First upright bass, help?

[KingCrimson]

Hey guys so I've decided to purchase my first upright bass and well its not as easy as buying electrics.....

I go to college for music and i play jazz electric bass, reason why i'm deciding to get an upright is to broaden my skills and because i fell in love with playing them.

Now i'm working over the summer and i got some money saved up as well my parents are gonna help me out as well right now think the budget is up to 3000$.

I live in Montreal and i find that there is limited options for trying out upright basses, the stores here hold the cheap chinese uprights mainly, i've only seen one czech bass made by Dvorak selling for 3000$.

So i'm looking online for my purchase and it is quite difficult seeing as i can't try any of them, so far after reading threads i found these options.

Shen
http://www.cscproducts.com/

Engelhardt
http://www.gollihurmusic.com/results...tList.cfm?m=19

Upton

http://www.uptonbass.com/the-upton-bass-double-basses/

Lemur

http://www.lemurmusic.com/Lemur-Sunr...s/products/21/

Yankels?

http://bassesonline.com/

So i do know the difference between laminated and carved, i'm not sure if i will be able to afford a carved though. I also know that every upright is different and i should be really specific, this is hard to do though considering buying offline.

I'm weary about spending under 2000$ as i've heard that you should spend over to get something decent, are these sub 2000$ basses from other brands any good?

As well does anybody know where to look in Montreal for these instruments? I have tried craigslist and kijiji but not much shows up and things may seem a bit overpriced.


Can someone help me with my decision maybe telling me where i can't go wrong, i really do want a great instrument. So far I really do like that upton standard although the shen willow is the one that makes me GAS but its a bit out of my price range and i'm not sure if shen ships free anyways.

[longfinger]

Dvorak = Strunal.

Here is something to check out.

http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-...AdIdZ200997327

The above is likely not set up well, but if you take it in to Violins Etc on St-Urbain street, you could have it set up well for a few hundred bucks. Add in a full circle pickup, or another of your liking, for few hundred more, and for just less than $2000 CAN you'd have a good sounding well made first double bass, fully set up and with a pickup.

Are you in C.E.G.E.P. or University?

[KingCrimson]

CEGEP, I go to vanier. And are you sure that will be decent? Ive seen it but i really want a nice instrument. Then again i dont know myuch about uprights.

[Eric Hochberg]

Talk with Mario Lamarre. See if you can find some Shens locally. Good basses. Buy what you can try and have it checked out by a bass luthier first.

[buddyro57]

All good advice here, but I would say that above all, ask someone to help you shop if at all possible. If I were in your shoes, I would do a little research: Ask bass professors at local universities (check first with the teacher you will study with soon!), the principal in the local symphony, local jazz bassists etc. Get a consensus on who is the best luthier/repair person in the area. If you buy from that person (or shop) then there is a reasonable expectation that they will provide service when the bass needs it and it will need it. Start there and good luck!

[longfinger]

Originally Posted by KingCrimson

CEGEP, I go to vanier. And are you sure that will be decent? Ive seen it but i really want a nice instrument. Then again i dont know myuch about uprights.

Hey,

You can try mine out if you want, to get an idea of how a 50/4 can sound and play when it's set up well. The strings on them are older, but still good sounding. PM me if you're interested.

Also check out the TB classifieds. There are some private sales happening in the nearby "New England" states, as well as in Toronto and Ottawa. Every month something new gets listed. You can definitely get something good for $3000 CAN. Maybe a used hybrid bass (carved top, ply back) would be a best fit?