solo bass / sloped shoulder / Quenoil style

[shwashwa]

ive been on the lookout for a new bass for the past 5 years or so (definately not in a rush) and lately ive been looking at basses that have a sloped shoulder / soloistic design, so i thought id start a thread with all the ones i could think of and ask people to list any that i have missed and please give detailed reviews on any of them, regardless of price range.
off the top of my head:

Laborie makes a Quenoil style.

thomas martin makes one

eastman has one

i belive pollman has at least 2 models that would qualify, the alexandria and the salzburg

kolstien's guaneri kind of has the narrow shoulders

rumano solano makes one

i think KC strings makes one

the upton bass gary karr model is more or less a solo design as well as the Bostonian model

Arnold Schnitzer's Ergo bass has one sloped shoulder (this would be my choice if i could afford it)

are there any that im missing that i should consider?

does anyone own any of the specific models mentioned above who would like to review it?

[Eric Hochberg]

I played a Grunert Quenoil model a few years ago. That particular bass didn't do it for me. I've played a Laborie and heard Rabbath play one of his, on a completely different level. I think Laborie makes a workshop version, too.

[DaveAceofBass]

The Laborie is INCREDIBLE. But, I couldn't afford that and I wound up with a Kolstein Guarneri. It's a great bass. I have the poplar model, but I think the maple would have had more "presence". The poplar is more "robust". I'm thinking of selling the Kolstein tailpiece and getting a Laborie. I have the Laborie endpin already.

[LouisF]

I have the Upton Deluxe Hybrid Gary Karr and it is VERY easy to get around, very comfortable and a remarkable-sounding hybrid bass. My carved bass, by Jorge Vasquez de Anda, has very small shoulders (we call it the ballerina bass) and was used by Gary Karr on a concert tour of Latin America.

Louis

(not the most flattering photo attached - from the old website where I bought the bass (Volker Nahrmann) It really has a gorgeous flame and finish -- more obvious is the back photo)

[LeslieD]

I had an Eastman Quenoil-style bass. It was pretty, but I wouldn't call it a solo bass by any means. I swapped it for a Shen Willow Rogeri. If you have the money, I'd certainly consider most of the others you have listed before the Eastman bass.

[shwashwa]

what didnt you like about the eastman?

Originally Posted by LeslieD

I had an Eastman Quenoil-style bass. It was pretty, but I wouldn't call it a solo bass by any means. I swapped it for a Shen Willow Rogeri. If you have the money, I'd certainly consider most of the others you have listed before the Eastman bass.

[Eric Swanson]

Are you looking for things on the USA East Coast (based on your Myspace info)? Also sounds/looks as if you are looking for new basses, yes?

[LeslieD]

Originally Posted by shwashwa

what didnt you like about the eastman?

At first I really liked it and thought it sounded better than my previous carved bass. It was very bright sounding (I was using Spirocores I think) and didn't have a warm & inviting sound that made me want to play it for hours and hours. The bass was very solid, almost to the point of calling it "stiff" and at times "lifeless." When I laid it on its side, it always tipped forward and rested on the scroll (probably because of the sloped shoulders). That doesn't bother everyone, but it was sort of the tipping point for swapping it for a bass that I like better and that's remarkably easier to play (a Shen Willow Rogeri). Anyway, before I traded it in, I had the Eastman's set up tweaked (adjustment to the sound post, fingerboard planed, etc.) and brought it back home (along w/ the Shen) for two weeks and played both side by side for hours and hours. It was simply much easier to get a nice sound from the Shen. Also, although the Eastman was technically a D neck bass, I think I recall that the sloped shoulders threw me off just a bit. They shouldn't have, but there was something about them that actually made it harder for me to play in upper positions (I was probably too used to larger upper bouts).

Other people really liked that particular Eastman bass though (people who owned & worked in that shop mostly), and another person bought it a few months after I traded it in. (I liked the Eastman enough that I played it for nearly 5 years as my main bass for classical music; my bluegrass band hated it though).

[kurt ratering]

anyone have any thoughts on the Haide Quenoil model?
and +1 on the Carcassi, a little ugly imo, but a nice sounding model...

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by vejesse

Check out the Calin Wulter Carcassi model. I wouldn't call it a solo bass but it could work for that and a lot more.

Hey Vince, Brad Townsend was raving about this bass yesterday in my lesson. Must be a good one.

[shwashwa]

just looking. im not ruling out old basses.

Originally Posted by Eric Swanson

Are you looking for things on the USA East Coast (based on your Myspace info)? Also sounds/looks as if you are looking for new basses, yes?

[vejesse]

Originally Posted by kurt ratering

anyone have any thoughts on the Haide Quenoil model?
and +1 on the Carcassi, a little ugly imo, but a nice sounding model...

So, narrow in the shoulders and wide in the waist isn't beautiful?

[kurt ratering]

i just thought that it looked a little bit like an egg

[hdiddy]

It's probably a sexist/male thing. I don't like carcassi patterns either - the bass looks fat and not very slender (I guess Rubenesque would be more appropriate).

[LouisF]

You want sloped shoulders (for probably $100K+):

http://www.contrabass.co.uk/1381.htm

But there are a few copies of these Grancino basses around -- I think Mike Shank has one

Louis

[Alex Scott]

I'm totally biased, and recently purchased a Quenoil Model from Christian Laborie, it is just a dream, amazing bass.

[Monte]

When I bought my Solano Klotz, the bass that impressed me a ton as well was the Carcassi he did.

[Alex Scott]

Solano has done a quenoil model. I know someone on the board has one, jlattuada? He put some pics in a basses thread recently

[Eric Hochberg]

There's a Bisch FS at basscellar.com. Looks very nice.

[Jason Sypher]

If you travel, Paris is an excellent place to find such a bass. I played one by the father, Charles I believe, that was quite reasonably priced and just incredible sounding. There are a lot of French basses in France, go figure.