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Double Bass Azola EUBs Megathread

#322
I thought you all would like to see this. This is at the Iraqi Old Ministry of Defense compound, formerly FOB al Rasheed (a real sh1thole). Low and behold, that is my bugbass original laying down some salsa for Iraqi and American troops.
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Iraqis really dig salsa (anything with drums really).
 
#326
Hi All -

I have a question regarding value on an Azola Lightning Bug. I ran this by the moderators and got the ok - I realize that this looks like a "what is it worth" thread; anyway...

I am selling a Lightning Bug from approximately 2002. The band director at a local school is interested in it, and so is the owner of a music store in the area. But, I'm not sure what to charge the band director (He's a friend; I don't want to overcharge) and the music store owner wasn't sure what he wanted to offer me (and I don't want to take a total shellacking if I go with him.) The music store owner said he'd do some research and get back to me.

So, the question is: Has anyone sold or bought a Bug or Lightning Bug lately? Any idea if they are increasing in value because they're not made anymore, or if the value is stable or declining because there are more EUB options than there were 10 years ago?

I already did look at the classifieds; I'm just hoping for the most recent and specific information I can find.

Thanks,

Chuck
 
#329
Hey y'all!

I just bought this Azola Bug Bass and I love it! Super well made, plays and sounds great. It came with a flight case and a gig bag. I will be taking it to Russia in July! The pic below sucks (cellphone) but the bass has a nice tiger or flamed maple top and an amber/sunburst finish. The controls are on the back and the pickup is inside the bridge, no visible element. The store was asking $2400, but I did a trade for some other gear. I'd say my gear was worth roughly the same.
Can anyone take a guess about the vintage of this bass?


IMG00088-20110406-1915.gif
 
#330
Second generation. I'm not sure when the body change happened but I got my first gen Bug in 2000 so it's definitely post then. I saw that Jill Azola posted here fairly recently...maybe an email to her with the serial number would be something to try?
 
#334
glink said:
Hello all-
I was playing a gig the other day with my floating top Bugbass and thinking about how much I love this instrument and how its a shame that they are no longer being made. Then a scary thought occurred to me: What will I do if and when the bridge breaks? I have had DB bridges split in the past especially after a few years when the wood dries out. What the heck would you do if an Azola bridge breaks. I suppose a very talented luthier might be able to carve one from scratch but I wonder about the quality and cost. What would they use for a blank? Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

tornadobass said:
I thought about the same thing this week...I've had my Original Style BugBass for nearly 10 years now. Happily, it's been a sturdy and reliable beast!
Click to expand...

Don't worry, it's just a piece of maple suitable for a bass bridge, easily available. Perhaps a DB bridge blank could be made to work. I'd guess you could get a pretty nice piece of wood going that route.
 
#335
The Azola Bug Bass that I recently bought had Spiros on it, which sounded fine, but I've got fly dates coming up with Donna Ulisse and I do some slapping on her stuff. So -- today I tried stringing it with my gut-set spares -- a Gamut Lyon G, a Red-O-Ray tynex-wound D, and Sensicore A&E. It actually sounds really good! The slap is decent, but the regular pizz tone rocks! A bit of a Baby Bass kind of sound, but to my ears it's less "electric" sounding than with the Spiros. The direct sound has a good amount of "air" to it, and it's nice and punchy with the guts. I suppose in an ideal world I'd have the action a little higher, which isn't easily achieved on this bass, but it's still OK. The Azola is a very impressive instrument, I feel lucky to have found one used.

Question: If the neck tilt screw is not tightened at all, then that's the highest action, correct? Increasing the tilt would lower the action, yes? Duh :confused:
 
#340
Sensicores are a perlon (like nylon) core string with a flatwound steel wrapping. I think they have been around for a while, but have never seemed to be as popular as other similar strings like Pirastro's Obligato or Evah Pirazzi. I learned about them from bassist Dave Roe. Dave does a lot off slapping and likes the fact that Sensicores have a smooth wrap and don't chew up his fingerboards like roundwound guts. Also, they aren't terribly expensive. I like the E&A better than the D&G. The E&A make a great combo with gut upper strings. (Dave Roe uses plain gut uppers) IMO, the Sensicore D&G are decent, but don't have quite as good a tonal character. On my acoustic upright, I've gone back to wound guts, but the Sensicores are still good and they sound great on the Azola.

Actually, now I recall that I also learned about Sensicores from our fearless moderator, Francois! He graciously sent some used ones to try out :)
 

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