sarah thomas

In fairness, solid wood is more liable to split than laminate. I'd be more concerned with the repair work - has it been repaired or just left as it is? Also, if button moon happens to be anywhere near Cardiff, I have a Boosey & Hawkes Artia that you're welcome to try. I might even sell it, although reluctantly. Then again, it would be good to have a KK baby bass ... I also have a German flatback you could try which is not for sale.

All sorted now, with the bridge rounded off a little to stop the strings chafing - £40.

I recently had an Alexander Technique session on carrying my double bass. I'd stand it (in its padded case) on its endpin, grab the handle nearest to me and heave it up, bending backwards in the process to clear the floor. (I'm 5'6") 'Why use that handle?' asked my teacher. 'Because it's nearest to my hand,'said I. 'What's that handle for?' She pointed to the handle lower down, nearer to the floor. Duh. Clearance no problem, back not contorting any more. The other thing I was doing was grabbing the handle in a grip that made a fist of my hand, when all I needed to do was make a hook shape with my fingers. After these revelations, I stood and talked for at least five minutes before realising that I was still carrying the bass. It was so much less effort that I hadn't even noticed. I didn't half feel stupid, though.

My husband plays drums to my double bass. At first, we were a tad over-sensitive to each other's remarks about our individual playing but now we just get on with it and have fun.

Geraldine is now at the luthier's and the buzz on the open G string is being caused by an unstable repair by the 'f' hole nearest to the E string. She's having the top of the bridge rounded off a bit as well so it doesn't rub on the strings as much. Phew! Mystery solved and not terribly expensive. And to add to the gloriousness of this sunny day, I have received a tax rebate.

Really interesting. Thanks for posting

Yes, Sir Julian is Mr Martin. I go to his improvisers' class on Monday evenings. But our paths must already have crossed as I was at the Ballamy/Warren gig. Wonderful stuff and so amazing when the phone started ringing and Iain Ballamy turned the interruption into a moment of glory by incorporating it into his improvisation. And the Lloyd Haines Quartet - first jazz gig I've been to where there was an impromptu sing along!

Small wad of foil - still buzzing. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Sadly, I won't be going as I will be taking in words of wisdom from his jazzness, Sir Julian.

....interesting that when the G is tuned to an A the problem goes away . I think that this may be a tension issue ...are the replacement strings much lower tension than before? . The strings she came with were steel. The A and D were Spirocore reds but I don't know what the others were. The G unravelled quite spectacularly when I took it off. They've been replaced with Innovations Ultra Blacks, so I don';t think they are that much lower.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1360607589' post='1973303'] Sorry, mate, but I would have been at the luthier's by now. [/quote] Thursday's the first day we could both do.

Monday 4th March at Dempseys in Cardiff - Osian Roberts on tenor saxophone with basschatter Mark Trounson on bass, Lloyd Haines on drums and David Ferris on piano. Top stuff!

Hello there. Back on the case of the mysterious rattle n buzz this morning - First, I'd like to make it clear that I bought the bass knowing that some work was needed, and the original fingerboard shoot was part of that first batch of work. It just took me a month to find a double bass luthier who did work for jazzers, like wot I want to be. So - The bridge seems to be seated properly. I tap it backwards a bit when changing strings too. The feet are so flat against the top that I can't slide a cigarette paper under them. The back of the bridge isn't perpendicular but is very nearly so. 92 degrees maybe. The front has more of an angle - about 95 degrees, as you say. One feels they should add up to 180, but hey. The groove for the string on the bridge is 1.5 mm at most and everything seeems to fit snugly. In profile, the flat bit at the top of the bridge is about 3mm in the centre, moving out to 4mm at the edges. Maybe it needs rounding? Pete Tyler recommends no less than 4mm, otherwise the angle over the bridge is too sharp, causing the casing of the string to separate and fracture. This seems to be happening to the D string. Gah! Interesting read on fingerboards. The fingerboard is allegedly pearwood which the luthier thought was okay, better than poor quality ebony at any rate. There is a tapered dip to the fingerboard and when I pressed the string down at the end of the fingerboard, the gap between the fingerboard and the string was widest just before the first octave harmonic, with a measurement of 3mm. So that seems okay! Really interesting to find out about too - thanks. I thought I'd buy a chinagraph pencil. Crikey. It seems they are now called tile markers. The local hardware shop had never heard of them. B&Q supposedly had them in a tile pack but on closer examination of the pack, the tile markers had all disappeared. Topp Tiles finally came up with the goods. Then I realised that I don't really understand what I'm supposed to do with the marker. I don't have a kitchen table. I have a drum kit where the table used to be. So Geraldine and I lay down on the floor together and I peered along her string length. I couldn't see any obvious lumps or bumps but I could make out the tapered dip quite nicely so thought I must be getting a fairly accurate impression. I laid her on her side and had another look. Still all looking good. Just to try, I marked the underside of the G string with the tile marker and played it, open and in various positions - noting the position. No marks on the fingerboard. Anyway, this is all new to me and a real education. Many thanks to you both. I'll see Mike (luthier) on Thursday so hopefully all this information will help wtih a diagnosis.It's certainly helped me to learn a lot more about my bass. Maybe it's that bridge...

I had these strings last August. I think Jimryan said he wasn't interested any longer, so then they would have gone to Markus, which rings a bell. I have searched my message box, but there is nothing there relating to these strings, unlike all the other sets I tried. Sorry I can't be more definite.

I posted them on to Gary (Rudders) last month. He said he had received them (11th Jan) but had the flu so hadn't tried them out. As far as I know, that's where they are.

Thank you very much. I'll have a look at all those things this evening and report back.

Here's Michael Camino playing his bass while lying down - <iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10152518625570321" width="1280" height="720" frameborder="0"></iframe>

No discernible play in the other tuners. No cables, no pick-ups (she is very loud on her own!) No humidifier. Ahah! Tuning the string to a different note: buzzes at F sharp, and G. Buzzes less at G sharp and no buzz I can hear at A. What next, oh wise one?

Have just tried a different string. Still buzzes. I have a feeling it's something to do with the bridge. Any ideas?

Sorry - wrong forum - been to the shop and cooked sausage and eggs while writing this. Please move to Double bass forum! Please help. This is the story so far: 20 October. Bought Geraldine from the lovely Keith in Harrogate. 20 November (ish) off to the luthier for fingerboard shoot, new endpin, new bridge and new soundpost. 20 December. Home for Christmas! 6 January New strings 6 February. Open G string suddenly started buzzing like a chainsaw. Fifth stop G on D string has no buzz. Now, she's an old bass, German flatback, probably not been played with any regularity for years. This is what I've tried so far, to no avail: Shimmed nut under G string. Restrung G string so it's well away from the sides of the pegbox. Extended the endpin. Tapped on the top of the bridge. Checked the machine heads. Put a sock in it - under the tailpiece and then under the tailpiece wire. Tapped along the bass bar Looked for open seams and cracks. Is there anything else I can try before I take her back to the luthier?

It's MEEEE!!!! That is so wonderful. I'm reet chuffed, me. Thankyou very much.

He also says things like 'interesting note choices there' and 'there were some interesting ideas in that line'. Mmmm .... interesting.

Do we have a competition winner? I saw Rob's book at a mutual friend's but didn't have chance for more than a flick-through. I happily accept Julian's endorsement of it as 'really well written and very interesting'.

I've heard of Mary Condliffe through another forum member but have never heard her play. I believe she plays with the Welsh National Opera. Do you know if she's a jazzer at all?

I have no experience of an adjustable bridge. I was thinking of having one fitted but my luthier advised against it, saying that they tend to slip. I want a big, warm sound and having lessons from an Alexander Technique teacher has helped enormously with this. The way I brought my left hand up to the neck was tensing my shoulder muscle and in turn, deadening the sound and making me ache after a while. Now when my shoulder starts to ache at least I know why! So I'm happy with my fixed bridge.