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Double Bass Playing on a stool

#21
hi baer

i think i´ve once seen the 14052 K&M stool on an us-shop-website.
i think maybe there was a link in some older thread about stools. i think a forum-search could help.

they also have one model with a cloth-seat, thats the exact type i have. its much more convenient for long time sitting, especially if its hot.
 
#22
bassist14 and Conor, thank you, that's very helpful! I'm currently working with a teacher who recommends the "standing with a nearly vertical balanced bass" approach, and I can see many benefits to this method and in the process of learning to shift smoothly, remove tensions in various parts of the body, etc. But I suspect once I've got that under my belt, the two foot approach will be my next stop.

And bassist14, your English is just fine!
 
#23
At home I use the superb German made stool pictured below. At rehearsals I use a wooden stool I can carry strapped to my bass on a two wheeled buggy. I am not well and find I can't stand on two feet for two hours. At my age I have to take advantage of a stool even though my playing suffers, especially the low E & B string. But my Prescott tone projects enough so volume is no problem. The K&M stool is sold by House of Basses in Maryland where I bought mine. I love it. Good service too.
 
#25
bear said:
$154.00 without the foot rest. Do you have the foot rest on there?
Click to expand...

i use mine without the footrest. i put the left foot somtimes on one of the legs of the stool. thats ok for a while, and then i change positons. i think its very important to make little changes every now and then to stay healthy in the long run, no matter how you sit/stand in general.
 
#29
Playing on a stool.
Further to my last: the K&M Stool supplier is www.bobshouseofbasses.com in Maryland. The stool is first class, indestructible but not portable. You will not rock back and forth to disturb your bowing. I think the bicycle style seat allows for a sense of firmness yet comfort. Cost: Stool is $154, add $62 for the seat back & $23 for the foot rest, for a total of $245 plus $50 overland. I find it was worth the money and the wait from overseas. I prefer it to a stool with rings I sat on backstage at Boston Symphony Hall used by Tom Wolfe of the BSO which might have cost a little less. Even so, for a health college student I suppose standing while holding the bass virticle is best musically.
Don Carrigan
 
#30
Advantages of sitting on a stool:

1. The weight of the bass doesn't fall on your left thumb while shifting, thus making shifting MUCH easier.

2. Sitting can work wonders on your bow hand.

3. Playing is much more relaxed.


I used to stand, but for the past year and a half, I've sat and I'm never going back.
 
#31
anthem274 said:
Advantages of sitting on a stool:

1. The weight of the bass doesn't fall on your left thumb while shifting, thus making shifting MUCH easier.

2. Sitting can work wonders on your bow hand.

3. Playing is much more relaxed.


I used to stand, but for the past year and a half, I've sat and I'm never going back.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but re: #1, you shouldn't have the weight on your thumb when standing, either. The process of overcoming bad habits is a large part of why I'm sticking with standing for now--I want to gain the ability to play properly when standing, even if I don't play standing forever. Obviously there are many top-notch standing players, so good thumb use, bow technique, and relaxation are obviously achievable standing. Perhaps the stool makes for a quick shortcut, though...
 
#32
I started playing seated this year and like anthem, I've never looked back. My posture is like a cellists except I have both of my feet on the rungs of the stool.

I feel that there are a number of advantages of playing seated.

1. No matter how well balanced you claim to have the bass, there will always be weight resting on your thumb. Obviously if you use something else to support the bass like Al Laszlo's brick there is no weight on your thumb, but I will eat my shorts if anyone can simply drop his/her left hand while playing any position on the neck and and not have the bass fall. No other string players need to use their fingers to support their instrument, why should the largest instrument have to be supported by the hand?

2. I play with the pin very far out, especially for a short guy like me. This does 2 things. Firstly it allows the weight of my right hand to fall more directly into the strings. It also helps the weight of my left arm go into the strings. Look how far out Rostropovich's end pin is.

3. It makes large shifts easy, i.e. from thumb position to lower neck positions. No taking the bass off the shoulder here!

Now some might say, "if you like cello technique so much, why don't you just play cello?"

The violin and viola have similat technique, yet each has a unique voice of it's own.

Carrying around a stool is a pain in the @$$, plain and simple. No way around that.

I would encourage anyone to use stool, you won't regret it.
 
#33
Justin K-ski said:
1. No matter how well balanced you claim to have the bass, there will always be weight resting on your thumb. Obviously if you use something else to support the bass like Al Laszlo's brick there is no weight on your thumb, but I will eat my shorts if anyone can simply drop his/her left hand while playing any position on the neck and and not have the bass fall. No other string players need to use their fingers to support their instrument, why should the largest instrument have to be supported by the hand?
Click to expand...

Seriously? If I let go of the bass, it falls away from me, and away from my thumb. I've been practicing scales in the low positions where my thumb isn't even behind the neck. My hip and knee hold the bass from behind. In thumb position, the bass leans more towards me, guided by my hip into that position, but then of course my thumb isn't anywhere near the neck.

Six months ago I would have just agreed with you, but since then I know that other techniques are more different than I ever expected.
 
#34
I started out playing on a stool. I have a really tall drum throne with a back rest on it. Very comfortable, especially on those long pit orchestra gigs.

I don't see most bassists using a stool. I guess it depends on where you are. If you are comfortable standing, do that. It's just a different way. It won't allow you to do anything different than you're doing now (other than sitting down).

One thing I noticed early on is that my upper arms would get sore and tired quickly. My playing position is almost like that of a cellist. That's just worked for me.

Joe
 
#35
mcnaire2004 said:
Thats crazy to pay a $100 for a stool.
Click to expand...

Have to disagree with you there, max. I bought the K&M stool a year and half ago, and it's been one of the best things i've ever bought, worth every penny IMO. I had to use a wooden stool for a rehearsal a few weeks ago, it it really made me think of just how very worth it the stool was. It's comfortable, sturdy, indestructable, and it folds up. You get what you pay for, i guess...
 
#37
for those of you who use the K&M stool, is the height fully adjustable? bobshouseofbasses.com doesn't really have too great of a description of it.

what are the lowest and highest heights that it'll adjust to, if it does adjust? and how many pieces does it break into, if you just have the stool and the footrest, no back?

have any of you had it without the backrest, and then bought the back rest later? do you find that it makes a big difference?

also, do you carry it in your bass bag? the mooradian? do all the parts fit in the bag? are the parts heavy enough to bump the bass as you walk with it? or is the mooradian enough to protect the bass?

these are a lot of questions. but i guess these are the things keeping me from buying the stool, so...any input appreciated.
 
#38
I bought a 24" metal stool with a circular support/foot rest from Wal-Mart for $20. It ahs a padded seat and it also looks cool. I am very happy with it. I just got a new axe and have changed my sitting style. I am playing with both feet on the floor for the first time in my life. My back feels a lot better and I can still breathe.
 
#39
jdapodaca said:
for those of you who use the K&M stool, is the height fully adjustable? bobshouseofbasses.com doesn't really have too great of a description of it.

what are the lowest and highest heights that it'll adjust to, if it does adjust? and how many pieces does it break into, if you just have the stool and the footrest, no back?

have any of you had it without the backrest, and then bought the back rest later? do you find that it makes a big difference?

also, do you carry it in your bass bag? the mooradian? do all the parts fit in the bag? are the parts heavy enough to bump the bass as you walk with it? or is the mooradian enough to protect the bass?

these are a lot of questions. but i guess these are the things keeping me from buying the stool, so...any input appreciated.
Click to expand...

The height is fully adjustable, from as low as you'd need (almost kitchen chair height) to really really high. Don't have the stool at home but I'll measure if I remember, but really, you don't have to worry about it, unless you are 10 feet tall or like to sit on the floor!

I have it without the backrest, and never felt like I missed it. It's so comfortable that you really don't miss it. The top of the seat isn't flat, the back of the seat is raised slightly, in kind of a 'bucket seat' design, so it feels to me like there's as much support for the lower back that you'd need. I have played on the same stool with backrest, and didn't really use it. I also played on the round seat (intead of bicycle type) and much preferred the bike seat.

It will not fit in the mooradian delux, and the stool is heavy. This is the only drawback. However, I bring it around in a luggage bag with wheels, so i don't have to schlep it anywhere, except stairs. The luggage bag is really handy, for stuff that you normally wouldn't take to a gig/rehearsal because it's too big, or for putting your tux etc in. I don't have a foot rest on my stool, so I can't comment on that, but the seat at the top is removable, and the legs fold up against the central tube. This way it doesn't take up much space. i have seen one with a footrest folded up, and although i can't picture it, i think it did fold away in a smart way.

Like I said, this is probably the best thing I have bought for the bass.:)
 
#40
Well, I hope it's not like one of those titanium racing seats! Seriously, are there pictures of this deal on the internet? 100 bones is pretty darn steep, but it sounds like a neat thing.

THE BASS THRONE $100 plus Shipping and Handling

Edit: I just saw Don C's K & K Stool. Nice Prescott!
 

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