mars attacks!

[bassist14]

i think "bass-humor" is the right place to post this...

[Marcus Johnson]

Yitch! That thing is just screaming for a big toothy grin on the lower table. Photoshop, anyone?

[John Sprague]

Wow, what is that?

[bassist14]

hi john,

all i know is: it´s probably czech, has a flat fretboard (yes paul w., in this case it is...)
and was for sale some weeks ago.
i know the seller (not in person)
here is one more pic

[moles]

Put a proper fingerboard and tailpiece on there, and I think I might actually like it.
But, I'm weird like that I guess........

[Randy Ward]

my guess is that it is a euro variant of a 'mando bass'
because of the flat fingerboard

http://www.pamelasmusic.co.uk/images...lins/L071R.htm

http://www.bassplayer.com/pop-up.asp...7&seq=2&type=P

[bassist14]

Originally Posted by Randy Ward

my guess is that it is a euro variant of a 'mando bass'
because of the flat fingerboard

http://www.pamelasmusic.co.uk/images...lins/L071R.htm

http://www.bassplayer.com/pop-up.asp...7&seq=2&type=P

thanks randy,
i like funny bass-pics, what about this?

[Randy Ward]

Originally Posted by bassist14

thanks randy,
i like funny bass-pics, what about this?

Two Words
MONDO MANDO



Mondo: Slang meaning = Big, huge, massive.

[Steve Boisen]

Originally Posted by John Sprague

Wow, what is that?

That's not actually a Mando-Bass. It is the contrabass member of a family of plucked stringed instruments called "Tamburas" that are played in Croatia and Serbia. This instrument is sometimes called a "Berde" and often looks more like a conventional double bass with a fretted neck like the one in this picture.



- Steve

[bassist14]

Originally Posted by John Sprague

Wow, what is that?

today i found this:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Alter-Vollholz-Ko...QQcmdZViewItem
its an "Joseph Rorhbach Tsjechoslowakei 1934"

[Randy Ward]

Originally Posted by Steve Boisen

That's not actually a Mando-Bass. It is the contrabass member of a family of plucked stringed instruments called "Tamburas" that are played in Croatia and Serbia. This instrument is sometimes called a "Berde" and often looks more like a conventional double bass with a fretted neck like the one in this picture.



- Steve

Steve; thanks for the info.
Is the plucking similar to the double bass pizz?
How is it tuned?
I found one here at the bottom of the page .
scroll down here:

http://www.tamburizza.at/english/tamburizza.htm

It says it is tuned GDA (is that low to high?) and played with a pick.(!)
It looks like Gibson got the idea for the mando bass here.

more
http://www.atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/europe2.htm

http://www.tamburica-cindrof.at/Inst...sch/Berde.html

[Jazzin']

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Yitch! That thing is just screaming for a big toothy grin on the lower table. Photoshop, anyone?

No teeth though. Unless the strings over the mouth can count as teeth.

[ESPdesign]

Looks like someone found Nemo

[bassist14]

Originally Posted by Jazzin'

No teeth though. Unless the strings over the mouth can count as teeth.

thanks for coming back on topic

[Marcus Johnson]

Very nice, Jazzin'! I especially like the matching "lip binding".

You've replaced the ff hole with the pie hole......

[Jazzin']

Thanks. I wasted 2 minutes of my life. I should have spent a little more time on it to make it more realistic.

[Steve Boisen]

Originally Posted by Randy Ward

Steve; thanks for the info.
Is the plucking similar to the double bass pizz?
How is it tuned?

I'm not an expert on these things, but I have a friend who has one that looks like a giant guitar. The links you provided were very infomative. I believe they are tuned like a standard double bass and like the Gibson Mando Bass they are played with a leather pick. I remember seeing a Tamburitza band perfroming on a TV travel guide and the bassist (berde-ist?) was using a pick which looked odd until I realized he was not playing a double bass.

- Steve

[MingusAmongUs]

I love this stuff. I never knew that the tambura existed outside of India:

http://www.chandrakantha.com/article...c/tanpura.html

Also known as tanpura, it's the drone instrument you hear throughout Indian classical music, that is now often replaced by an electronic device:

http://www.indianmusicalinstruments.com/ranjani.mp3

[Steve Boisen]

Originally Posted by ESPdesign

Looks like someone found Nemo

- Steve

[Matthew Tucker]

Wow. One of those links show a berda with a shoulder strap! Also, I believe they have two bass bars and no soundpost. I suppose they are a derivative of a bass domra with a DB body, or vice versa.