Bill Merchant just had the mildest winter in his 40 year career.   For decades, double bassists would come in to get their winter posts set during November.  Now this is happening in January.   "Global warming is real, people," says Bill. That was one of probably 50 topics that we covered in our conversation! Other topics we covered: why most people set sound posts too tightly the difference between aluminum and wood bridge adjusters the effect that an endpin can have on the sound of a bass designing a folding-neck electric upright Bill's preferred measurements for all sorts of set-up work contributing to Chuck Traeger's seminal text on double bass repair and set-up If you like going deep on the gear side of things, you will love this conversation with Bill! Links to Check Out: Bill’s website Setup And Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound: A Manual for Players, Makers, And Repairers by Chuck Traeger (Bill contributed to this book) Coda to The Setup & Repair of the Double Bass for Optimum Sound by Chuck Traeger Subscribe to the podcast to get these interviews delivered to your inbox! Learn how you can support the show at contrabassconversations.com/support Thanks to our sponsors! This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut. Enter the D’Addario strings giveaway for Contrabass Conversations listeners at contrabassconversations.com/strings! Hosting for Contrabass Conversations is provided by Bass Capos.  Bass Capos are an excellent choice for any bass player using or looking to implement a double bass extension. Easy to install and adjust, cheaper and more reliable than hand-built latches, also lighter and quicker in operation.