Bass Decision

[tbassist4]

Hello all, I thought this might be an interesting thread to start, and hopefully it will be helpful. I recently brought my bass in for repairs, and my luthier loaned me two basses to try for possible purchase. I'm excited because now I can try these in my own home, and possibly bring them to an orchestra rehearsal on Wednesday.

I am being loaned a 3/4 Calin Wultur Laminated Spirit, on which the top and back are laminated, but the sides are carved (never heard of that before, but it makes for a better sound), and a 3/4 Shen (not sure which) hyrbrid, with the top being carved, and the rest laminated. Both of these basses are new, and have very little age on them, though I am not sure how much. I'll share my initial impressions, photos, and hopefully some recordings a little later on.

From what I gather thus far, both of these basses are better for different purposes:

The Wultur would make an excellent orchestral bass. It has a very full and boomy low end (probably a good jazz bass), and it certainly fills a room. It is my idea of an orchestral bass. It is, however, a little weaker in the high end; the tone is not quite as good in terms of quality up there. It is a large bodied bass, but the string length and neck size are very manageable (I play a large 7/8 regularly). The downside is that I already have a similar bass that serves this purpose. All of the parts are well made, and the price tag (which I will show after some discussion) is very attractive, though this is not really a concern.

The Shen would make a better solo bass. I have heard descriptions of the tone quality of carved instruments, and now I can finally put words to meaning. The bass is focused. It reminds me of what I'm told in vocal lessons and choir (being a baritone/bass), that one is supposed to sing through the nose as they go lower rather than in the throat. This focuses the tone and allows your voice to be heard much better and with clarity; it becomes too muddy otherwise. This bass reminded me of that. The tone is focused all the way down. While the other one booms, this one cuts. I could see why a person would want either one in an orchestra situation (most of my playing involves this), but I personally prefer full, loud basses with a lot of low end for orchestral playing. This Shen, being a carved bass, will open up over time as I am told. I assume (but do not know), this would develop a more full low end while still keeping the focus. If anyone could further describe "opening up" in more detail, such as what to expect, I would be very appreciative. In the solo range, this bass has a beautiful tone. I need more of an instrument of this type. It sings well, has a dark tone (I would like it to be brighter, and possibly a change of strings will help), and literally sounds great in the entire range used for solo playing. The low end is not bad, it is actually very good, it is just very focused, which I must get used to. Maybe closed up? Although I haven't heard enough to make a judgment on this.

As of right now I am leaning very much toward the Shen. Its playability is excellent, and it made for an easy transition from the different bass sizes. The Wultur plays easily as well, but not quite as well for my playing style. I love the feel of the neck on the Shen, and it is quite a relief after using my thick-necked Chinese plywood bass, which I do still intend to keep.

These are just my initial impressions, and I will be posting more information later. As a side note, I'm a freshman in college, and need a new bass. The price tags on these seem low for what I hear of "student basses", but I like their feel and sound, and after comparing them to two other more expensive basses in the shop, I decided to compare between these two. Anyways, any comments or tips about comparing basses would be very helpful. I'd like to know what you all think.