Basses in Toronto/Hamilton/Kitchener area

JonnyY · #1 01-30-2007, 11:43 AM

hi, i am about to audition for Berklee and if i get in i will be looking for a new bass. If anyone knows of any good, fully carved uprights in the toronto/hamilton/kitchener area in the $3K-$7K price range please let me know.

Thanks,
Jon

charliehack · #2 01-30-2007, 11:40 PM

Jonny--

If you're willing to drive a bit (google maps says ~4 hours from Hamilton) Steven Reilly's shop, Guarneri House, is in East Lansing, MI. He has a great selection of old and new instruments. Check the website:

http://guarnerihouse.com/

Good luck--

Charlie

neal davis · #3 01-31-2007, 12:41 AM

Go to Heinl music in Toronto just north of Shutter on Church st, they have a website you can check out, none of there older carved basses or new ones are listed on their site but give them a call and they can let you know what they have, good people to deal with.

JonnyY · #4 01-31-2007, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neal davis

Go to Heinl music in Toronto just north of Shutter on Church st, they have a website you can check out, none of there older carved basses or new ones are listed on their site but give them a call and they can let you know what they have, good people to deal with.

ive been to heinl's...their new basses are not really worth investing in and they only have 2 used...1 old overpriced wilfer and a 1960s french that is out of my price range. Thanks anyway though

neal davis · #5 02-01-2007, 01:45 AM

when were you there I was there last week and it was like a forest upstairs in a room near the work shop, don't trust what they just have on the floor, if I remember there was a nice carved german from around 1890 for around 8k

Marcus Johnson · #6 02-01-2007, 10:30 AM

It should probably be mentioned that the family of the late Peter Chandler is deciding how to liquidate the basses that he had finished before his passing last week. There is a notice on his webpage, and apparently there are 18 basses which will be available at some point.

JonnyY · #7 02-01-2007, 10:54 AM

thanks for the info...i may go into heinl's again to check out the basses and ill be looking for info about the chandler basses. are they good, though?

neal davis · #8 02-01-2007, 11:37 AM

the chandler basses look really good but I'm not sure about the wood he used if he let it dry enough, I've heard really great chandler basses like the one greg earle has and I've heard terrible ones. if you hit the jack pot it could be the way to go but in my opinion most of them are just really nice pieces of furniture

eh_train · #9 02-01-2007, 08:14 PM

Neal,

I've heard mixed opinions of Chandler basses before, but unless you've actually played "most of them" I think it's quite harsh to call them furniture...

I would recommend The Sound Post - they have a few older basses come through - and Reidstra violins in Kitchener. Although Heinl's might have stock, they are notorious for being overpriced. Worse, I had a very bad experience with them when I tried to sell a bass on consignment.

My 2 cents...

Paul (Eh_train)

JonnyY · #10 02-01-2007, 09:50 PM

ive been to reidstra's and my top contender is there. im just trying to scope the market before i buy. i doubt ill be buying from soundpost or heinls because of them being overpriced. i might look into a chandler but im not sure.

thanks

jon

neal davis · #11 02-01-2007, 10:34 PM

I've tried around 15 to 20 chandlers between friends basses, and trying new basses when I was looking for a new one and around 5 of them were what I consider to be a decent bass, that is no knock against the man. He was a really great person and really easy to talk to. I just think that people need to know about some of his work as well. Some were great but there was a problem with the wood being too green which will lead to many problems in the future. The basses of his that I heard that sounded great sounded really great. I am just giving some advice to someone who is looking. I realise that saying alot of them were just nice furniture is harsh but it is true.