Double Bass Setups historically

[Huy Nguyen]

My recent discovery that low tensioned strings sound amazing if my bass is set up with a tighter fitting soundpost. The strings are strung up high and have a certain amount of tension. It isn't easy to play, like how one describes the bass playing itself, but the sound is amazing.

It makes me wonder if back in the heyday that setups done to basses for use with gut strings had tigther soundposts and that over time, with the use of metal strings, looser setups were are now more common to the point that it has become default.

Is that a plausible theory? Please debunk as appropriate (after all I am talking out of my ass).

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

My flatback had its last full setup sometime before WW2 as far as I can tell. The soundpost has the loosest fit of any bass I own, have owned or worked on.

 

[PaulCannon]

I've noticed basses with very old soundposts tend to be loosely fit, but I assumed the posts were shrinking over time.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Why would they only shrink, and not shrink and expand across the seasons like the rest I the instrument?

 

[Huy Nguyen]

I'm also wondering if it is inconclusive. Considering that if bridge adjusters were not widely used or available, luthiers would err on the side of caution if they're fitting basses with solid bridges; they'd generally set things up to be looser than not.

 

[turf3]

An old bass that had a setup a long time ago, and the soundpost is loosely fit now, does not tell you what it was like when it was freshly set up. The soundpost itself probably won't shrink very much at all along its length. But you have string tension pushing down on the bridge and the top, and the soundpost, offset a little bit, pushing back up on the top, for years and years. I can guarantee the top will gradually yield and - all else remaining unchanged - the average fit will loosen over time (I say
"average fit" because as we all know the fit will vary tighter and looser with weather conditions).

On the other hand, the other components of the bass are also shrinking and warping under the loads placed on them, so "all else being unchanged" is not true. But my expectation is that the bass components will gradually yield in the way to reduce the loads - so a soundpost fit would gradually loosen over time.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Why would they only shrink, and not shrink and expand across the seasons like the rest I the instrument?

Beyond seasonal, humidity-related dimensional changes, wood shrinks over time as it slowly polymerizes and hardens. Its mostly across the grain and its an ongoing process.

This change is why old wood is harder than and sounds better than new wood.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I see. Thanks for the education, gentlemen.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

KUNGPAOCHICKEN, doesn't it make you wonder what your bass would sound like with a newly fitted SP?

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

If the answer is "less midrangey", damn right. It needs a fingerboard before anything, though.

 

[Sam Dingle]

My teacher here in New Orleans told me that all the jazz cats in the bebop era (PC, ray brown, sam jones etc) would bring their bass to one guy in NYC to have their bass set up. Thats how they were able to get a loud sound with gut strings and high action... that and a lot of practicing. Not sure if this answers your question.