Grünert basses?

beingbecoming · #1 04-15-2008, 01:59 PM

Does anyone have an opinion or has ever owned a grunert bass? (i think vienna). Just wondering on opinions! thanks

mheintz · #2 04-15-2008, 02:23 PM

I have only played one. Great full sounding bass. Orchestral monster. The shoulders on that particular model were difficult to negotiate.

beingbecoming · #3 04-15-2008, 02:34 PM

This one is a copy of a quinoil (sp?) with sloping shoulders.....

Mike Arnopol · #4 04-15-2008, 04:07 PM

Curious about the price. There are better new basses for the price that Gruenert typically charges. I don't know about now, but their basses used to have trouble with the tops sagging. They are graduated very thin, and maybe they've changed, but the bass bars were undersized. This means that they can get a big sound from a new instrument, but at an price . The Quenoil model compromises sound for easier accessibility with the reduced shoulders.

beingbecoming · #5 04-15-2008, 04:36 PM

Price is not new.. its a 96 model... its a good price but i'm afraid to say at the moment. I've heard these stories.. but this bass is 12 years old and has a soul i've rarelyseeon. The Quenoil model is appealing to me b/c I study with Rabbath......

quenoil · #6 04-15-2008, 04:50 PM

The one Grunert Quenoil I played was not impressive, especially for the price. I would check with Francois for his opinion on the Grunert basses before you buy....

beingbecoming · #7 04-15-2008, 05:29 PM

yeh the idea was to take it to paris. I'm also a student of nick walker.. I'm going to run it up to him next week.. he used to own one before his laborie. With the chute du dollar i can't afford a laborie right now.. but this is a great price adn the idea was to unload it in paris and get a laborie later.... I would have never foudn this if my bass didnt get stolen... and i think the price is really good and the bass - like i said - has soul.. i really dug the sound and feel... we'll see...

Eric Hochberg · #8 04-15-2008, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quenoil

The one Grunert Quenoil I played was not impressive, especially for the price. I would check with Francois for his opinion on the Grunert basses before you buy....

I agree, I went to Iowa City to check one out a few years ago and was not impressed with the sound or varnish, kind of an ugly red. It also had the beveled fingerboard under the E string which I didn't care for. Aside from these factors, don't know anything about his build quality. The basses on his website look really nice.

Don Higdon · #9 04-18-2008, 08:07 PM

Michael Moore's Grunert is (was?) for sale at David Gage's.

Mike Arnopol · #10 04-18-2008, 09:20 PM

I think it was a Testore copy?

beingbecoming · #11 04-18-2008, 11:57 PM

I currently have a quinoil copy from Gage's... but they wont' tell me who it belongs to. THey said it has been there for over a year and it was built in 1996.. any ideas?

PaulCannon · #12 04-19-2008, 09:42 AM

Paul Ellison has a Grunert-made Quenoil copy that he lets his students use. It's very easy to play, but I don't care for the tone of the instrument myself. I think Laborie's version is vastly superior, but if you can't afford it then that is understandable.

beingbecoming · #13 04-19-2008, 09:56 AM

The idea is that i may be moving to paris in the fall and to buy this one for now at a good price and sell it in Euros when there studying with rabbath to buy a laborie . With the falling dollar Laborie's basses are getting ridiculously expensive!

bassist14 · #14 04-19-2008, 10:20 AM

that implys grünert basses are sought after in europe, especially in france...
i´m not so sure about this

did you check the french prices for grünerts?
i think the best way would be selling it to one of rabbaths students, you could ask him before you put your money in a grünert

beingbecoming · #15 04-19-2008, 10:32 AM

i'm not sure about this, but i played on it yesterday in an orchestra, in a jazz group, as well as in my apt and in an empty church.. I really dig the instrument so I'm not sure if I would want to sell it.. thats just a thought...

phan · #16 04-19-2008, 01:59 PM

I have a Quenoil model bass from Grunert which I have used on a daily basis for about seven years in orchestra and elsewhere. It has proved reliable and in my opinion a very healthy bass. There is no need to underestimate such a bass for whatever reason.

furtom · #17 04-20-2008, 02:12 PM

I know one Grünert very well. Pretty much the descriptions here have been very accurate. They are LOUD, the tone is ok and the finish is ugly (to me). Volume makes it good for orchestral work.

Of course, personal preference and price make the final determination.

Tom Furnari

beingbecoming · #18 04-20-2008, 05:04 PM

Yes it is very loud it cut through a full orchestra with Corelli strings! The tone on this one I can't decide if i love it or hate it and it is hard to tell as it has not been played in over a year....the finish is not so bad.... we'll see....

Alex Scott · #19 04-20-2008, 08:50 PM

I know of many grunert quenoil copies, and many have been for sale for many years.

BMason · #20 04-21-2008, 07:16 PM

I've played a Testore model. Good looking and loud. Kind of like...oh, nevermind.

As for Michael Moore's bass: it may have been a Testore model, as well, but chances are it's part of a vast, far-right conservative conspiracy.