Help finding an affordable but dependable double bass

[Silversorcerer]

TimoMetzemakers:

The supplied bridge is a piece of junk. I replaced mine immediately with a nice Despiau (a local bridge maker).

I have personally not had any trouble with the bridge on my Bulgarian Bass. What should I be looking out for? The grain is straight across both faces without any warping. I finished the fit of the feet, installed it and it seems to work fine. I will probably make some tweaks on the string height, but it plays pretty well as shipped. The current bridges may be better than those shipped a few years ago. I know that the current tail gut (multistrand cable) is an upgrade over the former original equipment on these as a result of customer feedback. The same could be true of the bridges. Anyway, you do have to fit the bridge feet and the sound post. If you want bridge adjusters, that is an after delivery upgrade also.

As for the weight, for a large carved bass (7/8-4/4), I'm not sure this is unusual. Most of the carved German basses I've seen were heavy also. It would be interesting to have a "How much does your bass weigh?" thread. I think that is the only way we can accurately compare weight.

I wouldn't describe my bass as overly bright sounding. The tone is warm pretty much across the spectrum. This could be because it is a bit larger in the corpus though.

Regarding most of the basses from Eastern and Central Europe;- the post cold war economics have made these basses a great value because they come from countries that still have local supplies of old growth European spruce and maple, a long tradition of musical instrument manufacture, and a favorable exchange rate to the US dollar. The ones that I have seen impressed me as well constructed good sounding instruments comparable to many instruments from western countries at closer to twice the price. I think eventually the future will find these instruments bringing prices closer to the instruments made in Germany.

The deals available at bassesonline.com are good deals for the moment, while supplies last. I did look at that site once a long time ago. It wouldn't have made much difference in my case because I was set on a larger 5-string and those aren't likely to turn up in the inventory close-outs.

[EJ_Dad]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

TimoMetzemakers:

Regarding most of the basses from Eastern and Central Europe;- the post cold war economics have made these basses a great value because they come from countries that still have local supplies of old growth European spruce and maple, a long tradition of musical instrument manufacture, and a favorable exchange rate to the US dollar. The ones that I have seen impressed me as well constructed good sounding instruments comparable to many instruments from western countries at closer to twice the price. I think eventually the future will find these instruments bringing prices closer to the instruments made in Germany.

The Eberle from bassesonline.com is more of an Eastern European bass than a Western European bass, even though it is 'made in Germany'. The Eberle is a re-lable Musiama bass made in the old East German side of Germany. The factory has since closed.

25-26lbs bass alone. It sure seems heavier when carrying it in for rehearsals, but that is with the bag, bow, rosin, music, tuner and stool (in the other hand).

[Silversorcerer]

I read the thread on the Eberles and the part about the name being a trade name, etc. Once that fellow who has the warehouse full is out, it is doubtful that we will see East German basses for that price again. For comparison check out the new Bjorn Stoll East German basses at Lemur. They are priced similar to the Andreas Wilfer line that Lemur used to carry.

[greene]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

I read the thread on the Eberles and the part about the name being a trade name, etc. Once that fellow who has the warehouse full is out, it is doubtful that we will see East German basses for that price again. For comparison check out the new Bjorn Stoll East German basses at Lemur. They are priced similar to the Andreas Wilfer line that Lemur used to carry.

Yes you are exactly right. Although I have perhaps 100 or so Musima basses (W Eberle) remaining, there's no doubt the pricing makes them so attractive that they are selling very quickly and since I'm not really a dealer, when the supply is exhausted you'll begin to see these same basses in the resale market at twice the price. The same is true for the Romanian basses I have and even the Emanual Wilfers and Karl Hofners or any other basses I discover in this 20,000 sq ft of warehouse I have. Also as you might have guessed, there are many bass dealers/wholesalers who have expressed interest in this inventory however selling everything to them would in turn make these basses once again out of the reach of the very people I was hoping to reach in the first place. These dealers will of course immediately mark the basses up substantially. As long as I can find homes for these basses, I'll refrain from selling them all to a real dealer for as long as i can.
All of this is why it never ceases to amaze me how so many on this forum have a kneejerk reaction about buying on line if the seller is reputable. I hesitate to ever comment on this because after all it does sound pretty self serving and yet I know its a win win and to me that's always the ideal situation (no pun intended)

Anyway .. I just wanted to confirm what the poster had written.

[Matt Ides]

Originally Posted by EJ_Dad

The Eberle from bassesonline.com is more of an Eastern European bass than a Western European bass, even though it is 'made in Germany'. The Eberle is a re-lable Musiama bass made in the old East German side of Germany. The factory has since closed.

25-26lbs bass alone. It sure seems heavier when carrying it in for rehearsals, but that is with the bag, bow, rosin, music, tuner and stool (in the other hand).

The Ply eberle is a great deal. Plus it does not weigh that much, campared to hybrid or carved bass. For $950 and a couple of hundred more for Prof Set-up, you'll be up and running.

Had to let mine go recently for finacial reasons, and yes, I was able to sell it at good price.

Nice basses and nice shop. It is a good place to a get a First DB.

[TimoMetzemakers]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

I have personally not had any trouble with the bridge on my Bulgarian Bass. [...] I know that the current tail gut (multistrand cable) is an upgrade over the former original equipment on these as a result of customer feedback. The same could be true of the bridges.

Sorry, missed this post.

Anyway, my original bridge was very thin and already warped one week after I got the bass. But then, I also got the coathanger wire so you must be right, things must have gotten better. In that case, more power to them!

[Silversorcerer]

I have ordered a Despiau grade B bridge and I will compare the original to it when it comes. I'm not necessarily upgrading as much as I am experimenting with string spacing at the bridge. It came set up at 7/8" spacing and I think my personal preference is for more like an inch. But I will compare the two bridges directly when I have it set up with the Despiau. I may make one of the two adjustable. I really like the current (shop) set-up for pizz. I think I could make it a little better with some slight work on the FB and I could bring the G and D down a mm or two at the bridge, but it really is not a bad set-up for a shop set-up. String height is set from 8.5mm at the g to 11mm at the BB. Very playable just like it is really. Much better than the FB and bridge were on my plywood bass.