So my Oma (grandmother) had acquired this from a house she sold many years back and had had it in her home up until last night. She had offered to give me a “viola that needs a new home” back in July, and I finally took up the offer last night, searching for this viola in the upstairs room she said it was in. Lo and behold, it was not a viola, but was in fact a double bass, now in my possession. I intend to learn it and start playing, though the bow seems… to be in bad condition. What should I do here? Cut the loose ends? Get it repaired? Buy a new one? Any help would be appreciated here, thank you!

My son has been playing viola since 3rd grade. He does pretty good but he isnt taking private instruction or anything. His teacher said at the highschool there are 3 orchestras 1) is kind of just for fun with no auditions 2) has auditions and its more serious 3) has auditions and is basically for kids who take private lessons. She said he would be in the 2nd group likely.

He is in 7th grade now. He was playing his friends bass in school and said he liked it and was thinking about switching.

In his grade there are 7-9 viola players and only 1 bass.

In his school most kids play cello until 6th grade then they switch to bass if they are going that route.

Most of the grades have b/t 1-3 bass players.

Any thoughts on is this is feasible or not, I know its physically different from what he is used to and its a different clef as well.

Hi guys, I'm new to arco and have a bad student bow. I want to get one that'll get me going on learning to play arco. My budget will stretch to £300 and preferably French bow. I live in the Scottish Highlands where there are no bass bows for sale locally so I'm going to bank on your recommendations and buy one online :)

Its a hard song to play with double bass?

Hello everyone,

I live in Europe and I want to fly with Finnair with the double bass, but I can't find prices.

Has anyone flown with this airline with their instrument?

The flight itself would be a single, non-stop flight to Helsinki.

Thanks and hugs to all colleagues!

PS - I couldn't find a more appropriate flair for this post...

I’ve been thinking about switching to German bow. I have nerve damage in both my hands so I think German bow would be a bit easier on them. I’ve played German bows before and I liked how they felt.

I’m just wondering what experiences people have with switching to German Bow from French. Thanks!

I’m hearing a lot of people say condenser mic’s, also heard ribbons mic’s are too dull. I really don’t know much about mics could someone help.

Why do German orchestras have the basses stage left, behind 1st violins? Is it just tradition, or is there an advantage to it?

Hey y'all, I just recently got back into playing standup bass, and I'm having some trouble with pain in my left hand. It can get so bad that I have to take a break after only a few minutes of playing, so I want to figure out how to deal with it.

I think part of the problem is that I struggle to keep my fingers arched in thumb position? But I don't think that's the whole issue. I think I'm pressing into the string too hard -- I've heard people talk about putting your body weight into the string to combat that, but I'm honestly not sure how to do that, especially so high on the fingerboard.

Does anyone have any advice on how to rectify all of this? All my attempts to have only seemed to make it worse. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Have any of you set up a kick drum pedal to hit the body of your bass so you can add bass “drum” to a guitar / bass duo? Do you know of anyone who has done this? All I get when I search is information about double bass drum pedal setups.

Looking for a new bass and found a hybrid (ply back) that I really like (I tried one) from a brand that mass produces DB. When asked if there was a big difference between the fully carved and hybrid version of the same bass, the luthier that resells those basses told me that besides the obvious physical differences, the hybrid projects better and has a more focused tone and the fully carved has a richer tone, with more overtones. Hybrid better for pizz, carved for arco. I'm looking to have a better DB to work on my arco skills, coming from an all-ply DB I think either are a big step up, but he mentioned the hybrid has less dynamic range, harder to graduate the volume (pp, mf, ff..). It's the first time I heard about this, despite having researched online the several general differences between hybrid and carved. I was kind of set on the hybrid version because I can take it wherever I want without stressing about climate changes, and also because it is considerably cheaper and more versatile, but now I wonder if it really is the better choice.

Have you guys heard about/had this experience?

im open to playing cello music as well

some of the pieces my orchestras have played in the past year are

• dvorak’s ninth symphony /the new world symphony
• millenium by richard meyer
• symphony no 9 mvt 4 Beethoven
• hungarian dance no 5 brahms
• don giovanni overture
• bach’s concerto 3. allegro (played the cello part)

adventure on bainbridge island by alan lee silva

i really like songs that alternate between really dark heavy and rhythmic and also like light and flowwy (wannabe violin lol not but i do also play violin i just dont like it as much) ( ngl i also want some long notes to show of my vibrato bc ive been working rlly hard on it) ( and also shifting stuff bc ive been working my ass of for that bc i have tiny hands that cannot reach an e and f# in first position without shifting a bit down and yeah ik shifting is a pain in my ass but like it looks so cool when my friends film it during concerts and stuff lol)

and ghe recital is for all graduating music students as a last hurrah (and 30% of our grade lol) and the audience is gonna be like at least 500 of the junior music students and faculty members, alumni, etc.

and the bass section took a really big hit during covid with a gap so i didnt have any seniors after 9th grade so the bass section was kinda forgotten and i hadta lead my section with zero experience so as the first chair bassist for the last 3 years ( thank god it picked up and now we have 12 total across 4 grades) i really do gotta step up and perform smth thatll inspire the juniors to stay and like prove that were ok even tho we didnt have guidance lol

sorry for the typos it wont let me correct mistakes without deleting everything up till the mistake then retyping

I have to play this exact tune on bass as the first chorus of a big band chart. What can I do as far technique, gear and eq rk come xlosem

So I’m working on a solo full of double stops and chords in the higher register. And my main issue is that I just don’t have the right muscles, or rather I’ve never used that muscle in my entire life, because it’s freaking useless for anything else! Aaaanyway I was wondering if y’all had any suggestions for how to get stronger so my shoulder isn’t as sore after. I can only practice for a little at a time and it’s problematic. Also any tips on making double stops sound nice in general would be greatly appreciated :) The piece I’m currently working on is called “The Singer” by Xavier Foley for anyone wondering!

My rubber pad to a c- extension (Eb twisty thingy to be exact) lever is only half there. What can I replace it with? Does it have to be a specific rubber?

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Just bought a like new Shen. I had a Thompson that I had to sell last year in an emergency. With it went my Hercules stand along with other extras I wish I had kept, but I was trying to move it quickly and can as much as I could.

I only tried leaning it in the corner once overnight before getting a stand. It rubbed some drywall off and put rub marks on the bass.

I know the best way is facing the corner, but is it best to lean against upper, lower or both upper and lower bouts?

I know not to let the neck or any part of the head touch.

Is there anything I can put on the wall that won't damage the drywall paint if I need to remove it and still protect the bass.

Hi all. Here's some context that give some background, but not necessary for my question. My (high) school has a jazz program and bass is the position I'm auditioning for. I have an electric P bass as a backup option. The school nor myself have an upright. I'm considering communication with our boosters (provide funds for all bands in the school) to purchase an upright. If I were to purchase one for myself, I'd use it after high school for whatever reason. Here's my question, are there any plastic uprights (other than carbon fiber) that sound reasonably well, that I can purchase for myself as a high school student?

I'm looking for some "bloom" to the notes.

Has anybody ordered from The Bass Rosin Store (bassrosin.com) lately? I've used them to get fresh pops in the past, but it looks like they've changed the ordering process and their payment process somehow feels less legit than before. Thanks y'all.

I’ve always flown Southwest Airlines due to their easy and affordable check-in for basses (I have always checked in under the plane with a Stevenson flight trunk).

Today at the airport I learned they updated their musical instrument policy and no longer charge a flat rate of $75 for checking a bass- it now qualifies as oversize & overweight so the fee is now $200 each way.

For those who have previously purchased seats for their basses on Southwest- they’ve also added a clause saying double basses are not allowed in a seat.

The final straw is they now also state they are not responsible for any damage to the instrument during transit.

For comparison- JetBlue says there is no additional charge for checking a bass, even if it is oversize/overwieght (as long as it’s under 150linear inches). They also state they will cover damages if it is checked in a hard case.

Goodbye Southwest.

Hi all I'm once again coming with a pain related question.

Often this muscle in my left hand ends up being strained/ tiring out.

I'm trying to really focus on using the least amount of pressure but I'm wondering if its a strength thing? Usually when people complain of left hand pain it's more to do with collapsed knuckles or pushing too hard with the thumb but for me it's mainly just this part of the hand.

It's especially tough for me when doing 2nd to 4th finger trills or 5th or octave finger shapes. I also play bass guitar and this can sometimes even become an issue on that instrument (although less frequently)

Anyways should I just stop until the muscle is completely safe (I don't know if it's swollen or just larger but it's definitely bigger than the one on my right hand) or is this a muscle I need to keep building?