Double Bass Which bass for extreme (heat) conditions?

[Jaygetsreal]

Picture Australia, January, outdoor gig. I need to hire a DB for ten upcoming outdoor gigs. But here's the thing, January is the hottest month of the year and gigs will be at the hottest time of day (late afternoon). We sometimes get over 40C (105F). We will only have a basic marquee and no aircon. So here's the question; what sort of bass construction/material would be the most resilient, and have the least tuning issues in these kind of conditions? Solid, ply, etc.
Would value any advice from the TB community.

 

[LouisF]

I'm assuming it's not a classical gig, so.... electric upright or at best a laminate?

 

[Jaygetsreal]

I'm assuming it's not a classical gig, so.... electric upright or at best a laminate?

Yes I should have said, it's straight jazz. Acoustic only.
So laminate...thanks I will bear that in mind.

 

[unbrokenchain]

If the gigs pay (really) well,
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[Don Hergert]

And then there's this, local to Oz...

AliKat Double Bass

These are probably leaning towards rockabilly/psychobilly... As far as using an aluminum double bass for jazz, I don't hesitate to use my Alcoa for it, it all depends on playing style, setup, strings and amplification.

 

[james condino]

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[Dabndug]

My laminate bass has survived summer outdoor gigs in tbe Sydney region with no ill effects, with temperatures in the mid 30Cs. Avoiding direct sunlight on those days is bit of a must.

 

[what the pluck]

I drag my old solid french bass around Sydney for outdoor gigs all the time with no issue... but avoid direct sunlight always..

 

[equill]

Aluminium would survive the heat, but would you survive contact with the aluminium in that weather?

 

[unbrokenchain]

Aluminium would survive the heat, but would you survive contact with the aluminium in that weather?

Anyone want a grilled cheese on set break?

 

[Don Hergert]

Aluminium would survive the heat, but would you survive contact with the aluminium in that weather?

That depends on how it is finished, if at all. I live in a low elevation near-desert area about 70 miles from the Pacific, so during the summer I have high temps and low humidity; it's not unusual to have temps over 110F and humidity below 15%. My Alcoa has been powder-coated an aluminum color and it doesn't get difficult to touch in summer hot sun. On the other hand, I have an aluminum-bodied "Rudy" squareneck Dobro from the late 1960 Mossrite factory which has had all the paint chipped off of it, so the body is raw aluminum; it gets so hot I cannot touch it in the summer sun. So as suggested, it depends...

Btw, I've seen some nice high-end Martin dreadnought guitars have their glue loosen and their center-seams open up while being played in direct summer sunlight, so direct heat like that is very important to consider for wood instruments.

And of course, the other question is if you or your audience wants to be out there playing in those conditions... I tend to want to be hiding out in an air conditioned environment during the heat of the day.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Picture Australia, January, outdoor gig. I need to hire a DB for ten upcoming outdoor gigs. But here's the thing, January is the hottest month of the year and gigs will be at the hottest time of day (late afternoon). We sometimes get over 40C (105F). We will only have a basic marquee and no aircon. So here's the question; what sort of bass construction/material would be the most resilient, and have the least tuning issues in these kind of conditions? Solid, ply, etc.
Would value any advice from the TB community.

Plywood, in the shade...
And, try and keep your hands/fingers dry. Wet fingers + steel strings can result in mangled calluses.

You also may want to consider one of these:

 

[Steven Ayres]

105F isn't unusual in Phoenix summers. Direct sun will toast anything under those conditions, but the bass won't fall apart.