Vienna Hamburg

[fourdogs]

Are these Vienna Hamburg basses quality instruments?

[Silversorcerer]

Are they made in Vienna or Hamburg? Just wondered. That's kind of like a New York- Toronto isn't it? Probably the same maker. Sounds like a commuter train. Bbrrraaaaawwwww. Brrawwww. Brraawwwp. All aboard.... Seriously, where do you get a Vienna Hamburg? Let me guess;- it's an on line music store. ABC Lumberjack musical instruments. Am I close?

[Jeff Bollbach]

SS, careful- ya don't want to scare off any newbies.

[PoorPlayer]

Evidently the brand name is Vienna Strings and the model is Hamburg. I can see why it would be tempting:

Upright Bass Features:

This Beautiful New 3/4 Size Upright Bass Plays Just as Good as it Looks!!

• Solid Spruce Top
• Fine Quality Ebony Wood Fingerboard, Tailpiece, and Tuning Pegs.
• Hand Inlaid Purfling
• Dark Brown Shaded Stain
• Brazilwood German Horsehair Bow
• Covering and Shoulder Rest Pockets
• Comes with Padded Bag Case

On Ebay with a Buy It Now price of: US$985.00
Listed on the Jim Laabs' web page for US$1,277.00

See this thread.
And this one too.
And also this one.

[Silversorcerer]

All kidding aside, I have looked at those at Jim Laabs site and have actually seen a bass from Jim Laabs that might have been one of that model that a fellow was playing up at Fivespot (Atlanta club). I'm just wondering if at that price, a solid spruce top is a carved spruce top. It would seem to defy tonewood economics. The one I saw was definitely not plywood but it had none of the relief at the edge / recurve that indicates a carved top and the arching across the top where one usually sees a sort of chicken breast shape was kind of too uniform. I didn't get to play that one I saw, but one thing I readily noticed was a particularly poor fit at the bridge feet such that I would really not even call that a fit. Also the sound was kind of on the thin high mid, not enough lows side. A good set up and proper bridge fit might have improved that and it was being amped so it is not easy to say what its' live sound is like. While the name implies Europe, I have serious doubts that a European bass can be obtained at that price with a carved spruce top.

I paid close to double that price for what I consider to be a very serviceable good sounding but definitely economy fully carved European bass. It didn't come with any of those expensive extras like a bag, bow, etc. that should be worth at least $250. And it is definitely carved and not pressed into shape. I think the vote is still out on whether the pressed tops hold up over time and are as good a value over the long haul as actual carved tops. I can't really tell you not to buy one of the Austria Hamburg (Seoul?) basses, but quality is a relative term and you usually get what you pay for. It is probably a definite upgrade over the lower end BSOs that go for under $600, but expect to spend some more to get a good bridge fit, etc. and realize that a pro set-up will add quite a bit to the cost of the instrumet. Service from the supplier could be another problem if anything goes wrong along the way.