Double Bass String Height & Fingerboard Set Up - Interview with Elinore Morris

[@rayjpfeiffer]

Another wonderful interview. I smiled all the way through it. It's so inspiring to see people who care so deeply about the instrument and who possess such skill to create and improve double basses. I hope somehow to have the chance to visit Elinor's workshop someday. (And to visit Geoff in England, too!!)

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Thanks Ray! I hope do get to visit us and Elinore. It's a wonderful place!

[@hairybass2001]

I recommend Elinore highly. She did wonders with my 1870 German flat back. I love that she has fresh ideas, and is willing to try them out.

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

That's awesome. She's so inspiring and her work is incredible.

[@AustinFogel2112]

Always a good day when there’s a new DDB video!

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Thanks Austin! I really appreciate that 😀

[@wadejacksonmusic]

great video! Very interesting about the GaiaTone fingerboard material. I'd not heard of that. In the fretless electric bass world you see paper and phenolic resin fingerboards under the names Ebonol, Richlite, and Micarta. Interesting to see those applied to larger fingerboards. Good show!!

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

I hadn't even considered that it's an issue on electric bass, especially for fretless. Hopefully the innovation will carry across to both instruments. I still can't believe how good the Giatone was. I would never have known it wasn't ebony.

[@OlBillyBobBoy]

Wow perfect timing!

[@garryfimister6878]

Wonderful video Geoff 😊

[@doublepick]

I had an angled fingerboard on my 1890’s German bass. It was always a curious thing to me but a luthier smoothed it out into the cone shape Elinore mentions and I’ve never looked back. I was concerned I was taking away an original feature but the enhanced playability more than compensates. What do you want; a museum piece or a working musical instrument?

[@marylewis3311]

Thank you for this. I was just wondering about what the actual centre to centre string measurement is common in a modern setup ? I have read that it used to be between 10 and 11mm and now more towards 8 and 9mm. Also the spacing can decrease from E to G sometimes with a bigger space for E.

[@elinoremorris]

I like to set them center to center as I believe it feels more logical under the fingers, although I suppose the player may adapt fairly quickly without really thinking about it. I take into consideration the width of the fingerboard and the thickness of the strings. But yes, there is a tendency to narrower spacing. We have done side by side comparison and the narrower spacer nut was preferred.

[@marylewis3311]

@ Thank you 🙏❤️🙏

[@bobsabin]

Wonderful - thank you both for this! Did she say .03 mm at the nut for the G string?

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

I don't think she's specific about this measurement, but essentially you want it to be as low as possible whilst allowing the strings to clear the fingerboard when played. It's certainly very low on a bass with a well shaped fingerboard.

[@adrianlevi2244]

South Africa ? Zim ? Hi from a ZA db collector / luthier .

[@elinoremorris]

Hi there. long time since I played bass in SA. Would be nice to reconnect..

[@JakedeVilliers]

That was a very nice infomercial for Ms. Morris and GaiaTone fingerboards but was otherwise completely lacking in information. Oops, yes, she says that she thinks of the board as the section of a cone but... String heights? Nope. Depth of scoop under the E/A/D/G strings? Nope. Position of maximum relief on the board? Still nothing. Please re-title this more correctly if you want to grow your audience.

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Hi Jake, this is just an interview, it wouldn't be possible for us to cover all aspects of instrument set up in a single KZbin video. Also, due to the variation in instrument shapes and sizes it's not possible for anyone to provide specific measurements due to the variables involved. We decided to share a discussion on general preference and advice. Sorry it didn't meet your expectations.

[@JakedeVilliers]

​@@DiscoverDoubleBass As you say. And if the piece was differently titled, I would have had different expectations. Merry Xmas!