he had garnered some embarrassing comments about 'her' rear end from the player's fans, I made sure to trim his new posterior to slenderer proportions and gave him abs perhaps a bit overly developed just to be perfectly clear about the gender. The hairstyle seems always to me Polynesian, but there's something of Elvis in him too. I'm a bit surprised his arms have survived, though I did take an unusual precaution in carefully letting in two long, thin finishing screws to give them 'bones.' The marriage of metal to wood is seldom a happy one, but perhaps it's working out well here. I didn't have a digital camera then, so here's a rather weak scan of a quick snapshot taken just before he left the shop. Weird, stumbling across Eugene in this video, in a thread I clicked so late at night out of mild curiosity... thinking it might be some old Italian with an extra turn, or perhaps a carved lion.
Nice work, Gerard.
Will, I think it would be appropriate to mention something about the players and the music. I know a bit about them now, because I dug around. I think they are really great. So is the material. They all seem to know that "less is more" in their playing. Very musical, mature and considerate players.
Thanks.
Will, I think it would be appropriate to mention something about the players and the music. I know a bit about them now, because I dug around. I think they are really great. So is the material. They all seem to know that "less is more" in their playing. Very musical, mature and considerate players.
Thanks.
I found the video through a search on youtube for the tenor player, Matt Otto. He has some cool lessons and several free albums on his website.
I love how Eugene seems to almost be a real person. Given that he's got a torso and most importantly, a pint, he seems more real than most carved scroll heads.
Nice work.
Nice work.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,739
- 8,959
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- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
So who everbody else? I know Matt from a couple of gigs in NYC, but I haven't a clue for the other cats. Nice sounding bass...
I know this thread is pretty much dead but I thought that he deserves the recognition. If I'm not mistaken the bassist's name is Ryan McGillicuddy. He's a fixture in the LA scene and a member of the Los Angeles Jazz Collective.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Matt moved to KC over a year ago and is really something, playing in a Tristano tribute quintet with two tenors and also some other advanced settings.
He is one of the nicest cats I have ever met. Although I can't yet stay with him on his material, we're together tomorrow night on the trio gig. It's a very relaxed thing where just he and I might play Stella at snails pace, free. With Matt, the only expectation is to have a good time and enjoy playing together.
Matt's special.
One other thing that really threw me. The first time we played together I soloed on My Romance, doing the thirds thing: Bb D C Eb D F etc. He turned around and told me it sounded just like playing with Charlie Haden. Let's just chalk that one up to 'encouragement'. Where's that dam*** icon for blushing?
