Maintenance, set up and repair of DBs

[MandShef]

Hello knowledgeable bass folk! I was wondering where you get your info on maintenance, set up and repair of double basses. In all the years I've been playing, I've learnt plenty about playing, but info on the actual instrument seems thin on the ground. I've been gradually picking stuff up from forums like this, but I'd love a more in depth resource. Spotted this book on amazon:

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Setup-Repair-Double-Optimum-Sound/dp/1892210061/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=B09NYWCPPF2P&coliid=I3UPA7Q2KSMXUK"]http://www.amazon.co...=I3UPA7Q2KSMXUK[/url]

But, it's over £80! There must be some more affordable resources out there? Where did you guys learn your stuff? I'm just starting out as a teacher, and I feel that it's going to be important to improve my knowledge of instrument set up, as well as make sure my performance knowledge is up to scratch, so I can be the best teacher I can be.

Thanks in advance!

[ubassman]

Chucks book is an excellent resource and I recently got a copy (via Beedster on BC - many thanks again Chris! ). I have been repairing and setting up basses for a good while now and theres some great 'luthiers secrets' in there - but perhaps its a bit over the top ( and expensive ) unless you are wanting to throw yourself into the world of doing full on repairs.

There are so many variables in a good set up that getting it right is a study in its own right and is unfortunately bass specific. To make matters worse , luthiers don't readily like to give away their trade secrets ( puts them out of work !!) Many will religiously take dimensions and build up a knowledge bass by bass, of what works and its easy to see that it becomes a craft built up over time and therefore precious.

Theres lots to go at in getting a good set up. Externally, problems can be inter-related and there are no shortcuts in gaining experience to figure whether the solution lies in making adjustments to the fingerboard, bridge, nut, tailpiece, saddle, or sound post . Then there are playability matters such string heights, string separation , curvature of the bridge and players preferences to graft into the idea of a set up for the player . Then there are more technical matters of opening the bass up and repairing cracks and splits, planing the top to thin it out so it resonates better, replacing a cracked or old bass bar, etc, which are not really repairs but will enhance the sound ( and arguably part of 'set up' ? ) of the bass.

Chuck's book is about the best resource that there is and if you are near Bakewell anytime your more than welcome to have a peek !

Other than that there http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f3/ which is great background.

[MandShef]

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1368443550' post='2077021']
Chucks book is an excellent resource and I recently got a copy (via Beedster on BC - many thanks again Chris! ). I have been repairing and setting up basses for a good while now and theres some great 'luthiers secrets' in there - but perhaps its a bit over the top ( and expensive ) unless you are wanting to throw yourself into the world of doing full on repairs.

Chuck's book is about the best resource that there is and if you are near Bakewell anytime your more than welcome to have a peek !

Other than that there [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f3/"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f3/[/url] which is great background.
[/quote]

Thanks for that. No, I'm not wanting to get into doing repairs (I'd be too nervous of doing damage to someone's bass!). But, I would like to be able to look at a student's bass (& my own) and be able to give confident, knowledgeable advice, and be able to make minor adjustments e.g. if their bridge is out of position etc. I guess I'll have to see if I can find the book cheaper 2nd hand. In the meantime I'll check out the talkbass setup/repair forum.

Bakewell isn't far from me, so it'd be great to meet an expert in the area at some point. Are you a luthier or is it a hobby? I ask because I recently got mine back after 9 months of restoration, and it's still not right yet. The finger board is too thin to shoot any more (so I guess at some point I'll need to save up for a new one), and the combination of imperfect fingerboard and the strings being set too low (maybe I need a new bridge too?) is resulting in an annoying buzz when I play low G. I had a concert at the weekend, where we played Mission Impossible, and it was so frustrating not being able to really go for that low G for fear of buzzing (I already have a string raiser under the E string, which helps but doesn't resolve it)! As you can imagine, having waited 9 months for it's return I'm a bit peeved that it's still not set up quite right!

[Basstroker]

Hi! - Yes, Chuck Traeger's book is excellent - but expensive. A very good webpage of Gerald Dallhammer from Austria (he is not a prof. luthier but works very well) is: [url="http://www.kontrabassbau.at/menue.html"]http://www.kontrabassbau.at/menue.html[/url] , unfortunately (for my British friends) in German but the photos tell a lot. - Best, Thomas

Edited May 13, 2013 by Basstroker

[MandShef]

[quote name='Basstroker' timestamp='1368463704' post='2077400']
Hi! - Yes, Chuck Traeger's book is excellent - but expensive. A very good webpage of Gerald Dallhammer from Austria (he is not a prof. luthier but works very well) is: [url="http://www.kontrabassbau.at/menue.html"]http://www.kontrabassbau.at/menue.html[/url] , unfortunately (for my British friends) in German but the photos tell a lot. - Best, Thomas
[/quote]
Thank you! You can set it so Google translates the page into English, so v useful