Help with inexpensive double bass

[lowendmafia]

While serving in the military, I was stationed in Hawaii and when I was discharged, I had the government ship my upright back to the mainland. When I received it, it had suffered severe damage rendering it un-playable. I was hoping that someone has some input regarding an inexpensive (laminate) bass that is available. Also, I would be open to used basses as well. I appreciate any input that you can provide.

[RD]

There are relatively inexpensive upright basses here:http://bassesonline.com/.
Good luck,
RD

[shadygrove]

I've been happy with my Eberle laminate from bassesonline.com (ideal music in NYC). The main knocks on them I've heard are the shiny and orangeish finish and they sometimes need more setup work than done by Ideal.

Mine had a little buzz at F and F# on the E string which has diminished since I've been very carefully filing down the nut on the E and A strings, but other than that it was a playable setup with the standard helicore orchestra strings and adjustable bridge I had added and I don't mind the finish.

If you have a local luthier to do your setup you can save a few dollars by buying it without setup. Shipping was a bit expensive to Washington State, but with the price of fuel these days that's to be expected.

I was very happy to get a decent bass at the price I did. Sometimes Steve also has these basses on ebay.

When bass shopping I also played some laminate and hybrid Shens and Christophers that had good sound and seemed to be very good basses for the money. If you like Kays, the Englehardt basses are also relatively inexpensive. The knock on them is the factory setup, but I've heard good things on TB about the Englehardt's Jerry Fretwell sets up and sells.

[toman]

+1 on the Eberle. Just get a few replacement parts and a pro setup and it'll be good to go. Yes, the finish is really ugly, but its a lot of bass for the buck.