So while 5 string Double Basses are becoming more common due to the improvements they made in the setup, I figured out a really cool way we could make the Lower notes speak more clearly is w/ a "Hole in the Heart Surgery". I got that idea from a "Hole in the Heart Violin to Viola Conversion" developed by Heikki Puukko and Pentii Nevalainen in Finland. It revolutionized teaching the Viola to Smaller kids by allowing Smaller Violas to sound "Beefier" & also allowed the possibility of Converting Violins into Violas by restringing them as Violas & using a "Hole in the Heart Surgery". It's based on an instrument called the "Crwth" in which the 2 Bridge feet are different Lengths. The Short Treble Bridge foot rests on the soundboard, & the Long Bass Bridge foot that goes down the Bass Sound Hole & rests directly on the Back. The Hole in the heart Violin to Viola Conversion (as will the Hole in the Heart Double Bass) does the same thing but in an inverted manner, the Bass Bridge foot rests on the soundboard, the Treble bridge foot is connected to the soundpost, it goes down the hole & rests directly on the back.
Fractional sized instruments (both Small Violins & Small Violas) just don't have enough air volume to resonate under lower tension strings without sounding weak & "tinny". Essentially, the function of the soundboard, between the action of the treble bridge foot and the soundpost is bypassed, this has the effect of reducing the amplitude of higher frequency resonances, and gives the lower registers greater sonority, a quality that was previously impossible with the much smaller student violas.
So this is a Primavera 3/4 Size Student Violin that was converted into a 13 inch Viola via hole-in-the-heart surgery & stringing it w/ D'addario Ascente Extra Short Scale Medium Tension Viola Strings (A410 XSM)
According to this chart, here's how the instrument sounded before the surgery
And here's what it sounds like after the surgery.
It's great how this technique works w/ Violin & Viola, why not apply that to Double Bass (especially 5 string Double Bass)? What we'd do is take a Double Bass, then we drill a hole that's the size of the soundpost below the Treble Bridge foot, connect the Treble Bridge foot to the soundpost, so that it would go down the hole & rest directly on the back & have the Higher Frequencies transmitted to the back, which would then give the Lower Registers a greater sonority. It'll also reduce the string downward force by Half which will eliminate soundpost cracks.
Fractional sized instruments (both Small Violins & Small Violas) just don't have enough air volume to resonate under lower tension strings without sounding weak & "tinny". Essentially, the function of the soundboard, between the action of the treble bridge foot and the soundpost is bypassed, this has the effect of reducing the amplitude of higher frequency resonances, and gives the lower registers greater sonority, a quality that was previously impossible with the much smaller student violas.
So this is a Primavera 3/4 Size Student Violin that was converted into a 13 inch Viola via hole-in-the-heart surgery & stringing it w/ D'addario Ascente Extra Short Scale Medium Tension Viola Strings (A410 XSM)
According to this chart, here's how the instrument sounded before the surgery
And here's what it sounds like after the surgery.
It's great how this technique works w/ Violin & Viola, why not apply that to Double Bass (especially 5 string Double Bass)? What we'd do is take a Double Bass, then we drill a hole that's the size of the soundpost below the Treble Bridge foot, connect the Treble Bridge foot to the soundpost, so that it would go down the hole & rest directly on the back & have the Higher Frequencies transmitted to the back, which would then give the Lower Registers a greater sonority. It'll also reduce the string downward force by Half which will eliminate soundpost cracks.
