1) Lose the steel endpin....replace with wooden endpin. You will notice a difference right away re:tone of the bass. 2) Get the late Chuck Traegers' books on how to improve the sound of the double bass. Even just a few alterations will make a HUGE difference.
Jason - thank you so much for all of your valuable info and observations. Here is my contribution. I have students raise the bass so that the nut is just about an inch or two above their eye brow - seems to be similar to what you are saying. Then, in first or 1/2 position, with their middle finger, making a right angle with the strings, have them touch their nose. I have found a stool that while a little heavy but portable, is solid and less expensive than most. Odyssey DJCHAIR Adjustable Dj Chair - it is available on Amazon for about 100.00. I do carry it with me on all double bass gigs, jazz and orchestral. It assembles and adjusts easily and doesn't squeak (much). Keep up the good work - Bob
Have been playing for 10 years -- experimented this summer with moving my endpin down one notch, and it has been a complete game changer! Way less tension in the left shoulder for me.
Great info! I love that doggy!! My go to measurement for endpin length is I never go longer than my elbow and wrist distance. So I just put my arm to the end of the bass and I adjust the endpin from there. Sometimes I prefer shorter distance but I still experiment lol. Thanks for the video and keep up the amazing work as always!
"Volute" is the word you are looking for to describe the fat wart where your thumb goes at the nut. This lesson was an eye opener for me. I'm 5'8" and had my endpin far too high. I think the key to me understanding YOUR ideal position was watching where your head went when you relaxed into playing. It's different than the position of your head when you are narrating to the camera and saying where the volute should be in relation to your ear. When I watch and mimic that POSTURE when you relax into playing, rather than being in the preparatory posture, then I begin to find the right place for that fingerboard to be under my hand. The place where everything becomes accessible. Before that, I was only thinking about where I was holding it at rest and talking.
@@doublebasshq absolutely true. It's a little like being Goldilocks visiting The Three Bears. I'm always stretching for that moment when the double bass feels as natural to hold as an electric bass to me. I look and listen, adjust then try again. Dialing it in. :) Always appreciate your lessons Nathan, you're a great teacher. I looped this one on "the ideal" section many times last night to catch both what you were saying and what you were doing.
I was wondering what is the scale length of your bass? (as you tend to prefer having it set quite high when standing). Also the gap between the bridge and fingerboard differs from bass to bass. I'd say these 2 would be the key variables for me.
I really don't know what to do because I'm absolutely tiny (5'4) and I have a 3/4 size bass; even with my endpin completely retracted, the bass seems too tall for me to play without tension. Should I look at a 5/8 or even 1/2 size bass instead?
It sounds like a 5/8 bass might be a better fit for you. There are some great ones being made today. We’ve got a list of bass specialty shops at the bottom of this article-that might help with locating an option near you: doublebasshq.com/gear_posts/buying-a-double-bass/
Awww I'm about 5'2" going 5'3" and yea 3/4 is kinda giant size. Basically just like strangling my palm LOL And it's kinda hard to reach the bridge if the endpin is too low =( But I tried 5/8 and felt so odd about it. Maybe it just matter of time to suit myself into that sizing then, hmmm?
I use a collapsible classical guitar foot stand. Think I paid about $20 bucks for it a few years back. Fits flatly in my gig bag and always at the ready when traveling.
