Solid or Plywood Double Bass Ribs? Let's Break 'Em!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- From www.UptonBass.com
Gary from Upton Bass starts trashing the shop in the pursuit of knowledge. How do laminated and solid ribs really compare in tone and durability? Are solid wood ribs really better or will they just become plywood in the end? Let's take a second look at this humble element of the double bass. #uptonbass #doublebass #uprightbass #contrabass #whatsonyourbench
Upton Bass String Instrument Co.
159 Packer Rd Mystic, CT 06355
(860) 535-9399
www.UptonBass.com
Also, add us to your Google + Circles and Join our community at:
plus.google.co...
Please Like us on Facebook for more great updates and information.
/ gary.uptonbass
![Pöllmann Contrabass [Deutsch]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IqSOrsPFGc4/mqdefault.jpg)
Interesting and honest video. I had a fine old german "carved" bass when I was in college; it was a very nice bass and sounded wonderful. However, I spent a small fortune over the years, not to mention gluing split seams myself more times than I care to remember, just to keep the bass in playing condition. Extremely high maintenance instrument. I eventually sold it. I now own an Upton Standard (plywood) bass that I have been gigging with for about 10 years now, and have made ZERO repairs to it. And it sounds and plays great. Thanks Gary for doing what you do.
short video of my Upton: ua-cam.com/video/gsEKbVdkSTc/v-deo.html
Intriguing presentation that shows 1st-that we might not know which sides we had unless the instrument got taken apart or we watched the construction from the beginning. 2nd-In a situation like yours-total control from start to finish-you are showing that the sound, at least at this point is not really different. If I'm paying 2-4 or 5 K for an instrument, I will want the best tonal quality, but I will also want structural durability as getting a bass into someone's house for a session is often much like furniture moving. My plywood top & back bass has sounded well for the 35 yrs in my possession, and it's (unfortunately) gotten a small beating but is STILL ALIVE!!
We won an ISB silver medal for tone in 2009 with laminated ribs, and we won 1st place for tone with the playing jury in Copenhagen in 2012 with laminated ribs. We have yet to win a significant tone award with solid ribs, only our 2015 ISB certificate of tone was solid ribs...
Amazing. Thanks for the very clear demonstration of the differences.
Thank you for the video! Acoustic guitar makers use wood bracing to project sound and provide stability to top, back and sides. Do upright bass makers (such as Upton) do the same thing?
Eye-opening! And food for thought. Cool to hear that you make your own plywood.
Very good and honest video.. I have always wondered same for years.. I once played a couple of plywood and a carved basses at a store ( blind test ) and for pizz I really loved the plywood ( didn't know it was at the time until the sales guy told me it was ) and the solid wasn't any spectacular
I think what makes a major perceptible difference to the sound of the upright are - type of string, action of string, and type of amplification ( mic, pickup etc and their placement ). All the other stuff that make the instrument astronomically more expensive make no perceptible difference like you said they are just psychological feeling..
Hello! Thank you for the honest video. This made me think "what does a fully carved plywood bass sound in comparison to a flatback then?"
Thanks for video... You just cleared some of my thoughts...
definitely thought-proviking. Especially when you consider some of these older basses going for $100k. And people are buying them! I have to think that many of these are bandaids on bandaids on bandaids. I play a 1967 Gotz hybrid. It sounds great, and has given me zero trouble in the 35 years of ownership. I often get bass envy, but then I remind myself that there are ZERO investments in high-dollar basses that will pay for themselves (for me). thanks for the video.
Great presentation! I prefer plywood, and I think the tone is mostly in your hands. Same w/ electrics, I prefer my hofner icon to a german hofner. Ever thought about building a hollow body fret-less electric? vertical or horizontal?
Plywood is engineered wood. Laminated wooden beams are superior construction material to their native wood counterparts. Theoretically, you can engineer it to have lots of qualities that natural wood does not have. Durability is an obvious one. But there is no reason to think that tonal qualities could not be engineered into the plywood along with hammer resistance.
My old Kay C-1 sounded resonant this morning, played in the corner of the room. But maybe it was because I could hear it better in that spot. BTW, it sounds better with 3 strings than when all 4 are attached and tuned. Go figure.
great video guys. Very informative great video guys. Very informative very educational I am a new subscriber to your channel thank you
lmao Love you Gary!!
I guess I better not let any hammers in the house! a hammer-free zone, so to speak.
Very impressive! Thank´s a lot for your video series
😎🎻
This man has no mercy! Very very interesting. When I finally will get myself an upright I'll keep this in mind.