mtroun Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 That's it, I've decided I'm in on this, the search begins as soon as I can get out to look at the various options. I'm just about to finish Music College (Jazz) and I'm still playing on a £400 Stentor. I'm going to consider all options: old/new/custom build basically try and work out what's right for me with no preconceptions (well besides my five years of playing the thing!) and try and come to some conclusions. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheG Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 One of the first things I did was to think "well how much is a double bass?" But as they can go from several hundreds of pounds to several hundreds of thousands of pounds I realised that wasn't the right question. So I decided to ask my fellow bass players I knew, how much theirs cost or was worth. That gave me at least a starting point to then think well how much do I want to pay bearing that info in mind. I know that price doesn't necessarily equate to a better bass FOR YOU (as Bilbo said he knows people who are happy with their £50 bass, etc) but you need to start somewhere. I think the higher the price you are prepared to go to the more choice you will have but thats it. In my experience (now) and as Bilbo says "each bass is unique" which doesn't help but it is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I've been looking for a while to get a less boxy-sounding instrument than the one I've been learning on, but I found there's a big gap in the market spanning my price range. I'm talking about the used market really; it seems there's good mid 20th century ply basses for £5-800, and there's flatbacks from Germany from circa 1900 for £3-4k. Nothing seems to hit the £1-2k range really. I don't know if this situation is unique to the UK or Europe, but it's annoying. I ended up buying a new bass from Gedo Musik in the end, which the postie is due to deliver today, so we'll see how well my budget buying has worked out this afternoon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1336634710' post='1648551'] I've been looking for a while to get a less boxy-sounding instrument than the one I've been learning on, but I found there's a big gap in the market spanning my price range. I'm talking about the used market really; it seems there's good mid 20th century ply basses for £5-800, and there's flatbacks from Germany from circa 1900 for £3-4k. Nothing seems to hit the £1-2k range really. I don't know if this situation is unique to the UK or Europe, but it's annoying. I ended up buying a new bass from Gedo Musik in the end, which the postie is due to deliver today, so we'll see how well my budget buying has worked out this afternoon... [/quote] I know how you feel, looking for a quality instrument, there is little middle ground between 'budget' (no resale value) and £3000+ which, at least to me, is quite a lot of money for what is considered an 'entry level' instrument. It seems there are occasionally quality old instruments, but they can be a bit hit or miss and often require expensive repairs, then there's a whole world of new-ish instruments, generally bought by string dealers who can only tell you 'I think it's Hungarian' or similar. I know if I was spending £6000 on a bass guitar I'd want to know exactly who made it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) Yeah I can't justify £3k on a bass. I can understand why good acoustic instruments are worth a lot of money but for a non-professional like me I can't justify that expense on something that isn't going to give me any return. If by some weird circumstance I do end up making a lot of money playing the bass then I'll no doubt think again, but for now about £1500 is about the upper limit of what I would spend on what is essentially just a toy. Edited May 10, 2012 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 This has set me wondering about amplification too. If a particular 3k bass sounds much better acoustically than a £600 bass, will the difference amplified by piezzo be anything like as obvious? I know every bass is different, but I'm wondering whether high quality soundwise isn't somewhat lost if you're not playing acoustically or miced up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 I suppose it depends what you're using to reproduce it. There are certainly some very expensive mics available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1336648943' post='1648831'] I suppose it depends what you're using to reproduce it. There are certainly some very expensive mics available. [/quote] I mean if yiou're using piezzo and not micing up. For example, i can't see myself recording in the foreseeable, and I'll never be playing acoustically, so piezzo is all that matters. Would even my nice full Circle show up much of a difference between £600 and 6k? I suppose when practicing a pleasing and clear acoustic sound is helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) I don't think the differences are that subtle between £600 and £6k basses. A friend of mine who I've gigged together with on DB has a bass he paid £10k for that was built for Jon Thorne, and he's got a Full Circle fitted to it. I came along with my £500 laminate with a Bass Max on it. Chalk and cheese, just as obvious amplified. His has great sustain and a purring jazz tone, mine thumps and booms. Put them through piezos and you get pretty much the same characteristics only louder. Of course there's a difference between different pickups and it's no doubt worthwhile trying to find the best pickup to reproduce the sound of your particular bass. And sure there are amplified gigs where I'd rather have my thumpy old ply bass thanks (I'm keeping it), but I've also had gigs where I would've much preferred to have a nice jazzy-sounding bass rather than my brute! Also yes you're right I think I will benefit from practising on a bass with a more open sound and more sustain because I will be able to hear my intonation more clearly. It was another big reason I was looking for a second bass. Edited May 10, 2012 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Of course you've now stoked my GAS well and truly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 TBH I've been looking for over a year for a second bass in my firmly-decided price bracket and it was only a chance reply to a thread I started here that led me to a cut-price scratched bass at Gedo Musik. I still don't know if it's any good, delivery guy is due before 3pm. It had better fit the bill because I am well bored of scouring Gumtree and eBay now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) Fingers crossed. Let's hope the courier has a better sense of direction than the guy that just took an hour to find me. Keep us updated on the bass. Edited May 10, 2012 by fatback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheG Posted May 10, 2012 Author Share Posted May 10, 2012 Yes I did the Gum Tree/eBay thing. Very slow and boring isn't it! Occasionally you see a bass that pops up and catches your eye then you find its location is Devon or something!!!!!! The bass I used previously was a plywood bass. One day I decided to save up some serious money to buy a PROPER double bass. Anyway it nearly killed me to save up £2000 (it took a very long time). I made an grand announcement to my teacher one day who proceeded to tell me that I wasn't going to get anything much different than what I've already got for that kind of money and I need to start looking at at least £3000-3500 as a starting price. It was such a battle to get to £2000 that I just gave up and carried on with my bass. That was around 10 years ago!!!!! I was once under the very wrong impression that the acoustic sound of a bass didn't really matter so much (within reason) as it was being amplified anyway and basses are a nightmare to amplify. But if you start with a bad sounding bass how can you move on from that? A good sounding bass will make it a lot easier to get a better sound out of your amp and even though the sound is always compromised by pickups and amps it will be less so. We are never going to get a true representation of the acoustic sound unless you mic it but when amplifying in a a lot of gigging situations its about minimising that compromised sound. Keep us posted about your new bass thisnameistaken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheG Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Another very good point of reference for advice on buying a bass is a book called "About The Double Bass - a players guide" by Peter Tyler. It has been mentioned on here before and is an excellent book. It has got a whole chapter called "SELECTION AND PURCHASE" which goes on to discuss new vs second hand, buying a second hand bass, where advertised for sale, bass purchase checklist, selection, insurance and investment. It certainly helped me consolidate the ideas I had about buying a double bass and put me more at ease when looking for my bass. The rest of the book is excellent too going on to discuss bass anatomy, the bow, acoustic sound, amplification, strings, accessories, repairs, maintenance purchase and performance. It even mentions this forum. [url="http://www.tylerbasses.co.uk"]www.tylerbasses.co.uk[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah thomas Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 +1 to the Pete Tyler book. He also helped me with a price estimate on a particular bass I was considering. Top bloke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belowthebassline Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I am looking to sell a bass which seems to fulfil the needs of some of the searchers on this thread. It's solid wood, violin outline, flat back, 3/4 size and German. It has a really great sound. I've used it mostly for jazz and folky stuff, and it comes with a Realist pick up. I'm asking £2000 for it, and I'm based in Oxford and Devon (I travel between the two so can bring it to either). If anyone wants to try it out, just message me - I can send you pictures if you're interested. Happy bass hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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