Meet 37 - August 2005
Date: 22 August 19:00
Venue: School for the Performing Arts, Kensington
Present: Wynand Jacobs, Ruan Le Roux, Gregory Moonsammy, Moses Roman, Jason Green, Philip Raath, Nippy Cripwell, Gerhard Kok, Dave Askes, Quinton Askes, Miles Askes, Schalk Naude, John Rautenbach, Mike Brown, Trevor Muller, Julian Udeman, Johann Kruger, Johannes van Heerden
Apologies: Martin Simpson, Kerry Hiles, Concord Nkabinde, Dawie Beukes
Thanks to Jason Green for supplying the venue for the double bass workshop by John Rautenbach. Jason welcomed everybody and introduced John.
John started by giving a short bio and explained that due to a shortage of luthiers in the area where he lived, he was forced to learn everything about restoring an upright himself. He then carried on giving a very informative workshop on all aspects of the double bass.
Construction:
The double bass is a very fragile instrument, especially the older instruments. The top is constructed from sheets of soft wood, like spruce or pine as we know it. The sides and back are from harder woods like poplar and maple. The different parts of the bass are glued together using hide or bone glue as it is easier to loosen when repairs are needed. The bass is varnished using shellac to close the pores in the wood. Inside the bass body is a bass bar running under one foot of the bridge and a sound peg just behind the opposite foot, this helps with sound transfer as well as carrying the pressure from the strings.
Some of the differences between solid wood and plywood basses were discussed. As plywood basses are less fragile and much cheaper, it was generally agreed that plywood basses should be the choice for beginners and traveling musicians. Solid wood basses are very susceptible to weather changes and are scarce and expensive, but the sound is much warmer.
Strings:
Differences between string types were discussed. It seems like Pirastro is more used by classical musicians and the bow users, where jazz and pizzicato players prefer Thomastik. It was also mentioned that D’Addario makes a good, less expensive string. When changing strings, it should be done one at a time to make sure the bridge and sound peg stay in position. The bridge should always be straight up and positioned between the kinks in the f-holes.
Bows:
John also discussed the different bow types. German bows have a bigger frog where French bows are more like a violin bow. The bows should always be loosened after playing to relieve the tension on the bow. The frog should be lubricated only with carbon lube such as a soft pencil, never with oil. Only enough rosin should be put on the bow hairs to bite on the strings. Rosin should always be cleaned from the strings and the bass body after playing.
The meeting was concluded by Jason giving a bit of information on the Trinity College courses and exams. Nippy made a valid comment that if you’re going to spend money on tuition, you may as well spend it on an international qualification. Bassists are welcome to contact Jason about course material and exam registrations.