Zach of Hoyt Banjos was kind enough to experiment and use his time and talents to build a bass for me – his first. He did the hard work of building it, but we spent the good part of the year planning, buying materials, discussing options and just working through the process together. He was also gracious enough to send pictures along the way.
We started with plans from the book So…you want to make a Double Bass by Peter Chandler and using the specific Gofriller bass Plan.
Zach already had the cherry for the back and sides, so I needed to find the wood for the top. I ended up getting it from Alaska Specialty Woods.
AAA NON-FIGURED SITKA DOUBLE BASS
Double bass fronts of the highest grade. almost all are cut this size Wedge cut 2.25+ inches thick tapering to 3/8″, x 16 inches wide, x 48 inches long
texture = 8-12 lines per inch From seasoned Sitka Spruce logs. These tops are produced from the finest tonewood fiber in the world from salvage old-growth Sitka Spruce.
I enjoyed the process and even the adventure to go get it traveling from Tennessee to Piercefield New York where Zach lives. He was so welcoming – I think I played every instrument he has in his inventory and just talking about the process he takes to build them all. He really does inspiring work – simply taking raw materials and making banjos, guitars, mandolins and other acoustic instruments from scratch.
Zach’s blog post here. https://hoytbanjos.com/2024/07/04/june-bass-completion-and-one-banjo/
Picking It Up
Picking It up.
