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Double Bass Resuming a build that was set aside years ago.
- Thread starter 1st Bass
- Start date
Very nice looking. Would love to hear sound files. Surely you could just pluck open notes...
Do you do much tweaking of the soundpost location and tailpiece cable on set-up, or just set it and forget it?
Personally, I'm going back and forth on the access port. I recognize the utility, but it just looks a tad odd. Of course, I'd hope to spend more time playing the thing than gazing at the C-bout...
Do you do much tweaking of the soundpost location and tailpiece cable on set-up, or just set it and forget it?
Personally, I'm going back and forth on the access port. I recognize the utility, but it just looks a tad odd. Of course, I'd hope to spend more time playing the thing than gazing at the C-bout...
I will be adjusting the post position over the next few days, and more, as the instrument wakes up, settles in, whatever.
The sound is satisfactory now, but I strive for good balance across all strings, and that takes more work, as a rule.
The sound is satisfactory now, but I strive for good balance across all strings, and that takes more work, as a rule.
Here's a "friendlier" picture of the new bass, with one of my cellos in the background.
I think I will have to add more relief under that low B-string. When I play it full volume with a bow, on the open string, it starts rattling on the fingerboard. This is my first experience with a B-string, and I had not expected such wild oscillation.
This is of course the purpose of the Romberg bevel, which helps clear the B string even more than the E. Are you thinking of applying it?
Read the entire thread. Congratulations on building suck a nice instrument. Thanks for posting.
Thanks to all who have commented.
To clarify; this is a 5/8-size, 5-string double bass with a low B-string and a D-neck. Here are some pictures with the maker, for size reference. (I am 6'-1" tall, or used to be, so use that as a reference.) You can see that it is a smaller bass.
The sound is beginning to open up rather nicely. It is gaining volume and clarity on the low end that was muddy the first day...which is to be expected on any brand-new instrument.
I had originally thought that the balance was way off, but, today, between any two adjacent strings, it is actually quite good already (playing the G on the D string, sounds very much like the open G-string, and so forth) but if I compare the open G, D or A with the open E or B-strings, there is quite a difference. I hope to alleviate that to some degree, but I suppose that I should not expect the open B to sound as focused as the open G.
I still have to add the side heel/rib/neck caps (don't know the correct name.) I have made them twice, and both times somehow ended up making them too short.
) So, this time will require very careful measurement and a gradual approach to the final fit. I really don't want to do this again.
The varnish will still require a fair amount of re-touch and overall rub-down, but other than those things, it is essentially complete.
To clarify; this is a 5/8-size, 5-string double bass with a low B-string and a D-neck. Here are some pictures with the maker, for size reference. (I am 6'-1" tall, or used to be, so use that as a reference.) You can see that it is a smaller bass.
The sound is beginning to open up rather nicely. It is gaining volume and clarity on the low end that was muddy the first day...which is to be expected on any brand-new instrument.
I had originally thought that the balance was way off, but, today, between any two adjacent strings, it is actually quite good already (playing the G on the D string, sounds very much like the open G-string, and so forth) but if I compare the open G, D or A with the open E or B-strings, there is quite a difference. I hope to alleviate that to some degree, but I suppose that I should not expect the open B to sound as focused as the open G.
I still have to add the side heel/rib/neck caps (don't know the correct name.) I have made them twice, and both times somehow ended up making them too short.
) So, this time will require very careful measurement and a gradual approach to the final fit. I really don't want to do this again.The varnish will still require a fair amount of re-touch and overall rub-down, but other than those things, it is essentially complete.
"Those who Can - Build. Those who Can't - Buy."
Thanks, Chet.
Thanks, Chet.
And the corollary is that I can definitely build an instrument that I could NEVER afford to buy! 
And the corollary is that I can definitely build an instrument that I could NEVER afford to buy!
Can you share the rough cost of materials?
If I have to buy all the materials today, it would be in the neighborhood of $2,500-3,000 depending on the grade of wood and fittings, and which strings one chooses. Just the five strings I chose, for instance (Evah Pirazzi): my cost was in excess of $400. It could have been more.
I bought the wood to make all the fittings. That was cheaper than buying them as ready-made blanks, but necessitated a LOT of work, all of which would have been made unnecessary if I had bought the blanks. BUT, I wanted to use Ipé, and no one sells fittings of Ipé. So the labor goes way up.
If I had bought my wood (maple, spruce and willow) from a dealer, it would have been very costly, even though it is domestic maple and spruce...but a friend harvested the maple log on his place, years ago, and I paid a fellow to mill it up. I sorted and stacked it, painting the ends with a wax-based sealer, to prevent checking, and soaking it down with borax, to discourage fungus and bugs... so the purchase cost was low...sweat-equity cost very high. (You see the pattern, here...) I make many of my tools as well...gouges, knives, planes, calipers, etc. If I bought them all, it could be very costly. I simply have never had the money to do things that way.
I don't know whether this answers your question adequately...
I bought the wood to make all the fittings. That was cheaper than buying them as ready-made blanks, but necessitated a LOT of work, all of which would have been made unnecessary if I had bought the blanks. BUT, I wanted to use Ipé, and no one sells fittings of Ipé. So the labor goes way up.
If I had bought my wood (maple, spruce and willow) from a dealer, it would have been very costly, even though it is domestic maple and spruce...but a friend harvested the maple log on his place, years ago, and I paid a fellow to mill it up. I sorted and stacked it, painting the ends with a wax-based sealer, to prevent checking, and soaking it down with borax, to discourage fungus and bugs... so the purchase cost was low...sweat-equity cost very high. (You see the pattern, here...) I make many of my tools as well...gouges, knives, planes, calipers, etc. If I bought them all, it could be very costly. I simply have never had the money to do things that way.
I don't know whether this answers your question adequately...
The tools you were making are what first caught my attention. My dad was a tool maker, prop-maker and eventually a coordinator at the studios in Hollywood for many years and I was lucky enough to work with him for a few years and see how much he loved his work. Your tools brought me back to those days.
It's been an amazing journey that you've allowed us to share with you. A huge, heavily nuanced process has resulted in an unusually beautiful double bass, and you have my deep appreciation for letting us all be a part of this with you!!!
It's been an amazing journey that you've allowed us to share with you. A huge, heavily nuanced process has resulted in an unusually beautiful double bass, and you have my deep appreciation for letting us all be a part of this with you!!!
I'm glad you had the privilege of good memories with your dad. That was a touching comment! My dad made a lot of things, too! I guess the "apple and the tree" thing kinda holds true in that regard. I'm living in the house that he and my mom built, and used some of his tools in carving the bass.
I was admiring your home as well as the bass. This post is the icing on the thread.
Thank you Chet for a fascinating experience watching you make this beautiful instrument. It has been great fun for me to wake up every morning and see your very steady, careful and consistent progress. The end result is absolutely gorgeous . Many thanks for the look into the process.
So enjoyed every post, thanks so much for sharing this and i hope she finds a great home....
- Jan 12, 2004
- 1,493
- 1,270
- Disclosures
- Owner, Stand Up Guy Basses (Repair/Sell/Buy upright basses)
I still have to add the side heel/rib/neck caps (don't know the correct name.) I have made them twice, and both times somehow ended up making them too short.
Chet, I'll add to the chorus: Great bass, great posting!
You lost me with the quote above - do you mean bumpers / edge protectors? If yes, they'll be harder to fit because of the large bottom and small upper bouts. I put on bumpers if customers insist, but prefer the "be nice to your bass" approach (ie.., edge damage should be really minimal if the bass is handled carefully).
Hmm. I'm not sure of the proper name, but at the top of the shoulder, where the ribs approach vertical, there is a ledge, about 19mm wide. I am capping that ledge with a hardwood piece on each side, so that neither the edge of the ribs nor the remaining neck-block surface will be visible.
In the past I have installed bumpers, just because most bassists tend to lay their instrument on the side, and it does save the edges. I use multiple layers of leather, so it is not a hard bumper, and I seal and wax them so they look nice.
In the past I have installed bumpers, just because most bassists tend to lay their instrument on the side, and it does save the edges. I use multiple layers of leather, so it is not a hard bumper, and I seal and wax them so they look nice.
