Planning to play upright

[esprite]

Hello guys, i want to already say sorry for my bad english.

New on forum, i spent some time to read newbie section and other stuff...

Last year i really got into jazz, i play guitar for about 5 years for now, but i always felt like i want to play bass... (and i had some experience with electric)

So my question is - how hard it would be for 17 year old? Is it too much? I think about intonation - violin players start to play at age of 5 - 6 so they can build their skill from the childhood.

[fdeck]

You can start to learn at any age. Getting a teacher is very important.

Welcome to TalkBass!

[Andrew McGregor]

17 is pretty normal for bass players, even those who go on to be professionals... bass needs quite a lot of hand strength.

A good teacher is a requirement, you can permanently injure yourself with this instrument if you don't have your technique right.

It's a great instrument, have fun.

[esprite]

Thanks fdeck and Andrew.

Point is that i thought about getting electric fretted bass, but then i figured out that i have an upright teacher in my town so i can try to learn. Bad that no one is selling upright near me... one guy wants 800$ for broken noname upright and i think it's USSR made, so it's insane (bass has no bridge - tailpiece)

[Paul Warburton]

This is very do-able. I started at 15 and was playing a six night a week jazz gig at 17.
To me, the important factors are....huge motivation, a passion for the instrument, the music, and the ability to ignore people who tell you that it's an impossibility. A teacher is important but not entirely a "must" in some cases.
I believe, firmly, that if you always include the simple word fun in your work you can not fail. In other words, concentrate on positive thoughts rather than negative.
Good luck and do have fun.
EDIT: I notice that in your TB Profile you don't list any favorite players or influences. IMO. it's very important to search out some jazz bassists who "speak" to you with their work. I would strongly advise you to get acquainted with at least two or three players that you might want to emulate (copy) until you can find your own voice (or style) which may be quite a lengthy period of time.

[esprite]

I think i like Rufus Reid's playing very much, it's so classic.

In other hand - Stanley Clarke - i enjoy his sound but it isn't enough "jazzy" for me.

Of course, no need to say about giants like PC, Mingus...

Paul, about that fun - i like it that way, how Jaco Pastorius said - "You have to make your exercises sound musical"

[Andrew McGregor]

A Russian-made bass might be very good, you should find out before dismissing it.

[esprite]

Originally Posted by Andrew McGregor

A Russian-made bass might be very good, you should find out before dismissing it.

It may be good, but price is too high IMO

[longfinger]

Originally Posted by esprite

Thanks fdeck and Andrew.

Point is that i thought about getting electric fretted bass, but then i figured out that i have an upright teacher in my town so i can try to learn. Bad that no one is selling upright near me... one guy wants 800$ for broken noname upright and i think it's USSR made, so it's insane (bass has no bridge - tailpiece)

I remember a bassist / apprentice luthier friend of mine telling me stories of how in the U.S.S.R. there were many state funded orchestras with excellent instruments and musicians, all employed and working. Standards were high, and patriotism was well funded. Many of these instruments were of excellent quality. When the U.S.S.R. dissolved and the ruble suffered via hyper inflation, the resources went elsewhere and many orchestras disbanded. Through that, some quality instruments were moth-balled, some were stored, some loaned to school kids.. that kind of thing. My friend's stories were of people in the know, flying out to former U.S.S.R. regions carefully buying special "broken crappy", instruments for next to nothing (currency conversion, local economic depressions, etc.), fixing them up, and then re-selling them for enough profit in rich countries to pay for their transport and time/labour fees and then some.

I wonder if that $800 bass is a diamond covered in goo, or just blob of hard goo.

Imagine....

[esprite]

I' ll post pics tomorrow.

[esprite]

[Will Yager]

For what it's worth, I started right before I turned 18.

[Andrew McGregor]

That looks like $800 easily, even in that condition (which isn't too bad). Depending on how it plays, it might be worth many times that. It's certainly vastly better than spending that money on a Chinese bass...

[esprite]

Guy said, that he can sell it for 400 bucks now.

That's all cool, but i don't have 800, and 400 neither.

Teacher does not pick up my calls.

Fu.