Two cheap basses - which, if either?

[jgbass]

There must be at least one bass luthier in Australia. Maybe that would be a good start. Also, if you have to order a bass sight unseen, make sure that it is a recognizable brand name like Shen, and it needs to be set up too!

Maybe Lemur Music could ship you a bass. They have some good Chinese basses (I have two of them) and they do ship worldwide. They do great setups, as you like it, included in the price of a new bass, or part of the price really.

Very popular store in this area, too. There's always people there testing and buying basses anyime I drop in.

www.lemurmusic.com

[Dr Piggery]

Caleb,

If you want my advice, the answer is neither.

Buying a new bass under $2,000 AUD can easily be a waste of time - chances are it will be poorly set up making it difficult to play (requiring several hundred dollars worth of luthier adjustments), is poorly made and might fall apart in a year or so. Apart from that, the sound will be poor. While the basses in The Bass Shop might seem expensive, they will be a better long term investment if you plan to stick with DB.

If you are really serious about playing double bass, you need to be willing and able to fork out the required expenses. You will need to find a teacher, and they may be willing to help you find a suitable bass on a rental or purchase situation.

Failing that, do you know anyone who plays double bass? If you're keen on bluegrass, try to find a local jam or picking session, and go along for a listen. Check out http://australianbluegrass.com/ Try to get talking to the folks there, especially if there is a bass player. Most people in these situations are happy to point you in the right direction.... unlike most of the serious classical and jazz players on this forum!

Good luck.

[Matthew Tucker]

PM sent

[Gearhead43]

As usual, lots of great help for newbies, and not a hint of stuck-up attitude!

We need to ad a disclaimer to the newbie links about ignoring the holier than thou attitudes this place absolutely reeks of on a regular basis.

People, you are not any better than anyone else just because you are "better informed" than someone else on a particular subject!

There will always be new people seeking information about double basses, that wonder in here and post without catching the newbie links. If you don't like it, why not just say "please read the newbie links, or just ignore it if you can't be nice?

This is not your personal social club folks, get over it.

[shadygrove]

Hey Gearhead and Dr. Piggery,

I see your points, but I also understand the frustration of folks like Marcus and Clink and dozens of others that over and over patiently try to point the newcomer in the right direction only to have their advice, gained from years of experience and likely many mistakes of their own, fall on deaf ears.

"Most people in these situations are happy to point you in the right direction.... unlike most of the serious classical and jazz players on this forum! " What the heck ???

We may all have different ideas of what makes a good bass or the best way to play one, but that's no reason to go cutting on the good people that spend a lot of time and energy trying to help out their fellow DB players on this forum

This was the response to Caleb's first post in his other thread in this section. It doesn't get much more welcoming than this....

Originally Posted by Eric Swanson

Welcome, Caleb. So glad you like the DB. Yes, there are links; hundreds of 'em. Here's a starting point:


BASS FORUM LINKS (Newbie Links): PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING NEW TOPICS

In general, as you open each sub-forum, there are "stickies" at the top, or newbie links, or both. Hours of entertainment there.

Again, we're glad that you're here.

[Steve Killingsworth]

Well said Shady.

I just spend 10 minutes typing a reply only to discover you beat me to the punch.

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Caleb,
Welcome to the exciting world of the Double Bass. Notice the caps due to its esteemed place as the most magnificent instrument I know.
We all truly do wish you the best of luck in your quest. Choosing the right instrument for a successful entry into this world is very important; much too important to gamble on an instrument that:
A) might be difficult to play
B) might not sound very good
C) might need extensive repair shortly after your purchase

Your best bet in choosing a suitable instrument is almost always a shop that has a selection of basses and someone on staff capable of making adjustments to make the bass easy for you to play. Find the nearest shop that meets these criteria and go play some basses.

Sorry for the previous frustration. Many of us are "better informed" due to our experience with cheap mail order or guitar store basses. We don't want you to make a mistake.

Yes, this is a social club. The League of Double Bassists is an honorable club that all are welcome to join if they see the instrument as more than a stage prop and are willing to study it and learn to play it to the best of their ability.

[CalebWilson]

Can someone close this thread? I think all that needs to be said has been said. I've received a very helpful PM.

[CamMcIntyre]

Originally Posted by clink

Caleb,
Welcome to the exciting world of the Double Bass. Notice the caps due to its esteemed place as the most magnificent instrument I know.
We all truly do wish you the best of luck in your quest. Choosing the right instrument for a successful entry into this world is very important; much too important to gamble on an instrument that:
A) might be difficult to play
B) might not sound very good
C) might need extensive repair shortly after your purchase

Your best bet in choosing a suitable instrument is almost always a shop that has a selection of basses and someone on staff capable of making adjustments to make the bass easy for you to play. Find the nearest shop that meets these criteria and go play some basses.

Sorry for the previous frustration. Many of us are "better informed" due to our experience with cheap mail order or guitar store basses. We don't want you to make a mistake.

Yes, this is a social club. The League of Double Bassists is an honorable club that all are welcome to join if they see the instrument as more than a stage prop and are willing to study it and learn to play it to the best of their ability.

+1.

After getting a bass that plays and sounds good-I went to a Guitar Store the had a few DBs to check them out. Before I got my bass or even started playing DB, i had messed around with them [years earlier, for sake of reference I'm thinking 8th grade compared to senior year of high school]. My impressions before and after were polar opposites. Before I started playing and was messing around on them, I thought "this feels pretty, sounds good''...after, I was extremely thankful to have what I do. The only difference was experience and education. If being a bit of a prick steers someone in the right direction even if it initially upsets them, it's well worth it.

Caleb-I'm glad you're finding the information that you need.

[philbio77]

hey caleb, there is a double bass lutherie near homebush in sydney, http://www.nevillewhitehead.com/ you can find all his contact details on his website, neville is an amazing person for double bass thangs, i cannot recommend him enough. much better than other ummm the bass shops in sydney, if you get my drift.
well best of luck
phill

[Dr Piggery]

It seems to me that newbie questions like Caleb's frustrate the more experienced players in this forum, to the point where some delight in putting down the newbies. While this might be fun, it's not particularly encouraging to someone who may be genuinely interested in taking up the DB, especially if they're young and inexperienced.

Perhaps a new forum category "Buying your first double bass" should be created right at the top of the list. That way the newbies can ask their questions there, and anyone not interested in helping them, can simply ignore it.

[zeytoun]

Originally Posted by Dr Piggery

It seems to me that newbie questions like Caleb's frustrate the more experienced players in this forum, to the point where some delight in putting down the newbies. While this might be fun, it's not particularly encouraging to someone who may be genuinely interested in taking up the DB, especially if they're young and inexperienced.

That's kind of a strawman.

The preceding thread pretty much is 3 pages of constructive, welcoming, polite advice. (Heck, you were there!)

Seems to me, the pattern is for people to be welcoming here, and incredibly willing to give straight answers to questions. But you can wear your welcome out pretty quickly by either (a) refusing to put in a little effort to learn independently (using the people here as human google machines) or (b) stubbornly ignoring the advice that you asked for. Seems reasonable to me.

And in the last thread, there were 2 or 3 suggestions to read the stickies. This thread is an indication that someone didn't read those stickies...