first double bass, are these two only suitable for bonfire wood?

[renfrew]

Hello fello bassists,

I fell in love with double bass after watching local jazz and blues bands and want a good all rounder, they are both similar price but appear to be rather different. Most notable is the varnished Primavera P50 Laminate Double Bass and the Canadian maple Archer Double Bass

Although Im only young I am 6ft so I presume I need a standard 3/4 size

1) which one do you rate as the better double bass going off the specs?
2) and the Primavera states its a Gamba design but I do not see this in the picture?

http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-B...ouble-Bass/8UV

Body: Hand carved, Atelier built
Top: Hand carved select Canadian spruce
Back: Flamed select two-piece Canadian maple with matching ribs and scroll
Finish: Hand applied oil in orange-brown with slight antiquing
Bridge: Adjustable, Maple, 3 piece construction
Neck: Maple with hardwood fingerboard
Tuning Plate: Brass engraved with nickel winders
Spike: Adjustable
Bow

Type: German style, octagonal pernambuco bow with horsehair
Adjuster: Ebony with two nickel bands
Lapping: Nickel silver with leather thumbpiece
Frog: Fully mounted and lined round heel ebony with abalone pearl eye
Tip: Bone

OR....

http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-B...mba-Design/K9W
Primavera P50 Laminate Double Bass 3/4 Outfit (Gamba Design) — an entry level three-quarter size double bass designed for beginners and students. Comes complete with a
The back and ribs are constructed from highly figured maple (laminate), with a spruce laminate table. This double bass is finished in a lightly shaded, amber brown varnish. The sound and style will fit most musical genres - whether played in an orchestra, or as part of a jazz ensemble or big band.

Included Accessories:
Primavera Bow (with half-mounted ebony frog)
Strings
Padded Cover (with carrying straps)

Features/Specifications:
Ebony fingerboard with ebony top-nut
Chrome-plated individual machine heads
Metal alloy tailpiece
Height adjusters allow for different playing styles



Any advice would be much appreciated, I hope you can help me not buy a stinker!

I also look forward to replying to talkbass posts.

Thanks

Ian

[Rigel42]

This helped my out
http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.p..._a_Double_Bass

I ended up with a used Christopher 100 series

Sorry, I'm not familiar with ether of the basses you listed.

[Marial]

Stay way away from any bass that doesn't have an ebony (or at least rosewood) fingerboard. This comes from unpleasant personal experience. You'll have a hard time finding anyone to work on it otherwise.

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Hi, Ian

Where are you located and what is your budget? You can do better than either of those...things.

[renfrew]

Thank you for the advice gentlemen.

Im not sure I can get a Christopher 100 in the UK but I shall have a good google for it.

Thanks for the rosewood fingerboard tip. I think I shall have to accept a bass that will have some flaws for less than $1600. The Archer one does seem to have better reviews and I am sure the vanish on the Primavera will not help with the sound?

Thanks again

[renfrew]

Originally Posted by KUNGfuSHERIFF

Hi, Ian

Where are you located and what is your budget? You can do better than either of those...things.

The UK and around $1600

I liked the sound of this double bass,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_dttkuqJwM

[renfrew]

Originally Posted by Rigel42

This helped my out
http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.p..._a_Double_Bass

I ended up with a used Christopher 100 series

Sorry, I'm not familiar with ether of the basses you listed.

Managed to find one here...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/christopher...trabass_34.htm

I see it has a ebony fingerboard

[Phil Rowan]

Originally Posted by renfrew

The UK and around $1600

I liked the sound of this double bass,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_dttkuqJwM

Add a zero to the end of your price range and you might be getting close to what one of the basses in the video go for (or close to half?).

[Champagne]

Originally Posted by renfrew

Managed to find one here...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/christopher...trabass_34.htm

I see it has a ebony fingerboard

There ya go, Ian. That is a good place to start. If you are able to go and play some basses, or even better, rent one for a few months, that will begin to lead you down a road. If you do rent one and get some lessons, you will get some chops together so when you do go and buy a bass, you will have a foundation to be able to discern what bass you would like in your price range based on personal taste (feel, sound, vibe).

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Thomann=Strunal, from what I understand. I had the cheapest Strunal with an ebony fingerboard, and it was a pretty good bass. Robust, made in the Czech Republic in a factory that has been making stringed instruments for decades. The hardware was awful but can be replaced for a nominal cost later on.

[renfrew]

Thank you Champagne, I know for looks I do prefer the matt finish. I also like a punch sound which isn't to bright.

It appears that the thomann 33 is the best selling double bass on thomann's site

http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_33_02.htm



it certainly sounds nice on the sound clips available on the website. Shame that the Christopher series does not have sound clips or more images.

Can either of you guys tell me what ...
flat carved maple back means? do that mean the back is completely flat?
also is a round ebony fingerboard pretty good?

Sorry to ask such simple questions, I really appreciate your time.

Ian

[renfrew]

the guys bass in the youtube clip is a Chris Threlkeld. Appears to be an american double bass, it sounds lush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RCgy...0442A0AFA1C7AB

[Champagne]

It is a flat back. No belly. I have no idea why they would say the back is carved. Everything I have known about flat back basses are they are flat slabs of wood glued together with added cross bracing. I had a flat back for a while and I loved that bass.

Fingerboards come in round and beveled. I think most today will be round but I can be wrong. The beveled boards permit more room for the E-string to vibrate.

[uprightben]

When they say "carved", they mean not plywood. It's not carved really, but milled solid wood. That archer thing looked really bad to me, the bridge in the pic needed a lot of work to not be a disaster. I think you are being steered in a much better direction with the strunals and christofers.

[Valis]

Originally Posted by renfrew

the guys bass in the youtube clip is a Chris Threlkeld. Appears to be an american double bass, it sounds lush

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RCgy...0442A0AFA1C7AB

I watched the video out out of curiosity and from one of the angles I thought I saw a strange shape at the top of the f-hole on the treble side.
So I checked this other video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-y9...0442A0AFA1C7AB

and if you watch it in HD at 0:49 you'll see the top looks to be sinking a bit. Is it me or just a different design or what?

[Rigel42]

Originally Posted by renfrew

Managed to find one here...
http://www.thomann.de/gb/christopher...trabass_34.htm

I see it has a ebony fingerboard

Awesome! That's the exact same bass I have
I play in a jazz trio and I've only had compliments on the sound. I'm sure there are better (and more expensive) basses out there, but that one is getting the job done just fine.

I have some band recordings I can post so you can hear the sound. I'll try to do that this week.

[Phil Rowan]

Originally Posted by Valis

I watched the video out out of curiosity and from one of the angles I thought I saw a strange shape at the top of the f-hole on the treble side.
So I checked this other video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-y9...0442A0AFA1C7AB

and if you watch it in HD at 0:49 you'll see the top looks to be sinking a bit. Is it me or just a different design or what?

It's the shadow created by the fingerboard.

[Rigel42]

Originally Posted by Rigel42

Awesome! That's the exact same bass I have
I play in a jazz trio and I've only had compliments on the sound. I'm sure there are better (and more expensive) basses out there, but that one is getting the job done just fine.

I have some band recordings I can post so you can hear the sound. I'll try to do that this week.

As promised. The Chrissy 103 Bass played by a mediocre bass player, but the bass still sounds good

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12103083

[kevteop]

Hey man, I live about a mile away from Gear4Music's showroom (it's in Poppleton). A couple of times that I've stopped in there to pick something up I've tried their double basses, and each time they were shocking.

The 'Archer' model, the woods look OK, but the basses are so badly set up it's impossible to tell if they can be made into decent basses. The first one I came across had three strings on it and the action was about 3/4" at the end of the board, if not more. Another one I saw was tuned several tones flat so I got my phone out and attempted to get it up to pitch, and as I did the bridge BENT - literally bent like a banana as I tuned it.

I tuned it back down and the bridge went straight again. It was as if it was made from living wood, it had no rigidity at all.

So while you might be able to make a decent bass from one, it will involve a setup and probably a new bridge and certainly some new strings, so you're looking at spending another £200 - £350 setting it up once it arrives from G4M.

On the other hand I can recommend the more 'budget' end of the range from Gedo Musik in Germany. They set their basses up very well before they ship them and will fit a good set of strings too, I bought a bass from them last March and it hasn't even seen a luthier yet it was that good out of the box.

Apparently Thomann are equally reputable and their '22' model is a Strunal that is often recommended for beginners.

But yeah, I would steer clear of Gear4Music. You just don't know what you're going to get.