page_title: King Mortone
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: King Mortone / History
caption_attribution_description: English: 1957 King Mortone Headstock showing the distinctive engraved brass plate tuning machines and optional blonde finish.
context_page_description: King Mortone is a double bass model made by H. N. White, an instrument-making company founded in America in 1893 by Henderson N. White.
context_section_description: The first "King Mortone" double bass appeared in 1934, when H. N. White decided to make a string bass instrument with the same care and attention as was put into making a brass bass instrument. The string bass's fronts were made from the finest straight-grain spruce with very close grain quality, while the rest of the instrument was made of curly maple. Each bass was equipped with an improved geared key mechanism, ensuring rigidity and sensitive tuning. The H. N. White Company claimed that each "King string bass has a greater volume of tone, and carries the vibrations over a longer period of time, than any other string bass ...". During the Second World War production had stopped, but by this point approximately 1200 basses had been made. In 1946 production resumed and continued steadily until 1965, when the string department of H. N. White was sold to Kay Double Basses. By this point approximately 5000 basses had been made. When Kay had control of King Mortone Basses, they stopped production and used the factories to make Kay Double Basses.
  As with the American Standard double basses also made by H. N. White, the King Mortone basses had a longer than usual ​43 ¹⁄₂-inch mensure (scale length), which was about 2 inches longer than most ​³⁄₄ size double basses. This makes them somewhat more difficult to play for some players, though it is a key component of the characteristic sound of these basses.
  "King Mortone" basses are often considered some of the finest double basses for jazz ever to have been made especially for the slap bass style.
caption: 1957 King Mortone Headstock showing the distinctive engraved brass plate tuning machines
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