Just asking for you personal opinions: who is the most talented bass maker in Europe (especially Germany)? Where would you buy your instrument that is best for auditions as well as solo playing?
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Double Bass Bass maker in Europe
- Thread starter yuzu yashikora
- Start date
There are so many great bass makers in Europe, well in the whole world in general.
The first name that comes to mind when thinking about Germany for me is Stefan Krattenmacher, who makes absolute top class instruments. There are others of course, also in other European countries, for example many French and Italian makers could be named. I recently aquired a bass by Sergio Scaramelli. A fantastic instrument useable for anything you want; orchestra, chamber music, solo, and it will be a great bass for auditions as well.
If you are looking to buy a bass, I think it really comes down to your personal preferences and not least your budget.
The first name that comes to mind when thinking about Germany for me is Stefan Krattenmacher, who makes absolute top class instruments. There are others of course, also in other European countries, for example many French and Italian makers could be named. I recently aquired a bass by Sergio Scaramelli. A fantastic instrument useable for anything you want; orchestra, chamber music, solo, and it will be a great bass for auditions as well.
If you are looking to buy a bass, I think it really comes down to your personal preferences and not least your budget.
Thats of course true, nevertheless I find it interesting to hear a littlebit of what could be interesting adresses to check out. I tried a few Krattenmacher basses, always found them healthy but not very interesting in sound. But thats again, my taste. A friend of my has also a Scaramelli and is very happy with it. Maybe I should make a tour to italy..
agreed.
once you get into the world of instruments made start to finish by one maker, presumably one with experience and ability, it's hard to make a case that one is "better" than another.
i played basses of many makers when i was shopping, and when i found "the one" it was quite clear. the sound, especially listening to someone else play it, sold me on the instrument. it had exactly what i'd always imagined. luckily the bass that was made for me is just as nice (dare i say better?)
i don't recall the makers name but the luthier who made bozo p's bass always looked great to me - he makes such a nice sound, but he's also a master player...
It's rather an odd question IMO - without knowing your budget, your style of playing, is it for solo, orchestra, jazz, general use. Otherwise we will just be throwing names against the wall (or into a hat etc etc) all day.
For example, there are two very good Pollmanns, two very good Italian basses (Scaramelli & Golia) and two very good Yankee basses (Prescott & Tewksbury). Within each pairing, the price spread is $10-15,000, yet they are all basses of merit and one could only be said to be "better" than the other in terms of the need, budget and desire of the player.
More info=more help.
For example, there are two very good Pollmanns, two very good Italian basses (Scaramelli & Golia) and two very good Yankee basses (Prescott & Tewksbury). Within each pairing, the price spread is $10-15,000, yet they are all basses of merit and one could only be said to be "better" than the other in terms of the need, budget and desire of the player.
More info=more help.
Yep...I have played several fabulous Horst Gruenert basses, and would recommend visiting his shop. I have seen listings for basses attributed to his father Erich as well.
He has retired or will retire soon….But asking him shouldn‘t be a mistake…
The instrument of Božo Paradžik is built Boy Derek High, who is building really impressing instruments for my ears and fingers. I had the chance to check out one of his basses some time ago and was really overwhelmed by this instrument. If you have the chance, check out the instruments of Kanzian and Traunsteiner…
How about Thomas Martin the UK? Not only is Tom a great player, teacher (he taught my daughter's current teacher and she is now at the Royal Academy) and font of all knowledge, he and his son also build great instruments and they are great to do business with:
About Tom Martin
T&G Martin | New Martin Double Basses for Sale
About Tom Martin
T&G Martin | New Martin Double Basses for Sale
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There is for example Heiner Windelband near Hannover Home - Heiner Windelband - Sünnenblink Musikwerkstatt
or my personal favourable neighbor Markus Daesch - he does not build new but always find old DB basses and restores them to a fabulous extend (a lot of orchestra players work with him) Invalid Link Removed
or my personal favourable neighbor Markus Daesch - he does not build new but always find old DB basses and restores them to a fabulous extend (a lot of orchestra players work with him) Invalid Link Removed
Always a very good idea….
The Talkbasses v.2 (bass eye candy collection)
and I play a second fantastic instrument built by Heiner…
Heiner is „crazy“ about building and optimizing basses and doing a really great job…and you have to deal with his kind of humor…
i've played a bunch of martins and i think very highly of them.
their designs meet a perfect balance of tradition, updated for playability. some of the shorter string length basses are so well designed, they make a huge sound and play very easily. while somehow maintaining the look, balance, and proportions of the inspiration instruments.
martin's basses are extremely consistent, i feel like all the ones i played had a very similar sound. makes sense that they have a working formula, and they are making master grade instruments for sure. some could say they lack the "unique character" you might want when spending a certain amount of money, but i'm not sure i'd put too much stock in that since the basses all play and sound wonderful. it's also great that they can be had for considerably less than some other makers.
If you do end up taking a trip to Italy you could also check out Cristiano Scipioni and Roberto Salvianti. I have seen a couple of Scipioni's basses, all good looking and good sounding. I tried Salvianti at the BassEurope event in Lucca three years ago and I really liked his instruments. If I remember correctly his bass won a medal for tone in the makers competetion as well - and, at the time at least, his basses could be bought for considerably less than many of the other entries.Thats of course true, nevertheless I find it interesting to hear a littlebit of what could be interesting adresses to check out. I tried a few Krattenmacher basses, always found them healthy but not very interesting in sound. But thats again, my taste. A friend of my has also a Scaramelli and is very happy with it. Maybe I should make a tour to italy..
Bozo Paradzik plays a Derek High solo bass from Germany. He uses a Milan Oubrecht bow with Liebenzeller metal rosin, non sticky. His strings are gut Genssler. He says all this is his personal preference and may not match the needs of others.
Double Basses - Derek High's Basses
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yeah, it should go without saying these things are quite personal.. his bass is just one of many factors. that being said, it's obvious that derek high is a fantastic bass maker!
- Jul 18, 2017
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If I could afford that, I'd look at Pöllmann's shop, especially at their used listings (many makers, most are excellent):
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http://www.poellmann-contrabass.de/boerse/boerse.html
I think the name Martin in the UK was mentioned already - should be the same quality & category.
In Cologne, there's Daniel Kress who learnt at Pöllmann's:
Geigenbaumeister Daniel J. Kreß - Neubau, Restauration und Reparatur von Geigen, Bratschen, Celli und Bässen
Daniel also has rentals, for instance Christian McBride rented one of his basses when playing with the WDR big band...
And Jonas Lohse in Frankfurt also sells nice basses, and he has a luthier directory/map where you can find countless others, too:
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HTH,
Wolfgang
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http://www.poellmann-contrabass.de/boerse/boerse.html
I think the name Martin in the UK was mentioned already - should be the same quality & category.
In Cologne, there's Daniel Kress who learnt at Pöllmann's:
Geigenbaumeister Daniel J. Kreß - Neubau, Restauration und Reparatur von Geigen, Bratschen, Celli und Bässen
Daniel also has rentals, for instance Christian McBride rented one of his basses when playing with the WDR big band...
And Jonas Lohse in Frankfurt also sells nice basses, and he has a luthier directory/map where you can find countless others, too:
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HTH,
Wolfgang
Well yes, Scipioni is already on my list since I played a bass of his once and it was a very,very fine and well balanced instrument. Salvianti I dont know yet.
doing what???
There are "some" interesting luthiers and France isn't too small...
for example Laurent Demeyere:
https://ldemeyer1.wixsite.com/laurent-demeyere
Richard Gonon:
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Mathieu Millet:
https://en.mathieumillet.com/
Mathieu Mayoux:
https://mathieumayoux.wixsite.com/mathieumayouxluthier
Patrick Charton(?!?! I've heard, he died 2 years ago, but there still seems to be a workshop...):
Charton Patrick, luthier professionnel à Paris et Saint-Étienne
to mention only a few...
perhaps helps you to find a first orientation:
Liste Luthiers Contrebasses France
