Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
Double Bass and Beyond - Gary Upton of Upton Bass
From Howl to Harmony: Understanding Wolf Tones on Bass
Ever wondered why certain notes on your double bass seem to "howl" uncontrollably? We uncover the enigma of wolf tones, those pesky yet fascinating resonant frequencies that are a natural part of every instrument. Whether you're a seasoned bassist or a curious listener, this episode will enrich your understanding of wolf tones on the double bass. We’ll help you identify these tonal quirks by playing open strings and harmonics, and guide you on how to adjust and work around them. Practical demonstrations will show the impact of body dimensions, setup, string tension, and tuning on these mysterious frequencies.
Focusing on critical notes, we delve into the challenges of managing sudden wolf tones, often influenced by seasonal changes in humidity and temperature. Learn how to monitor your instrument's condition to prevent these issues from amplifying. This episode serves as an essential primer on wolf tones, setting the stage for future discussions on more intricate aspects of instrument making and maintenance. Don’t miss out on valuable insights and practical tips designed to help you master the nuances of your instrument's behavior and improve your musical journey.
Wolftones. It's quite an evasive topic and there are a few different ways to perhaps find, recognize and title a wolftone. Simply put, when your instrument has something going on, a contradictory resonance in either setup, componentry, tap, tone of the instrument, helmholts where it's, the blow, tone of the cavity, a variety of things the scroll, the wrong strings, the wrong sound post positioning. I am a believer that all instruments have a wolf tone. They have to because everything has a resonant frequency. It's a matter of where that tone is and I'm not one for the elimination of a wolf tone or extra resonance. I am one for moving and adjusting the specific frequency.
Speaker 1:Many players that I adore, the great, great players, often say don't try and get rid of the wolf tone on my bass. I know where it is and I know how to play around it. So remember, I think all basses have a wolf tone. All instruments technically have to have one. If we find where it is, we're going to play some open strings and I want you to distinguish between my startup speed on the bow and the string itself resonating. So you'll hear this is that's me right, kind of I'm engaging the string. As the string grabs the bow, it starts to play. So I've got an E Got an. A.
Speaker 1:We're not going to fiddle with tuning and messing with the bass and a G. Now there's a buzz on the fingerboard. That's nothing about the wolf tone, but a wolf tone can actually make a buzz worse. We'll get into that. Next thing I'm going to do is play some quick harmonics. I said I wouldn't tune the bass, so I won't.
Speaker 1:So for me I already hear this E string is fighting me for an open, easy harmonic. It tells me that something in the overtone series of the E, the fundamental note of the E, is wanting to play. Also, as I play that E sound, the E string right. So it's almost like wolf tone, if you think of a pack of wolves. One sings out a tone and what do the others do? They also. Everyone wants to play and then you could hear those sounds, the waves fighting one another. And that's why I want the D and G string out of tune. Check it out, everyone can hear, I hope at home, that D string is pretty close to D and the G string is just under so now you're hearing the waves of the D.
Speaker 1:Frequency of the D. Obviously it has a wavelength, and then the frequency of what's almost a D, but it's an octave upright. Both strings are because we're playing the harmonics and you can hear them, rather than both the waves moving simultaneously, as if each of my fingers were a wave moving like this. One is moving like so and the other is moving at a different rate, and then where they clash, they're actually making that funny. You know the dissonant sound that you're hearing as they ring against each other. So, similarly, that's just two strings are out of tune. Similarly, we're going to play the E string harmonic. She's pretty open. I'm going to skip the A Go right to the.
Speaker 1:D and the G and you guys have already probably seen hey, there's a wolf tone eliminator on the A string. They're catching it. So I've given you a lot of harmonic examples, right, everyone's pretty happy. So it's not just for the A at the octave, it's also the finger date here. Now, what is it doing, Rather than the pitch coming out? And again, you're listening past the startup speed and I'm having you listen for the pitch which is wanting to catch that A, but it's kind of Kind of like the wolf howling. Oh, it's going up and down, right, listen as it tries to get there. Now I'm muting the other strings. My thumb is back here on the D and the G string. My E string is muted right here so that I can play it more clearly. Interestingly enough, still got to give this bass a good setup on going through. But interestingly enough, the Wolf Tone Eliminator. For me, the Wolf is generally eliminated when the Eliminator's off. It's still there, but it doesn't fight as much, not going to tune the bass.
Speaker 1:So, interestingly enough, the E harmonic at the A is now happily ringing without the wolf tone eliminator. So where do wolves come from? Again, dimensions of the body, different setup, componentry, certain strings, certain tensions, the fact that our instrument is tuned in fourths, certain strings, certain tensions, the fact that our instrument is tuned in fourths, and then think of other things that might be playing in the tonal system of the bass. So when I tap that tailpiece with the body generally muted, I do agree that the A string after length which is ringing at an E is probably a little. And interestingly, now I'm playing the bass and it's changing and it's opening up and it's not had much of a workout. I am starting to hear that the wolf is in fact coming back on the E string the quickest, fastest way. Again, I'll give you guys Play through your harmonics and standard repertoire.
Speaker 1:The funny thing is a lot of basses have a very strong A, especially with a pickup. It's a very present frequency and it is because the instrument is tuned E-A-D-G. You figure out what chords those can combine when they're played together. Figure out what chords are combined, made when these guys are singing at those same series Two octaves and a fourth, two octaves and a fifth Tap tone of instruments. While basses are very different sizes and whatnot, we are often running in the 40, 41, 42, 43 range. I take a look into what is 42, 43, 44 Hertz. String lengths are 41, 42. You've got a lot of funny little numbers going on here and a lot of resonant things going on when I can tell you that if I take the bass and I turn it into a single string, Don't take all your strings off. Your sound post will fall over.
Speaker 1:Thank you so I hear in the tap of the top it really wants to pick up. There's certain things I would change about the bass to make it do that less. That's more of a maker course discussion and also even in the world makers, you get into the smoke and mirrors and it's hard to say what does what and why it does it and where those opinions come from. And the few of us that have exacting opinions on that also don't share them, because that's the secret behind the sauce, right, but I hope I've explained what a wolf tone is. It can exist in many, many places on the bass. It's not limited to the A harmonic.
Speaker 1:This is a low explained what a wolf tone is. It can exist in many, many places on the bass. It's not limited to the A harmonic. This is a low-hanging fruit wolf tone, to be honest, because most instruments have a little funniness. On the A string In particular, from my research, it makes sense based upon the resonant frequencies of the basses and the dimensions of which they're made, combined with string material and what is used in the A string versus the D string and some of the borrowing that's done in core materials and the tension again.
Speaker 1:But when you have one of these notes a wolf tone happening in a very important place like an F sharp where you're often moving up to a G. That's really where we have to get into tackling how to put that wolf tone somewhere else. Often if a bass hasn't had a wolf tone and all of a sudden it starts wolfing and acting funny many, many a client can attest to it You'll generally have a sound post tension issue going on. If you check out the weather and see what's happened outside. It went from a nice humid summer or fall to the heat got turned on and now the post is too tight in the base and next thing you know you've got wolf tones all over the place. So all the important part to stay focused in on your base and what's going on with your base as the seasons change. But I hope this covers an intro to wolf tones. We'll talk about more in making and a variety of other places. Thanks, for listening.