Broken chords: RWTH-Aachen researchers invent detachable carbon fibre double-bass

German materials scientists have built a carbon fibre double bass with a detachable neck.

The Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH-Aachen University has joined Mezzoforte Streichinstrumente, a carbon fibre stringed instrument builder based in Werther, Westphalia, to develop a double bass made from carbon reinforced plastics whose neck and body can be dismantled through a junction made from carbon reinforced plastics.

The modular double bass measures 1.1 metres long when disassembled, so it can be carried by car and in standard luggage boxes to save musicians high transport costs.

The Institut für Textiltechnik designed the junction and the double bass to be made from carbon reinforced plastics, as a change in material between body and neck would deplete sound quality.

The carbon reinforced plastic makes a rigid join between neck and body. Its strong material property negates a depleted sound with a junction made of different materials, where a tonally inactive region would make a worse sound and unstable instrument.

Carbon reinforced plastics also require less energy to generate a sound on an instrument, as the damping of carbon reinforced plastics will be lower than the damping of wood, so a player needs less energy for a tone to make a wider dynamic range.