Recommendations for newbie setup (Stentor I)

[alex_bass_uk]

Hey folks! I'm a guitarist of many years and have just bought myself a Stentor Student I double bass to get started.

I'm trying to keep within a low budget whilst having a reasonable sounding entry level instrument. Initially I don't really know what I'll need to "upgrade" or have set-up but I've had the following suggested by my local music shop:

STRINGS:
Set of Thomastik Spirocore strings (£135)

BRIDGE:
Re-fitting of an existing d/bass bridge (£85)
Or:
D/Bass alteration to bridge arching and height action (£65)
Or:
Fitting of a standard quality bridge (£118)
PLUS OPTIONAL:
DB3 "Aubert" professional double-bass bridge (£60)

NUT:
Correcting of existing top nut (£47)
OR
Fitting of a new nut (£59)

SOUND POST:
Reset existing sound-post (£53)
Or:
Fitting of a new sound-post to a double-bass (£71)

At a minimum I'm looking at around £320 for new strings and adjustments (on top of the £520 I paid for the instrument). I know there's only so much you can improve the cheaper basses but do these prices seem reasonable and would it even be worth it?

Would you recommend anything else? Any suggestions or feedback would be great.

[bigolbassguy]

If it's a cheap bass, I'd get an inexpensive (?) adjustable bridge and some new strings and call it good. If you look around the forum there's a lot of information available about string height and spacing to help you get started.