Beginning bass

[TheCometsRule]

I am a rookie bassist. I am teaching myself w/ a rented bass that has steel strings. I've gotten some decent callouses, but double slapping is hard with this setup. It could just be my lack of experience, but I am wanting to know from the experienced players here if switching from steel to nylon or gut made a big difference in their ability to slap?

[punkozuna]

Yes. Lots. Lighter guage steels strings are pretty easy to slap if set-up to the right height. But if the rental you are using has thick steel strings like the factory strings on an Engelhardt - good luck ever doing sustained slapping without tearing up your fingers.

Having the string height correct is very important. So is developing the feel - which takes time. Once you get the feel for it, it's much easier. I've heard it described as "dribbling the strings off the fingerboard" - not much effort and way easier on the fingers.

[TheCometsRule]

Thanks for the response. I don't know if I'm stepping into dangerous territory here, but I wanted to get some opinions about a good low cost beginner's instrument. I am a guitarist and I know what makers have low cost, good quality instruments and which are low cost and low quality. I'm lucky enough to have a bass viol shop in the next town over. Their shop is open by appointment only and their lowest cost bass is a Kohr for $1700. At another shop is a Palatino bass (ebony fingerboard, flame maple back/spruce top) for $700. It seems like a good deal, but I know nothing about these brand's reputations...

[punkozuna]

Palatinos are considered risky low end basses - they are often called CCBs (Cheap Chinese Basses) or BSO (bass shaped objects). I'm not sure of the origin of the Kohr.
The usual student grade basses for rockabilly are (new) Engelhardt, Strunal, Shen and Upton laminate (if you can stretch the budget a little). People also seem to like Thompsons (a rebadged, Chinese made bass).

You can buy these brands for about $1100-2000. In general, for rockabilly, you want a plywood bass with a good build quality. They are tough, relatively inexpensive, have less feedback issues than hybrids/carved basses and thump/slap well.

Sometimes you can find a used bass for a bit less. Vintage Kays, American Standard, King Mortones can be added to the list basses to look out for as well as German, Czech, Romanian and Hungarian plys that have been sold under many different names over the years. For a used bass, try to take someone knowledgeable about basses to check them out or at least make a deal contingent on luthier inspection.

Expect to add $200-300 to the cost of the bass for basic setup and a set of strings.

Where are you located? In the US, Engelhardts are easy to come by. In Europe, Strunals are easier to find. I think Shens are everywhere.

[Tejano Bass]

Kohr = Chinese : Howard Core Company

[TheCometsRule]

I'm in the North Carolina piedmont. Many generations of bluegrass/stringband players and a young generation of neo-rockabilly players. My influences are from the pre-1940 hot jazz players and the early rock and 50's hillbilly guys like Ernie Newton and Marshall Lytle...

Thanks for the info about quality/cost equation!

[punkozuna]

Here's a link to a craigslist search tool with upright basses withing a 150mi radius of Greensboro. You can adjust your search starting point, radius, search term and search category to suit your location better.

upright bass on SearchTempest

There's an Engelhardt EC1 in Wilmington for $600 that is described as "perfect condition". That's a good price for one of those. upright bass

The bass shop where you saw the Kohr also lists Shen SB80s on their website for $1500.

[TheCometsRule]

Thanks so much.