Help A Young Aspiring Bassist! (Again)

Blacksheep · #1 10-26-2006, 04:10 PM

I was in the city the other day, and came upon a handsome looking upright, I didnt pick it up unfortunately, but it looked like it was in great shape. It was a Cremona brand, looked to be 3/4, and was $1600. I have never really played DB, but am very interested. I havent been able to find any shops or anything that rent, and I have called around. Long-mcwaude does, but I really dont want to deal with them. They have Schoenbachs basses for 69 a month. I have a job and such, but I'm 15, so it's just at a Boston Pizza, currently washing dishes. I'm not really made of money yet... lol So really, I dont know what to decide. To either now, trade in my bass and money and buy the upright, or sell my bass, buy a nice one to replace, and leave double for awhile.

Any thoughts or opinions on anything I've said?

hdiddy · #2 10-26-2006, 04:47 PM

Yikes! $1.6K is TOO MUCH for a Cremona. Plunk around the same amount for a decent plywood Shen, Christopher, or Upton bass, +- a coupla hundred bucks.

Jake deVilliers · #3 10-26-2006, 05:39 PM

Blacksheep, it would make it a lot easier if you would fill out your profile.

Costs vary from region to region and indeed the Canadian, Australian and United States dollar are not of equal value!

I mean this in the nicest possible way; if you can't be bothered to inform us, why should we be bothered to inform you?

Blacksheep · #4 10-26-2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

Blacksheep, it would make it a lot easier if you would fill out your profile.

Costs vary from region to region and indeed the Canadian, Australian and United States dollar are not of equal value!

I mean this in the nicest possible way; if you can't be bothered to inform us, why should we be bothered to inform you?

There, I live in Manitoba Canada.

The bass was a used Cremona at that.

Bass · #5 10-27-2006, 08:53 AM

Hello neighbour, I'm in Saskatchewan. My first job was washing dishes at Boston Pizza when I was 15 as well, what a coincidence!

I understand Cremonas are "cheap chinese basses" (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). If this is all you can afford, you can probably get one comparable to the Cremona for less than $1,000 Canadian off E-Bay. 3 local rockabilly bands use a CCB and they seem happy, but the consensus here is to avoid CCB.

For example, one fellow broke his CCB at the last show while he was standing on it, and he'll now be ordering a new bass. He's only had this bass for about a year.

The gal who has had her CCB in another band for about a year broke her bridge on her way to the last show. It fell over and cracked, causing her great distress and repair dollars. Also, these folks had to shell out to get these basses set-up to be playable.

So $1,600 CDN for a Cremona is probably way too much. Here's a quick lesson in translating US$ to CDN$ when ordering off the internet from the states. Simply double the price, and that will get you in the ball park (more or less). For example, a $110 SX bass (USD) usually costs me about $275 (CDN). I just ordered an Upton Laminate Hawkes and I'm expecting it to be over $3,000 (CDN) delivered. It's $1,800 on their website.

If anyone's interested in knowing the "grand total" Canadian for the Upton Hawkes, let me know. Once billing is finished and shipping is complete, I'll have an exact figure. The difference is due to: currency exchange, shipping, tax (GST & PST), handling, and sometimes "duty" at customs.

greitzer · #6 10-30-2006, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blacksheep

It was a Cremona brand, looked to be 3/4, and was $1600... I have never really played DB, but am very interested. I havent been able to find any shops or anything that rent...

Blacksheep -- don't trade in your current instruments for the Cremona, for several reasons. First, if you've never really played DB, you don't know whether you'll like it. If you're interested, find a teacher, rent a bass for awhile (even if you don't like doing business with that one shop that rents them), and see if you like it or not after you've taken lessons for awhile.

Second, Cremonas are terrible instruments. I know this because I rented one for awhile when I was starting out, and I have communicated with others who also have had them or used them, and their opinion of Cremonas was the same as mine. I happen to have a cheap Chinese bass that I am happy with, but it's not the Cremona I rented.

Third, the priced you quoted is way too much even if you are willing to settle for a Cremona (which you shouldn't).

Hope these responses help.