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Double Bass The Chadwick Folding Bass

#141
"One note for a bigger acoustic sound- You can remove the internal brace for recording, etc. but you'll have to put it back in to hold the neck when folded. I did a session with mine in London and there was a small but noticeable difference without the brace- a bit more resonant and clear."

I have used the CFB w/ the brace in to fight some feedback on louder stages, but in I.M.E. it drastically alters the response, especially w/ regard to arco work. It was my understanding that leaving the brace in is not the norm, as it decouples the back from the top. Anyway, Charlie and I have a meeting on Sunday...looking forward to getting my new travel bass, enough of this Eminence stuff.
 
#142
dkimbrobass said:
"...I have used the CFB w/ the brace in to fight some feedback on louder stages, but in I.M.E. it drastically alters the response, especially w/ regard to arco work. It was my understanding that leaving the brace in is not the norm, as it decouples the back from the top..."
Click to expand...

I'm not talking about the travel brace, I always take that out. I'm talking about the nylon mechanism that is between the C bouts and secures the fingerboard and the neck when it's folded down.
-J
 
#146
Adrian Cho said:
Looked back through previous posts in this thread and it looks like brace is easy to remove and from the sound of it you would typically remove it for the best acoustic sound and only leave it to try to help kill some feedback.
Click to expand...

For clarity, there are two "braces" being discussed.

1. The wooden travel brace that fits snugly and runs front to back which is used solely for travel reinforcement. If left in, there is almost zero acoustic sound from the instrument.

2. There is a more affixed internal brace/holder made out of white nylon or plastic which holds the folding neck and the fingerboard in place when everything is packed up. I typically leave this in, as there are screws involved to take it out. I always play with some sort of amplification, so it's not a benefit to mess with it in my situation.
 
#147
Got my folding bass two days ago. Got killed with the CAD-USD exchange rate right now. Through a mix up Charlie didn't send me the matte finish but we talked about it and I asked if I could just do anything on my end and he told me I could use 000 or 0000 steel wool which is apparently what he does anyway. Assuming I'm keeping the bass, and I'm quite sure I will be, that's what I'm going to do. Just not worth the trouble sending it back and getting another one.

At my request Charlie put the Innovation 140Bs on which are the same as what I have Shen Willow 7/8. He says he thought they were a bit lacking in volume compared to other Innovation strings he's used on his basses. I'm not sure I could go for anything brighter on this bass although I may change the bottom string. The strings are new and the bass is new so I need to give it all some time to settle in but so far I'm very happy. Certainly right now there is an obvious difference in sound output compared to the Shen Willow 7/8 which has more sustain, more volume, and warmer tone but it's an unfair comparison right now. In terms of consistency across the registers of the folding bass the most obvious place it's lacking is on the bottom string and especially on F to about G or Ab. However even after a couple of days the sound there has developed more. It's possible I may have to go with a Spirocore or something else on the E string. Any suggestions for a matching string?

I'm certainly very happy with the overall workmanship and engineering and I'm looking forward to trying the bass on some gigs in the New Year. I have some rehearsals and gigs that are only about 15 - 20 minute walk from my place and I have this crazy idea of putting the bass in the trunk and carrying it along with my amp on a trolley (with bigger wheels to negotiate the pavements and especially the snow here during the winter). We'll see how that goes in practice.

Not sure yet that I will be able to part with the Shen Willow 7/8 when it comes to it but we'll see.
 
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#149
Sorry I'm a little late in responding... Pat nailed the braces descriptions!

Adrian, I've had the same bass you just got for over a year. For a while now it's been the bass I use for most of my amplified gigs. Kind of a combination of reasons but it does amplify well (and it was just out on the road and played by two bass players most nights for the last month.)
I have only taken the white nylon brace out a coupla times as it is a minimal (but noticeable to me) difference in resonance. I think as the bass opens up, the difference has gotten more apparent, especially with the carved top. Mine is currently strung with a full set of Kaplan lights and I use a Lifeline/Fdeck1 into whatever.

My bass has opened up really nicely and has a well balanced and reasonably loud presence acoustically. I did have some set-up work done by my luthier, mainly fingerboard, nut, bridge tweaks. Like any new bass, you should expect it to blossom as you play it in.
Congrats!
J
 
#151
So the sound is getting better. I did a bunch more comparison with my Shen Willow 7/8 and while there is really no comparison in acoustic volume (and no one has led me to believe otherwise including Charlie) it's a compromise I think I can live with and so I've put my much-loved Shen Willow up for sale. One thing that's interesting is that the folding bass is noticeably heavier than my much larger Shen Willow. I think most of this is the Willow being lighter. It doesn't seem like the internals in the folding bass should weigh that much.
 
#152
I just sent a note to Charlie tonight about this but thought I'd also ask here as I'm interested to see what experiences others have had with this:

A few days ago I noticed there was buzzing coming between the fingerboard and the neck when I would play any notes including open strings. It took me a while to figure out that the sound was coming from in between the fingerboard and neck. I took the fingerboard off and put it back and everything was fine. Since that was the first time I had taken the bass apart since I had initially put it together, I figured things had been settling in a lot since I first took delivery and also the weather here has gotten colder so heating is on, I have a humidifier running, etc.

Today I had the same problem. I took the fingerboard off again and put it back but the problem persisted and that’s when I started to get worried. However I experimented a bit and I found that if I pressed down lightly on the end of the fingerboard then the problem went away. I only had to do this once and everything seems good for now.

I know like any bass that there are many factors at play and it’s all wood that is subject to some expansion, etc. With the folding bass one of the additional factors is that the fingerboard is not actually glued to the neck. Is what I’ve experienced common at all? I’m wondering whether it might help to have some kind of very thin flm of something soft sandwiched between the fingerboard and the neck to help plug gaps reduce the possibility of any buzzing. I can certainly see that on my neck the fingerboard and neck are not completely flat and fully mated across the entire surface. I can, for example, fit a fingernail in between them at some places along the neck.
 
#153
I have the same issue from time to time as well Adrian. It seems to come about in the winter only--for me.

I contacted Charlie about it as well when the problem first surfaced, and he suggested rubbing wax onto the mating surfaces. It helped right away. This winter, the same thing occurred last week. I reapplied the wax and problem solved again. I really think it's a winter thing. I usually go around and make sure the screws holding the mating surfaces haven't backed out while it's off as well.

Another oddity that surfaced on my bass was an open A buzz that was coming from the neck around the heel. Drove me nuts for a bit while I tried to track it down. It turned out to be the little metal brace on the underside of the heel. The screw (not the lags) backed off a bit and allowed the brace to rattle.

Hope your fix is as easy as mine. Good luck.
 
#154
I have had a similar experience with both of my Folding Basses. Charlie fixed the first by installing two little felt pads into the neck so that they pressed slightly against the back of the fingerboard. That resolved the issue completely. On my current bass, it began to rattle while I was on the road. So, I borrowed some tape from a tech and put a small strip on either side of the mounting bracket on the back of the fingerboard. Again, problem solved.
 
#156
Just had this exact thing happen to me. Pulled the fingerboard off and checked the screws on the hook part under the board. All appeared to be snug as a bug. The screws under the neck, however, were between a 1/8 and 1/4 turns out. Snugged them up and the buzz was gone when I strung it back up and tuned it to pitch. FWIW, my bass also has the two felt pads embedded in the neck at the heel joint facing the fingerboard on either side. I'm assuming you rubbed the wax on the underside of the fingerboard? Silly question, but I figured I'd ask. I have some paraffin and some woodworkers beeswax, so I might also give this a twirl. With the Velvet Garbos the bass is rarely taken down for tuning consistency's sake, but I'm off this week and was planning on going through it and checking the screws, etc., anyway. Might as well wax it at the same time, right?
 
#158
Well, it was an interesting gig last night. Lovely theater, nice stage, but kinda lackluster monitor sound. I was prepared for the worst when the sound engineer kept referring to this instrument as a "bass guitar" … but hey, at least he didn't call it a cello.

oh=e8387484c3bf81bb8b6821672b4b9ddd&oe=57397B09Invalid Link Removed
 
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#159
Charlie ended up deepening the channel in my fingerboard to allow more adjustment to account for the wider range of temperatures here in Ottawa. The bass is back together now but I also have an annoying open A buzz coming from inside the neck and it's right up near the nut. I've played a lot with the screws on the fingerboard and adjusted them according to Charlie's instructions for installing the fingerboard once I got it back but it's possible the screws in the neck are loose or that I could do with some felt or something else in there to dampen things.
 

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