There are a lot of parts that go into making a double bass! Here’s a breakdown of each part and its purpose.
Top
This is made out of spruce for most bases. If you have an entry level bass, you may have it made out of a laminate or plywood. The top helps give the instrument its character and its body and is one of the key pieces of vibrating wood on a bass.
On the top, you’ll see F holes. They help with the quality of the sound, and they help to get the sound out in the world.
Back and Ribs
The back and ribs of a bass are generally made out of maple. Your back and ribs might be laminate if it is more of an entry level bass.
Flamed maple is prized and instrument making for how it looks. Not all ribs and backs will be flamed.
Round backs vs flat backs
About half of all basses are round backs, and about half are flat backs.
I’ve talked with many luthier about flat back versus round back. It’s a little bit cheaper to make a flat back, so that can be attractive. Some players think that flat backs have a little bit more punch and round backs have a little more body, but there’s a lot of debate about that.
“Hybrid” basses
Some basses will have a carved spruce top and will have laminate sides and back. Some will have a carved top and back and laminate ribs.
Laminate tends to be sturdier, but carved wood tends to sound better. Depending on where you are and what kind of playing you do, you might want to have some sort of hybrid combination.
Varnish
Varnish helps to protect the instrument. It helps to give the instrument its “look” and it helps with the sound too. I’m not exactly sure how that works, but it definitely makes a difference on the sound. You will see varnish on all finished basses.
Some varnishes are made out of oil, and some are made out of spirit varnish or other substances.
Scroll
The scroll has a few different parts. There are the “pegs,” but they aren’t really pegs on basses because the tension of the strings is so high that like a violin-type peg is just impractical. Therefore, we use tuning machines.
Inside the scroll is the peg box, which is where strings attach to the pegs (tuning machines).
Many basses also have extensions to play notes below the low E string.
Fingerboard
There’s a wonderful bass luthier in Houston named Joey Naeger who calls the fingerboard “the interface between player and instrument.” Fingerboards are typically made of ebony and are shaped carefully to work well for each individual bass.
Strings
Strings have a huge impact on the sound and feel of the bass. They go from the peg box go all the way down and attach to the tailpiece. You can tell what brand they are by the winding between the bridge and tailpiece.
Tailpiece
The tailpiece can be made out of many different materials. Usually it’s ebony, but pearwood and many other materials are also used.
Bridge
The bridge is made of maple and is set at a 90 degree angle to the top. It helps to transmit the sound into the bass. On the bridge, you’ll see these little black things called bridge adjusters.
We can move the bridge adjusters to bring the bridge up and down. This is great if you’re in a climate that gets really cold and really hot. I also bring my bridge adjusters up and down depending on they yupe of playing I’m doing (orchestral, solo, jazz).
End Pin
The endpin can be made out of many different materials. It can be tightened or loosened with a little screw (which is very easy to break off!). I’ve got this little rubber stopper on mine, which I use frequently, but it also unscrews to have this nice dagger like point that I can put into a wooden stage.
