Upright Bass

There are two Urbaniak built upright 3/4 basses at the moment.  The first is a more classically built bass with a carved top, coupled waist, and carved back.  It was built on trusting the information that was given and the fear of misunderstanding the required principals of the device.

The second bass is the Urbaniak 3/4 Pear.  It was built on the trust of the experiences as a collected whole and upon the trust of the knowledge gained from all the years of experimental building.  It is a very sophisticated and thoughtful machine.  There is much to be discussed concerning it and other instruments, and it will be when Urbaniak’s book, The Experimental Pond – an approach to instruments, is released.

Urbaniak’s 3/4 Pear Bass.

 

Zebrawood body with single non-complete f-hole and 4″ soundport on the players side, Paudouk outside chines, black walnut inside chines.  Bracing was recycled from a 100 year old piano including both Fir and Spruce.  Maple neck with Zebrawood and Paudouk accents.  Elephant bridge cut and carved from Katalox; tailpiece string saddle also cut from Katalox.  Tailpiece and the fingerboard are from a continuous piece of Morado with Paudouk markers to the twelfth.  The ebony nut was recycled from a student violin from the 70’s.

The hex plug on the back functions in two ways.  It guides the sound post to it’s proper position for this instrument; it is also used to adjust the amount of tension the sound post has against the top and thusly against the back of the instrument.

The electronics.  After years of struggling to optimize piezo elements, I finally brought the understanding under control.  The clasp is made from Purple Heart and has adjustable tension.  There is also a sprung piece of aluminum that applies a counter motion pressure on the piezo.  Seems simple, right?  It is fantastic and the difference is amazing.