New laminated Basses

[carl h.]

Is anybody out there producing a decent quality laminated bass? I looked at a pair of new (deleted) basses and was quite disgusted at what I saw. Quality was just awful, no other way to put it.

I know the Taiwanese are making some astoundingly good instruments for the price, things like trumpets and saxes. Surely there must be a factory turning out basses of good quality at a decent price too. I figure this is the logical place to ask.


Anybody know what names/brands are worth pursuing?







(I deleted the brand name myself to avoid any legal nonsense for the board. Ask me and I'll tell you.)(I also believe used is the way to go, but somebody has to be making an inexpensive instrument worth buying.)

[Gary Lynch]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Is anybody out there producing a decent quality laminated bass? I looked at a pair of new (deleted) basses and was quite disgusted at what I saw. Quality was just awful, no other way to put it.

I know the Taiwanese are making some astoundingly good instruments for the price, things like trumpets and saxes. Surely there must be a factory turning out basses of good quality at a decent price too. I figure this is the logical place to ask.


Anybody know what names/brands are worth pursuing?







(I deleted the brand name myself to avoid any legal nonsense for the board. Ask me and I'll tell you.)(I also believe used is the way to go, but somebody has to be making an inexpensive instrument worth buying.)

http://www.uptonbass.com/UB-Standard...n-Double-Bass/

[Ed Fuqua]

Snitzer/DeSola New Standards - Cleveland and LaScala.

[carl h.]

Good looking stuff, but I guess I should have mentioned price. I'm looking for something in a similar price range to the things I looked at today. A friend ordered this particular model bass in and it was truly awful. I know it costs to make a decent instrument, but these things reminded me of Hobby Lobby imported furniture - gaps, substandard materials, loose linings, glue everywhere, soundposts split on the end, wood chips laying in the hardened excess white glue on the interior with a thick coating of finish on the outside buzzing strings - the list goes on and on...

What I am looking for is the bottom (bottom!) dollar laminated instrument with at least decent build quality, even if the materials aren't top quality. A little filler here and there, OK, but with the effort made to assembly it as well as possible.



(The guy who is buying, broke someone else's bass and is replacing it for him. I'd like to see at least a slight chance that the replacement instrument might survive 5 years of playing.)(This whole thing makes me sick.)

[salcott]

The New Standard Cleveland and LaScala, IMO, are state of the art for laminated basses.

[jallenbass]

I didn't get to see the name that you deleted but I think that if you are looking for the lowest price for a good quality instrument then Shen is one to be considered. Lemur has a low priced line of laminates that are spoken highlyof around here. Good luck and happy hunting.

[LouisF]

I just took a two year old Lemur Solana laminate to a music "retreat" in the Pacific NW - it was in the car for two days of driving up from LA, then a) sat in a section between a carved Wilfer lion-head 5-string and a Paesold and more than held its own. I also played chamber music and small ensemble string orchestra work on it, drove home (two days along the Oregon coast and unpacked). I think those basses go for @ $1800 now.

If they're like this one, they're unbeatable for the money.

Louis

[JeffKissell]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Good looking stuff, but I guess I should have mentioned price. I'm looking for something in a similar price range to the things I looked at today...

What is your price range?

-J

[shakernow]

The entry level Shens can be remarkably good basses. There is a Thompson bass which has been mentioned here too: http://www.stringemporium.com/thomps...ood-basses.htm.

[carl h.]

Originally Posted by JeffKissell

What is your price range?

-J

Cheap.

I'd guess $1500 would be high.

[shadygrove]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Good looking stuff, but I guess I should have mentioned price. I'm looking for something in a similar price range to the things I looked at today. A friend ordered this particular model bass in and it was truly awful...

... What I am looking for is the bottom (bottom!) dollar laminated instrument with at least decent build quality, even if the materials aren't top quality. A little filler here and there, OK, but with the effort made to assembly it as well as possible.

So if I'm reading this right you want a quality bass for the price of a cheap Chinese bass (CCB) that's poorly built and setup? Good luck with that! You may be able to get into something decent for $1200 if you shop hard and run into a deal, but $1500 is a more realistic budget.

Check out the newbie links at the top of this Basses [DB] forum if you haven't already... a lot of good info and advice on how to go about bass shopping. Engelhardt (modern version of Kay basses) are generally considered the lowest price quality laminated bass, but don't buy one without trying it out as not everyone likes the skinny necks .

[RustyAxe]

Shen, Englehart, Strunal, Thompson ... maybe others. For "decent" expect to pay ~$1200 and more, plus a set up. I have a blond Strunal 50/4 that's doing the trick for me. Very nicely built, and with a good set up, a decent player. Sound is comparable to a Shen and these others.

[shadygrove]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Cheap.

I'd guess $1500 would be high.

Missed your last post while I was writing Sounds like you're in the right ballpark with your expectations. Good luck with shopping... hope there's a great deal on a bass out there for you!

[carl h.]

This bass isn't actually for me. A friend broke someone else's bass and is buying that person a replacement. If he had tried to pass off the "un-named" bass on me I would have given him a beating, and kicked his cat too. What I'm trying to do is find the best low (really low) budget bass out there so nobody gets totally screwed in this deal. I am familiar with higher end stringed instruments, but this bottom dollar stuff is a giant sucking pit. There is so much crap out there with a ton of hype I decided to come here and get the voice of experience from people who had seen and played some of these instruments first hand.

Englehart I've heard of, but I was wondering if there was a decent Chinese/Taiwanese (yes 2 very different countries, I know) instrument out there that was getting a lot of good buzz - like the Hondo SX bass guitars.


To summarize -

not for me

Idiot friend broke someone else's bass and needs to replace it without a getting a beating.

[drurb]

What kind of bass was it that he broke?

[carl h.]

I haven't found out yet.

If all the parts are there, I want it to rebuild.

[MT Spaces]

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

Snitzer/DeSola New Standards - Cleveland and LaScala.

Good Advise Right There .... But don't forget that there are some pretty-good-old seasoned Kay / King / American Standard / Epiphone plywoodies floating around out there too . Some of Them sound Fine too.

[martinc]

www.bassesonline.com

Get the Eberle German ply for $950.00.
Install Spiro Weich strings and enjoy. Later you should improve the bridge quality.
I bought one 3 years ago and have never regretted it.
PM me if you need more info.

[LeslieD]

I know that the late 70s and early 80s Eberle plys sound really good for laminate basses (though not so much for bowing). They have a loud, warm tone that's great for pizzacato (mine does, and so does my friend's Eberle).

I don't know anything about the Eberles available now at bassesonline.com (though I've heard good things), other than the varnish is much nicer in the basses made in the late 80s/early 90s (or whenever they stopped making them). If they are anything like my bass, they are a little on the fragile side (compared to the Uptons and any of the old US-made basses like Kay and American Standard). Still, at $950 that might not be a bad choice if your friend doesn't frequently play at bars or situations where the bass may easily get bumped/damaged.

Also, the fingerboards on the Eberles are nothing to shout about. They are really mostly an entry-level student bass (or in my case a bluegrass bass--it has an amazing sound for bluegrass/folk music).

Your friend will still have to get their bass set up/adjusted, so be sure to add a couple hundred to that $950.

Also, I think you'll get more "customer service" if you go with something like an Upton (but that's also going to cost you).

Your friend might just consider what the replacement value of the broken bass is and then cough up the $1500 in cash. I know it sounds like a lot of money just to fork over, but I think it's too much responsibility to find a good replacement. In exchange, your friend should get the broken bass to do w/ it want he wants. If it was my bass that was broken, I really wouldn't want someone else picking out my new bass.

[Bassman316]

Originally Posted by Gary Lynch

http://www.uptonbass.com/UB-Standard...n-Double-Bass/

This.