The future of bass design ???

Maaaven · #1 12-01-2006, 09:52 AM

At the risk of getting singe'ed by the fires I am stoking,
let me say I have no opinion on this particular product.

http://www.qstrings.com/basses.html

Ed Fuqua · #2 12-01-2006, 10:36 AM

Maybe when we run out of wood, but right now you could buy a couple of New Standard hybrid's for what they are charging for one of these basses.

Maaaven · #3 12-01-2006, 10:39 AM

I can't see all the spruce and maple going away very quickly.
So if they don't have a great sound, it is really uphill in the
market.

hdiddy · #4 12-01-2006, 10:39 AM

We've talked about these basses before. I think the consensus is that $8K is too much for an experiment beyond what Ed already said. I just figured out that they're in the Phoenix area. Any guinea pigs out there?

Jeff Moote · #5 12-01-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdiddy

We've talked about these basses before. I think the consensus is that $8K is too much for an experiment beyond what Ed already said. I just figured out that they're in the Phoenix area. Any guinea pigs out there?

There are some pros who can afford to experiment trying instruments like these. Last night I heard Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo theme performed on a carbon fibre cello. From the audience POV, I think it sounded great. That could just be because Rolston is an amazing cellist, but the fact that she choses to use this instrument when she owns an 1824 Chanot bears some weight.

More info on her and the cello

Don Higdon · #6 12-01-2006, 10:51 AM

I like the Royal Blue. It matches my bow hair.

Maaaven · #7 12-01-2006, 11:26 AM

I thought they warned against those bleached bow hairs...
I want mine with rhinestones and that paint that changes
color with the angle you look from.

standupright · #8 12-01-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hdiddy

We've talked about these basses before. I think the consensus is that $8K is too much for an experiment beyond what Ed already said. I just figured out that they're in the Phoenix area. Any guinea pigs out there?

Suuuuuure...Got 8k?

Maaaven · #9 12-01-2006, 01:49 PM

I just reread the thread from last year. Sorry I dredged
it up again for those that read it previously. Luis and
Clarkes release in early 2007 is a slip from 2006, and
perhaps they will continue to slip it. When they do get
it done, that will at least be worth a review.

Composites are not all the same, the same as all woods not
being the same. Getting it truely right could be very expensive
to work out, and could take a lifetime.

brianrost · #10 12-01-2006, 01:57 PM

When they were first starting production they were talking about a $4000-5000 price tag, which was kind of interesting. If they can get the price back down, they might have something.

I'm a big fan of carbon fiber in instrument construction, I own two Steinberger BGs and I love them.

Johnny L · #11 12-01-2006, 02:03 PM

If I had 8 grand to throw down on a bass and I could try any in that price range, I'd head straight to these carbon fiber basses before any other.

Don Higdon · #12 12-01-2006, 03:33 PM

I tried one in Paris with Olivier 5? years ago. "Interesting", yeah, but worth about $500 to me. In fact, I would consider owning it to be pointless.
I have difficulty believing the product is that much better today.

Don Higdon · #13 12-01-2006, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maaaven

I thought they warned against those bleached bow hairs...
I want mine with rhinestones and that paint that changes
color with the angle you look from.

I also have a green haired bow for the Christmas season.
Before this gets out of hand, neither one is my Lipkins bow.
They are nightclub-proof fiberglass bows.

Marcus Johnson · #14 12-01-2006, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny L

If I had 8 grand to throw down on a bass and I could try any in that price range, I'd head straight to these carbon fiber basses before any other.

Why?

Maaaven · #15 12-01-2006, 04:45 PM

I know this is a double bass forum and everything,
but there might be a couple other old tuba players
lurking. There was a guy who had a horn at tuba
x-mass in Glendale a few years ago that was strung
with lights, and they would all light up when he played.
I thought it was hillarious, but the car battery was harder
to drag around than the tuba itself (actually a sousaphone).

Don, have you considered red lights on your green bow?
Or maybe an angel with a light under the skirt up on the
top of the scroll? Or a wreath hung from the bridge, or ?

Now to bring it back to the original thread, umm, do you
suppose you could imbed LEDs in the composite bass that
flash as you play - sick! Messages scrolling across the top
just like the blimp, this tune brought to you by Thomastic
strings and Carlsons rosin.

hdiddy · #16 12-01-2006, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by standupright

Suuuuuure...Got 8k?

I sorta didn't mean what I wrote last time. I meant that maybe we have a guinea pig in the Phoenix area who could drive up to Quintus in Camp Verde and check it out. If I'm ever shopping in that area, I would do it (and also swing by StringEmporium at the same time).

toman · #17 12-01-2006, 08:55 PM

Unless these have changed radically in the last few years, I can say from personal experience that they absolutely suck. And I'm the guy who advocates playwood over cheap carved basses, so it's not like I'm a bass snob... Until there's some shortage of maple and spruce (or fir, ceder, pine, whatever...) let's stick with wood folks.

Johnny L · #18 12-01-2006, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Why?

Because I think they're worth trying out. If I can make it to the ISB convention next year, I'm heading straight to them for a test drive the first inclination to squeeze the sponge in my head hits me.

vfbass · #19 12-01-2006, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maaaven

I know this is a double bass forum and everything,
but there might be a couple other old tuba players
lurking. There was a guy who had a horn at tuba
x-mass in Glendale a few years ago that was strung
with lights, and they would all light up when he played.
I thought it was hillarious, but the car battery was harder
to drag around than the tuba itself (actually a sousaphone).

I saw a sousaphone player in Milwaukee had the bell mounted with a large bearing and a small electric motor attached to it so when he pressed a button the bell would spin around at about 40 R.P.M. It was like a giant leslie speaker.

I am a huge fan of technology but I can't imagine those basses sounding any better than the crappy fiberglass bass I played in school. I would love to have a royal blue wood upright.

mpoppitt · #20 12-02-2006, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vfbass

I saw a sousaphone player in Milwaukee had the bell mounted with a large bearing and a small electric motor attached to it so when he pressed a button the bell would spin around at about 40 R.P.M. It was like a giant leslie speaker.

That is awesome on so many levels.