Double Basses

The double bass, otherwise known as the bass fiddle and string bass, is the lowest-pitched stringed musical instrument and belongs to the violin family. A double bass instrument comes in various designs. Some are shaped like viols, while others are shaped like violins and guitars. The double bass is part of the string family and the largest of the four-string instruments of the violin family (violin > viola > cello > double bass).  The upright bass (another word for double bass) is so large that most people never play the full-size instrument. Instead, they stick to a 3/4 bass. The sizing of the double bass is, therefore, out of sync with the sizes of the other three instruments. As a rule of thumb, the bass size is always one step below the other instruments. For example, an eight-year-old child would go for a 1/2 size violin or 1/2 cello or a 12" viola (same length as a 1/2 size violin), yet the correct double-bass size for this age would be 1/4 size.