Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Sold


Recommended Posts

I'm in the market for a bass at that sort of price. I don't know anything about this make of bass other than it's a UK luthier. Could anyone comment on how a bass like this would compare to old basses of a similar price? Like a 1900 German bass for instance? Any info and insight would be gratefully received as I don't consider myself to be tremendously knowledgeable! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BC'er bassace (see post #2 above) also has a Bryant, among a collection of nice DBs, and is very complimentary about it. So does BC'er FLoyd Elgar. You could always PM them for a third party opinion. However, like Nick says, I have only seen very good comments about Bryant instruments

Edited by Clarky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, a typical turn of the century German shop bass does not compare to a Bryant. I have played many instruments in the price bracket, that were originally constructed fairly poorly and have needed tonnes of work to get to playable condition. They tend to sound great but they are not likely to ever sound much better and will definitely have issues associated with their age.

Bryant basses are built by one person, with a lot of care and attention. They are not quite in the league of some new instruments costing 2-3 times as much that tend to feature absolutely flawless workmanship, stunning figured wood and spectacular varnishes.
Paul makes basses out of love and it shows. He chooses wood for its sound rather than visual quality and while his varnish work is not up to the standard of say, Martin Penning, it is very much in the tradition of the great English double bass makers, which may seem a bit 'rough round the edges' by modern standards, but were built to a high standard and have a very grand, powerful sound that sounds a lot more three-dimensional than the sound of a shop bass.

When you play my Bryant you can hear that grand sound coming out, it is still a very young instrument but in the few months since I got mine the sound has developed very nicely and continues to grow. Under the bow the instrument produces a rich, very detailed sound (with Spirocores) and pizzed, it's got incredible punch and power.

3k is definitely under market value for a Bryant. I was talking to another Bryant owner the other day who advised me to insure my Bryant for over £10k as while Paul prices his instruments to sell, at a violin dealer you would have to be looking at over £10k for the quality of the instrument.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I couldn't have put it better myself. My Solo bass is just a bit smaller that the 'average' DB and a tad lighter which make it great for taking around on gigs. It proved elusive to amp successfuly for a while. Still not sure why; one possible reason is the full complex sound overwhelming the pickup's ability to take in the full spectrum. But I've now put an Ehrlund on and it all sounds excellent.

I was pleased to have purchased mine for the reasonable sum of £3,800 and so £3,000 has to be the sale of the century.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bassace, I know you had a DPA mic for a while, did you try using that with the Bryant? I'm planning to get one fairly soon (don't really like having the realist pushing down on the top of the bass, makes the bridge fit a bit dodgy too, plus I'm trying to move from pickup and amp to mic and powered speaker) I get such a huge acoustic sound out of the Bryant I want to get more of that ambience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've currently got a lott bryant on approval at the moment and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy it.
I think mtroun hit the nail on the head with the built by one person bit, I've tried most things in the 5k to 10k range and the only basses I've prefered to the bryant are 10k plus.
Mtroun I use a DPA through a QSC powered monitor on a stand and I love it. For me the trade off of losing a bit of volume and sometimes definition is so much better than a pick up sound. Although I do still have a realist on my bass and do sometimes need it on loud stages.
I've seen a few people using the K&K mic which is much cheaper than the DPA.
Mtroun which bryant do you have

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a Bryant Solo bass, No. 101, as far as I know he hasn't made any more instruments since mine! Do you use a preamp with the DPA-QSC rig? I have a Yamaha DXR10 which is very similar to the QSC, but I haven't attempted to use it as a bass amp as yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...