About to re-enter the world of DB

[lunarpollen]

Over 15 years ago, I was given a Czechoslovakian bass by a dear friend. I had been mostly enamoured with the crude stuff that Roy Wood did with double bass in the early to mid 1970's, with Wizzard and his solo stuff, and I had started getting into a lot of rockabilly and psychobilly, and I had always been kind of a casual fan of big band and swing stuff.

Unfortunately, about 8(?) years ago I had to sell it when I was in some tough financial times. And I am ashamed to say that someone got a stupidly good deal because of it. But what the hell, it's good karma, and I couldn't play the thing very well (never knew enough about it to have it professionally set up or anything...this was before I was an internet junkie, so I didn't have easy access to all the info that was out there on sites like this).

Well, since that time, my interest in old-school swing, western swing, and rockabilly has only grown stronger, and I've been wanting to get a new bass for years now, but never saw an ideal opportunity. I had been hoping to maybe find a used Engelhardt EM-1 on Craigslist, but had no luck.

Call me foolish or impulsive, but I just found this bass on eBay and after a very short period of contemplation, I pressed the little button that committed me to the purchase.

http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29392-...m=160299165528

I have searched the forums here (I'm frequently on the BG side of the tracks because I mainly play bass guitar right now, but I do pop in here occasionally) and it does seem that it is a decent bass for a decent price for a novice like myself. I will probably get a set of Weedwacker Pro strings, unless I find that the strings it comes with are comfortable enough for me.

I like lots of different tones/styles, but I think those closest to my heart are those from Cab Calloway's bassist from the period right when they ditched the brass bass and switched over to string bass; early Bill Haley stuff (like the tracks "Sundown Boogie" and "Green Tree Boogie" with the Saddlemen); and classic Bill Haley & his Comets stuff (1954-55 etc.). I'm also hugely fond of stuff like Billy Jack Wills, and modern day Hawaiian influenced "tiki" swing stuff like Exotiki. Of course my skills are nowhere up to par, it'll be like starting over from scratch and with an unfamiliar bass, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has anything to say about this model of Eberle bass, or who might have any words of wisdom or encouragement for me, as I am a bit nervous but excited about the whole thing. I *think* I did a good thing by making this purchase, but I am still trying to fight off the feeling that I was too impulsive and have made a mistake!

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Welcome to the dark side....................
You could have done much worse. You might want to have some fine tuning done to it once you get it. So, including shipping this might cost you $1500 or a bit more. Normally it is better to play a bass before you buy it, but it's not like you spent $500 on a Cremona. At least you got a bass.

[Nagrom]

The reaction I get about mine varies from "that sure is a good sounding bass" to "this is a nice bass" to "you should get a better bass. I'll buy your old one". It's a fair deal.

[shadygrove]

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

...Call me foolish or impulsive, but I just found this bass on eBay and after a very short period of contemplation, I pressed the little button that committed me to the purchase.

When I started reading your post I thought...Oh S***, he's gone for the dreaded CCB, and it's too late to save him ! But now I see you've been no more foolish or impulsive than I was almost exactly one year ago when I got an Eberle from bassesonline.com IMHO these Eberles are a good value. I played an Eberle ply while shopping, so while it is always better to play the bass you're planning to buy first, for the price it wasn't too much of a gamble to have one shipped. I figured if I wanted to trade up in a few years at least it's a solid Musima bass and likely to hold together unlike some CCBs.

As Clink said, expect to spend a few $ on setup. Other than needing to lower the nut slots a little, the only problem I've had with mine was the tailpiece hanger wire cracking. I'd replace that right away if I were you as a more flexible hanger such as aircraft steel or kevlar will also improve the sound. Next up is a better endpin.

The box it ships in is much larger than the bass and barely fit behind the front seats of a Dodge Caravan mini-van, so although someday it will fit in a Prius, take a much larger vehicle when you pick it up.

[lunarpollen]

Thanks for all the comments so far. Yeah, I was not going to stoop to a CCB of eBay, but the Eberle seemed like a good deal after doing some whirlwind research today online...

I would have loved being able to try out various basses in my price range, but that wasn't really feasible for me here in Sacramento. Maybe if I lived in a bigger metropolitan area.

The Eberle is costing me $1100 shipped, and Steve is doing their basic setup as advertised, so I guess it will be somewhat closer to ideal than if nothing had been done to it.

I have a little Scion xB so I'll either have to have a friend with a larger vehicle help me pick it up from FedEx, or I'll just strap the thing to my roof (I have a lot of experience in this).

This weekend there's a huge rockabilly benefit show in the South San Francisco vicinity that I plan to attend, so I'll probably get to hear various pickup systems and I'll talk to various bassists about them if I like their sound...

I've seen Jeff Sahs mentioned in several threads as being a Sacramento-area luthier who does great work on basses, so I think once my bass arrives I'll give him a call about fine-tuning the setup, replacing the tailpiece wire and endpin, etc.

[Bass]

I own the same bass, it's "built like a tank", it'll serve you well. You'll need a setup, I think Kevin Stewart is in Sacramento? He can be contacted at rockabillybass.com. And you should be able to fit it into your car, just take it out of the shipping box and wiggle it into the car following these directions.

[robgrow]

Nick Lloyd, one of the esteemed luthiers here, owns a laminated Eberle. He really likes it and has gigged with with it for many years. They really are built like tanks.

[lunarpollen]

I feel a lot more confident now... I gathered that they were decent basses for the buck, but it's good to know it'll be a very durable workhorse.

Mine's supposed to ship tomorrow... Keeping my fingers crossed

[bejoyous]

Here's what the Upton site has to say about it: http://www.uptonbass.com/catalog/pro...roducts_id/385