Double Bass String articulation? (D & G)

[Matt Ides]

I had a full set of Spiro weichs on a Chrissy ply bass for years. It sounded great with the bow but you have to have good technique to get the G string to really sing. You might want to try more orchestra or arco friendly strings on top such as Pirastro perms or Evah Pirazzi weichs.

 

[wathaet]

I think sound post position is somewhat of a dark art. I don't think anyone truly understands it and that the master luthiers who excell at it use their instincts quite a bit. I spent some time in Chuck Treager's Christopher St shop years ago and watched him tweak the post of a bass a top NYC chamber bassist broght in. He kept moving the post south, and eventually moved the bridge a cm or so south, and the bass kept sounding better and better to everyone's surprise. Ended up with a slightly longer string length and the post about 3" below the bridge foot.

3”? That better not be an expensive bass with a thinner top. That far south is asking for major deformation over time. 7.6cm is way out of the ballpark.You sure he was not talking cm?

 

[Don Hergert]

I think sound post position is somewhat of a dark art. I don't think anyone truly understands it and that the master luthiers who excell at it use their instincts quite a bit. I spent some time in Chuck Treager's Christopher St shop years ago and watched him tweak the post of a bass a top NYC chamber bassist broght in. He kept moving the post south, and eventually moved the bridge a cm or so south, and the bass kept sounding better and better to everyone's surprise. Ended up with a slightly longer string length and the post about 3" below the bridge foot.

The main reason that I have gained some experience with my Alcoa's soundpost is that my Alcoa came to me with a (hinged) trap door installed in the driver's side C. So for me, it's really easy to check inside, and making a slight adjustment to the soundpost is actually as easy as, or in some cases easier than, adjusting the bridge. This is also the reason I have been able to build, install and maintain my own adjustable soundpost; I would never have understood enough to do so if it hadn't been for the trap door.

I know they're somewhat considered an aberration and I don't claim that my Alcoa or its trapdoor is a premier example, but at least judging from my humble 1-year of double bass experience so far, if every double bass had a trapdoor the soundpost would be as well understood as the bridge is -- maybe not easy science, but definitely not the "dark art" that it seems to be today. And a lot of other things about the double bass would also be more widely understood.

Also interesting, my intermediate step to attaining more volume before plugging in the amp has become opening my Alcoa's trap door for use as an auxiliary 7"x7" sound hole. I've found the trapdoor very handy for that reason too. In the future, if I am ever in a position to commission a wooden double bass myself, I would probably request that it have a similarly-sized trap door installed in the driver's side C.

This isn't to say that soundpost adjustments should be made haphazardly, there is some danger involved especially with wooden basses. But careful observation accompanied by gentle experimentation might be a good thing.

Alcoa sound post platform 1

• Don Hergert
• Mar 9, 2018
• 2

 

[lurk]

3”? That better not be an expensive bass with a thinner top. That far south is asking for major deformation over time. 7.6cm is way out of the ballpark.You sure he was not talking cm?

Thanks. Your probably right. Closer to 3cm, but maybe close to 2". It was a long time ago. I was surprised at the placement. Mine is quite close to the foot. I brought my bass in for an open seam and got drafted into playing so the owner could listen from the back of the room and Chuck was holding his fingers apart to show the distance. It was a small, maybe 39"? bass with a bigger than expected sound that got bigger and more focused as Chuck tinkered. Don't know the pedigree, but I'm guessing expensive.

 

[wathaet]

Thanks. Your probably right. Closer to 3cm, but maybe close to 2". It was a long time ago. I was surprised at the placement. Mine is quite close to the foot. I brought my bass in for an open seam and got drafted into playing so the owner could listen from the back of the room and Chuck was holding his fingers apart to show the distance. It was a small, maybe 39"? bass with a bigger than expected sound that got bigger and more focused as Chuck tinkered. Don't know the pedigree, but I'm guessing expensive.

3cm is already pretty far down, so my guess is cm.

 

[DoghouseKyle]

Ended up with a slightly longer string length and the post about 3" below the bridge foot.

I’m def going to explore this option w my bass guy, & hoping for favorable results based on feedback from this thread