best "QPR" for student 1/4 basses

[Bethelbass1]

Hello everyone,

I have come across some money in the form of a donation to my school district and I want to purchase several 1/4 basses for my 4th grade program. Currently all "would-be-bassists" start on cello and the switch during their second year is rough.

Any suggestions on models or companies that give the best price/quality ratio?

Thanks

[tomshepp]

In my area, that would be Johnson Strings. But there are string wholesalers like Shar or Southwest strings who do that kind of thing. Kurt Ratering is a luthier for Johnson's and posts on this forum. He might be source for info etc.

[Bass Barrister]

Try Quinn Violin Shop or one of the other string shops in your area. Local is always better if possible because these basses will probably need some setup and subsequent maintenance work.

Also, you might want to check out Ideal Music in NYC, www.bassesonline.com , the guy who was liquidating his late father's vast supply of stringed instruments. He had a large number of fractional basses at one time but I don't know what he has left at this point.