Bass of Tomorrow

We can think of a few string manufacturers who claim to make the best-sounding products in the world. Dr Jonathan Kemp doesn’t just make that claim—he can prove it, too. Hywel Davies is blinded with science...

- By Hywel Davies

For most of us, the science that surrounds our basses often gets overlooked. We pluck a string; the string vibrates; the vibration makes sexy sounds; the audience shake their tail feathers; and it’s another job well done. Well, that simply isn’t enough for one of the top minds in music technology today. Dr Jonathan Kemp of the Music Center and School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK, has focused his research on the effects of inharmonicity in lower-sounding strings, helping to improve the tone.