By David Gage
I am often asked to evaluate an upright bass that someone is thinking of purchasing, and while this seems like an obvious, simple question, it usually has a complex answer. Besides the instrument’s general condition, there is nothing absolute about it. While the condition of the instrument is important, ultimately it comes down to the feel of the bass and access to the notes. Basically, does it feel right for you?
Where the bass’s sound is concerned, follow your heart, but give yourself a fair chance to fall in or out of love with it. The instrument’s feel is also important. By this I mean how the instrument feels under your fingers and how it responds to being played. Two important factors to think about when considering an instrument’s feel are string length, and the neck’s curve where it joins the body.
String Length
The distance between the nut and bridge determine the mensure, or string length. In general, the longer the string length, the louder the bass. If the strings feel too loose, the notes may be slow to develop. (The E string is the most likely string to manifest slow note development.) If the strings feel too tight, they may not sustain and may be difficult to start with a bow. Check that the sound and string tension are even from top to bottom. Uneven string tension could mean that the neck is set out of line.
When playing the upright, your left-hand fingers become your frets, and the string length dictates how far apart your fingers must be in order to play in tune. When considering an instrument, check to see if you can play the low F on the E string with your 1st finger and a 5th above (C) on the A string without taking your finger off the F. It’s difficult enough to play without unnecessary problems, so you must be able to play in tune without too many physical impediments. Once the string length exceeds 43" it starts to become unplayable for most players.
I’m often asked to shorten an upright’s string length. This can be accomplished in one of three ways: The nut can be moved toward the bridge by extending it into the fingerboard; the bridge can be moved up toward the nut; or a shorter neck can be made and set deeper into the block. Each of these changes affects the notes’ relationship to the physical “landmarks.” Shortening the string length can make an instrument more playable, but each of these solutions has potential problems. When extending the nut, the notes are moved toward the bridge, changing the location of the notes relative to the neck butt-stop. This means that the player’s arm has to reach farther over the upper bout to reach thumb-position notes. If the bridge is moved toward the nut, the notes’ position on the fingerboard will move toward the nut, making thumb position access easier. However, moving the bridge can greatly affect the tone and feel of the bass and is rarely a good solution. Extending the nut and moving the bridge up the same amount will keep the neck butt-stop position the same, but usually the best way to shorten the string length is to install a new neck. A new neck will facilitate the exact stops and string lengths deemed optimal for each particular instrument.
In general, changing an instrument’s string length can be successfully accomplished only if done within the parameters of the instrument’s original size. The string length should be approximately the same length as the body’s top plate—more or less depending on the location of the ƒ-holes.
A big 7/8-size bass will not necessarily be easier to play if the string length is shortened to a 3/4-size length. The shoulders will be more difficult to reach over, and it may be impossible to keep the same neck butt-stop without removing too much wood. Besides, it just won’t sound or feel the same.
D or E
Neck? The location of the crook of the neck butt and the upper bout shoulders in relation to the string length is critical. There are two neck types; the crook of the neck butt determines whether the instrument has a
D or
E neck. Many top professionals who have played the same bass for years are not clear as to what constitutes a
D or
E neck. That’s fine—until they want to buy a second bass that feels like the one they have been playing for years. To determine the instrument’s neck type, slide your thumb down the back of the neck until it stops at the crook (
Fig. 1). The note on the
G string that is directly opposite your thumb (on the fingerboard side) indicates the neck type. It should be either a
D or an
E. If it is neither, then the bass has a very unusual neck and therefore will be more difficult to play and difficult to sell.
The ratio of
D necks to
E necks is approximately one to one. Neither is better than the other, but most players don’t like to have basses with different neck butt-stops. Some proponents of the
E neck feel they have better access to thumb position with their thumb a half-step closer to the octave on the
G string. Some who play a
D neck feel they can better reference good intonation by using the crook to find the
D on the
G string, located one octave above the open
D. From a luthier’s perspective, it’s important to not only create the neck butt-stop at the correct location, but to also have the same-shaped curve going into the butt when carving a new neck. The thickness and shape of the back of the neck greatly influences the player’s sense of where the stop lies.
Luthier to the brightest lights of upright bass, New York City’s David Gage invites your upright-bass questions at eppis@aol.com.