Double Bass Questions before I start a build

zorgzorg2

zorgzorg2

Aug 3, 2019
194
606
5,391
45
Norrköping, Sweden
#1
Hi all,

I'm new to this part of the forum, I usually hang out on the BG LC...

My son is playing the double bass now, and is soon in need of a 3/4 DB. He plays both classical, jazz and folklore music. He asked me if I could build this for him...

I have build some electric guitars and basses, and do have some woodworking skills and tools (including a 1.2m cnc), so I felt ready to accept the challenge. I know it will take time, but what do you guys say? Is it hard? Are there plans anywhere I can use? A quick Google search didn't give me any results for free plans...
 
#3
My wife went to violin-making school. Building a fiddle is challenging. She started building a cello. Joining the plates to the level of precision was INCREDIBLY challenging, and she abandoned it, and built a viola instead. Building a bass - as your first violin-family instrument?

Good luck. It CAN be done, but I guarantee it will not be quick or inexpensive (not that you said you expected either.) And no guarantee the end product will approach the quality of what you could readily purchase in terms of a moderately-priced carved or hybrid.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zorgzorg2
#4
I'd highly recommend reading the threads posted here in TB/DB by @Ned Smith, who is at this point probably mid-way in building his first double bass with help from a number of our resident luthiers. A Forums >> Search Forums >> for threads by him by name in the Double Bass forums will show you his threads. His journey is / has been similar to the one you're considering.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zorgzorg2 and JBarz
#6
zorgzorg2 said:
Hi all,

I'm new to this part of the forum, I usually hang out on the BG LC...

My son is playing the double bass now, and is soon in need of a 3/4 DB. He plays both classical, jazz and folklore music. He asked me if I could build this for him...

I have build some electric guitars and basses, and do have some woodworking skills and tools (including a 1.2m cnc), so I felt ready to accept the challenge. I know it will take time, but what do you guys say? Is it hard? Are there plans anywhere I can use? A quick Google search didn't give me any results for free plans...
Click to expand...
You're better off time and money wise renting from a bass shop and getting lessons from a proper teacher to see how it goes with your son. Very few solid-body luthier skills transfer to violin/viol family instruments.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zorgzorg2
#7
If you want to become a double bass builder, by all means get some wood and start working away on it while you learn. If you main goal is the cost of a double bass, get a job at a fast food restaurant and you will be able to purchase a nice bass for about 15% of the time and emotional investment of building one. Is your goal to buy a bass for a day or learn to build basses for a lifetime???
 
  • Like
Reactions: zorgzorg2
#8
I am not a luthier and I would barely consider myself a competent upright bass player. I do get to spend a lot of time asking my (extremely gracious) luthier questions when he works on all my stringed instruments (guitars, banjos, a mandolin and double basses).

His answers (which come from years of experience and research) and most of the concepts he explains are simple to understand…but the tools are many (and expensive) and the tasks required look super difficult and time consuming to me.

I LOVE the threads where people share their work, questions, struggles and solutions. I thought this one might be of some interest to you:


Good luck whichever way you decide to go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zorgzorg2
#9
Thanks again for all you precious comments!

So regarding having a bass to play: no worries here. My son is taking lessons at the local music school and the teaching fee includes the hiring of an instrument. So he has what he needs to play at the moment.
However, as you can imagine, it's just a decent Chinese instrument. He now plays a 1/2 bass but has grown so he is going to switch to 3/4 soon.
So I was wondering if I could make something of reasonable quality for him to play. I'm perfectly aware that making a very good instrument, at least in the violin family, takes decades of learning and practice, but that's not what I am after. If my son decides to go professional, we'll have to buy a bass from a master luthier.
I'm more after making a student-level instrument, and I wonder if I can do it. I have moderate woodworking skills and tools.
But I will check out the links here and do some reading to start with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: T_Bone_TL
#11
I'd suggest that what will be best for you son would be a bass that is easy to play and sounds good - the best you can get within your budget. I'd also suggest that whatever you build - including all the love and good intentions that go into it - would be unlikely to satisfy those 2 criteria.

Reminds me of a guitar our fiddler/guitarist's brother made for her. An absolutely beautiful looking instrument, with nice wood (except for the top), bone and antler inlays... The only wee problem? It plays and sounds like crap! Even after she had the setup completely redone and then retweaked by a total pro.

Now, she gets SOME appreciation out of having this work of love from her brother. But it does not get played. It just sits in the beautiful tweed case she bought for it.

I could imagine it being disappointing if you spent considerable time and money building a bass, and your son ended up with something that played and sounded worse than his section mates' $2-3k hybrids (or even a good ply). And then, if you end up buying/renting a different bass for him to play, you've got a big old piece of furniture lying around...
 
  • Like
Reactions: salcott
#12
It sounds to me like building a bass is an itch you feel the need to scratch. I say go for it! Why not? The worst that can happen is that you fail to build anything but have the answer to if you can do it. "So you want to make a double bass"by Peter Chandler is the best book on the subject that I know about. I don't agree with everything in that book, but it's pretty good and you can get plans for several different models. Books on violin making will help a lot, I especially recommend the series by Henry Strobel. Good luck, and post lots of pictures!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back