The 5-String Double Bass

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

My clearance is definitely less by a bit than the .25 inch guide. And at the FB, if I hold my bow like in your photo, the clearance is dangerously close. I can play it all the way up into thumb position across all five strings, but more clearance would be better. Does your arching at the finger board match the arching at the bridge closely? How much could I increase the arch at the bridge without changing it at the fingerboard as well?

Ok, I just measured it rather than only eyeballing it. The clearance at both the Bridge and FB inside each 3-strings is actually only 4mm or so and not 1/4". The 1/4" is my regular clearance on a 4-string or about 5-6mm.

When you play a 5er, you have to keep the Bow steady so as not to bump the neighboring Strings. Also, make sure your 'draw' the string rather than press down with the Bow. Finally, when playing up the neck into thumb position, the Bow should also move down towards the Bridge as you get closer to the end of the FB for a cleaner sound.

So, I am using 4mm clearance with about 1" spacing (25mm +/-) at the end of the FB. The Nut is spaced 7/16-15/32 string to string and the spacing at the end of the FB (high C on the G) is about 23mm (+/-).

I would also like to point out that for about 15 years I played a 7/8ths high shouldered 18th century Italian Bass with about a 23.5mm Bridge Spacing so I am not new to tight spaced Strings or tight Bowing. Having a beautiful Sartory all that time didn't hurt either..lol