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Double Bass Resuming a build that was set aside years ago.
- Thread starter 1st Bass
- Start date
Usually six to eight coats, but it varies.
The first coat always looks REALLY yellow, but it calms down a lot with subsequent coats. These are all of that first yellow coat.
A great bass maker in Australia pointed out, from one of the photos, that I had made my fingerboard too flat for a five-string bass, so that playing it with a bow would be very difficult. I had not thought that through carefully enough, and he was absolutely correct. So...I spent yesterday making a new Fingerboard. I will try to get it installed tomorrow, and then work on re-setting the neck, as the increased height of the transverse fingerboard arch makes the projection too high. Ah, well...ignorance is only bliss until you find out how badly you have erred.
I am certainly grateful that he warned me of my error before I had the bass fully completed!
I am certainly grateful that he warned me of my error before I had the bass fully completed!
New Fingerboard is in place! Annnd, as it turned out, I do not have to re-set the neck. (Sooooo relieved!)
New endpin assembly and strings arrived today, with the wolf-suppressor I expect I will need. So, things are looking up!
New endpin assembly and strings arrived today, with the wolf-suppressor I expect I will need. So, things are looking up!
Thanks! I really did not want to do that. I added a coat of varnish today and worked on refining the neck shape a bit. Not a whole lot to show, so no pictures to post.
Regarding any potential neck re-set, is there some level of adjustability because the neck is removable, as opposed to a fixed neck?
My question there is coming from the world of banjos where nearly every neck is easily removable (to the point of often being interchangeable), action and projection are relatively easily adjustable, with the worst case of gently re-carving the heel, the best case being simply adjusting hardware, and the middle ground being adding or removing shims.
My question there is coming from the world of banjos where nearly every neck is easily removable (to the point of often being interchangeable), action and projection are relatively easily adjustable, with the worst case of gently re-carving the heel, the best case being simply adjusting hardware, and the middle ground being adding or removing shims.
Nope-- in this particular case, it is not adjustable at all. It is meant to be a very solid neck, just as if it were glued in place, but removable for safety and ease in transporting it. I realize there are basses with adjustable as well as removable necks. I'm not that advanced...besides the which, I usually don't like the looks of the basses I have seen with all those bells and whistles. And I really want an instrument to be aesthetic, as well as functional. So, far, I like the looks of this bass, but I haven't heard it sing, yet, so we really don't know what I've got, do we?
Finally making some headway on varnishing the five-string bass.
Beginning the Varnish, Proper | Five String Fiddles
The process is in the link. Lots of photos.
I am pretty satisfied with the color, so probably a couple of clear coats are all I will add before set-up begins.
Beginning the Varnish, Proper | Five String Fiddles
The process is in the link. Lots of photos.
I am pretty satisfied with the color, so probably a couple of clear coats are all I will add before set-up begins.
Beautiful grain! And, it's getting exciting now, anxious to hear your impressions of how it sounds!
Not being a player, I will have to find a local bassist to "test-drive it" for me.
But, yes, I'm anxious to hear it play as well. I think I can get the sound balanced, but in terms of ease of playing, etc., I'm supremely ignorant when it comes to basses. I've worked on a few, set up and repairs, etc., and the owners were always happy with the results, but it isn't something I have a "feel" for, yet.
Time to start adding fittings, tuning machines, etc.
the varnish is essentially complete, though it will require some retouching, as there were a few runs and sags I missed when they happened, so I will have to level them and retouch those areas. No big deal, just a bother.
There's the lid! I was having a hard time getting it to fit correctly, because the cut-out piece changed shape just a little, when I added reinforcement.
So the lid received varnish a few steps behind the rest of the instrument and still is lacking the clear coats.
The tuning machines I chose are a Rubner product I got from International Violin Co. in Baltimore, MD.
And it's a very nice lid, but I'm wondering about the sonic or performance effect of lid vs. no-lid. Do we have any science or experience on that?
My "science" will only consist of "try it with and without the cover, in a variety of conditions, different listeners, at a distance vs. close, etc., and see what you like..."
Chet, looks beautiful, like everything else...
Is the lid keyed in any way to make sure it is put on the way it fits best?
