Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
You have a lot of options within a reasonable driving distance. Go play everything you can.
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Double Bass What bass do I buy?
- Thread starter 6stringUpright
- Start date
Who said the original poster can only have one bass????
5 strings with high Cs are fairly niche, and if you’re looking to upgrade to a professional-level instrument take your time, play a ton of basses, and find the instrument that speaks to you. In the US I wouldn’t be explicitly looking for a 5 string (with a low B) since good ones are hard to find and they really need a longer string length (43” or even longer) than what’s standard here to sound their best. A bass having an extension or not is also not a deal-breaker since you can always have one added after you’ve purchased the instrument.Hi, Im looking for a little help with upgrading my bass.
Currently I have a Pietro Lombardi 4-string double bass, 3/4 size. It’s in pretty good shape besides the 3 small cracks on the rib (already fixed) and some small scratches and I’m looking for a big upgrade. But I don’t think it’s anything big enough to take down the price I think… correct me if I’m wrong tho.
A couple things I kinda need on the bass tho;
- I switch a lot from arco to pizz so if there’s a bass out then that’s good for both that’d be great.
- either an extension or a 5 string with a low B. I’m honestly really scared of getting an extension just because they're expensive and hard to fix but if there’s a 5 string (high C) with an extension on the E… I’m going to go for that
- so I don’t know a lot about basses fully build wise but from experience I really like curved bridges. (where the string meets the bridge I mean) it’s just a lot easier to play. Idk if I can switch bridges tho, like idk how that works.
The top thing would be a low B or the extension because a lot of the music that I play requires low D. That’s really all I need on it, nothing special I guess. I’m looking at the Stonington Model 5-String Double Bass with Extension right now as my top choice but I’m very open to other basses.
but the main thing I’m asking is;
- where’s a good place to buy?
- 5 string (low B) or extension?
- should I avoid certain bass manufacturers?
- since it’s a lot more expensive bass, should I buy a hard case?
but yea there’s my questions and such. Thanks for reading,
Sincerely,
6stringUpright
I’d probably hold off on commissioning a bass for your first professional-level instrument. Commissioning a bass isn’t a bad idea at all, but it’s hard to do when you haven’t played a lot of basses in your price range (and above and below it) to get an idea of what things you like or dislike.
Would it be more expensive then a pre existing model or would it be pretty similar?
I keep hearing they they are removable. How? Don’t you have to drill a hole in the scroll?
The thing about curved bridges is about where the strings meet the bridge. In the past my basses have had not enough curve and it’s just a bit harder to switch strings without some other string feedback.
How does it work? Do I need a different set of strings and if not, will it stretch them and wear them down faster?Easy: For less $150 try the HipShot DB Bass FreeRange XTender
Precision d-dropitude at the flip of a lever, maestro.
The hole in the scroll is simply for the string to pass through. The extension itself is held in place by the E/C string. I assume that by "feedback" you find yourself hitting two strings at once with the bow during string crossing. The bridge issue is easily dealt with by a bass luthier. The Fred Zimmermann book on bow technique is also a good idea.
Thanks for the reply, to answer your question, I don’t have an actually don’t have a budget. The bass I buy is going to be the bass I’m playing for the rest of my life so I’m willing to spend a pretty penny. Where would I try out basses? I’m in Illinois.
That is exactly what I mean, instead of a bass luthier could I possibly just take some sand paper to it and do it myself…
Hm, theres some confusion on my end about the violin octet. I noticed It has a different tuning, assuming that I can change it, is it pretty much a bass body wise or is it totally different?
First, there is no such thing as a standard bass body: violin/gamba corners, flat/round back, etc. But these are extra unusual: less deep and more wide. The idea is the whole family is the same shape, different size. This is based on Carleen Hutchins’s research in acoustics. She wrote a few articles for Scientific American on the topic, though I haven’t read them. I just know the bass sounds good and is loud.
I tune in 4ths, with a 3rd between the low C and E, although it is totally possible to tune to low B. String scale is fairly “normal” 3/4 and technique is the same.
I believe French bass players tune the low string to C, Germans to B.
Here are two videos of me playing the bass, tuned in 4ths.
Lifting the lever allows the string-anchor to slide forward.
This decreases tension by a preset amount, which reflects as dropping pitch by a precise interval
Nope.
Not in any way that I observed.
I suppose the precise answer is, "In the same way and to the same degree that tuning down to D and back up to E using your regular tuner does."
D
I think I can help. Went shopping for my first-ever DB last weekend, learned some stuff.
Robertson & Sons (Albuquerque, NM) quoted me "about $3300" for adding a C extension to a 4-string bass, last week.
Might be cheaper to find a different DB that already has the extension, vs. add an extension to an existing bass (since OP was planning to upgrade basses anyway).
I was not considering a C-extension for my first bass - I'd stick with standard 4-string. The C extension was merely one of many things I discussed with the salesman/bass guy (one of the Roberstons). Context was "this is useful for orchestral players, but not cheap, so only get one if you need it."
(FWIW, very cool shop and absolutely wonderful experience, I felt privileged to take up some of Mr. Robertson's time. Stop in if you can, if you're ever in Albuquerque.)
With regard to a hardshell case: I would avoid one unless you are legit going to travel with your DB, a lot. It looks like a "cheap" one is around $1000 (yikes!) where a really robust, airline-proof one will run at least $3000. Double yikes.
Robertson & Sons (Albuquerque, NM) quoted me "about $3300" for adding a C extension to a 4-string bass, last week.
Might be cheaper to find a different DB that already has the extension, vs. add an extension to an existing bass (since OP was planning to upgrade basses anyway).
I was not considering a C-extension for my first bass - I'd stick with standard 4-string. The C extension was merely one of many things I discussed with the salesman/bass guy (one of the Roberstons). Context was "this is useful for orchestral players, but not cheap, so only get one if you need it."
(FWIW, very cool shop and absolutely wonderful experience, I felt privileged to take up some of Mr. Robertson's time. Stop in if you can, if you're ever in Albuquerque.)
With regard to a hardshell case: I would avoid one unless you are legit going to travel with your DB, a lot. It looks like a "cheap" one is around $1000 (yikes!) where a really robust, airline-proof one will run at least $3000. Double yikes.
Said with all the love in the world, Aaron Robertson is an evil man.
I mean in the sense of being very good at his job! He's not actually a bad person at all.
