Contrabass Conversations

Contrabass Conversations

double bass podcast

997: Arnold Schnitzer on The Handy Double Bassist

Renowned double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer recently released a book titled The Handy Double Bassist; Maintenance, Adjustments and Repairs for the Non-Luthier.  This book is available in print edition through the ISB Store as well as through the DBHQ digital store.

We dig into the inspiration for this book, what bassists can and can’t do on their own, strange tales from years of maintaining basses, and much more.  Enjoy, and check out our conversation from 2016 to learn more about Arnold’s cool path into the bass building world.

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Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Dorico – Unlock Dorico for iPad – For Life! Want to enjoy all of Dorico for iPad’s subscription-only features – including support for unlimited players, freehand annotations in Read mode with Apple Pencil, support for third-party Audio Unit plug-ins, and much more – but don’t want to pay a monthly or annual fee? Dorico for iPad now provides a lifetime unlock option, so you can access all current and future subscription-only features for a single, one-off in-app purchase. Visit the App Store today and unlock Dorico for iPad for life!

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

994: Nick Lloyd on his bench copy of Edgar Meyer’s Gabrielli double bass

Today we chat with double bass maker Nick Lloyd about the story behind his bench copy of Edgar Meyer’s Giovanni Battista Gabrielli from 1769.  Nick copied Edgar’s bass (#55) for Paul Kowert, and the Meyer bass copy that he bright to ISB (#60) was played by Gary Karr during the ISB headliner concert with Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out more of Nick’s great work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram!

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Thank you to our sponsor, Dorico! It is my favorite software for music notation and composition. Designed for MacOS, iPad, and Windows, Dorico’s workflow allows you to spend more time making music. Download Dorico 5, their free iPad app, or their free version (forever), Dorico SE 5. 

Get Dorico: https://www.steinberg.net/dorico/

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

982: Zachary Martin and Scott Pingel on double bass restoration

 In this episode, we go behind the scenes of double bass restoration with Zachary Martin and Scott Pingel.  Zachary is internationally renowned for his repair, restoration and maintenance services, and Scott had him come to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for a residency covering basic emergency setup and repair.

Enjoy, and be sure to give Zachary a follow on Instagram and check out his website for a video covering the work that he does.

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

977: Gael McKeon on building double basses

Gael McKeon is a double bass luthier who recently moved back to the United States after moving his shop to Toulouse, France.  He was based in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2011 to 2018, and we recorded a podcast back in 2018 right before he relocated.

We talk about Gael’s past few years and his shift into bass building.  He is currently focused on building instruments of his own design, inspired by classic and modern forms and ideas.  His first completed bass is currently in the Finlay+Gage showroom in New York City.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out Gael’s first completed double bass and also follow him on Instagram!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Connect with us:

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course and Intermediate to Advanced Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsor!

Carnegie Mellon University Double Bass Studio – CMU is dedicated to helping each student achieve their goals as a musician. Every week each student receives private lessons and participates in a solo class with Micah Howard. Peter Guild, another member of the PSO, teaches Orchestral Literature and Repertoire weekly. They encourage students to reach out to the great bassists in their area for lessons and direction. Many of the bassists from all of the city’s ensembles are more than willing to lend a hand. Every year members of the Symphony, the Opera and the Ballet give classes and offer our students individual attention. Click here to visit Micah’s website and to sign up for a free online trial lesson.

815: Bram De Man on his luthier journey

Bram De Man is a double bass luthier in Brussels, Belgium.  After first studying as a bass player, at the age of 18, he was admitted to the Ghent Conservatory to study musical instrument making, graduating with a first-class distinction and receiving an honorary bequest for his research into D-violones and the early double bass. 

After these studies, he traveled throughout Europe to expand his knowledge and experience; from observing the Hungarian Tamburaški bass to studying historical instruments in Brescia, Cremona, Paris, Oslo, London, etc.,  working and learning in ateliers in Vienna, Berlin, and Brussels.

After these years, he decided to move back to Belgium to open his shop in Brussels, keeping a close connection to Vienna as a second home and working place.

We talk about life, the pandemic, the joys and mysteries of building and restoring basses, and much more.  Enjoy, and be sure to check out Bram’s website and follow him on Instagram!

Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to you automatically!

Check out our Online Sheet Music Store with 100+ wide-ranging titles for bassists.

Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Check out my Beginner’s Classical Bass course, available exclusively from Discover Double Bass.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Dorico – Dorico helps you to write music notation, automatically producing printed results of exceptional quality — and plays it back with breathtaking realism. It is easy enough for anyone to learn, yet has hundreds of advanced notations, features, options and sounds to satisfy even the most demanding professionals.  With its streamlined, natural user interface, students and those with less experience in scoring can compose and arrange straight into Dorico, making learning the language of music notation much faster and more intuitive. Editing and making changes — such as instrument, time signature or key — are straightforward, with the notation instantly and correctly adapting to include them, reinforcing the learning outcome.

Upton Bass String Instrument Company – Upton’s Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.

Ear Trumpet Labs – They make hand-built mics out of Portland, OR and they have an excellent mic for upright bass called Nadine. The Nadine is a condenser mic with a clear natural sound and incredible feedback rejection. This mic is a completely new design — the head mounts in between the strings above the tailpiece with a rubber grommet, and the body securely straps to the tailpiece with velcro elastic. A 14-inch Mogami cable connects the two parts making it easy to place on any bass. It’s durable and holds up to the demanding needs of the instrument while offering excellent sound quality. Ear Trumpet Labs is offering a free t-shirt just for Contrabass listeners with the purchase of a mic, just visit EarTrumpetLabs.com/contrabass to claim yours and check out the Nadine!

Contrabass Conversations production team: