Bulgarian Carved Basses

[rodell]

I have been educated in the construction of basses enough to have been convinced that a fully carved bass produces a better sound than a laminated one. A fully carved bass for $2,050 seems like an incredible deal and I have seen the Bulgarian basses advertised in a couple of places for that price. I would like to have some input concerning the quality of sound these instruments produce and the quality of construction.

[jmpiwonka]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search...archid=2137621

[glivanos]

You can also find some fully carved Chinese basses for the same amount of money.

I don't have any links to give you, but a local luthier in Reading, PA is selling them for that and Sam Ash's house brand (Carlos Robelli) carved basses are about $1800.

IMO, try before you buy and don't rule out a good quality hybrid model which should run about $2000, give or take a few hundred $,

[armybass]

Originally Posted by jmpiwonka

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/search...archid=2137621

Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.

[jmpiwonka]

Originally Posted by armybass

hmmm, it worked earlier, i wonder if they time out or something.

anyways, search the bass forum for "gollihur" or "bulgarian" and look through them.

[fingers]

Beware of Carlos Rubelli basses. One of my students has one and it has been nothing but trouble. Plus Sam Ash doesn't have a luthier on site so repairs take weeks. Look into Shen or Christopher if you are interested in Chinese basses and buy from a shop that specializes in strings.

[rodell]

ok, thanks for the help guys

[fingers]

I have a Shen Willow 3/4. I LOVE it.

[Silversorcerer]

My carved bass made by Kremona Bulgaria, LTD. is now a year old. It is very well constructed and has a very pleasing tone throughout the range. It has presented no flaws or weaknesses in construction even though I have dragged it to several rehearsals a week. It is playing in nicely and the sound continues to open up. I have the larger 5-string model and I really like this bass. The hardware is good quality, the fit and finish inside and out is well executed and the sound is quite rich. I have no complaints about this bass whatsoever. For the price, it would be tough to beat in the fully carved category.

I got mine from Bob Gollihur. It will be a good idea if you get one of these to have a pro setup done on it. They are playable the way they arrive, but if you want them to play and sound really good, a professional setup is highly recommended.