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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!mgnetp!we53!busch!wucs!slu70!guy
From: guy@slu70.UUCP (Guy M. Smith)
Newsgroups: net.music.classical
Subject: Re: question on string bass
Message-ID: <117@slu70.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 17-Oct-85 13:41:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: slu70.117
Posted: Thu Oct 17 13:41:04 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 19-Oct-85 06:01:29 EDT
References: <21021@mgweed.UUCP>
Organization: Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 17
Summary: You are basically correct

In article <21021@mgweed.UUCP>, rjr@mgweed.UUCP (Bob Roehrig) writes:
> 
> At a recent concert performed by the Chicago Symphony, I noticed that about
> half of the Bass instruments had an "attachment" on them. It was at the
> top of the bass, on one side. It looked like perhaps its purpose was to
> extend one of the strings (I assume to lower the frequency). It also looked
> like there might have been some "keys" on it. Does anyone know anything
> about this???
> 
> Bob
The keys allow one to temporarily drop the pitch of the lowest string
by a fixed amount. This allows access to notes below the normal playing
range of the instrument without having to permanently retune the lowest
string and foul up the fingering for that part of the piece (usually
most of it) which only uses the normal range.o

Guy Smith (a former third bassman)