Double Bass NBD - Kinda bass guitar (viol)

[Koshchei]

100%

i definitely have gotten my technique under control where the unwrapped C is not the "problem" it was at first. but i think i'd still buy one and put it on.

or, am i robbing myself of the opportunity to refine my technique further? or, have i gotten it to more or less the sustainable place and the C string just "is what it is?"

i'm truly not sure.

i see they sell a wrapped E as well. at that point, perhaps i should try that too. only having an unwrapped D and A would be sort of interesting.

i'd like to explore string choices a bit now while i'm playing on this rental. my instrument won't be ready for likely another year (the maker has a long wait list.) by the time we're ordering strings for mine, i'd like to know what I want.

the bottom strings on my rental are pirastro, and they seem great. when my D broke i ordered a varnished gamut D that i honestly don't like very much - it's brighter in a bad way than whatever the old string was.

All valid. The beauty of no formal technique or rubric.

For comparison, my wife's violin responds instantly and uniformly to her playing - there's no need to form a deliberate consonant on the weaker strokes or thicker strings - some of this is due to modern bow design, but it seems to be mostly tied to developments in string construction, that don't seem to apply to viol because a majority of the players have their heels dug in about being anachronistically "accurate" to the 17th Century.

The advertising on the label is completely accurate; the viol screams to be a virtuoso instrument - it's absurdly capable and responsive. Just need to modernize the parts of the interface that get in the way: keep the underhanded bow, but reduce the mass and normalize the tension and velocity of the strings.

 

[groooooove]

keep the underhanded bow, but reduce the mass and normalize the tension and velocity of the strings.

there are even some historical records of overhand (like a baroque cello bow) grip for the viol which seems pretty interesting.

but, i'd never want to take the easy way out and avoid learning "the right way," so i do 99% of the time keep the historical bow grip - which is making more sense the more experience i get.

I ordered a wrapped E and C string, came to over $100 - welcome to gut strings, i guess.

they're a special order and will likely take weeks to get here.

 

[Koshchei]

there are even some historical records of overhand (like a baroque cello bow) grip for the viol which seems pretty interesting.

but, i'd never want to take the easy way out and avoid learning "the right way," so i do 99% of the time keep the historical bow grip - which is making more sense the more experience i get.

I ordered a wrapped E and C string, came to over $100 - welcome to gut strings, i guess.

they're a special order and will likely take weeks to get here.

Which E did you go with?

 

[groooooove]

Which E did you go with?

gut/aluminum medium

i'm not sure if i'll prefer wound or plain E, but i'd like to find out now (again, on the rental.)

i was playing a bit today and thought for sure i can play on the plain C, but i think wrapped is going to be even better for my needs.

 

[MattZilla]

JEALOUS!

 

[Eli Brockway]

We're on exactly the same wavelength here. While I certainly intend to develop my chops on Marais and Abel, I'm more interested in how its voice can be used in modern music. I don't see viol as a historical curiosity, but rather a fully developed musical voice that fell out of favour for reasons that are no longer valid (loudness, projection). With its similar tuning to guitar and bass, it's also a perfect gateway into bowed instruments for guitarists -- though it's easier to play than cello (the sloped shoulders and fingerboard access and direct bow hair control as part of the French hold), polyphonic, and arguably more sensitive to nuance due to the very light construction, so it's also a perfectly valid destination too. I haven't mapped it out exactly yet, but it seems to have the equivalent of 25 or 26 frets too, so no range concerns either.

Good, good...

Now, get an arpeggione.

 

[Koshchei]

Good, good...

Now, get an arpeggione.

I sold half of my instrument collection to afford a bass viol. Unless you've got $15k burning a hole in your pocket that you'd like to send me, that's a big no, Red Leader

 

[groooooove]

I sold half of my instrument collection to afford a bass viol. Unless you've got $15k burning a hole in your pocket that you'd like to send me, that's a big no, Red Leader

where is your viol from? there seem to be quite a few good makers.

I'm absolutely certain that when mine is done, it will be amazing. it'll be my third instrument from this maker and i've only ever been amazed by his work.

 

[Koshchei]

where is your viol from? there seem to be quite a few good makers.

I'm absolutely certain that when mine is done, it will be amazing. it'll be my third instrument from this maker and i've only ever been amazed by his work.

I got a Lu-Mi from the Early Music Shoppe in the UK. It's beautifully made, but relatively austere as viols go.

 

[groooooove]

I got a Lu-Mi from the Early Music Shoppe in the UK. It's beautifully made, but relatively austere as viols go.

the Lu-Mi instruments are really nice.

the other factory-made option is charlie ogle, which also makes a nice instrument. from what i understand the lu-mi tends to be a bit nicer.

both are good instruments though, in the "Cant go wrong" category. you can sometimes find used ones on the viola da gamba society classifieds.

i post this here assuming someone will be reading this sometime in the future, from the position i was in about a year ago. thinking "these things are so cool" and not knowing what to buy, where to look, and so on.

 

[Koshchei]

the Lu-Mi instruments are really nice.

the other factory-made option is charlie ogle, which also makes a nice instrument. from what i understand the lu-mi tends to be a bit nicer.

both are good instruments though, in the "Cant go wrong" category. you can sometimes find used ones on the viola da gamba society classifieds.

i post this here assuming someone will be reading this sometime in the future, from the position i was in about a year ago. thinking "these things are so cool" and not knowing what to buy, where to look, and so on.

+1 Lu-Mi instruments tend to be a bit more expensive, as they're built to a very high standard by a single luthier, but they're a great way in (an outfit - decorated instrument, case, bow - will run you a bit under 7k). I'm not as familiar with Charlie Ogle, but I've heard that they're also built very well, and are a more reasonably priced option in the "can't lose" category, as @groooooove says above.

Consensus seems to be to avoid the reverb and ebay SONG instruments.

 

[groooooove]

duet originally for trombones i recorded yesterday. still learning how to get good audio at home as easily as possible.

it's also fun to have to play in 5/4 in any context other than jazz fusion where i'd normally see it.

 

[calypsocoral302]

Wow ! Awesome sound. Kind of half/cello half/double bass ancestor with 6 strings ? Thanks for sharing, i didn't known this instrument.

Sorry to be "that guy"-- but I need to chime in here with an "ackshually..."

The instrument we colloquially refer to as the "upright bass" is a member of the same family of stringed instrument as the OP's bass viol!

The TRUE name of the instrument that is the subject of this very forum is the Kontrabass Viol!

This family of stringed instrument, called Viol da Gamba, evolved from the Renaissance Guitar (itself an evolution of the Lute), and were tuned in 4ths (violin family instruments, or Viol da Braccio, are tuned in 5ths). The smallest (Pardessus, smaller than a violin) through the Bass Viol (approximately the size of a cello), typically had 6 strings, with some Bass Viol adding a 7th.

A larger member of the family, called the Violone, had between 3 and 6 strings (most new Violones have 5).

The largest member of the family-- the Kontrabass Viol-- typically had 3 strings in the first several centuries. By the early-19th century, some added a 4th string. This is the "upright bass" as we know it today!

 

[calypsocoral302]

Thank you for finally deciding this age-old question... but what do you do with roundback doublebasses???

Those are made by luthiers too lazy to properly brace a flatback!

 

[Polfuste]

Sorry to be "that guy"-- but I need to chime in here with an "ackshually..."

The instrument we colloquially refer to as the "upright bass" is a member of the same family of stringed instrument as the OP's bass viol!

The TRUE name of the instrument that is the subject of this very forum is the Kontrabass Viol!

This family of stringed instrument, called Viol da Gamba, evolved from the Renaissance Guitar (itself an evolution of the Lute), and were tuned in 4ths (violin family instruments, or Viol da Braccio, are tuned in 5ths). The smallest (Pardessus, smaller than a violin) through the Bass Viol (approximately the size of a cello), typically had 6 strings, with some Bass Viol adding a 7th.

A larger member of the family, called the Violone, had between 3 and 6 strings (most new Violones have 5).

The largest member of the family-- the Kontrabass Viol-- typically had 3 strings in the first several centuries. By the early-19th century, some added a 4th string. This is the "upright bass" as we know it today!

Thanks to be that precise guy, and share with us.

 

[groooooove]

The largest member of the family-- the Kontrabass Viol-- typically had 3 strings in the first several centuries. By the early-19th century, some added a 4th string. This is the "upright bass" as we know it today

surprisingly, the three string bass was really only popular for a short time.

though the tuning is really unknown, the original basses of gasparo d'salo were likely 6 string instruments. we don't really know, but from what i remember of paul brun's book, this is reasonably well established that 3 strings was a later development.

in other news:



i've posted this video other places here on TB but just felt like sharing some more.

my decision to get into playing the viol came about in such a funny and sort of random way. i really, really love this instrument. I wish i had discovered it sooner.