Double Bass string heights

[tony andrews]

I'm a beginner and I bought a new Thomann DB a year ago but string heights are to high for me. (E11mm, A12mm, D11.5mm, G6.5mm bottom end of fingerboard to underside of string).
Can anyone recommend a local luthier to set it for me in the Granada area of Andalucia, Spain? - Or any other advice.
Muchas gracias! Tony Andrews

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Can’t help you with a local luthier, but only D and A are too high.
On the other hand, making them lower would decrease the bowing angle (before touching a neighbor string).
So it might depend on the curvature of your fingerboard if it would be better to change that or the bridge.
And it might also depend if you want to play with the bow often or less often.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

The D and A are way too high for any player I can imagine. The G and E may be too high for you as well but a luthier will set things right. Hopefully you find one.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

It depends on the strings. Even for Spiros I like the E at 11mm but others don’t. The G could come down to 5-6 mm. I wouldn’t go lower, some others do. The D and A depend a bit on how much angle space you want for the bow to stay on one string.
Think of an extreme, a completely flat fingerboard. If yo have the same string height on all four, you can never bow the inner strings. Put them a bit higher and it becomes possible and easier the higher they get.
So it’s a compromise of setting a convenient string height for the left hand and getting a convenient bowing angle space for the right.

 

[tony andrews]

Great replies, really helpful and reassuring. Thanks. I’m very much on my own here, up in the mountains. I rarely use the bow to be honest (I know I should, to practice scales). But I’m definitely going to find a luthier to set them properly.

 

[David Potts]

Gollihur's site has a list of luthiers that show some international people too. Before you change anything it would be worthwhile running a few simple checks.

(1) The bass neck should be straight, or nearly so. If it is bent forward significantly (has done a "banana") then the string heights at the base of the neck will always be uncomfortably high regardless of their clearances at the end of the fingerboard. Use a straight edge, even your tensioned bow hair, to check the glue line between the fingerboard and neck. Or lean the bass back as you step back behind it until you can sight down the glue line from the scroll towards the the bridge.
(2) If the neck is OK then check the amount of dip scraped or planed from the fingerboard under the strings. This is called "shooting" the fingerboard so that the strings will not rattle against it as they vibrate and may be a little more evident under the E string than the G string. Again the tensioned bow is a useful emergency straight edge.
(3) The string clearances above the fingerboard at the nut should be about the thickness of a business card or slightly more.
(4) The curvature of the fingerboard will help determine the curvature of the bridge top which in turn determines the ease of clearing the other strings when you are bowing.
(5) A jazz player will probably go for a lower action (string heights) than a classical player. All these curvatures, and the string spacings, can be carefully changed but best done by a luthier, although you could alter the bridge after some more advice here from luthiers.

It is a good idea to ask a luthier to educate you as he works on your bass. There is value in being able to safely adjust the playability of your own bass with simple tools and patience.

I don't know her but I did a little digging on the net and came up with the name Ruth Obermayer, luthier in Granada. Her phone number is +34 620 163 764 and her email is [email protected]. She might pass you on to someone if she can't help you.

 

[tony andrews]

Great, thanks for the detailed advice David. I’m going to contact the Granada luthier you suggest tomorrow. Best, Antony.