"Leon Aubert Germany"

[turf3]

So the other day in the music store I saw this. The label says "Leon Aubert Germany". (I did a quick search on posts here and saw all the references to basses from Romania with this name, but the label was definitely as described.) The top is definitely solid; it looks like the sides are plywood, I believe the back is solid both because I can't see any laminations on the edges and because I can see cleats at a center seam on the inside. Round back. The bass looks quite new, with the thick shiny finish typical of recent low-end basses. It seems to play OK, with unknown strings (the acoustics were not so good to really try it out, I didn't have a bow, I didn't have my own bass to do A-to-B; it just seemed not to have a bad tone and the action seemed reasonable).

Does anyone know anything about recently-made "Leon Aubert" basses that are (at least) labeled so as to indicate they are made in Germany? Are they really made in Germany? Is the quality better than the thick shiny artificial finish leads me to believe?

[Eric Hochberg]

Any label can be put in any bass... Is it a new bass? How much are they asking? If it is priced like a Chinese bass, I wouldn't think it could be German made.

[turf3]

Yes, you can put any label in any bass, but if you misrepresent the country of origin in a product sold in the USA, you can find yourself in hot water. Everyone knows that Chinese makers put European-sounding names in instruments. But do they actually say "Germany" when the country of origin is PRC? The instrument looks like a factory instrument of at least sufficient quality to be played. So it's probably a significant-sized organization that manufactured it. (Not some guy in his back yard, in other words.)

Unfortunately you can't judge anything from the prices of this particular store, as they generally mark and quote way over and have to be worked down (except sometimes they underprice things - so their prices are really all over the place). And they are definitely not experienced with double basses.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by turf3

Yes, you can put any label in any bass, but if you misrepresent the country of origin in a product sold in the USA, you can find yourself in hot water. Everyone knows that Chinese makers put European-sounding names in instruments. But do they actually say "Germany" when the country of origin is PRC? The instrument looks like a factory instrument of at least sufficient quality to be played. So it's probably a significant-sized organization that manufactured it. (Not some guy in his back yard, in other words.)

Unfortunately you can't judge anything from the prices of this particular store, as they generally mark and quote way over and have to be worked down (except sometimes they underprice things - so their prices are really all over the place). And they are definitely not experienced with double basses.

If only everyone followed the rules. I could imagine some unscrupulous seller claiming that "Leon Aubert Germany" means "in the style of."

The more pertinent question would seem to be why you'd consider buying a bass from a "store" that engages in the practices you describe. As we often say here, buy a bass from a bass shop.

[Jake deVilliers]

My current favourite is Esteban's 'American Legacy' guitar - under the US flag in tiny letters it says "Made in China".

Of course, perhaps that IS the American legacy...