Gael McKeon saved my bacon in 2017 on the way to a gig. I was headed out the door to rehearsal when I heard a worrisome wooden banging sound from my bass—never a good sign!
Opening up the case, I discovered to my horror that my tailpiece had cracked apart. My soundpost was rolling around the bottom of my bass, and my bridge and strings were splayed all over the place.
In a panic (I only have one bass!), I called Gael, and he had me in his shop and all set up with a new tailpiece in under an hour. I made it to the gig with plenty of time to spare, and my bass sounded better than ever!
Gael is leaving the San Francisco Bay Area (which makes me sad!) for new adventures in France. We talk about how he got into the luthier trade, his time spent working at David Gage’s Shop and the Bass Violin Shop, how he ended up as a luthier in the Bay Area, thoughts on set-up, and much more!
I know you’ll enjoy this conversation and be sure to follow Gael on Instagram to stay current with his new adventures!
Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by:
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.
This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.
An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440‘s commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools.
Contrabass Conversations production team:
- Jason Heath, host
- Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing
- Mitch Moehring, audio engineer
- Trevor Jones, publication and promotion
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