Double Bass Warming up the bass?

[Turnaround]

When I was a child I heard the adage "To keep it fresh, put butter in the well". I didn't see how butter could keep the well fresh.

Perhaps the warm up is for the player, not the bass.

 

[damonsmith]

Just as a note, “better” is subjective, and not everyone prefers older basses. I definitely do not, but again, that’s subjective.

Do you feel like your hybrid sounds the same as when it was brand new? Do you like it more now or when it was new or more or less the same?
I think we can replace "better" with more "open & responsive" which is less subjective. I do think Luthiers are "better" at making more open & responsive basses out of the gate, especially in the higher end. My travel bass sounds far better now than when it was new. It was pretty tight & choked when I first got it, though it still got through concerts fine.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Maybe off topic a bit but when I would play a hot, humid outdoor summer gig back in Mn the bass would have what I described as the "underwater" sound: dull and comparatively unresponsive. Drier weather was totally different. It was like a different instrument. I wouldn't have thought this would be that big a thing until I experienced it.

 

[damonsmith]

Maybe off topic a bit but when I would play a hot, humid outdoor summer gig back in Mn the bass would have what I described as the "underwater" sound: dull and comparatively unresponsive. Drier weather was totally different. It was like a different instrument. I wouldn't have thought this would be that big a thing until I experienced it.

Yes, I have experienced it here (recently) and in Houston. I call it "waterlogged". "They" say part of the aging is drying out the wood, which makes sense.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Yes, I have experienced it here (recently) and in Houston. I call it "waterlogged". "They" say part of the aging is drying out the wood, which makes sense.

I like that description better. When my kids were small they would giggle when I said the bass was "underwater".

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Do you feel like your hybrid sounds the same as when it was brand new? Do you like it more now or when it was new or more or less the same?
I think we can replace "better" with more "open & responsive" which is less subjective. I do think Luthiers are "better" at making more open & responsive basses out of the gate, especially in the higher end. My travel bass sounds far better now than when it was new. It was pretty tight & choked when I first got it, though it still got through concerts fine.

My hybrid sounds better than when I got it. But then, so do I. Which is chicken and which is egg? It's mildly interesting to me, but honestly since I plan to retire with this bass, it's also moot. I think of a relationship to an instrument as being a bit like a marriage. You learn how to interact with your spouse over years based on daily experience. Has the bass itself opened, or have I acclimated to the subtleties of the bass? Something has opened. Maybe one, or the other, or both. Beyond that, I'd rather just play than worry about it.

I can honestly say the same about every instrument I've ever played, including piano and French horn. The same arguments could be made about those as well. For me, in the end, if warming up makes the result sound better, it makes sense to warm up, but not so much sense to try to find an answer to a question that might not be empirically answerable. I guess that makes me agnostic yet again!

 

[damonsmith]

My hybrid sounds better than when I got it. But then, so do I. Which is chicken and which is egg? It's mildly interesting to me, but honestly since I plan to retire with this bass, it's also moot. I think of a relationship to an instrument as being a bit like a marriage. You learn how to interact with your spouse over years based on daily experience. Has the bass itself opened, or have I acclimated to the subtleties of the bass? Something has opened. Maybe one, or the other, or both. Beyond that, I'd rather just play than worry about it.

I can honestly say the same about every instrument I've ever played, including piano and French horn. The same arguments could be made about those as well. For me, in the end, if warming up makes the result sound better, it makes sense to warm up, but not so much sense to try to find an answer to a question that might not be empirically answerable. I guess that makes me agnostic yet again!

I'd say that a carved top from a string instrument is quite a bit different than brass or the construction of the piano.
Since they are designed to vibrate as freely as possible, selected from woods that are known for those qualities it makes sense that they might be at least a bit malleable. People with more knowledge and experience than anyone in this thread decided there was something to the older instruments vibrating differently.
I don't think technical progression of the player can account for whole registers opening up (while other remain the same) or arco harmonics that were just not speaking at all go through a distorted phase to crystal clear without adjusting the finger on the node.
We are talking about organic material that changes with the weather, not a brass tube.

Another true story: in 2001 I made an album with a European saxophonist who I tuned to 442, when I tuned to 442 the bass was choked, unhappy and the basic harmonics were odd or distorted for a good while. The next two times I left it in 440!
If you are not using the full range of the instrument, it may matter less or be harder to tell. The harmonics and how they behave is something I am always in touch with.

I'd like to think we get "better" - that is subjective as well. The one thing I notice is that I had a bigger and fuller pizz tone when I was younger. The other stuff is "better". I've been hearing your pizz tone for nearly two decades, it has always been good, big and clear. I am sure your bass has settled some and opened up like every other bass with a carved top.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

As a side note, I finally got to meet Mark Dresser at ISB this year. He just got a new Lloyd 5 string bass and sounds great playing it. He mentioned that he was looking forward to getting to know it. What a super nice guy, and nobody can make harmonics pop like him!