advice for a beginner

[machinehead]

I used to play bass guitar years ago to a reasonable standard. I would like to get back into playing, but with a double bass. However, I am finding it difficult to get advice and don't really know what a 'good' double bass sounds like. Therefore, I am at the mercy of a 'blind purchase'. So far I am considering a Schroetter or a Primavera.
The Schroetter has a carved top but laminate maple sides and back. The Primavera is laminate throughout. Both have ebony fingerboards (as far as I can tell from the info I have).
At the moment, most of the 'proper' music shops have been pretty snooty about helping a 'newbie' and my budget. (about £700 GBP) ($1,380 USD) (I suspect that they have forgotten that we all have to start somewhere!). Can anyone recommend either of these basses or am I barking up the wrong tree?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

[fourdogs]

There is alot of very good info in the newbie threads at the top of these forums. try reading them for a strating place. They have helped me a great deal, as I am also a newbie to the U R B. Todd

[TSP]

I recommend this thread - a lot of discussion of good cheap basses in the UK. Unfortunately, 'cheap' for a bass is still pretty expensive by any other standards (particularly in the UK, where the market seems much worse than the US), and £700 seems to be skirting the lower end of what people seem to think you're likely to be able to get a reasonable bass for.

You might be able to get a Stentor Conservatoire in your price range, which Ollie Brice has been saying good things about. You woud probably have to spend some more getting a luthier to set it up properly, though - don't assume that a bass, particularly mail order, is necessarily going to arrive in playable condition! Ones from specialist bass shops should do, though; or you can get a mail-order bass then find a luthier to give it some attention (but be prepared for this to cost another hundred or so - it is, however, well worth it if it turns an unplayable bass into a nice one).

The alternative is to be patient and looking out and ask around for second-hand basses - in that price range you might very well find more interesting things in second-hand than new, and a second-hand bass (from a reputable seller, at least) is likely to be in playable condition; whereas a new bass will often need attention from a luthier. The Violin Shop in Glasgow had a second-hand German laminate bass in for £750 last I checked - it may well have gone, but worth a look. (You don't say where in the country you are - I recommend filling in your profile.) I had narrow misses on a couple of old laminate basses around the £600 mark before finally getting my 1920s carved bass for (at the very limit of my budget) £1100. Of course, with second-hand basses you have to be sure of the condition of what you're getting; either buy from a specialist with a good reputation (ask on here if you don't know) or find an experienced bassist to take with you and cast a more practiced eye over whatever you're considering. There should in many ways be less risk with second-hand, though - if it's survived for 10, 20, 50 years without obvious issues it's most likely OK for another 50; whereas a new bass just out of the box might be a time bomb that will collapse in a month.

Oh, and because I haven't got anyone else to bite yet - this place seems to have a Boosey and Hawkes bass for £295, which is the cheapest I've seen a bass in any condition. Caveat emptor, but it might be a bargain - I'd recommend taking a knowledgable bassist along to see whether it is or not, though :-)

[machinehead]

I did read through a few of the 'newbie' threads and found them very useful. I do think that I am looking at a 'Chinese' bass. I don't think that I have much choice. I did take a look at the B & H Bass for 295 - it does look a good price, but I am not going to be able to get to Kent to try it out. (I am Herefordshire based). The nearest place I may be able to try out a bass is Signet Music based just outside Milton Keynes. I could get to Birmingham, but I've looked (on the internet) and there doesn't seem to be anwhere there that sells double basses.
Anyway, thanks for the help. I guess I'm not going to get something amazing straight away, so I'll just have to learn to play, develop my ear and go from there- no shortcuts!
Cheers.

[TSP]

Turner Violins has a place in Birmingham, though their cheapest bass on their website is a Gewa for over a thousand - they might have something cheaper in second-hand, though, so worth giving them a ring - if they've got something in their Nottingham shop, they'll have it brought over to their Birmingham shop if you give them a couple of days notice. When I rang them, they said they had a range of Gewas, but I don't know if any of them are cheaper. I actually got my bass in Birmingham, from Unison Strings, who were great, but they're mostly a violin place and don't seem to have any basses on their website at the moment.

I don't know anything about Signet, I'm afraid - people have noted that they seem to have good prices, but I've no idea whether a bass from them is likely to be given to you in playable condition or need attention.

If you're thinking of going to Milton Keynes, it wouldn't be much further to go to Maidenhead and see Peter Tyler - I don't know what he's likely to have in in your price range, but people have said good things about him and he's supposed to have quite a range, so worth giving him a ring. And if you're going THAT far, it might be worth going on a bit further to Guildford to The Sound Post as well - another place people have said good things about, I seem to remember.

Cremona House in Bristol might be another place worth going - I don't know if anyone on here has experience of them, but they say lots of stuff about the quality of their setup, so you should be getting an instrument ready to play and needing no further attention from them. They've got the Stentor Student and what looks like the Carlo Giordano rockabilly bass both around the 500 pound mark. These are both Chinese-made laminated basses, but both are pretty widely-sold and shouldn't collapse in your hands; and those prices apparently include a decent setup, which is not to be sniffed at.

I'd recommend phoning people - I didn't seem to get prompt replies to quite a few of my emails, and phoning people moved things on a lot faster.

[machinehead]

I've just seen a cheap Boosey and Hawkes advertised locally. Its laminated and only a half size.
I had initially been looking for a three quarter size, but there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two sizes. As a first DB, does anyone think this would be reasonable (apparently it has been set up professionally)

Any comments?

[Silversorcerer]

Originally Posted by machinehead

I've just seen a cheap Boosey and Hawkes advertised locally. Its laminated and only a half size.
I had initially been looking for a three quarter size, but there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two sizes. As a first DB, does anyone think this would be reasonable (apparently it has been set up professionally)

Any comments?

Remember that these do not have frets like BGs. So if you start out with a shorter string and upgrade to 105 cm. later, that will be a technical speed bump. I started with a real low budget 105 cm. plywood DB and then I upped to 110 cm. string on my carved bass and had to learn where the notes were all over again. It's good to have a bass that fits if you can find one. There were some students in the UK who posted here and it seemed like they had pretty good luck with Romanian basses. I think some of the Stentors are from Romania. The company Hora in Reghin, Romania has a wide selection of DB's and might ship to UK. Try them out.

One thing I did to help in my fretless learning process was to build a washtub bass (sort of like a tea chest bass) that was actually tunable and played with stop notes. Stretching can hurt you so make one that is tunable and stoppable. You can make the string as long as you want if you experiment with different strings and it will certainly give you some relevant ear training. Danny Thompson started with a tea chest bass and he's one of the best DB players I've seen live, so it can be done.