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Double Bass Small, fractional,and travel doublebass thread

#64
I guess the overall point that I'm trying to make is yes I started with the small body bass with the more traditional string length, for convenience and portability, but I stayed with it for tone because it's a pizz machine. I actually prefer it Amplified over my large basses. I can't really comment on Arco because I don't have Arco friendly strings but my sense from the little bit of playing that I have tried to do with the bow on it is that it would be very easy to get the strings to speak and they would speak very quickly.. would it be like a church organ holding down the bottom of an orchestra? No. But probably would be a great solo instrument and fairly easy to do technically demanding stuff on.
 
#69
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Of course it is. As luthier Nnick Lloyd described it to me once, a bass is basically two things:
  • a fingerboard with a particular set of strings at a particular string height above it at a certain scale length (includes factors of string construction, tension, and perceived tension)
  • A resonating box that the above is mechanically connected to that acts like an acoustic amplifier.

Change either or both of these things, and you change the volume and timbre of the instrument. This doesn't mean that "bigger is always better", but it is a fact that changing the parameters of a signal chain will change the resulting sound.
Click to expand...
My experience so far it that with a smaller bodied instrument the complexity of the tone is higher in the mix, then with a normal instrument ...at least my 7/8 bass. With it, the complexity of the tone starts way down and can muddle the sound ( i think a lot of HPFing is cutting out the jangle of low harmonics all beating around in the box) my contrabassetto with a mic stuck right over the f hole sounds bassy but not muddy or slow. I can play for days all the way down at the bottom and not feel that the notes are wacking into each other and fogging the soup. It does not produce the same vibration in my chest but it sure drives a rhythm section. Plus the practicing thing is sick, so ergonomic so easy to get around or sit and chill and noodle or compose. Miro takes it to full recling but man you end up playing a lot more because it is so easy to handle. I love it.
I am having a new bridge made with a yamahiko pick up...I swapped out my 7/8 bridge with the little contrabassetto one so i could hear the Y and it sounded just great (ill fitting and only a test). I thought the thicker Bridge made a big tonal difference too and I am going to suggest to Andrea he make them with thicker bridges in future. I see that the Kolstein has a thicker bridge although the body is considerably more shallow. I want to buy another Contrabassetto from Andrea with a flatback and a thicker bridge and DEEPER body. His model Allepo is gamba shaped and a little more air too. I think there is a sweet spot and Andrea really has the not too narrow, not too large, full size, removable neck, fully carved , inspiring shape and materials, thing going on. Plus they are the bomb for DIY, you almost have to if you take the neck off. Then you can push the sound post around play with the action ( neck pitch) etc. I'd be interested in what a shorter tail piece (longer string length) will do to the sound.
 
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#70
I played a kolstein busetto several years ago at Mike Shank's shop and it ruined me! It was such a joy to play - I think it was the 39" model. I've been saving up and could see making something like that my "downsize" gig bass in the coming years.

However I'd love to play a few gigs first to see how it sounds amplified and how it holds up in a band setting.
 
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#71
One thing that takes getting used to at least on the contrabassetto is that although the string length is normal (41) how hard you can pull seems proportional to the instrument size (if that makes sense) Pulling hard on it over plays the instrument, the sweet spot of maximum volume projection and tone is actually way lighter then I am used to and that is good but it can feel strange for a while to throttle back.
I have a fairly sophisticated looping pedal and I do a lot of practicing and listening, often with both basses (I often practice vibes by putting in a few choruses of a tune and blowing over it...) and I cant really tell which bass is which even when I have a mic mixed in, because the close micing of the small bass ( again a wider bodied fully carved smaller proportioned instrument) and the close micing of the big bass are both not really picking up the acoustic sound ten feet out, just right there at the table and timbre of the small instrument (not over played) is really close to a larger one...even though if you are standing in the room and I am playing it acoustically it sounds way smaller. The spectrum of frequencies is definitely different even with your ear on the F hole, clearer more mids and highs. But the bass is there and somehow it is the right amount to amplify.
 
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#74
Hello,
I have found a video on youTube with a bass duet from Kate Jones and Jessica Valls. The bass of Ms Valls seems to be a smaller one with a long end pin, but it sounds very nice. Could not find any information, what kind of instrument she plays, maybe somebody can tell me more about it ?
 
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#77
Ludwig said:
Hello,
I have found a video on youTube with a bass duet from Kate Jones and Jessica Valls. The bass of Ms Valls seems to be a smaller one with a long end pin, but it sounds very nice. Could not find any information, what kind of instrument she plays, maybe somebody can tell me more about it ?
Click to expand...


She's wearing what looks like 5 or 6 inch heels and even then the end of the scroll looks to be nearly a foot over her head. Even with the end pin out a foot or so, and assuming she's even moderately tall for an American adult female, then that's a pretty typical size of bass. It might be a "smallish" 3/4 size bass but if we account for the bass being slanted away from the camera, and Ms. Valls standing upright for the most part, that could make up for the apparent difference in heights. If that's a fractional size bass then that's also a "fractional size" bassist.
 
#78
Please compare the bass Ms Valls plays with the bass of Ms Jones. And if you check the relation between her knees and the lower end of the bass on the following video, where she plays another bass with an extension, the bass in the first video seems to be much smaller.


Since the end pin is adjusted for having the end of the finger board around eye level or a little higher, it is normal to have the scroll above the head regardless of bass size, as long as the end pin is long enough.
As I remarked, Ms Valls usually plays other basses and most of them seem to be at least 3/4 size. But the bass played in the duet with Ms Jones seems to be shorter and thinner (small 3/4, 5/8 or 1/2 ???)
 
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#79
Ludwig said:
Please compare the bass Ms Valls plays with the bass of Ms Jones. And if you check the relation between her knees and the lower end of the bass on the following video, where she plays another bass with an extension, the bass in the first video seems to be much smaller.


Since the end pin is adjusted for having the end of the finger board around eye level or a little higher, it is normal to have the scroll above the head regardless of bass size, as long as the end pin is long enough.
As I remarked, Ms Valls usually plays other basses and most of them seem to be at least 3/4 size. But the bass played in the duet with Ms Jones seems to be shorter and thinner (small 3/4, 5/8 or 1/2 ???)
Click to expand...


I'm not seeing it. In the second video Valls is not wearing high heels any more, shes's wearing cowboy boots with almost no heel. In both videos the nut is about at the level of the top of her head so they can't be all that different in size. I didn't watch the whole video through (I'm not a big fan of jazz) so it's possible she stepped back enough at some point to get a better idea on how far out the end pin might be. I'm thinking the apparent difference in size is mostly due to the different camera perspective and her different heel heights. I'll agree the second bass is bigger, but it's probably a difference of a "big" 3/4 (or 7/8) and a "small" 3/4.

Valls does appear to be a bit tall, probably 2, 3, or maybe even 4 inches taller than Jones, who appears to be closer to average height. Jones and her bass are closer to the camera which adds to the effect to "shrink" Valls' bass. Without some better frames of reference it's really hard to tell. Maybe the first bass is a 5/8 but I highly doubt it's a 1/2.
 

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