Double Bass Thinking about a five string

[User4843936]

I always found tuning the 5th string to a C made the top G string sound kind of hollow and non existent on my old German bass. Maybe something to do with where the top string was sitting in the harmonic series of the lower string. It was useful though on occasion if there were loads of low Cs that I didn’t want to have to try to find. I’ve only ever really used a Spirocore for the bottom string. It didn’t seem to mind being tuned to a C. Or a low B flat or A every once in a while.

 

[16fuss]

Here are a few pictures of my setup. I own this bass for almost 15 years. It plays everything from Bebop over Beethoven to Bottesini

 

[Calvin Marks]

Here are a few pictures of my setup. I own this bass for almost 15 years. It plays everything from Bebop over Beethoven to Bottesini

looks awesome!

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Lyric Opera of Chicago bassist Andy Anderson plays Poellmann 5 stringers. We were on a concert together and he showed me his setup which he told me his luthier took a lot of time to tweak just right,, from string spacing to arch of the fingerboard. His bass plays like butter and the string spacing at the nut reminded me of my 5 string bass guitars. Super easy to play.

 

[martinez]

I have a couple of 5 strings that I play for orchestral stuff. The fingerboard and bridge arching set-up are absolutely critical to playability. Given that fivers are (relatively) rare in the US, it can be challenging to find luthiers who can set up properly.

 

[Calvin Marks]

Do you think there needs to be a minimum string length to have the fifth string speak adequately for orchestral music? I’m thinking 41”+

 

[LouisF]

Didn't Wilfer do a lot of 5-strings for European orchestras with a 40" SL?

 

[User4843936]

Do you think there needs to be a minimum string length to have the fifth string speak adequately for orchestral music? I’m thinking 41”+

I don’t think it’s a question of one factor in isolation deciding what makes a bass work or not.

For about three years I played on several Poellmann basses owned by the orchestra I was in. Lots of air in the box from the deep ribs, but short body length and much too thinly wooded in the table. The result was a sound which just wasn’t balanced, very tubby and indistinct. The low b was loud but the sound the basses made wasn’t pleasant to my ear (or anyone else’s). They were also stiff and unresponsive. Those basses had a short string length, around 41” if memory serves. My big bass feels much more loose and responds quicker than those 3/4 size ones did and I’m pretty sure that’s to do with the fact that it’s more strongly built.

I’m pretty sure with the right geometry you could have a bass with a large body but a short string length which might give you the resonating chamber required to have the low notes sound full whilst also keeping the string length down. See this example. I have never heard or played this bass, though, disclaimer.

Euro 5

You’ll want to weigh anything that can be considered a contributing factor equally. As soon as you get into the zero sum game of compromising one thing to solve another issue, what you’re doing is knowingly overlooking issues you know to be relevant as part of a gamble.

As far as I can tell the safest way to get a five string bass to sound good is to have a large and well proportioned/thicknessed body and then learn to adjust to the compromises that necessitates from one’s playing. The string length could be any range of numbers according to preference and how well thought out the shape of the bass is according to that preference.

 

[Calvin Marks]

I don’t think it’s a question of one factor in isolation deciding what makes a bass work or not.

For about three years I played on several Poellmann basses owned by the orchestra I was in. Lots of air in the box from the deep ribs, but short body length and much too thinly wooded in the table. The result was a sound which just wasn’t balanced, very tubby and indistinct. The low b was loud but the sound the basses made wasn’t pleasant to my ear (or anyone else’s). They were also stiff and unresponsive. Those basses had a short string length, around 41” if memory serves. My big bass feels much more loose and responds quicker than those 3/4 size ones did and I’m pretty sure that’s to do with the fact that it’s more strongly built.

I’m pretty sure with the right geometry you could have a bass with a large body but a short string length which might give you the resonating chamber required to have the low notes sound full whilst also keeping the string length down. See this example. I have never heard or played this bass, though, disclaimer.

Euro 5

You’ll want to weigh anything that can be considered a contributing factor equally. As soon as you get into the zero sum game of compromising one thing to solve another issue, what you’re doing is knowingly overlooking issues you know to be relevant as part of a gamble.

As far as I can tell the safest way to get a five string bass to sound good is to have a large and well proportioned/thicknessed body and then learn to adjust to the compromises that necessitates from one’s playing. The string length could be any range of numbers according to preference and how well thought out the shape of the bass is according to that preference.

Thanks very much, Adam. I really appreciate your experience and input.

 

[User4843936]

No worries. Happy to save anyone else any amount of grief I’ve encountered so far when trying to get hold of a decent five string bass...! They’re not all terrible, at least not all the time.

 

[LouisF]

Then, there is this:

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[Calvin Marks]

Then, there is this:

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Yep, there is THAT

 

[garrett2]

Then, there is this:

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Wow. Have you played his contrabass?

 

[LouisF]

No, but John Graves, who is a member here has one and has written about. I've played several concerts with him and his is a terrific instrument (I think tuned in 5ths as well)

 

[mtto]

No, but John Graves, who is a member here has one and has written about. I've played several concerts with him and his is a terrific instrument (I think tuned in 5ths as well)

My bass is Tomoya’s bass. He sold it, and I bought it from owner #2.

I tune C E A D G, low to high. Mostly 4ths. Recently tried B E A D F# which is very interesting for harmonics. Kind of Viennese-ish.

 

[Kristian]

Hi!
Have you tried any Golia basses?
I have a Golia five string and it’s a really nice instrument. Since I’m only playing my short scale bass, I’ll sell it. Let me know if you’re interested I’ll soon have it shipped to me here in Wien(Austria).

 

[Oscar Stern]

Thomas Martin make a fine 5 string bass today. Very modern and playable with a big overstand and top that is not overly thick like some antique basses.

Unfortunately the currency exchange is not great and they run £14,250. They do have a version from Romania that is roughed in and finished at Thomas Martin for £8,250. Add in duty and taxes.

I tune in 5ths to get that low ‘C’. I get 4 full octaves and the high ‘A’ string sounds pure up in tp. This solution works for me.

Thomas & George Martin really need to improve the price

 

[Oscar Stern]

I have a Fender 5 String Bass Guitar & I had no issues carrying it from Guitar center back to my home cause they're pretty lightweight.

 

[Oscar Stern]

I’ve been in the market for a while looking for an orchestral bass. I’ve always played a four string and have never enjoyed using extensions. I’ve always found the Stenholms to be very noisy and heavy and the gated extensions a bit challenging to use other than for creating “pedals”.

Years ago I played with an orchestra that owned a section of five string Pollmanns. The were very large bussetto basses with a 42.5 inch string length - they were very hard to play but have a gigantic sound.

I’m considering looking for a maker to build me a five string but I need to do more research first.

Typically I like basses that have a string length of around 40 inches but I think this will be too short for a five string to speak properly - thoughts?

I could go up to 41 inches but I also worry about the width of the neck

Thomas & George Martin make 5 String Basses that feel super comfortable.

 

[Francois Blais]

I have a Fender 5 String Bass Guitar & I had no issues carrying it from Guitar center back to my home cause they're pretty lightweight.

???