The 16th annual spring seminar for violinmakers will take place on May 3rd at Notts, UK.
It is attended by about 180 people from all over the UK comprising students, professional and amateur makers. Its a great day to meet up with people in the ‘trade’ and make new contacts, as well as being a lot of fun. You can listen to interesting lectures, have a wonderful lunch and shop at the many trade stands selling everything for the violinmaker.
Fingerboard extensions are very common in the USA, but become more and more popular in Europe, too. They have a couple of advantages over a 5-string bass, can get fitted to any 4-string bass and if they are well made, it’s reversible.
My friend Giorgio Pianzola, bass maker from Bern/Switzerland, has published a comprehensive guide how to calculate the length of an extension very exactly.
Visit www.kontrabassblog.ch for further reading (it starts in German – scroll down for English translation).
In 1948, a female bass player has still been something remarkable. “A lovely California blonde makes a career out of a fat old viol” wrote LIFE magazine (issue July 5, 1948) about former Los Angeles symphony bass player (and part-time Hollywood actor) Helen Perry. Read the complete article and issue at Google books.
If you need a new Soundpost for a double bass, you usually take the already existing Soundpost for reference, and make the new one slightly longer or shorter, whatever you need in particular. While the proper length is not that difficult to measure inside the bass, the correct angle of the Soundpost’s bottom and top flat sides are always hard to guess, and a matter of time consuming trial and error. Of course, you can get the angle from the outside of the top and the back, but it’s difficult to find the exact position and the plates themselves aren’t always parallel, so the outsides only give you a rough idea of the angles.
I had some time during the Christmas holidays, so I’ve built my own measuring tool which will hopefully save me some time in future. The shaft is a aluminum tube of 10 mm diameter. On one end, I glued on a steel ball with epoxy. On the other side, I inserted a brass thread and a screw (M8) for length adjustment, again with a steel ball glued on.
Then, I put magnet rings on both steel balls. The power of magnetism holds them firmly on the balls, but will allow the to follow the curvature and angle of back and top smoothly – that’s the key idea of this device. With some sandpaper, I’ve dulled the balls’ surface, in order to prevent the magnets from moving too easily. I now set the device to the guessed length of the upcoming soundpost, set it into position inside the bass and re-adjust the length if needed. The magnets are much slippier than soundpost wood is, so I glued on fine sandpaper. Once the device has the proper length at the correct position, I remove the device carefully (so that the magnets stay in their position). For inserting and extracting the device, I use a fixed bent wire instead of the S-shaped soundpost setter tool – but this still needs some improvement. Besides this, it’s pretty cool. Transfering the angles to the soundpost is still a little tricky, but much better than guesswork.
The International bouble bass masterclasses “Giovanni Bottesini” will take place between January, 8. and May, 24. 2014 at the Music Conservatory of Lugano (Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana).
Thanks to our guests Professors: Klaus Stoll, Timothy Cobb, Hans Roelofsen, Gabriele Ragghianti, Michael Klinghoffer, Diego Zecharies. The Lessons are reserved for the students of the Conservatory, auditors are welcome and participation is completely free.
www.bassmasterclass.wix.com/giovannibottesini
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Not really double bass related, but if you ever come to Germany’s capitol city Berlin, check out what’s up at Piano Salon Christophori, if you (like me) love old instruments.
Founded by Christoph Schreiber, it’s a piano workshop specialized in old concert grand pianos, and a location where unique concerts and recordings take place. Christoph Schreiber (who is also a doctor by profession) and his team are specialists for restoring these old treasures, and take care of the original design of the pianos. The workshop is located in an old factory hall at Berlin-Wedding, and crowded with tools and old pianos waiting for rastauration … and the audience sits within, which is really a unique atmosphere. Their concerts range from classical to Jazz, and despite the fact that the musicians are top-notch, the entrance is free (you tip what you want).
Type: piezo
Mode: active
Preamp: incl.
similar to the Wilson pickup, but mounted to the bridge leg; comes with preamp built into the jack.
The preamp is rechargeable within seconds and doesn’t need a battery permanently.
Ranaan Meyer has recently published a new issue of his magazin “The Next Level Bassist” with articles by Sarah Hogan of the St. Louis Symphony and John Patitucci, legendary jazz bassist, and a spotlight on the Pittsburgh Symphony bass section.
In order to read this magazine online, you need to register, but it’s free of charge.
Double Bassist Carter Callison likes to work with different tunings on the double bass. He has developed a Double Bass Retuning Pedal, which allows him to change the tuning of his bass while he plays:
Double Bass Retuning Pedals (a.k.a. “Scordatura Pedals”) have gone from being a simple DIY project in my garage to becoming a key element in my PhD research. After my original handmade prototype showed potential, I began the tedious process of developing CAD drawings with a design company in South Carolina in order to transform my basic idea into a nuanced product that can handle vigorous professional use. Now that the CAD drawings are done, I am at a critical stage where a lack of funds has put a hold on what I believe is an important project for the development of the double bass. The funds that I am requesting will allow for the manufacture of a professional quality prototype which will allow me to continue my research at the Royal Academy of Music.