Some fun interesting things come out of custom work. This 3 eyed weirdo is the logo of a bluegrass club in Washington if I remember right. Bow quivers are hand-stitched and stamped and tooled. Linework and color are done with India inks. Customer opted to have the bass player in a pair of ostrich boots that matched his and the same Woody Guthrie test on the upper bout of the bass. Fun project.
Hello everyone! I received this bass from a friend who wanted to get rid of it. After playing it for the first time that I realized the action was a little too high for my liking.
As far as the damages, is cracked at the top of the neck. I took the bridge off to release some of the tension that might be present on the neck.
My question is would this be worth repairing? I couldn’t find anything about this model online. How much would it cost? I am planning on taking it to a luthier but I thought I’d make a post to get some opinions on this.
Hi, I live in Norfolk/Virginia Beach and wanted to get some recommendations on folk who do good rehairs? I’m willing to travel throughout the state or do some cheap shipping.
Thanks!
For those who have electric fretless bass guitars and upright basses, is electric less challenging,less expensive, less issues, less sensitive to humidity???
And for those who only just play upright. Why... why deal with the potential to have a huge amount of damage because you stores it wrong, when there is less tonal variety(even tho i am atleast smart enough to acknowledge that any situation needing upright is really monotonally hardlocked), when its harder to transport,when its not too loud, why when it easier to play???? Is it the bow action that is so enticing?
Now please know before you blow up the comments, I am not that knowledgeable in upright bass, but I do know that on paper,in my opinion, it should be easier for orchestras and cut down on costs with less repairs
I had a competition today and then we were off doing nonsense for a few hours then I get home and realize my bow was still tightened, I loosened it to high heaven and went downstairs to cry because my life is over but then I decided to make a post to ask for help which is when I took this photo and it seems less warped but not quite perfect (I have no clue what it was like beforehand)
It was tightened for around 2 hours inside (~20°c) and then inside a bus for maybe 3 more? (~10°c)
What can I really do? How cooked am I? Is there a point in crying?
While we are all searching for Pops/Kolstein replacements with the production/distribution issues these companies have been having, what are some of your go to replacements?
I ordered a Cake of Winter Rosin that Im excited to try since I live in a cold climate.
From what Ive found and played
The Okay:
Upton
Nyman
Carllson
The bad:
Jade
Pirastro mittel
The too expensive:
Leatherwood
Hill ($45 is pushing it for me usually)
Has anyone tried Melos dark? Any other brands Im not thinking of?
Thinking about purchasing this Kay. Is it real?
So good to not be part of the recent rosin shortage!
I’ve had this Kolstein rosin since I was 14, and only stopped using it a few years ago when I slowed down my playing significantly. It’s actually still good!
• Pic 1 is the Mighty Mighty Bosstones covered in orange glitter nail polish;
• Pic 2 is a random illustration from the defunct Reluctant Hero magazine coloured by my baby brother;
• Pic 3 is my own illustration (based on the Y2K “alter ego” cartoon style, ex. Prözzak);
•Pic 4 of the bottom is just a name collage with olive green nail polish.
My 11 year old plays bass and violin. We bought her an adorable used hybrid 1/4 bass which she is doing great with.
I’m expecting her to take a massive growth spurt in the next year or two but she is (probably) always going to be small. All the growth calculators predict a final height of around 5’3”.
I’m not planing to do an intermediate 1/2 bass for her since she will probably never be so big that the 1/4 will be unsuitable. When she reaches her full height we’ll start shopping for either a 3/4 on the petite side or a 5/8. Or I suppose if she never grows much we’ll try to find an unusually nice 1/2.
What I want to know is how much I should be saving up for this next bass. We’ll search used. She isn’t currently planning a music career (though she hasn’t ruled it out entirely). Most likely she will play through high school and maybe in undergrad orchestra as an elective and just hobby it after that. What’s a realistic and reasonable amount of (today’s) money I should be planning to set aside?
I’m also open to suggestions on models or features that we should be watching for when the time comes which are suitable for petit bassists. Her teacher isn’t much taller than she is and I’ve noticed that her bass is, while full sized, shaped with narrower shoulders than the other full sized basses that most of the older students play.
(USD - we live in the Midwest at the moment)
I am fairly new to upright bass (the bass guitarist, started to learn double bass June 2025). I’ve watched quite a few videos on this topic, but it still seems unclear to me. Could someone explain to me please?
My son is graduating university and moving from NY to Denver. He wants to bring his double bass. What is the best way to get it to Denver
I want to take a second to pay some respect to all of the classical bassists out there. I am a jazz bassist practicing classical technique to support my jazz playing. I am being humbled and defeated by the classical bass every day.
Those of you who are able to gracefully and effortlessly use the bow... I just don't know how you people do it. I'm fumbling so hard just with intermediate pieces. My back is tired. My hands are tired. It's as if my left hand forgets how it's supposed to work the minute my bow gets involved in anything remotely difficult. My intonation? Out the window. Out of habit, I keep using electric bass fingerings where I shouldn't be. It feels like my bow can never decide if it wants to grip the string or not, and I keep mixing up the bowings in the music... With the assistance of my teacher, I am slowly improving, but it is an arduous climb.
And nevermind playing solos. Solo pieces being difficult is one thing, but at least they highlight the skill of the bassist... No, what is truly commendable is that many of our fellow double bassists have to confront all of these hurdles and tame this beast of an instrument just for the sake of providing depth and support to large ensembles. It's lots of work for a very understated role. Your presence is felt, but you are usually not heard or focused on, so you are underappreciated by the general public and by your fellow musicians! It's sad, because the double bass has such a gorgeous sound... ESPECIALLY when someone very skilled is playing it with the bow. It does not deserve to be overlooked the way that it is. And I have to mention how much of a shame it is that most people do not realize just how difficult it is to play the double bass. Especially for those like me who are on the shorter side, this instrument can be so uncooperative and physically demanding even on the simplest of parts.
I have so much admiration for classical bassists and I really want to express it. So I want to appreciate you all right now. You guys are incredible!! I hope to attain even half the technique and patience that you possess during my journey to become a skilled jazz bassist. My respect goes out to you!
Not a musician, just an ordinary person who has fallen in love with and always is curious about the double bass. It's always the first thing I look for when I arrive at a concert.
And it’s not just about the grips, it's also about the seating plan. Do you prefer the Stokowski layout, where the basses sit behind the cellos, or the German layout, where you have your own section placed on the far left?
I posted recently about taking my first lesson aged 64. Here I am (after two lessons) with the bass orchestra on Royal Irish Academy of Music Bass Day (Sunday 3 May). I wasn't the oldest but I was certainly the least accomplished!
Hi everyone, I’m planning on flying to Canada from Texas for a festival this summer, and I’m planning on traveling with two German bows. My concern with how CITES regulations have changed recently, I’m not really sure if I should bring any documentation or even get a hard case for my bows. Has anyone had any trouble recently flying with a bow?
Update: I see some comments raising some concerns about the age and type of wood for my bow. For clarification, I have two pernambuco bows. One labeled: Otto Durschmidt, and Jose G. Bottoni they’re not relatively old I acquired both very recently from two different shops.
I need to buy a new used vehicle to fit my bass, amp (SWR Workingman 12), and (seasonally) festival, camping equipment. My now dead, elderly RAV4 could barely accommodate my stuff, so hopefully something with a little more space.
While I’d prefer to get a Ford Transit Connect—cargo or passenger—it doesn’t look like gas prices are coming down anytime soon. So, I’m considering a hybrid SUV. I bring my bass to a lot of festivals, where I camp, so bountiful cargo space is essential. Any recs from hybrid owners?
Just to clarify: I am not a musician, but I love deep-sounding instruments
Does size affect the projection of a double bass? Has anyone ever tried to test this connection or the lack thereof? As I see it, a shorter body means less tension in the strings - thus, less sonority. In effect, this is what I call the 'dangling effect'. Deeper body means that more time is required for a sound to form - thus, double basses are 'late'. So, the perfect double bass must be 1) (relatively) thinner; 2) quite tall. From my observations, standard 4/4 basses don't quite qualify these two conditions. They can be loud, but their sound quickly fades away. As a result, they can barely be heard in a standard symphony orchestra. And that's 4/4. By this logic, smaller sizes exacerbate this problem. And no, the loudness perceived by the player doesn't count, since it's not representative of how people in the audience perceive the sound of the instrument
Carleen Hutchins tried to fix problems and created a contrabass violin (as a part of a New Violin Family). This instrument literally looks like a giant violin. And it has a great projection. One problem: it's HUGE. Really UNWEILDY. It's a size of 5/4 bass, plus it has very high shoulders. Any small person probably cannot play this instrument.
Does this problem have any solution? Should we sacrifice projection for playability?
Hi all, does anyone have any recommendations/favorite contemporary pieces that use bass? Particularly interested in ones using some combination of strings but all recommendations are appreciated!