Cheapest "quality upright"?

[regalzack]

Hello all, I have a psychobilly band up in Spokane washington (I'm actually the guitar player) but my bass player wants to begin the transition into an upright.

Anyway I was just wondering about good entry level uprights, brand names, models, and what sort of price?

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks guys,
Zack

[mpoppitt]

Plan to spend AT LEAST $1K, and more like $1500-2k for anything decent, unless you luck out on something used.

Stay away from the under $700 ebay basses at all cost, and don't buy anything without an ebony fingerboard if your playing psycho. Engelhardt, Shen ,Christopher, King, Kay, Upton are all good, stay away from Palatino, Cremona, and all the rest of the Chinese crap.

Be sure and tell him to visit http://rockabillybass.com/phpBB/index.php

Lots of good info for set-ups/Strings/amps etc.

[tbassist4]

Originally Posted by mpoppitt

Plan to spend AT LEAST $1K, and more like $1500-2k for anything decent, unless you luck out on something used.

Stay away from the under $700 ebay basses at all cost, and don't buy anything without an ebony fingerboard if your playing psycho. Engelhardt, Shen ,Christopher, King, Kay, Upton are all good, stay away from Palatino, Cremona, and all the rest of the Chinese crap.

Be sure and tell him to visit http://rockabillybass.com/phpBB/index.php

Lots of good info for set-ups/Strings/amps etc.

Whether you like it or not, you will end up spending over 1k. The ebay basses should be a last option. I am, however a proud owner of one. I spent around another $400+ and the cost of new strings to have it fixed and made playable. Now it can compete with the other basses in its class quite well. With a good luthier and proper setup/repairs, "Chinese crap," as stated above, can actually become quite a formidable instrument. Just for the record, I am not angry at mpoppitt, I would just like to clarify that these instruments can become very usable when repaired and set up correctly. Of course, a prayer and a little luck may be required as well...

In retrospect, I could have made a better choice. Frankly, I was lucky with my bass. It turned out much better than expected, and the luthiers that repaired it were a little surprised as well, I believe.

The instruments listed above are all great. The other options, if you would like to be fancy, while still remaining in the same class of instruments, are Bob Gollihur's Bulgarian fully carved basses and the Romanian fully carved basses. Mr. Gollihur has all of the information on his website; they look pretty good. I'll provide links below. The Romanian basses are made with good materials (Carpathian Spruce tops, as I was told by someone on the forums), ebony fingerboards, real purfling (an unexpected plus in this class), and ebony tailpieces. Expect to pay another $300-$400, as I was told, for setup and such. These basses need a little more work than ones you'd find in a luthier's shop, because they haven't been professionally setup and some of the parts might need to be reworked (fingerboard planing, etc...). I will be purchasing one of the Romas very soon. They are liquidating stock due to the company going out of business (details on the webpage), so the prices are currently unbeatable for a fully carved instrument.

Good luck in finding a bass! Here are the links to the ones I mentioned:

Bob Gollihur's Bulgarian fully carved basses:
http://www.urbbob.com/doublebass.html

Romanian fully carved basses:
http://www.bassesonline.com/index.html

[drurb]

The Upton laminate and hybrid are also excellent options.

[TroyK]

Hey Zach, does your bassist want to transition or do you want him to? Why didn't he register and post?

There's a lot more to that transition than buying a cheap bass. He needs to really want it.

-tk

[tbassist4]

Originally Posted by TroyK

There's a lot more to that transition than buying a cheap bass. He needs to really want it.

-tk

I strongly agree. Have him sign up here. Starting an instrument is a huge deal, and he'll have to spend a lot of money, even for these basses that we've been talking about. $2000+ is a lot of money, haha.

[TroyK]

Yeah, for starters "Quality" is relative.

A $1,000 bass might be adequate for what he is to do with it, but even the cheapest of us would not generally refer to such an instrument as "quality".

Many people find their level of "quality" in the $2,000-3,000 range (brands recommended). For others, "quality" starts at around $6k and others $20.

But he still has to learn to play it, care for it, transport it, amplify it. None of which are nearly as easy as anyone who is out working on electric bass think it is. Not that it can't be done, but it sucks to be a beginner again while things are going well in your music career.

I'm not suggesting that he shouldn't do it. I think it's a great idea. But, it's a big investment for him, not only in initial cash outlay for a bass, but also time, energy, humility et al.

Send him to us if he is really interested. We'll do what we can to help him.

[toman]

I really like the Eberle plywood basses. They're indestructable, and with a few upgrades and a good setup, they're really functional basses. They can be had on the web for under 1k, and with a little more invested, you'll have an instrument that will sound good and hold up for a long time.

[Silversorcerer]

I like my 5-string Kremona 4x4;- more every day. I just got back from an outdoor festival where I fell asleep in lounger before I put the bass in my tent. I woke up and dew from the fog had condensed all over my bass. It literally had droplets of water running down the ribs, strings, fingerboard, and table. So rather than panic I took it to the campfire and the warm air dried it up. I was careful not to let it really heat up. When the sun came up, I was still playing it with a bow. And it could be heard above the djembes. That old saw about carved basses being delicate, perhaps some of them are, but not this one.

And of several basses, some hybrids that cost more, it was the best sounding one at the festival hands down, acoustic or amped.

[Bass]

Originally Posted by mpoppitt

...Be sure and tell him to visit http://rockabillybass.com/phpBB/index.php...

+1

[bassist1962]

Originally Posted by mpoppitt

Stay away from the under $700 ebay basses at all cost, and don't buy anything without an ebony fingerboard if your playing psycho. Engelhardt, Shen ,Christopher, King, Kay, Upton are all good, stay away from Palatino, Cremona, and all the rest of the Chinese crap.

Hey Mpoppitt, Show them the picture to back this statement up!!!

[EJ_Dad]

+1 for BassesOnline.com

I have an Eberle carved. It's a solid bass with a resonable sound, even though its a little heavily wooded.

The Eberle ply's are a staple of the local schools and seem to hold up well.

[Barry Clark]

Beyond the given setup you would have to do, I have heard wonderful things about the DeVilli uprights. They seem to run between $600 and $800. Flamed maple back and sides. Ebony fingerboards. New to all this, but there seems to be some VERY happy people with them.

[Barry Clark]

Originally Posted by EJ_Dad

+1 for BassesOnline.com

I have an Eberle carved. It's a solid bass with a resonable sound, even though its a little heavily wooded.

The Eberle ply's are a staple of the local schools and seem to hold up well.

Finally. I have been looking for someone with an opinion on Eberles. Thanks!

[tbassist4]

Originally Posted by Barry Clark

Beyond the given setup you would have to do, I have heard wonderful things about the DeVilli uprights. They seem to run between $600 and $800. Flamed maple back and sides. Ebony fingerboards. New to all this, but there seems to be some VERY happy people with them.

I own a DeVilli; they are $565 shipped. Mine doesn't have a flamed maple back and sides, the fingerboard is rosewood, and the tailpiece is aluminum. Other than that, I have no complaints. It has opened up and I am very pleased with it. However, I paid another $450 or more (actually probably more) for repairs (fingerboard re-planed and stained again, soundpost cut and reset [it was too long], a new endpin, and adjusters installed in the bridge) and I think a bit more for new strings. I would advise going higher up. I ended out with a nice bass, but I don't know if I got lucky or if all of them can be repaired like this and sound good. It took quite a while to fix. I'm also waiting to see if the seam separation that is happening is serious or not. I find out on Saturday; I'll post the results. I've owned the bass for a little under two years. Once again, I'm very happy with my instrument, but you do have to put money and work into these lower-tear basses to make them sound good. When you do though, I would say they sound very presentable. I would, however, aim for something like the Romas, Eberles, or Wilfers if you must buy online. I think the New Standards and Uptons have been mentioned already. You'll pay more for those, but you get the guarantee of a great bass. I do think, though, that these carved Romas, etc. at this price are very formidable competition at this level.

[Barry Clark]

Yeah, I am honestly aiming for an Englehardt EM1.

[Bassman316]

Resurrecting a old thread here... I'm from the "other side", and I've wanted to learn upright for a long time now. I pay a lot of attention to the threads in the double bass forums, so I understand the importance of getting a decent quality DB as your first and basically staying away from $549 e-bay specials. I've noticed that on Bob Gollihur's page he has an Englehardt Gollihur Classic and Supreme model. I've been saving money here and there for when I can finally make my move... my question is- does anyone have any experience with these basses? From what I understand, Bob has a great reputation in the DB community as providing good service and selling good quality instruments. The Englehardt Gollihur Classic is definitely within my price range. I appreciate any ideas you guys may have. Thanks!!

[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by Bassman316

my question is- does anyone have any experience with these basses? From what I understand, Bob has a great reputation in the DB community as providing good service and selling good quality instruments. The Englehardt Gollihur Classic is definitely within my price range. I appreciate any ideas you guys may have. Thanks!!

It would be extremely beneficial for you to check out the classifieds here and take a drive to Charlotte. (I have absolutely no affiliation with the seller.)

Other than that, the Englehardt line is very decent entry level instruments...and Bob's new basses come with a much nicer finish and a few other upgrades. I believe all of his ship to you from the factory, so you will have to get a professional setup. Not sure of what you have out on the coast, but there is a very high quality shop in Greensboro.

I took the jump from electric to double bass about ten years ago with an Englehardt EM1. It was a very decent bass and served me well for a few years. I later sold it to somebody on this board who is still playing it and very happy with it. Ironically, in my mind, it was a much better sounding and playing bass than the one I replaced it with, which cost about 3x as much.

PS. Also check out the Hybrids from Upton - they will come with the best setup in the business, which will save you $400-600.

[drurb]

His price range would seem to be more in line with lami basses.

[rgr]

I also have an Eberle plywood from bassesonline.com. It's a NOS made in 1991. Color is more brownish than the bright red color on the website. I changed the tailpiece to ebony, added tailpiece cable, bridge adjusters, Spirocore mediums and one of those eBay carbon fiber endpin. It's been great to have a good quality bass that you can bring to gigs without having to worry about it being banged up. It is a little on heavy side, but durable. The tone is punchy and on the bright side. After playing it for the past 6 months, I can hear more of the 'notched' sound associated with carved tops as opposed to the 'thud' heard on lower-end plywoods. The basic setup that came with it seem to work for the most part. I had to shave the top of the bridge down and file to nut a bit to get a playable action. The fingerboard may need a little planing to get 2-3 slight note buzzes. I'd say changing the tailpiece & cable and lowering the string height had the biggest effect on tone and playability. The aged wood really takes it above the new basses in the price range. I think there's a thread posted saying that these basses use to sell for $3000 before they began liquidating them.