Need Help in Tokyo, Japan!

[x15]

Hey there..

I'm going to be heading to Tokyo, Japan (more specifically to Hachioji city).. I'm going to be there for about 1o months or so and i doubt i'm going to be able to carry my double bass with me..
Going as a part of an exchange programme or something something.. Any one know where I can rent one for a while or
well.. if any one has two, i can buy it off you for say a yearly period, anything at all?

That aside if any one wants to jam or just catch up.. please do
lemme know.. I play with a trio here called the Variety hour,
we do the usual swing, stride and standards routine : )
and occasionally, if we're feeling ambitious, then a little latin/
tango = ).

I'm feeling pretty apprehensive about leaving it all behind here,
im sure you guys know what i mean.. Please contact me by email, bass.abuse@gmail.com
or here itself.

Cheers.

[Marcus Johnson]

Ten months, I'd be thinking about flying my own bass there if it's for performance. Then again, it's an easy hop from here in Hawai'i, just next door. I've never tried flying a bass from India to Japan. I guess the distance would be about the same, just not sure of the tactical difficulties. From here, it's like a bus ride.

If it's just for personal use, maybe a rental bass would be okay. I've had mixed results with rental basses in Japan, mostly because it was handled by well-meaning organizers rather than myself. Nothing disastrous, just a couple of times when the basses weren't quite up to snuff. I survived the gigs, and it didn't even bother me that much, because I love playing and traveling in Japan more than just about anywhere else in the world.

There was another thread here a few months ago, with some suggestions for bass rentals in Japan. You might get some info there, and also from Bob Gollihur's bass database, which is always helpful. Good luck to you.

[x15]

thanks i do appreciate it.. its actually funny over here in delhi..
even though there definitely Is a music scene here, jazz is not very big - atleast in the capital - and even if it, double basses are few and far between.. im going to be turning 21 and i'm about one out of four, maybe five double bassists here.. tops..
it just makes resources an issue.. no lutheirs, barely Any basses.. (And no flight case!) i just found mine with a sheer stroke of luck.. this guy said itd been passed down his family four of five times.. but im pretty sure,
even though the tone is nice, its not upto snuff..
anyway.. will dig around.
cheers.

[nathanmcnathan]

Originally Posted by x15

Please contact me by email, bass.abuse@gmail.com

Good luck borrowing a bass with that email address

[Brent Nussey]

Hi x15.

Here in town you can pick up a bass in one of the used shops that will be good enough for around 100,000 yen. Here's an example:

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ubo...rint=40&T=gazo

These are really very usable instruments. Then sell it back when you leave, to recoup a bit of your loss. When are you coming? If you like, I'll keep an eye out.

If you really want to rent, you might talk to the guys at Yamamoto http://www.yamamoto-bass.com/index.html or Takasaki http://www.contrabass.co.jp/ bass shops. However, I think that renting a bass here might be rather expensive, and not the best option except for very short-term things.

There are also some very cheap basses in music stores that maybe would last for you for a year or so. Can't vouch for the sound though, I guess you'll have to check that out for yourself.

Brent