Double Bass Intonation while doubling with cello

[Bethelbass1]

I thought it would be nice to hear some opinions on what you do to work on sections (or whole pieces) where the bass doubles cello an octave below. This is the hardest kind of music to play in tune IMHO and I'd like to hear how other people deal with it.

 

[sibass89]

The bass section sets the pitch on this. Pitch is always set from the bottom up.

The easiest way for this is to really know your part. If everybody knows their part exactly and then can listen to put everything in tune, you'd be surprised how much easier it is for the cello section to be in tune with you and at the same time the entire orchestra to be in tune.

 

[neilG]

In the best of all possible worlds, the bass section would play perfectly in tune with each other and the cellists would follow suit.
I hope I'm not the first to tell you that this is seldom the case. In reality it's a constant give and take, intonation-wise. Cellists are notoriously stubborn, and most of the time it's easier to play in tune with THEM than the other way around.