Which on a bass???

[B@$$ M@/\/]

Im just a stundent still, but im trying to decide on a bass to buy because I hope to keep playing bass as long as I can. After looking at all the music stores in San Antonio i cant find a single bass i like so i started looking on uptonbass.com and lemurmusic.com and found two basses I am really interested in. Now obviously i have no idea how these basses sound so how do i know that i am buying the right bass without playing it? Should i even take the chance of having a bass shiped so far? Any advice?

[phat daddy]

The idea of buying a bass without playing it really bothers me, but if you know what features, woods, pickup config., and body type you want you might win out. What are these two basses in question? If we know that we can at least advise you on the properties those basses possess.

[salcott]

I believe he's looking for an acoustic (double) bass.

[Steve Swan]

In your area, try Robertson & Son in Albuquerque, NM. They show at least one plywood Shen in stock. Let us know how it goes!

[marvin spangles]

Clearly the best option is to try them out first. Both companies enjoy a strong reputation so it is unlikely that you will get a bad bass. I have a lemur bass fully carved. Sunrise Laguna. I bought it sight unseen six years ago and have absolutely no regrets. The Lemur set up is excellent.
It plays well and looks great.It has a nice woody sound but lacks projection in the E string but I mostly play amplified anyway and it amplifies well. I am at the stage now where I will upgrade but I will hold on to this bass. It becomes part of you. whatever choices you make good luck.

[Eric Hochberg]

Call Upton and Lemur and see if any purchasers of their basses live in your area. If there are, go try them.

[EJ_Dad]

Originally Posted by Steve Swan

In your area, try Robertson & Son in Albuquerque, NM. They show at least one plywood Shen in stock. Let us know how it goes!

Steve, I don't want to be a 'Texas is big' kind of guy, but from San Antonio to Albuquerque is over 700 miles and an 11 hour drive each way.


You might look in Houston. If I remember correctly there are two or three bass dealers there. Search the repair / setup for Houston or Bob's luither directory. There is Grahms shop in Arlington (near Dallas) (only a 6 hour drive).

[B@$$ M@/\/]

Haha yea NM is way to far away! Okay the bass at Lemur is the Brian Bromberg Signature Wood Bass (German) and the upton bass is the UB Professor Double Bass - "Gary's Bass" so if you want to look at those im sure most of you know more about this than i do. As for Houston I thought about going there before but didnt know where to look. So there is nothing wrong with having a bass shiped so far?

[B@$$ M@/\/]

And as a matter of fact i was looking at the laguna bass that might be another possibility. What do they mean by Sunrise? Is that a company?

[Hyper-Flexion]

i live in houston and we have Lyle Violin shop...they sell DB...i'm a electric player but they rock...i'd call them first...(might have spelled lyle wrong)

[liam_g]

Bob Gollihur lists a number of Texas luthiers in his directory:
http://www.gollihurmusic.com/luthiers.cfm

It's been 20 years since I lived in Texas, so I can't really say which of these are closest to San Antonio, but it's worth a look.

Good luck!