triplebass

i love Load! there, i’ve said it, bring it on...

i knew this was supposed to be a support group, but i thought it’s for the other side

i was considering a trade, but this changes everything!

just to make sure... are trades allowed? btw, still in as far as i know, i don’t think a metronome and a mic gain booster count, right?

WANT is easy, i have no problem dismissing my WANT. my problem is NEED, usually it’s really urgent and a matter of life and death, i’m really good in finding excuses why i NEED something...

sure, i’m in... i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear. i don’t need more gear.

What’s your take on the future? With market over flooded with companies and boutique builders, is a piece of gear going to hold it’s value or will it be worth less and less? We all see new products and custom builds barely used being sold at lower price. And the production isn’t going down... Considering the current transformation of the business (musical instruments/gear and music business) what’s your best bet?

bit of a story... A drummer invites me for a session a couple of weeks ago but i catch a cold so we agree to postpone. So we finally get together last Friday at the conservatory and he brings me to a room with two big cases with double basses inside. I don’t even take them out, they both look decent, i just strum both and choose one. We get to playing and i like the feel and the sound so i have a look and it turns out it was made by the great German master luthier Hoerst Gruenert. And i remember meeting Mr.G almost 20 years ago at a bass workshop in Graz where he exhibited some of his basses and even made some repairs for people on the spot. I liked his basses but they were way to expensive for my student pocket. So i enjoy the bass and the session is good, nice players, fun tunes. Over the weekend i have a look at the Gruenert webpage and fantasize and i also remember seeing 2 Gruenert basses on the webpage of a local luthier. I check again, a used 4 and a used 5 string for sale at 18,5k… Comes monday i’m browsing the local secondhand webmarket, a bass pops up with 3 bad photos, 2 of them of the Lion head top of the bass. Description says it’s a 1979 Gruenert. There’s no price set, just option to bid with no reserve price. And it’s less than an hour away. I write to the seller asking for better photos, more details and get a reply saying he’s not the owner, he’s just selling. The owner passed away recently, the family is selling off his gear. The first bidder says 500. By the end of the day three people are bidding, it goes up to 1,5k. I’m not beeding, i’m checking and waiting. Tuesday morning i wake up sick with a bad cold. But i nevertheless call Mr. Gruenert at his workshop in Penzberg Germany, he confirms that he did and still does Lion head top on his basses, might really be his, flamed maple sounds right... I get another answer from the seller and he uploads good photos. It’s the real thing, it has the insignia on the back and inside, all the marks. We agree to meet on Thursday afternoon. The bids go up and are around 2k in the evening. I wake up Wednesday morning even more sick. I manage to organize a car from a friend so I could drive up as i don’t feel like taking the trains. The bidding goes on and is almost at 3k at the end of the day. Thursday morning... one bidder dropped out, two left. One at 1200 (?), the other at 3150. I collect the car, pack my family and drive out. We get to the place, the seller opens the case and there it is. A Gruenert, no doubt. It's been used and played and has some scars and a small opening between the lower rib and back, nothing major except… a major crack on the top going from the bottom up. It looks like it’s been there for a while, it will need attention sooner or later. But otherwise the bass looks, feels and sounds great, no rattling, pure sonic beauty arco and pizz. There’s dust on the soundpost so it hasn’t been worked on in a long time which means it’s stable. That crack on the top is somehow a plus, because it makes a great point for price negotiation. It is a problem but it has a solution, has been proven over hundreds of years. The bidding stopped at 3.3k he says. A short negotiation follows after which he takes out a french bow, a bow case, a DPA mic and points out to the quality case/bag and bass buggie transportation wheels. He’d rather sell it all as a package as he doesn’t want to deal with multiple sales and buyers. I don’t need those things except for the case maybe so i can bring it home (forgot to take my case...). The advertised item was the bass alone without the extras. A even shorter negotiation follows and i’m packing the bass and the rest of the stuff and putting it in the car! Christmas really came early! I don’t mind making a great deal, but in my eyes this has destiny written all over it. I'm also a bit superstitious so maybe i shouldn't be writing this but i'm extremely happy and wanted to share the story with fellow BCers. There's a great Gruenert in the house and i’m going to play it now. Happy holidays all!

Guilty as charged...

From what i gather the people who have it talk of basses opening up sound-wise while attributing this to the Anima? The variables of the post (position, length, types of wood...) have probably been addressed with posts before. It certainly is a mystery with posts with every bass, and the price doesn't really help with this one...

Thanks for the link, it actually has a couple of opinions from actual owners so i’m really looking forward to thursday’s luthier appointment!

i also don’t know about the price, i scheduled an appointment at the local luthier/dealer, and am looking forward to get some more info, i will post next week.

Anybody heard about this? https://www.anima-nova.de/english-1/the-soul/ Any thoughts?

Very happy to share the news, maybe somebody’s interested here... https://zkp.rtvslo.si/en/Jazz_en/ROBERT_JUKIC_CAMINOS_DE_GLORIA__1/ https://zkp.rtvslo.si/en/Jazz_en/ROBERT_JUKIC_DRAMA__1/

Just bought a Lollar PJ set from Walshy, a true gent, a pleasure to deal with! Cheers!

And again.. loom Nr.4 if my memory serves me well, this time just a simple P/J... Many thanks!

has posting to EU been resolved?

Well one guy REALLY doesn't like Roger or his work Really hard to decide with such a wide range of opinions on this RSD ME series... had a sniff at Basstalk thread where Mr.S shares his thoughts and gives a bit of feedback as well. But can't really risk getting one online as there's no guarantee it'll be one of the latest ones that are supposed to be better and have better QC?

Thinking of getting a RSD Chinese Hybrid 5... any recent buyers, any news of better QC, any good reviews? Cheers