OK, I've just returned home from Albuquerque, where I had a C-Extension fitted to my Solano Italian Gamba (see http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334384 ) .
I've attached a pic. The work was done at Robertson's by David Briggs. Robertson's came highly recommended, by which I mean I could not get a single person to say anything negative about them, and there were plenty of positive comments.
Before David did the extension, he addressed some issues with the curvature of the fingerboard. He said that the fingerboard needed to be correct before fitting the extension, which made sense to me. Once the fingerboard was corrected, he did some related work on the bridge. The result is a much easier instrument to play. Thumb position is no longer painful!
The C-Extension is the fingered type, with a lever stop at each semitone between C and E, and of course one for E itself. The levers are pernambuco instead of the usual ebony. I could also have chosen what David called snakewood. The pernambuco seemed to look the best, given the reddish color that the bass' finish has.
Since Thomastik is not yet offering long Bel Canto E's to the general public, David fitted a Helicore long E. I don't like it much - it seems scratchy and twangy to me - but maybe it will smooth out in a week or two. I forgot to ask for my standard Bel Canto E back (for the Talkbass string drawer); oh, well.
I plan to get a set of Oliv's and/or Eudoxa's (ka-ching). That's what I used in college, before my 17-year hiatus. I'm still not sure how I afforded those as a student.
Once the extension was done, he took a look at the soundpost as I'd asked. Not long after I took delivery of the bass from Rumano, the soundpost fell when I loosened the strings so that I could raise the bridge to prevent a rattle on the G or D. I got it back in, but I couldn't help thinking that the post was too long (I know - it sounds weird given that the post fell). David confirmed this. He trimmed the post to the correct length, and fitted it in the correct place.
Finally, he refitted the endpin. I had asked him, if he had time, to do this. I wasn't satisfied with the fit of the endpin - it came out of the block at a funny angle, and didn't fit all the way in. Now it comes out straight, with perhaps just a teeny bit of angle to the rear (a la eggpin) instead of angling the other way. Much better.
Result - this bass was a cannon before; now it's even more so (but don't get me wrong - it can also play very softly). The wolf at F# or G on the D is now barely discernible. I guess I can leave the pretty Solano tailpiece for now - Mom will be happy.
I got to chat for a few minutes with Don Robertson. He and David said the next thing that might ought to be done to the bass is to "scoop out" some material on the back of the neck where it meets the pegbox and also the body. Most basses have a pretty small radius at those places - on mine the radius is kind of big. The other thing that David said is that the bass needs a bridge with a somewhat wider stance, given the position of the f-holes and bass bar.
I had a chance while I was there to look at their large stock of basses (my stand partner in one orchestra is in the market for a new bass). There were certainly plenty to choose from. Aaron Robertson was able to show me several in my friend's price range.
Hats off to Robertson's, and David Briggs especially.
I've attached a pic. The work was done at Robertson's by David Briggs. Robertson's came highly recommended, by which I mean I could not get a single person to say anything negative about them, and there were plenty of positive comments.
Before David did the extension, he addressed some issues with the curvature of the fingerboard. He said that the fingerboard needed to be correct before fitting the extension, which made sense to me. Once the fingerboard was corrected, he did some related work on the bridge. The result is a much easier instrument to play. Thumb position is no longer painful!
The C-Extension is the fingered type, with a lever stop at each semitone between C and E, and of course one for E itself. The levers are pernambuco instead of the usual ebony. I could also have chosen what David called snakewood. The pernambuco seemed to look the best, given the reddish color that the bass' finish has.
Since Thomastik is not yet offering long Bel Canto E's to the general public, David fitted a Helicore long E. I don't like it much - it seems scratchy and twangy to me - but maybe it will smooth out in a week or two. I forgot to ask for my standard Bel Canto E back (for the Talkbass string drawer); oh, well.
I plan to get a set of Oliv's and/or Eudoxa's (ka-ching). That's what I used in college, before my 17-year hiatus. I'm still not sure how I afforded those as a student.
Once the extension was done, he took a look at the soundpost as I'd asked. Not long after I took delivery of the bass from Rumano, the soundpost fell when I loosened the strings so that I could raise the bridge to prevent a rattle on the G or D. I got it back in, but I couldn't help thinking that the post was too long (I know - it sounds weird given that the post fell). David confirmed this. He trimmed the post to the correct length, and fitted it in the correct place.
Finally, he refitted the endpin. I had asked him, if he had time, to do this. I wasn't satisfied with the fit of the endpin - it came out of the block at a funny angle, and didn't fit all the way in. Now it comes out straight, with perhaps just a teeny bit of angle to the rear (a la eggpin) instead of angling the other way. Much better.
Result - this bass was a cannon before; now it's even more so (but don't get me wrong - it can also play very softly). The wolf at F# or G on the D is now barely discernible. I guess I can leave the pretty Solano tailpiece for now - Mom will be happy.
I got to chat for a few minutes with Don Robertson. He and David said the next thing that might ought to be done to the bass is to "scoop out" some material on the back of the neck where it meets the pegbox and also the body. Most basses have a pretty small radius at those places - on mine the radius is kind of big. The other thing that David said is that the bass needs a bridge with a somewhat wider stance, given the position of the f-holes and bass bar.
I had a chance while I was there to look at their large stock of basses (my stand partner in one orchestra is in the market for a new bass). There were certainly plenty to choose from. Aaron Robertson was able to show me several in my friend's price range.
Hats off to Robertson's, and David Briggs especially.
