Bought my second upright, an Eberle, today

[SteveFreides]

I went to Ideal today (www.bassesonline.com) in NYC and took my bass playing friend with me. I bought a full carved Erberle - liked it better than anything else I played there that I can afford. My first bass was a fully carved Roma, which I've sold to a student.

Suggestions on strings are welcomed - hopefully a slightly more focused discussion can be had since we know what the bass is, and what my goals are: to make the most beautiful bowed tone I can and to be as consistent as possible in producing that tone. I will still play pizz a good deal but I am content with a setup that is "OK" or "pretty good" for pizz but really sings arco. I have a pernambuco (sp? but it's wooden and a notch better than brazilwood, I believe) bow. As mentioned above, the bass is a full carved Eberle. I'm getting an adjustable bridge made for it and hope to bring it home later this week.

Thanks in advance.

-S-

[LouisF]

I put spirocore weichs on mine and love it.

Louis

[wdave]

Hi guys,
Newbie here. I've been thinking of getting one of those Eberle fully carved basses. I've been skiddish, though, due to the rather cheap price and the fact that I can not try it out first. I haven't run across any other fully carved basses in that price range. Sound and construction quality wise, is it anywhere close to other low price point carved basses (which seem to bottom out at around 3k)?
Dave Little

[LouisF]

IMO better. There are several threads and postings here as to Steve's story (his father imported the instruments and he's basically liquidating inventory). The downside is that the bass will probably have no more resale value than what you paid for it - but it is a steal for the money.

LF

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by SteveFreides

I went to Ideal today (www.bassesonline.com) in NYC and took my bass playing friend with me. I bought a full carved Erberle - liked it better than anything else I played there that I can afford. My first bass was a fully carved Roma, which I've sold to a student.

Suggestions on strings are welcomed - hopefully a slightly more focused discussion can be had since we know what the bass is, and what my goals are: to make the most beautiful bowed tone I can and to be as consistent as possible in producing that tone. I will still play pizz a good deal but I am content with a setup that is "OK" or "pretty good" for pizz but really sings arco. I have a pernambuco (sp? but it's wooden and a notch better than brazilwood, I believe) bow. As mentioned above, the bass is a full carved Eberle. I'm getting an adjustable bridge made for it and hope to bring it home later this week.

Thanks in advance.

-S-

On that Bridge, is it being made with or without the Bass present at the shop?

On the strings, I could suggest blindly but first tell me what strings are on there now and how they bow and pizz as-is. Also, how is the tension with those strings at the moment?

This will help to figure out where to go and how to get there from where you are or from where your bass is and how it works with the current set-up before making blind suggestions.

[LouisF]

Ken et al,

The bridge comes pretty thick from the shop and needs to be shaped and/or replaced (as does the tailpiece and endpin). Since it was just for me to use in the studio (my writing studio where I work on scripts, not a a recording studio) I was happy having Gary Stein here in LA work on the bridge etc rather than replace it. I added a Thomastik tailpiece and wood/stainless steel pin. As a basic instrument - for the price - I believe it's a good deal. The bass can sound a little "thick" and I like the focus the Spiros brought to the sound.

Louis

[mjcostel]

I ordered an Ebarle Laminate from Steve yesterday and cannot wait to get it. He will be doing a Bluegrass setup for me. Everything (with NO exceptions) I have read from a variety of sources has been very positive about the instrument. That along with Steve's perfect Ebay feedback made it an easy choice.

A comment above mentioned that the Eberle's are great for the money but the resale would not be as good. If the instrument is high quality and durable, "built like a tank" as it were, the price will go up after the inventory is depleted. That, howerver, is a secondary concern.

Michael

[LouisF]

What I meant was that because he has sold enough of these instruments at the discounted price, it would be very difficult to get their "real" value of @ $3000 in the future. They will certainly hold their value and I - for one - have no plans of selling mine soon.

Louis

[SteveFreides]

I'll try to answer a few of the questions that came up in one reply.

I also played the top-carved Eberle, which goes for $300 less - also a very nice bass for the money, IMHO. I played a laminate-only and a top-carved Wilfer (sp?) and didn't like it either as much. The fully carved Wilfer, which was about $3500 if memory serves, was _wonderful_, just out of my budget.

My bass is still at the shop and the setup, including making/installing the adjustable bridge, will be done there. I'll bring it home in a few days.

The standard string at Ideal seems to be Heliocore Medium Hybrids, and that's what's on there now. I find them very nice for pizz but for arco, they have a bit of harshness to them I don't especially care for. You could call it brightness instead of harshness and not be wrong. My taste runs more towards a richer, deeper sound for arco - no doubt the lack of that will be, in part, due to the relative inexpensiveness of the instrument itself, but whatever I can do in the way of strings, I would like to try. The action is currently set pretty high and between that and the relatively high tension on the strings, something overall easier to play would be an improvement, as long as it doesn't come at the expensive of a beautiful, full, loud when it needs to be bowed tone.

Spirocore weichs - I'd like to hear more about these. This is a light gauge string. Is it still good for a strong, loud bowed tone without rolling or other problems?

Edit: found this on the web - seems a good read, if a bit over my head, about string choices:

http://www.davidgage.com/z_david_archive2.htm

-S-

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Ok, Helicore Orchestras is the cheapest and same $ I assume as the Hybrids. Use the Helicore Orch or Solo tuned down to Orchestra.

Want a richer sound and still need Pizz, try Pirastro Flatchromes.

Want sweeter with the Bow.. Use Flexocor regular 92s, 92s with Stark E or if the bass is tight, 92s solo with regular E for better low tension.

I don't know how your bass feels or sounds but basses in this price range and new never been played might be a bit edgy to begin with. Helocores are the best cheapest to start with, go from there. I personally don't like their flattish uncolored tone but I am talking about Orchestra and Solo classical bowing. Save money and ask Steve for the Orchestra set of the orch solos. They pizz good as well if the bass is tight and bow easily.

[pillion]

Hey all,
I'm new here and thinking of moving from the electric to an upright. I've got about 1-1.5 K to spend on an upright bass and dont really know where to begin. I played a Strunal at Sam Ash yesterday and thought it might be a good starter bass, but how would one of those hybrid or laminated Eberle's from bassesonline.com compare? Where else should I look to get a good starter bass? What are some names to keep an eye out for? Thanks for your help!

[drurb]

Start with the newbie links in this forum. Then, c'mon back with questions.

[pillion]

Sorry about overlooking the Newbie pages... lots of great stuff there. I'd like to play jazz and folk/bluegrass and have no aspirations for the orchestra. I currently have no teacher but I'm moving to Durham in a few weeks and will eventually look around for one.

It seems that for about $1200, I could have shipped to me either a low-end Engelhardt (from BG), Eberle (from Ideal), Roma (from Ideal), or spend a little more locally and buy the Strunal from Sam Ash or a Shen from a local shop. Any thoughts on which way to go? Thanks.

[kmanley_29649]

I am personally a big fan of Shens. I've just recently gotten into this thing myself, and the two Shens I've played (the 7/8 willow and my SB80) are amazing. I prefer them to everything else that I tried.

[dchan]

Originally Posted by pillion

It seems that for about $1200, I could have shipped to me either a low-end Engelhardt (from BG), Eberle (from Ideal), Roma (from Ideal), or spend a little more locally and buy the Strunal from Sam Ash or a Shen from a local shop. Any thoughts on which way to go? Thanks.

I suggest that you try out the Strunal and the Shen so that you can get a better sense of what they sound like. While the basses from Ideal are good, you have no idea what the bass they're going to ship to you will sound like; they tend to vary quite a bit. I would get a teacher first, then ask him or her to accompany you to try out the basses so you could get his or her opinion on them.

[Jet Nero]

Originally Posted by pillion

It seems that for about $1200, I could have shipped to me either a low-end Engelhardt (from BG), Eberle (from Ideal), Roma (from Ideal), or spend a little more locally and buy the Strunal from Sam Ash or a Shen from a local shop. Any thoughts on which way to go? Thanks.

Give a good look at the Shen from your local shop. It'll likely be set up properly and you'll have the shop's support should you need it. Many shops have good trade in policies for repeat customers too. That said, I've bought gear from Ideal before and those people are a class act. But I'm also a firm believer that you must play a bass before buying it. If you have the opportunity to go on a bass buying excursion, then go for it.

[SteveFreides]

Back to strings for my carved Erberle - will I go "wrong" with Bel Canto's? I can't find a bad thing said about them as far as arco playing is concerned.

Mrs. Loeb said she's been asking around for me, and Evah Parazzi and Bel Canto's both come highly recommended, as do the Spirocore weichs. (Forgive me for the multiple sins of misspelling I have, no doubt, just committed).

-S-

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by SteveFreides

Back to strings for my carved Erberle - will I go "wrong" with Bel Canto's? I can't find a bad thing said about them as far as arco playing is concerned.

Mrs. Loeb said she's been asking around for me, and Evah Parazzi and Bel Canto's both come highly recommended, as do the Spirocore weichs. (Forgive me for the multiple sins of misspelling I have, no doubt, just committed).

-S-

Ok.. Listen.. The Bels bow well but have a soft sounding E and a Thomastic tonality as do the Weichs. Today I tried to Spiro Solos and the suck for the Bow on a new type bass. Too bright, way too bright. The Weichs are similar. The EPs are somewhat bright but bow good.

You can easily spend hundreds per set trying things out. For bowing, listen to Bowers and what they have to say. Otherwise, why should we bother to tell you what works only to be second guessed buy a dealer who doesnt play?

[SteveFreides]

Ken, I'm listening to everyone - that includes you, and it also includes the dealer. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

-S-

[EJ_Dad]

On my Eberle carved (90% arco, 10% pizz), I'm using Belcantos and am happy with the sound and playing characteristics.

I've had:
1. Chromcores - came with the bass, Ok, but my teacher said change them.
2. Spirocores - Scratchy, "they'll last 10 years", but who cares if they're not enjoyable to listen to.
3. Flexicores - regular E & stark E, sounded great, good volume, but required some pressure to get the string started. I was having R.H. pressure/tension problems.

The Belcantos start with less pressure, which has helped reduce my R.H. tension. They are not quite as loud or centered a sound as the Flexicores.

I'm thinking of putting on Coreli's for the Summer, while there's no orchestra, to work on pitch/intonation. They have more high overtones, making the pitch easier to hear. I'll put an orchestra string back on before the Fall.